Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962) User Reviews (25)

The Genesis Of Papa

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 July 2011]

Hemingway's Adventure's Of A Young Man was still in the making when word of Papa Hemngway's suicide broke on the world. We'll never know what he would have thought of this film, he was not fond of most of the films done from his work. In fact since it's initial release, this film has not been exhibited too often for some reason.

The film is based on Hemingway protagonist Nick Adams and his coming of age as an ambulance driver in World War I. Ernest Hemingway's first experience with love and death came during those years when he was serving on the Italian front in their army as an ambulance driver. Watching this film you'll see the origins of the stories in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell To Arms.

Hemingway's sparse style has always really been difficult to capture on film and the same is true here. Richard Beymer is the callow Nick Adams who is from a small town in rural Michigan which even today is as rural as you can get in the USA. Beymer does his best, but the part seems to have been tailor made for the late James Dean had he only lived. Hemingway's Adventures Of A Young Man would have been a well remembered classic with Dean in the title role.

The rest of the cast has some well placed cameos along Beymer's journey of life. Juano Hernandez and Paul Newman play a trainer and a long past his prime boxer who Beymer meets while bumming it to New York. This rarest of Newman films affords his fans a chance to see him in something totally different than anything he ever did before or since. Newman had done The Battler for a television film based on that particular Nick Adams story, but this is still a revelation.

In war Beymer's two closest companions are Ricardo Montalban his commanding officer and Eli Wallach as his interpreter/orderly. They will also be memorable as will Susan Strassberg in whom the origin of Catherine Barkley from A Farewell To Arms is found.

As they do with just about all film adaptations Hemingway purists will find fault with this film, but Hemingway's Adventures Of A Young Man will give one a good introduction to what was the origin of Papa.

The film has good intentions but no shape or style, and the guest stars don't help

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 6/10 · 26 June 2005]

The motion picture, based on Hemingway's autobiographical "Nick Adams" stories, depicts the picaresque experiences of an aspiring writer (Richard Beymer) who leaves his home in 1917 to learn about life…

Near the beginning, the young man, thrown off a freight train, encounters the punch drunk fighter and his black manager and friend, Bugs (Juano Hernandez). The Battler, in his fifties, was once a top fighter, but he declined into second-rate matches, prison and panhandling (Rocky Graziano in reverse!).

As he and Nick sit in the woods by a fire, the pitiful, half-alive Battler speaks roughly, sometimes mumbling incoherently, about his life… He searches pathetically for his thoughts and memories, makes useless swinging gestures in the air, and reflexively punches his fist into his palm—a man barely in control of his mind or muscles…

This is the kind of self-effacing, grotesque-makeup part critics often like, and many thought he brought compassion as well, as physical reality to it… Others believed that he overplayed it almost to the point of caricature; Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said, "It is Paul Newman's very good fortune that he isn't recognizable… for he is simply terrible."

Interesting but lacking one key element

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 28 June 2016]

Beautifully produced version of Hemingway's saga of his early journey towards manhood. Amazing supporting cast is a mix of veterans and rising talent of the time with assured direction. The entire cast does well but there are a few standouts. Paul Newman does good character work as a punch drunk has-been boxer, Eli Wallach has some fun with his conscripted soldier and Arthur Kennedy offers his usual thoughtful work as the lead's goodhearted but dominated father. Also kept an eye out for a blink and you'll miss her appearance by Sharon Tate in her screen bow.

The problem lies in Richard Beymer in the lead. He's not bad but he's just sort of there lacking the charisma to anchor such a pageant over its extended running time. Someone with the ability to hold the camera's gaze is needed, either Steve McQueen or Albert Finney who were the proper age at the time would have been better casting. As it stands the film is good but missing the key element that would have made it more.

