The Young Lions
Encyclopedia
The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk
, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name
by Irwin Shaw
, and starring Marlon Brando
, Montgomery Clift
, and Dean Martin
.
Christian's dilemma includes the fact that he fancies two women who are American and French. He does his duty in the German Army but realizes at the end that the war, and just about everything else except his French girlfriend, has been lost. Ackerman is befriended by a fellow draftee, the reluctant soldier Whiteacre, and falls in love with a New England woman named Hope (Hope Lange
) whose father is anti-Semitic.
will bring new prosperity to Germany, so when war breaks out he joins the army as a lieutenant. Dissatisfied with police duty in Paris, he requests to be transferred and is assigned to the front in North Africa. He sees what the war has done to his captain (Maximilian Schell
) and the captain's wife (May Britt
), and he is sickened by their behavior.
Michael Whiteacre and Noah Ackerman befriend each other during their U.S. Army draft physical examination and attend basic training together. They are then stationed in London. Michael is in show business and romantically involved with socialite Margaret Freemantle (Barbara Rush
) who, coincidentally, in 1938 dated Christian in the Bavarian Alps when she went on a skiing vacation. She was upset by his Nazi beliefs and deserted him on New Year's Eve to return to Michael.
Noah, who is Jewish and works as a lowly department store clerk, attends a party Michael throws, where he meets Hope Plowman. She falls in love with him and introduces her fiancé to her provincial father, who doesn't like Jews but has never met one. After a chat with Noah, the father approves of the marriage.
In the service, a commanding officer and some of the tough guys in his company try to bully Noah and demonstrate their bigotry. Noah gains the respect of the enlisted men by standing up to them in a series of fist fights, even though he's much smaller and is badly hurt.
Each of these soldiers come to view the war differently. Christian is conflicted, hating what the war has done to his fellow Germans but unable to escape from his role in it. He despises what his fellow soldiers have done in the name of the Fatherland but is determined to fulfill his duty to the end.
Michael spends most of the war in a comfortable job, nowhere near any fighting, thanks to his Broadway
fame. He finally decides to join the fight after Margaret shames him into it. By pulling strings, he rejoins his old outfit on the front in the war's final days, almost too late to matter.
Noah simply does his duty to the best of his ability, hoping to live through the horrors of war and get home safely to his wife and their new baby. He has a heroic moment where he risks his own life to save a fellow soldier, one who was especially prejudiced against him in boot camp. He then helps liberate a concentration camp full of Jews and comes face-to-face with the German result of virulent anti-Semitism.
The war is all but over as Christian finds himself alone in a remote setting. Michael and Noah happen along at the same time, and the momentary confrontation between them typifies the madness and futility of war.
. Tony Randall
originally had Martin's role but talent agency MCA insisted that Martin replace Randall so they'd have "a quadruple threat" (an audience from four sectors): night clubs, recordings, television, and movies. Martin ended up getting splendid reviews and launched a very successful solo career as an actor.
This was the only film (aside from home movies
) that Brando and Clift made together. The picture was produced by Al Lichtman
and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film
and three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound (Carlton W. Faulkner
) and Best Music in 1959.
reports that 80% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.6/10. Bosley Crowther
of The New York Times
, most impressed by Brando's performance, gave the film a favorable review, and also praised the film adaptation by Dmytryk. Variety
also gave a positive review, and noted: "The Young Lions is a canvas of the Second World War of scope and stature. It's a kingsized credit to all concerned, from Edward Anhalt's skillful adaptation of Irwin Shaw's novel to Edward Dmytryk's realistic direction, and the highly competent portrayals of virtually everyone in the cast."
Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name
The Young Lions
The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:...
by Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best-known for his novel, The Young Lions about the fate of three soldiers during World War II that was made into a film starring Marlon...
, and starring Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
, and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
.
Outline
The Young Lions is about the destiny of three young soldiers involved in World War II. A German officer, Lt. Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando), approves less and less of the war, while an American GI, Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift), who is Jewish, tries to survive the bigotry he encounters in the military. Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin) starts out as a coward who is hoping to somehow avoid the draft, but becomes increasingly brave as the war progresses.Christian's dilemma includes the fact that he fancies two women who are American and French. He does his duty in the German Army but realizes at the end that the war, and just about everything else except his French girlfriend, has been lost. Ackerman is befriended by a fellow draftee, the reluctant soldier Whiteacre, and falls in love with a New England woman named Hope (Hope Lange
Hope Lange
Hope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
) whose father is anti-Semitic.
