IMDb RATING
7.1/10
9.1K
YOUR RATING
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 1 win & 7 nominations total
John Alderson
- Cpl. Kraus
- (uncredited)
John Banner
- German Town Mayor
- (uncredited)
Stephen Bekassy
- German Major
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMontgomery Clift was widely felt to look too old and unhealthy to be an A1 soldier. Although Clift was only 36 during filming, this was the first full film he had made since his near-fatal 1956 car accident (it occurred during filming of Raintree County (1957)), which had drastically altered his appearance.
- GoofsEarly in the movie, Marlon Brando's character is riding in some sort of staff car. The car is right-hand drive; the Germans did not use right-hand drive. However, the staff car is a French-made Laffly V15T, which is, indeed, right-hand drive and was used by the French Army in WWII. The vehicle was probably captured from the French Army.
- Quotes
Michael Whiteacre: You want me to get shot. Look, I've read all the books. I know that in 10 years we'll be bosom friends with the Germans and the Japanese. Then I'll be pretty annoyed that I was killed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in V.I.P.-Schaukel: Episode #8.2 (1978)
Featured review
"The Young Lions" was one those big Hollywood war movies I remember seeing with my family at the local cinema during the late 1950s.
I saw many of those films and actually read most of the slab-like novels they were based on: "Battle Cry", "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit", "From Here to Eternity" and Irwin Shaw's "The Young Lions" - there just weren't that many competing devices back then.
I usually read the books after seeing the films and then became acutely aware of how the movies suffered under the censorship of the day. The novels often filled in some serious gaps in my sex education, but the films never did.
The story is about three soldiers: a German, Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando), and two Americans: Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) and Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin). The film follows their fortunes through WW2 until they cross paths at the end.
The film has a number of authentic, well-executed sequences shot on location. However these are mixed with flat, over-lit scenes shot on the blandest of backlots and soundstages - the interiors are particularly artless. Documentary footage also added to the lack of a definitive style.
Fortunately the action scenes open the film out. The most arresting of them was the ambush of a British convoy in North Africa. It would have touched a nerve with many in that audience in 1958 as our guys had been part of the British Eighth army and the war had only been over for 13 years.
One of the surprises in the movie was the anti-Semitism Noah Ackerman encounters in the U.S. Army. Monty Clift faced a tough enlistment in "From Here to Eternity", but it was even tougher here. He looked worn (this was after his accident in 1956) and seemed a bit too old, but his performance is the most affecting in the film. No wonder Brando was wary of his talent.
Dean Martin without Jerry Lewis was another surprise, but he was good as the soldier with better motives than he thought.
Brando's blonde, broad shouldered Diestl starts out as a fine example of the master race, but his journey through the rise and fall of the Third Reich makes him thoughtful. He is treated rather sympathetically in the movie, although he was more of a nasty Nazi in the novel. However they may have overdone Diestl's disgust at every turn.
I can see why Irwin Shaw was disappointed. However the film has its moments, and is still one I have no trouble watching every now and then.
I saw many of those films and actually read most of the slab-like novels they were based on: "Battle Cry", "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit", "From Here to Eternity" and Irwin Shaw's "The Young Lions" - there just weren't that many competing devices back then.
I usually read the books after seeing the films and then became acutely aware of how the movies suffered under the censorship of the day. The novels often filled in some serious gaps in my sex education, but the films never did.
The story is about three soldiers: a German, Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando), and two Americans: Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) and Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin). The film follows their fortunes through WW2 until they cross paths at the end.
The film has a number of authentic, well-executed sequences shot on location. However these are mixed with flat, over-lit scenes shot on the blandest of backlots and soundstages - the interiors are particularly artless. Documentary footage also added to the lack of a definitive style.
Fortunately the action scenes open the film out. The most arresting of them was the ambush of a British convoy in North Africa. It would have touched a nerve with many in that audience in 1958 as our guys had been part of the British Eighth army and the war had only been over for 13 years.
One of the surprises in the movie was the anti-Semitism Noah Ackerman encounters in the U.S. Army. Monty Clift faced a tough enlistment in "From Here to Eternity", but it was even tougher here. He looked worn (this was after his accident in 1956) and seemed a bit too old, but his performance is the most affecting in the film. No wonder Brando was wary of his talent.
Dean Martin without Jerry Lewis was another surprise, but he was good as the soldier with better motives than he thought.
Brando's blonde, broad shouldered Diestl starts out as a fine example of the master race, but his journey through the rise and fall of the Third Reich makes him thoughtful. He is treated rather sympathetically in the movie, although he was more of a nasty Nazi in the novel. However they may have overdone Diestl's disgust at every turn.
I can see why Irwin Shaw was disappointed. However the film has its moments, and is still one I have no trouble watching every now and then.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,550,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $9,363
- Runtime2 hours 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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