Notable and attractive film about adventures and misfortunes of a good-natured young in America and Italy

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 21 December 2020]

A naive young from Middle America named Nick Adams , Ernest's pseudonym : Richard Beymer undertakes a voyage to learn about vital experiences . He asks for a job as a reporter at a known newspaper but he is rejected . He then gets a job as a barman and at a drafting convention takes a decisive decision . In order to get some life adventures he decides to join the armed forces during WWI. As he was drafted into the Italian Army as a Lieutenant. Eventually , he falls in love for a beautiful girl : Susan Strasberg , who meets and heals him after being injured .Young Man in a Hungry Hurry . For the young men of all generations .. and the young women who love them..

This is a semi-self-biography of the great and restless adventurer writer from his rural Michigan to the Italian front . Along the way he grows to camaraderie, manhood , comradeship and friendship . Richatd Beymer gives an acceptable acting as the stubborn , inmature young who embarks on an eventful cross-country trip and subsequently enlisted in the Italian front against the Austrian army , as an ambulante driver .Support cast is frankly magnificent such as : Arthur Kennedy as an upright but weak father , Jessica Tandy as domineering mother , Paul Newman as a deformed and punch-drunk boxer , Joaquin Martínez as his coach , James Dunn as a likeable telegrapher , Dan Dailey as a drunken advert-man for a burlesque show run by Fred Clark , Corinne Calvet as a Countessa , Elly Wallach as a soldier colleague and Ricardo Montalban as an Italian General, among others.

Thus thoughtful motion picture was well directed by Martin Ritt . This great director was an expert on well-crafted dramas , such as : Stanley and Iris , Nut , Norma Rae , The Front , The sound and the Fury , Black Orchid . Although he also made other genres, including films as The Spy who came in from Cold , The Great White Hope , Mafia. And he worked with Paul Newman in three Westerns : Hombre , Hud , Outrage and this one in which he plays splendidly a beaten boxer. Rating 7/10 . Better than average . Notable

Classic not to be missed

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 24 June 2021]

In this classic episodic drama, Richard Beymer sinks his teeth into the meaty role of young Ernest Hemingway. Technically, he has a different name, but Papa's not fooling anyone with this story. It's no wonder that this movie drew together an all-star cast to be a part of the titular young man's adventures, and the result is a top-notch film.

In the small town from which Richard dreams of fleeing, his dad Arthur Kennedy is an alcoholic doctor and his mom Jessica Tandy never stops browbeating him. His girlfriend Diane Baker is pleasant enough, but Richard doesn't want to settle down and turn into his father. So, he buys a railroad ticket from James Dunn and leaves town. Along the way, he hitchhikes, walks, hops a train, fights in the war, and of course, falls in love with a nurse. This is Ernest Hemingway, after all.

Susan Strasberg plays the love of his life, and while she effectively tries out an Italian accent, it makes you wonder why they didn't just pick an Italian actress, especially since there were so many to choose from during that era. You'll get to see Dan Dailey, Eli Wallach, Fred Clark, Ricardo Montalban, Whit Bissell, and Corinne Calvert in the supporting cast as well. The star of the show, however, is the segment "The Battler" starring Paul Newman and Juano Hernandez. Originally a tv special in 1955, Paul Newman's unrecognizable and heartbreaking performance was so well received, Hollywood decided to make the entire movie of Hemingway's episodes. I'm always shocked by the incredible acting chops Paul shows when given the chance. He was pigeon-holed as Hud for the vast majority of his career, but the few chances he had to branch out were marvelous. Set to the lovely music of Franz Waxman, this long drama is not to be missed.

Well executed drama about the life of a young man...

[dwpollar · 7/10 · 6 February 2010]