Plot summary
German ski instructor Christian Diestl is hopeful that Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
will bring new prosperity to Germany, so when war breaks out he joins the army as a lieutenant. Dissatisfied with police duty in Paris, he requests to be transferred and is assigned to the front in North Africa. He sees what the war has done to his captain (Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
) and the captain's wife (May Britt
May Britt
May Britt is a Swedish actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She retired from the screen after she married Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1960.-Career:...
), and he is sickened by their behavior.
Michael Whiteacre and Noah Ackerman befriend each other during their U.S. Army draft physical examination and attend basic training together. They are then stationed in London. Michael is in show business and romantically involved with socialite Margaret Freemantle (Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
) who, coincidentally, in 1938 dated Christian in the Bavarian Alps when she went on a skiing vacation. She was upset by his Nazi beliefs and deserted him on New Year's Eve to return to Michael.
Noah, who is Jewish and works as a lowly department store clerk, attends a party Michael throws, where he meets Hope Plowman. She falls in love with him and introduces her fiancé to her provincial father, who doesn't like Jews but has never met one. After a chat with Noah, the father approves of the marriage.
In the service, a commanding officer and some of the tough guys in his company try to bully Noah and demonstrate their bigotry. Noah gains the respect of the enlisted men by standing up to them in a series of fist fights, even though he's much smaller and is badly hurt.
Each of these soldiers come to view the war differently. Christian is conflicted, hating what the war has done to his fellow Germans but unable to escape from his role in it. He despises what his fellow soldiers have done in the name of the Fatherland but is determined to fulfill his duty to the end.
Michael spends most of the war in a comfortable job, nowhere near any fighting, thanks to his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
fame. He finally decides to join the fight after Margaret shames him into it. By pulling strings, he rejoins his old outfit on the front in the war's final days, almost too late to matter.
Noah simply does his duty to the best of his ability, hoping to live through the horrors of war and get home safely to his wife and their new baby. He has a heroic moment where he risks his own life to save a fellow soldier, one who was especially prejudiced against him in boot camp. He then helps liberate a concentration camp full of Jews and comes face-to-face with the German result of virulent anti-Semitism.
The war is all but over as Christian finds himself alone in a remote setting. Michael and Noah happen along at the same time, and the momentary confrontation between them typifies the madness and futility of war.
Cast
- Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
as Christian Diestl - Montgomery CliftMontgomery CliftEdward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
as Noah Ackerman - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
as Michael Whiteacre - Barbara RushBarbara RushBarbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
as Margaret - Hope LangeHope LangeHope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
as Hope - May BrittMay BrittMay Britt is a Swedish actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She retired from the screen after she married Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1960.-Career:...
as Gretchen Hardenberg - Maximilian SchellMaximilian SchellMaximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
as Captain Hardenberg - Parley BaerParley BaerParley Edward Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...
as Brandt - Lee Van CleefLee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
as First SergeantFirst SergeantFirst sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff...
Rickett
Production
The film became a box-office success and was the key to Martin's comeback in the wake of his split with partner Jerry LewisJerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
originally had Martin's role but talent agency MCA insisted that Martin replace Randall so they'd have "a quadruple threat" (an audience from four sectors): night clubs, recordings, television, and movies. Martin ended up getting splendid reviews and launched a very successful solo career as an actor.
This was the only film (aside from home movies
Home movies
A home movie is part of the motion picture filmmaking process made by amateurs, often for viewing by family and friends. When the hobby began, home movies were produced on photographic film, but accessibility of video production with video cameras and low cost data storage devices has made the...
) that Brando and Clift made together. The picture was produced by Al Lichtman
Al Lichtman
Alexander "Al" Lichtman was a businessman working in the motion picture industry. He also occasionally worked as a film producer. Born in Monok, Hungary. His parents were Joseph Lichtman and Pepe Zuckermandel. Lichtman has a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame...
and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
and three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound (Carlton W. Faulkner
Carlton W. Faulkner
Carlton W. Faulkner was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording for the film The King and I. He was also nominated for four more Academy Awards, three in the same category and the fourth for Best Effects, Special Effects.-Selected filmography:Faulkner won...
) and Best Music in 1959.
Critical reception
The Young Lions was well received by film critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 80% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.6/10. Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, most impressed by Brando's performance, gave the film a favorable review, and also praised the film adaptation by Dmytryk. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
also gave a positive review, and noted: "The Young Lions is a canvas of the Second World War of scope and stature. It's a kingsized credit to all concerned, from Edward Anhalt's skillful adaptation of Irwin Shaw's novel to Edward Dmytryk's realistic direction, and the highly competent portrayals of virtually everyone in the cast."