THE YOUNG LIONS Movie Review

1958 Edward Dmytryk

At one point in the transition of this story from printed page to screen, Irwin Shaw wrote a screen-play of his famous novel for an independent production company. It was a faithful adaptation that retained the triangular plot involving two American soldiers and one German. That deal fell through for lack of financing and when the novel was finally bought by 20th Century-Fox, director Edward Dmytryk decided that he wanted a new script. Then, when Marlon Brando was brought on board to play Christian Diestl, the German soldier, that role became more important and, not surprisingly, more sympathetic. Those decisions undercut several of Shaw's most important points, and turned what might have been a great war film into an overlong entertainment.

The story begins in Bavaria, New Year's Eve, 1938. That's where Margaret Free-mantle (Barbara Rush) meets Christian, part-time ski instructor and budding fascist. When she asks him about it, he answers, “I'm not a Nazi; I'm not political at all, but I think that they stand for something hopeful in Germany.” Flash forward to June 1940, where Lt. Diestl takes part in the occupation of Paris. By then, Margaret is back in New York where her beau, singer Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin), has just passed his physical for the draft board. That's where he meets Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift), who works for Macy's, and invites him to a party where Noah meets Hope Plowman (Hope Lange).

Meanwhile, Christian's new commanding officer, Capt. Hardenberg (Maximilian Schell), explains that as a Nazi officer he “contracted for killing in all its forms” and so shouldn't be bothered by a little torture. On leave in Berlin, Christian meets Hardenberg's wife Gretchen (May Britt), a voluptuary who redefines “slinky” in her long black dress.

For the rest of its running time, the film crosscuts among the three, though the Whiteacre character gets short shrift, and all of them are pale shadows of the more fully realized characters in Shaw's fiction. Shaw's Diestl is a fairly decent young man who's transformed by brutal experience into a cold-blooded monster who kills without a second thought. His Whiteacre is a producer, a liberal intellectual who must find the courage to live up to his convictions. Ackerman, who faces anti-Semitism within the ranks of the Army, comes closest to Shaw's original.

Given that broad canvas to fill, Dmytryk sets a slow pace at the outset. As the conduct of the war intensifies, the narrative becomes more involving. The combat scenes are generally limited in scale and fairly graphic in their violence. Though some of the transitions are abrupt, the action and characters are never confusing. With the finer points of filmmaking though, Dmytryk is less consistent. While he carefully places a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt so that it looks over one character's shoulder in one key scene, he allows the shadow of a boom and microphone to become visible in another. Some interior scenes have a muddy look, though that could be due to a poor transfer from film to video.

Finally, Brando's character cannot justify the importance that is placed on him. Shaw intends for the story to be based on the contrasting personalities and experiences of the three characters. The departure from his original ending underscores the filmmakers’ decision to tell a different story. Perhaps Shaw's screenplay still exists. If so, it could provide a starting point for a more faithful adaptation. Of all the “big-novel” films that came out of World War II, The Young Lions ought to be first in line for a remake.

Cast: Marlon Brando (Christian Diestl), Montgomery Clift (Noah Ackerman), Dean Martin (Michael Whiteacre), Hope Lange (Hope Plowman), Barbara Rush (Margaret Freemantle), Lee Van Cleef (Sgt. Rickett), Maximilian Schell (Capt. Hardenberg), May Britt (Gretchen Hardenberg), Dora Doll, Liliane Montevecchi, Parley Baer, Arthur Franz, Hal Baylor (Pvt. Burnecker), Richard Gardner (Pvt. Cowley), Herbert Rudley (Capt. Colclough), L.Q. (Justus E. McQueen) Jones (Pvt. Donnelly); Written by: Edward Anhalt; Cinematography by: Joe MacDonald; Music by: Hugo Friedhofer. Producer: TCF. Awards: Nominations: Academy Awards ‘58: Best Black and White Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Dramatic Score. Running Time: 167 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Letterbox.