1st watched 2/6/2010 - 7 out of 10 (Dir-Martin Ritt): Well executed drama about the life of a young man and how he became an adult thru his various experiences. The movie is based on some of Earnest Hemingway's stories and is somewhat autobiographical(which it seems like most of his stuff is). Anyway, this one is about a 19-year old boy named Nick Adams, played by Richard Beymer of West Side Story fame, who runs away from home in an attempt to get to New York and become a newspaper writer. He has no idea what he's getting into but he knows his experiences will help him somehow be what he wants to be. He eventually makes it there(after a couple of adventures with various characters), but is turned down by the newspaper companies saying he needs more experience of the work and life kind. He then ends up volunteering for the Italian army as an ambulance driver(mostly for the life experience but also because a pretty girl initiates the request) and gets more than he ever expected. People die near him, he falls in love and loses her to death, he gets wounded and all of the sudden you have a very experienced man by the time it's all over. The acting is first-rate throughout the whole movie and the direction is perfect for the story -- letting us follow it without too much added un-necessary touches. It's done very simply without much of a soundtrack either making it like we're watching life unfold before our eyes. The story overall is not that uplifting but it's real -- which is usually pretty hand to find in American productions. An overall very well made movie that keeps you interested throughout with many well laid-out characters on this Hemingway story turned to film.

A rambling mess

[whitesheik · 3/10 · 15 March 2007]

Holy smokes, what movie are you people watching, because it sure isn't this one. Maybe if I'd seen it when I was ten I would have been taken with it - that's what seems to happen. Someone sees something when they're young and because they liked it or it touched something, the film becomes a "timeless classic." It's never been a timeless classic and it never will be. It's too long, it episodic in the worst way, and it gives lethargy a whole new name. It was a critical and box-office failure but NOW - now it's a "timeless classic." Not for this kid.

That said, there are some nice performances, a lovely score by Mr. Waxman, and it's well photographed. The DVD presentation is top notch.

A forgotten road movie

[EdgarST · 8/10 · 3 May 2008]

"Ernest Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" is one of the many motion pictures I saw during my adolescence in one of the cinemas in the neighborhood where I grew up, the colonial part of the city of Panamá. Somehow I completely forgot what it was about. Last night I sat to check the opening credits for nostalgia reasons. The film began and although I am not a Franz Waxman specialist, I instantly said to myself "Waxman...", and it was him!, his music, so instead I ended watching the complete film again.

I was surprised to find out it is an entertaining road movie, and have no explanation why I could not remember a single scene from it. Maybe I was too young to care about the ideas being voiced, even if they were neither too profound nor developed enough. Maybe Richard Beymer (as Nick Adams), Susan Strasberg and Diane Baker (as his love interests) were neither strong nor charismatic young performers to watch a whole film with them as leads...

This of course is not true considering, for examples, their contributions to "West Side Story", "Taste of Fear" and "Strait-Jacket", respectively, but I realized that it was mostly the fine performances by the rest of the cast what smoothly carry the narration along. In the first act, Arthur Kennedy as Nick's father is very good; then Paul Newman, Juano Hernández, James Dunn, Dan Dailey and Fred Clark give strong support during Nick's trip from Michigan to New York; Ricardo Montalbán and Eli Wallach follow during the third section, and Jessica Tandy does her fine act as a bitter mother (repeated a year later in "The Birds") in the resolution.

Thanks to good art direction evoking the first years of the 20th century and beautiful location shooting in Italy and Wisconsin, one can overlook the carelessness of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Lee Garmes here and there, with shadows of the camera and light equipments all over the place in different scenes.

However, the movie is a work dominated by good acting. Martin Ritt was an excellent director of actors and it is quite evident in this film, which also covers some of the social and political issues he would later treat at length in his filmography, mostly in "Hud", "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", "The Front", "Norma Rae", "Sounder", "Conrack", and "Stanley and Iris".

Coming of Age of an Upper Middle Class Man - Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man

[arthur_tafero · 7/10 · 28 September 2021]

Hemmingway's life represents the trials and tribulations of the silver spoon set of the WW1 and WW 2 eras. You can tell about a man by whom his friends are. He used to hang out with F Scott Fitzgerald and other upper middle class (or upper middle class wannabes). These people wrote about heroic struggles of others who were also silver spoons, and amazing as it might seem, these stories appealed to the great masses of both American and world readers. Why? Because everyone who is not of that class certainly aspires to it in most instances. And if you are to be of that class, then you must understand the profound problems of those in that class as well. You will not see any Angela's Ashes or Streetcar Named Desire lives in these writings. No, these are people who have the option of going to a war or leaving it as they see fit, of entering into a life of deprevation for a period of time, and then abandoning it when it becomes tiresome or boring. The other 95% of us have to play the cards we are dealt; we can not just get up and leave if we don't like the way things are turning out. That is the plight of those in the working class, and even the middle class. God forbid we should mention the poor. Hemmingway was a very competent writer, and his Young Man saga is satisfying at many levels. The acting here is so-so, but the production values are excellent. Coming of age is difficult for all classes, and everyone has passed through it before, and everyone will pass through it in the future. Hemmingway does capture that one basic idea well.

