The Young Lions
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Movie Reviews of The Young Lions
Movie Review: Another World War Two Film
Summary: 4 Stars
I had never seen this film before but am on a mission to see all of Marlon Brando's movies. In this film based on the novel by Irwin Shaw, Brando plays a Nazi officer who is in the new word of the month, "conflicted" by what the Germans are doing. There is one scene, for example, where he disobeys an order by his superior officer played by Maximillian Schell to kill a soldier. Even though this film is shot in black and white, it is obvious that the makeup people have died Brando's hair light blond, something that doesn't quite work with his dark eyes and eyebrows. While this is certainly not his best performance, watching the greatest American actor of his generation in always mesmerizing.
Montgomery Clift, who plays a Jewish American GI, is not Brando, however. Although I know that many people rave about Clift's acting abilities he often leaves me cold with his strange wall-eyed stares as he does here in much of the movie although he gets better as the film progresses. A very young Dean Martin as a performer who gets drafted, Hope Lange and Barbara Rush are in the film as well.
The action begins with grand panoramic snow skiing scenes in Bavaria; then the action moves to New York, North Africa, Paris and London. There are two stories here-- that of the American soldiers and Brando and the German troops-- that never come together until the very end of the movie.
Filmed in 1958, "The Young Lions" is a bit dated and had to conform with the then standards of decency so there is a lot of deep kissing here but with everybody keeping their clothes on. A lot is left to the imagination-- a refreshing touch.
Movie Review: Occassionally ambitious but often timid would-be blockbuster
Summary: 3 Stars
Heavily diluting Irwin Shaw's doorstop novel about two American soldiers and one Nazi whose paths gradually converge over the years from 1939-45 into an expensive but mostly not very good, often surprisingly studiobound CinemaScope soap opera, 1958's The Young Lions delivers a lot less dramatic weight than you'd expect from a film featuring both Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.
The two stars only encounter each other in the film's last couple of minutes and don't even share a scene, but there's little doubt that if they did it would have been Brando who would have walked away with it, and not just because he has the most interesting character. Despite looking every inch the blonde Aryan ubermensch, his Christian is a much more sympathetic creation than the character in Shaw's novel, here a somewhat naïve believer in the Nazi Party who is gradually disillusioned and destroyed by the brutality he sees in service that takes him from Paris to North Africa and, ultimately, a near-abandoned concentration camp. In the novel Christian remained an unrepentant Nazi to the end, killing Clift's Jewish soldier before being killed himself, but the novel changes him from bully into victim in what would become the clichéd screen image of `the good German' who doesn't realise what the Nazis really are until it's too late (a change that infuriated Clift). Yet Brando, playing his part softly, manages to convince in a way his co-star never does, especially in his early scene when he tries inarticulately to explain to an American girl why he thinks the Nazi Party is a good thing for Germany.
Sadly there's no doubting that the film's biggest liability as far as casting goes is Montgomery Clift, delivering one of the worst and most inappropriately amateurish performances you'll ever see from a great actor. Even allowing for the effects of the accident that left half his face paralysed, he's hopelessly miscast despite the role being reduced to little more than a variation of his From Here to Eternity persona: looking much older and frailer than his years, it's impossible to believe he's the young A-1 soldier other characters talk about. It's hard to tell whether he genuinely improves in the second half of the film or you just get used to the array of clumsy mannerism and inflections he adopts: certainly his last big speech is a painful bit of curiously underpowered overacting. Knowing that Clift felt it was his finest screen work and was certain it would land him an Oscar only makes it seem all the more painful. By contrast, Dean Martin's less prominent role as a Broadway star pulling strings to stay out of the front line who befriends him is much more convincing. Maximilian Schell, sounding curiously like a young Alan Arkin, also makes an impression as Brando's ruthless immediate superior, as does Parley Baer as Christian's bon vivant friend.
George Stevens had tried to make the film years earlier, and he'd probably have done a better job of it than Edward Dmytryk who, post-blacklist, directs like a man who isn't taking any chances and who doesn't want any trouble. It's very much an old-school, rather stolid production for much of the running time, with limited location work in Europe and stock newsreel footage mixing less than convincingly with overfamiliar standing sets on the 20th Century Fox backlot.