I LOVE Hemingway but this is awful

[morganmckinley · 3/10 · 12 May 2022]

This is a Hollywood Bowl of Cr*p served up in 1962 before the Old Era of Movies were being kicked out. The guy who played Nick was overacting for two plus hours.

Anyone familiar with EH will recognize the story but I can't believe how horrible this was. I fast forwarded through just to see it.

For lovers of the Hemingway stories

[bwfrier · 8/10 · 23 November 2008]

To be quite honest, not everyone will be taken with this movie, particularly if they are not already familiar with the Hemingway stories. These stories were written sporadically, but most readers of the collected Nick Adams tales have not found it difficult to see in them an arc of a young man's life, from his hell-raising days in the thick woods of Michigan, through to his growing maturity in World War I. The problem, of course, is that the story format makes the whole thing highly episodic: like a photo album of significant moments.

To some extent, the movie manages to blend this away, although at cost to the integrity of the original stories. Still, it is such a help to see these stories made visual that any objections are overcome. Further, the performances of the many distinguished actors involved -- above all, Paul Newman as the punch-drunk Battler -- are truly distinguished.

I liked this movie thoroughly, although it needs to be said that "The Killers" (1946), from another of the Nick Adams stories, is undoubtedly better as an adaptation. Still, it's hard not to admire the audacity of those who put together "Adventures." It's probably about as good as it could be.

It is really very irritating, at any rate to those who know the originals, that the Region 1 version is still censored, and for absolutely no discernible reason.

Big city beckons to country lad

[helpless_dancer · 7/10 · 24 July 2004]

Don't know how the hot headed Hemmingway felt about this makeover of his book but I sure liked it. The likable Beymer was just right as the backwoods 19 year old eager to leave the lakeside cabin and taste the world. Finally he makes his plunge and, after almost calling it quits, makes it to the big apple while meeting several interesting characters along the way. His visions of the 'new world' didn't pan out as he had dreamed and he winds up involved in a world war. This was the pivotal event which caused the boy to become a man giving him the underpinning to take on a life formerly denied because of inexperience. As always, it was fun seeing some of the old, familiar faces again. 5 stars.

After James Dean, "East Of Eden", And Elia Kazan....

[project717-629-119383 · 1/10 · 19 November 2021]

And despite all the lush Technicolor production values, director Martin Ritt had to of known he was doomed from the start. And really, when it comes right down to it, it's the main reason the film today is never revived and is justifiably forgotten. Truly a movie haunted by the tragic death of a 24-year-old genius on his way to a road race in the autumn of 1955.

Oddly Familiar

[wcsa · 6 August 2004]

This film attempts to compile all or most of Hemingway's Nick Adams stories into one complete whole. The effect is a coming of age story that ends on a bitter/semi-sweet note. Along the way you see a series of stories populated by well known actors and actresses.

There is a sequence that reminds one of Farewell to Arms (wounded ambulance driver falls in love with nurse, who eventually dies in his arms).

There is the overbearing, controlling, religious mother and the anguished father (who eventually takes his own life).

There is the hard boiled newspaper editor, who gives sound hard boiled advice.

I liked the movie, but I am unsure whether I would recommend it to someone else.

Touching score, tragic tale of loss in coming of age story

[bbmtwist · 7/10 · 13 November 2018]

I first saw Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man at the tender age of 16. Like the hero, Nick Adams, I too burned to escape a stifling home life with a weak father and a domineering, cold mother. This was my story and the joy of travelling with Nick as he encountered the world and its myriad inhabitants was liberating for me.

Helping the narrative flow was the gorgeous cinematography and DeLuxe Color, vibrantly displaying the Autumn colors of the Michigan woods (filmed in Wisconsin) where the film begins and ends, and Franz Waxman's haunting and evocative score (similar in its beauty, longing and tenderness to his own work in Peyton Place and Elmer Bernstein's scores for Summer And Smoke and To Kill A Mockingbird). I bought the lp and both it and the tape and cd made from it have always been with me - for 56 years.

Re-viewing the film after all this time has put it in perspective. My love for it was tied to its place in my own history. It has not continued to the present day. The score continues to be for me one of the 30 or so greatest scores ever to come out of Hollywood. (Neither this nor Waxman's score for Peyton Place were recognized by the Academy).

The film is over-long, yes, and episodic, yes. There is a problem engaging with Nick as played by Beymer, simply because Nick re-acts to what happens to him in life, never really acts on his own. He therefore becomes a passive observer, not a participant in the life Hemingway would later record in his Nick Adams short stories. We are instead drawn to the parade of cameo performances from some truly great character players, who shape Nick's world.

Arthur Kennedy and Jessica Tandy as his parents, Ricardo Montalban and Eli Wallach as his war buddies, Juano Hernandez as a most gentlemanly squire for a fallen comrade, and most especially Dan Dailey as a drunken huckster and Paul Newman's extraordinary turn as a punch drunk ex-boxer (the latter unrecognizable under make-up and a hoarse throaty vocal incarnation of the nearly insane pugilist) -are stand-out acting performances, truly a parade of some of our great thespians and for Newman probably his best performance.

The dvd is said to be "restored," but I doubt this to be true. It is pale and washed out, the vibrant DeLuxe color faded. Since almost all interior backgrounds in the film are likewise dull, washed out and grey, the film itself "looks" depressing from beginning to end.

To the score - the main title holds a flute motif, ever floating over the sumptuous main theme, this motif resembling a bird trying to fly free of its cage, an apt image for the film's main character. The main theme is full of longing, sadness and delicacy. Waxman's orchestral scoring is as ever stellar. The Goodbye Father theme is likewise tragic and throat-tightening. It is sadly truncated in the actual film, but played out on the soundtrack recording. Rosanna's theme is as lush romantically as the main theme, but also full of longing and sadness. The use here of a mandolin underscores the Italian nature of this love theme. The return home revives the original main theme and weaves into it all the remorse, loss and sadness inherent in the film to that point, weaving that theme with the Rosanna theme, as the film ultimately promises a new beginning for Nick.

It is a film that works and is quite enjoyable, but no longer as treasured for its own sake as it is still in my memory. The musical score is much finer than the film that it was composed for. It is this music that captures my 16-year-old self, reflected at the time in the film's content, and it is the music, not the film itself, that will continue to travel with me, constantly at my side.

adventures of a young bore

[mossgrymk · 5/10 · 4 February 2022]

Fifteen maybe twenty minutes at the outside of Juano Hernandez, Arthur Kennedy, and Jessica Tandy do not begin to redeem thirty of Susan Strasberg, who inherited none of her dad's physical unattractiveness or talent, to say nothing of two hour plus of Young Dick Beymer who Martin Ritt misguidedly thought was the next Gary Cooper. I mean not even at his most wooden, and he could be quite the acting lumber camp, was Coop ever this dull.