There are moments when the picture briefly sputters into life: a sequence of triumphant Nazi soldiers swarming over the steps of the Sacre Coeur in Paris like flies on a sugarlump as they take tourist photos of each other; an uncomfortable walk through a small town as Clift's prospective father-in-law who has never even met a Jew is forced to face his own anti-Semitism; Brando walking through the decimated streets of a blitzed Berlin; and an encounter with a self-justifying concentration camp commander who prides himself on being a good soldier (a scene somewhat compromised by half of his dialogue being dubbed by a French actor and the rest played in his own thick German accent). Certainly there is enough to make the film worth watching despite the not always convincing romantic subplots - Dean Martin and Barbara Rush's being particularly confused and underwhelming - but nowhere near enough to make the film live up to its potential, let alone become the `most revered film of this generation' that the film's laughably hype-heavy trailer promised.
Aside from trailers for other Fox war films (including a bizarre DVD trailer for Tora! Tora! Tora! designed to make it look like Pearl Harbor!) the only extra is that over the top original trailer for the film, which spends almost as much time promoting producer Al Lichtman as it does the cast or the film!
Movie Review: The Young Lions
Summary: 3 Stars
The Young Lions was based on the Irwin Shaw novel of the same name BUT the novel & the film are NOT the same. The Young Lions has an exceptional cast that stars Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift & Dean Martin. The supporting cast includes Hope Lange, May Britt & Barbara Rush as the love interests. In lesser roles the cast includes some people that were familiar: Maximilian Schell, Lee Van Cleef, Parley Baer, Arthur Franz, L.Q. Jones, John Banner & Vaughn Taylor.
Unfortunately, the film does NOT equal the star power. The film occurs mostly during WWII but it's not really a war film. It's more about personal relationships during a very trying time. There are some action sequences but not many.
It's the character of Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando) that's changed the most from the novel. The film presents as a loyal German, a nationalist, who becomes disillusioned due to the war. He's idealistic & sympathetic but by the end he realizes he has compromised his values. The casting of Brando led to the change in character of Diestl; Brando is good in the role but he's reserved in his character though there are occasional emotional outbreaks.
Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) is a Jewish American who's shy & idealistic. Upon joining the Army he finds himself a victim of prejudice from his own countrymen. Clift, much like Brando, became a major star in his first film role. Brando in his first film, The Men (1950) received top billing. Clift's first film, Red River (1948), received second billing due to the fact it starred John Wayne. It was with his second film, The Search (1948), that he would receive top billing.
Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin) is an American entertainer on the verge of stardom. He's an unwilling participant & tries to avoid the draft, he even admits to being a coward. In contrast to Brando & Clift, Martin wasn't considered a great actor though he had more experience in film. He was already a veteran of 17 films as a co-headliner or very close. I say 17 films that doesn't include cameos. I'm not sure if Some Came Running was before or after The Young Lions (I'm going with after) so this film was most likely his first role that was non-comedic. It is my impression that Martin held his own against the two giants of acting that he co-starred with in this film.
The film is 167 minutes & much too long. It's essentially two different story lines; one with Brando & the other with Clift & Martin. None of the three participants are in a scene together except for one of the final ones but there isn't any dialog between them. I know this film received major accolades in its day but as you can tell from the reviews there are a lot of differences in opinion. It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best B & W Cinematography, Best Drama or Comedy Score & Best Sound) but didn't take any of them home. Edward Dmytryk was nominated for Best Director by the Directors Guild of America but didn't win it.
The audio & video are in excellent shape &, except for trailers, there aren't any real bonus features.
Movie Review: Brando Carries this One
Summary: 3 Stars
As others have said below, this is a good representation of the type of WWII movies being made in the late 50s /early 60s. What separates The Young Lions from more standard fare is the smoldering performance of Marlon Brando as a conflicted German Officer. The story follows the ultimately intersecting paths of Brando's character with two american GIs rather stereotypically played by Dean Martin and Montgomery Clift. For the first two thirds of the film these stories are developed in tandem. Brando is shown as a Bavarian ski instructor who becomes an officer. Scenes in Paris and the North African front give him the opportunity to flesh out his character.
Overall this is a very well done film for it's day. I add that caveat because it is in some places a bit dated, particularly in the romantic scenes. Still, if you haven't seen this one it is well worth checking out.
Finally, the last 20 minutes of this are really spectacular. The movie has it's strengths and weaknesses but the ending sequences are among it's best qualities
Movie Review: Disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
A movie with Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin and Marlon Brando? This would have to be great, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, it never lived up to my expectations. The story follows the experiences of two American GIs and one German officer (played by Brando). However, the experiences of these three really don't have anything in common. The INDIVIDUAL stories are worthwhile and I think this film would make two good movies. Together though, the stories are just too jarring, jumping back and forth.