Not quite a masterpiece, but enlightening drama of self-discovery.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 17 July 2012]

I can understand how this movie can compile a variety of feelings, pro and con. I had to really think about how to rate this film and where to go in my review of it. Sometimes a film does not require a linear story to make its point, nor does it require a definitive plot. In the case of this lavishly filmed study of Hemingway's semi-autobiographical stories, I drew my inspiration for my feelings towards it from my love for stories that simply give us slices of life. Richard Beymer, an actor who I felt has been mostly maligned in reviews I've read, gives what I consider a truly admirable performance as Nick Adams, a handsome young man desperate to find himself after rather rough beginning. That is because of the contrast of his parents-an extremely religious, but basically unloving mother (Jessica Tandy) and a weak-willed, hen-pecked father (Arthur Kennedy) who has given him the only love he's ever known. Tandy's performance is brilliant because she shows the hypocrisy of a woman so into God that she's forgotten about humanity, and Kennedy is outstanding because he shows a man so filled with love that God's grace shines over him, not his unknowingly empty-hearted wife. The son cherishes his father but silently wishes he would open his eyes to the emptiness of love in their home. This causes him to decide to go out into the world and seek life elsewhere.

Out in the world, Beymer encounters an interesting group of eccentrics, finds himself closer to God when he becomes an Ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, and finally returns home to confront the truth about his family. The cast is filled with many famous names in cameos. I did not recognize Paul Newman at all (!) as the mentally challenged prizefighter. He gives a truthful performance, and is wisely supported by Juano Hernandez. Two former leading men of 20th Century Fox's history (James Dunn and Dan Dailey) come on to give little bits of Americana; Dunn as a wise telegraph operator, and Dailey as an alcoholic vaudevillian. In Italy, there are some brilliant performances by Eli Wallach and Ricardo Montalban who provide some wonderful human moments of kindness in a horrible situation. Susan Strasberg, as Beymer's Italian love interest, is excellent.

The conclusion is a tragic revelation that explodes into a major confrontation between Beymer and Tandy, and brings the story full circle. What has transpired in this circle is that Beymer left his small Michigan town a young man and came back fully grown up determined to seek his own ideal of what his destiny is. This is a lushly filmed epic with a beautiful music score and a haunting message that will touch those who open their hearts to find it. Those who only know Beymer from his rather wooden performance in "West Side Story" will find him more engaging here, playing a role that Montgomery Clift might have been played a decade before.

"This is not a masterpiece....but a serious attempt to bring early Hemingway to the Screen"

[victorsargeant · 10/10 · 27 June 2005]

Susan Strausberg at her best. The story is taken directly from Ernest Hemmingways's life. Nick Adams plays Ernest.

Music by Franz Waxman is excellent. Jessica Tandy great performance. Arthur Kennedy is great as well. Paul Newman, don't know why he did this part, but I admire his risking, to allow us to see him, stupid and ugly.

I learned a lot from this film, as I was growing up in the Midwest and understood the coming of age agony. "Splender in the Grass" goes well with this type of film, as they are the wounded human soul, and its power to withstand all pain, and be transformed into a hero. The price of wisdom is your innocence, as always.

I have seen this film 30 times and still enjoy its charming bitter sweet story. BRAVO Ernest.

This is film based on Ernest Hemingway's Nick Adam's short stories.

[Longjohnbob · 10/10 · 13 February 2007]

I saw this movie in junior high and high school on television. I loved it very much, and it actually got me interested in Hemingway's Nick Adams stories. Jessica Tandy is at her best in this film as Nick's long suffering mom. Arthur Kennedy is good , too. It may not have won any Oscar's--the simplicity and innocence of such coming of age stories are not always artsy-artsy enough for the Hollywood crowd--but in its quiet way this is a great film. Michael Pollard as George is wonderful. Most will remember him as Moss in BARNEY AND CLYDE but he plays wonderfully opposite Beymer's Nick. Paul Newman was great as the boxer. The reason I liked this movie so much was because it was not a typical Paul Newman role. Whoever guessed that Newman can really act? He proved it in this small part. I love the film. I only wish it was available on DVD--director's cut--if it is will somebody let me know. I really don't want to buy the entire HEMINGWAY COLLECTION now being sold to get a DVD of this timeless film classic

****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 16 November 2017]

Outstanding 1962 film. There seemed to be a "Diary of Anne Frank" connection here with Richard Beymer and Diane Baker appearing in that magnificent 1959 film and Susan Strasberg, who appeared in the Broadway play as well.

Common themes are displayed in the film as in much of Hemingway's writings-World War 1, tragic ending romance, a wandering man in search for identity and moral behavior. The latter was well executed by Beymer, who is absolutely terrific here.

An all-star cast adds to this wonderful film. Jessica Tandy is memorable as the embittered, religious mother and Arthur Kennedy, her husband again shows what an underrated actor he was, as the conflicted doctor.

Paul Newman is well used in the bit part as a punchy ex-prize fighter, and along the way, Fred Clark, Dan Daily, Eli Wallach and Ricardo Montalban give memorable turns in this great film.

A story of coming of age is so very well done. Facing adversity when you grow older is a theme here, as well as that it makes you a stronger, more vibrant person.

This is an underrated gem that is definitely worth a watch

[kevin_robbins · 8/10 · 17 May 2022]

Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962) is a movie I recently watched on my DVR after recording it on FXM. The storyline follows a young man from Michigan who decides to hitchhike to New York city in hopes of becoming a journalist. He finds his goal harder than he thought and decides to join the military which has its own series of events and experiences. After finishing his most recent tour he returns home to find a whole new world there.

This movie is directed by Martin Ritt (Hud) and stars Richard Beymer (West Side Story), Paul Newman (The Hustler), Ricardo Montalban (Escape from Planet of the Apes), Corinne Calvet (Peking Express), Jessica Tandy (The Birds) and Philip Bourneuf (Chamber of Horrors).

The storyline for this is very good, unpredictable and contains an entertaining main character. The various cameos are a lot of fun as is the depiction of the era and settings. The opening narration is very good, the landscapes are beautiful and there's some good comedy mixed in, particularly the train sequence. The war scenes were intense and the love story was a surprise and unfolds well. The movie has a very real feel to it, especially the ending.

Overall this is an underrated gem that is definitely worth a watch. I would score this a strong 8-8.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

Hemingway's Road to Maturity

[dglink · 8/10 · 10 July 2020]

Based on Ernest Hemingway's series of semi-autobiographical short stories, "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" is a fitfully entertaining road movie that was based on the Nobel Prize winning author's coming of age during the early 20th century. Adapted by A.E Hotchner from ten of the two dozen "Nick Adams" stories, the film's episodes are linked by Richard Beymer as the Nick Adams character, who sets out from a smothering home to liberate himself and become a writer. Along the road to manhood, Nick interacts with a distinguished cast of fine character actors.

Raised in Northern Michigan, where he is trapped by a domineering mother, a weak father, and the prospect of a loveless marriage and uninspiring job, Nick hits the road. Accompanied by a home-town companion, Michael J. Pollard, the pair heads towards New York City, where Nick hopes to find work as a news reporter. Pollard quickly tires of the vagabond life and returns home. Undaunted by hardship or a brutal run-in with a railroad brakeman, Nick tags along with a mentally scarred former boxer, the Battler, and his friend, Bugs. However, the often-confused Battler sours on Nick, and Bugs asks the young man to continue on without them. Further East, Nick encounters Billy Campbell, an itinerant vaudeville player, who hires him for a stint that eventually gets him to New York. However, the big city is un-welcoming, and, lacking experience, Nick is rejected by the newspapers. World War I is waging in Europe, and, while peeling vegetables and bussing tables in an Italian restaurant, Nick is inspired by a beautiful Italian Nationalist, and he volunteers to be an ambulance driver. Sent to Northern Italy during the Italian campaign against the Austrians, Lieutenant Adams is stationed alongside Eli Wallach, under the command of Ricardo Montalban. When he is wounded, Nick recuperates near Verona under the care of Susan Strasberg. The star-studded episodes are of varying length and credibility, but the extended Italian sequence is arguably the most entertaining and encompasses battle, romance, and tragedy; the war episode plays like a brief recap of "A Farewell to Arms," which was also inspired by Hemingway's World War I experiences and his romantic affair with a Red Cross nurse.

Although generally well acted, like any film with a star-laden cast, the performances vary in quality with some stand outs. The film rests on the shoulders of 24-year old Richard Beymer, who bears a passing resemblance to the young Hemingway; as Nick Adams, Beymer appears in every sequence, and his performance is adequate, if not memorable. Not surprisingly, the performances that linger are those of Paul Newman, who triumphs over heavy unflattering make-up as the Battler; Jessica Tandy, who rehearses the stern possessive mother she would play a year later in "The Birds;" and Dan Dailey, whose career started in vaudeville, as the colorful drunken vaudevillian, Billy Campbell. Veterans and newcomers Arthur Kennedy, James Dunn, Susan Strasberg, Eli Wallach, Ricardo Montalban, Michael J. Pollard, Diane Baker, and Corinne Calvet provide solid support and hold audience attention throughout a rambling 2 ½ hours. Mostly entertaining, "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" was helmed by Martin Ritt, who directed several of Paul Newman's best performances; beautifully photographed, especially the Autumn scenes in Northern Michigan, by Lee Garmes; and scored by Franz Waxman. Obviously a prestige production for 20th Century Fox, the film failed at the boxoffice and has been unjustly neglected since release; while a must for students of Ernest Hemingway, Paul Newman completists, and fans of Martin Ritt, the flawed, but worthy, "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" definitely merits rediscovering.

An enjoyable and engaging film....just make sure you don't believe it's an accurate portrayal of Hemingway's early life.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 24 December 2023]

"Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" is a movie which consists of several short stories written by Ernest Hemingway about his frequent protagonist, Nick Adams (Richard Beymer). The stories were somewhat biographical...with SOME aspects of Hemingway's own life being played out in the stories. However, it's also very important to point out that they are NOT truly autobiographical. Hemingway was only using some aspects of his young adult life in the stories and so many changes were made that you can't take this as gospel. Additionally, Hemingway had a bad habit of overinflating and playing loose with the facts when discussing his own personal life. So, take this all with a grain of sand.

Remembering that this is NOT autobiography, it's still a darned good movie. The script is very engaging, the acting is nice and the overall production values are excellent. If you keep in mind that it's not supposed to be Hemingway's life and aren't expecting this, you'll enjoy this film.

By the way, the reason I saw this film is that Paul Newman is in it. Surprisingly, his role is rather small and it's difficult to see him under all the makeup, but he did a great job playing a punch-drunk pugilist. I wonder if they chose him for the part was because of his playing a famous boxer, Rocky Graziano, in "Somebody Up There Likes Me".

Starring Richard Beymer

[adventure-21903 · 9/10 · 25 April 2021]

20th Century Fox had some very fine young actors and actresses under contract. Hope Lange, Gardner McKay and Diane Baker. (Note Marilyn Monroe was also under contract at 20th bur MM was a mega star, the biggest in the wold)

Producer Jerry Was who was responsible of some great movies such as Joan Crawford's Mildred Pierce, and Jane Wyman's Johnny Belinda both of which won Oscars for Crawford and Wyman, went to 20th to Produce MM's Lets Make Love, and The Best of Everything with a cameo by Crawford and starring Hope Lange, and Diane Baker.

Martin Ritt a great Director helmed this fine movie.

Richard Beymer was given the big build up by 20th and co starred with Joanne Woodward in " The Stripper" appeared with many other stars in Zanuck's "The Longest Day" , and was on loan out to Columbia for Roz Russell's drama " Five Finger Exercise" and went to UA on loan out for Robert Wise's Oscar Winning " West Side Story". Mr. Beymer was shunned by Natalie Wood on West Side Story, very un becoming. They were suppose to be intense lovers in the movie!

Richard Beymer was cast as the star of this movie based on Hemingway's work. Richard Beymer does fine and the film is beautifully photographed and top notch production values. Paul Newman a true mega star does a cameo in this film. Diane Baker is also cast in this film

I liked this film and liked Richard Beemer's work in this and other films and wish he moved up to super star rank . Mr. Beymer worked with Paul Newman, Roz Russell, Joanne Woodward, among others and was directed by George Stevens, and Robert Wise two of the all time best. I do not know why Beymer after leaving 20th his career fizzled.