The Sun Also Rises (1957)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Peter Viertel (screenplay)
Ernest Hemingway (novel)

Release Date:

23 August 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A group of disillusioned American expatriate writers live a dissolute, hedonistic lifestyle in 1920's France and Spain.

Plot Keywords:

1920s | Expatriate | Paris | Matador | Post WWI

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Jacob "Jake" Barnes
Ava Gardner	...	Lady Brett Ashley
Mel Ferrer	...	Robert Cohn
Errol Flynn	...	Mike Campbell
Eddie Albert	...	Bill Gorton
Gregory Ratoff	...	Count Mippipopolous
Juliette Gréco	...	Georgette Aubin (as Juliette Greco)
Marcel Dalio	...	Zizi
Henry Daniell	...	Army doctor
Bob Cunningham	...	Harris
Danik Patisson	...	Marie
Robert Evans	...	Pedro Romero
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacqueline Evans	...	Mrs. Braddock (uncredited)
Lilia Guízar	...	Jake's secretary (uncredited)
Rebeca Iturbide	...	Frances (uncredited)
Lee Morgan	...	American at bullfight (uncredited)
Carlos Múzquiz	...	Juanito Montoya (uncredited)
Eduardo Noriega	...	Mr. Braddock (uncredited)
Carlos David Ortigos	...	Romero's brother (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry King

Writing credits
Peter Viertel		(screenplay)
Ernest Hemingway		(novel)

Produced by
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
Leo Tover		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Mace

Art Direction by
Mark-Lee Kirk
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Paul S. Fox
Walter M. Scott
Jack Stubbs

Makeup Department
Jack Obringer	....	makeup artist
Gladys Rasmussen	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Tadeo Villalba	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stanley Hough	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound
Frank Moran	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Walter Fitchman	....	grip (uncredited)
Til Gabani	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Scotty McEwin	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Clyde Taylor	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	executive wardrobe designer (as Charles LeMaire)
Mickey Sherrard	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Leonard Doss	....	color consultant

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	music supervisor: Spanish music
Vicente Gómez	....	composer: guitar music (as Vicente Gomez)
Lionel Newman	....	conductor
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Charles G. Clarke	....	photography: Spanish backgrounds (uncredited)
Alfredo Leal	....	bullfighting coach (uncredited)
José Trinidad Villa	....	stand-in: Errol Flynn (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Centfox (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Atelier Fontana  wardrobe: Ava Gardner (as Fontana Sisters)

Also Known As:

Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #18549) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

A recent Australian documentary on his life and career, narrated by Christopher Lee, included a film clip of Errol Flynn being interviewed on his being nominated for the Academy Award for his critically acclaimed performance in The Sun Also Rises (1957). We are then told that the nomination "disappeared".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Jake and Brett ride in the cab in 1922 Paris, cars from the 1940s and 50s can be seen through the cab's rear window.

Quotes:

Mike Campbell: I should have thought you'd have loved being a steer, Robert.
Robert Cohn: What do you mean, Mike?
Mike Campbell: Well, they lead a sort of quiet life. They never say anything important, and they're always hanging around. I should have thought you'd have enjoyed that. Aren't you going to say anything?
Lady Brett Ashley: Oh, shut up, Mike!
[She pulls his beret down on his head]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Angels in America" (2003)

A Doomed Leap for Greatness

This was made in 1957, when Ty Power was 43, and getting a bit dull and paunchy. The whole cast was a mite ripe for the film. If the same cast had made it ten years earlier, it would have been a real treat.

Problem is, in 1947, none of that cast had put themselves through enough agony to convey the world-weariness of Hemingway's 20-something crew. Power was still a one dimensional pretty boy, although morphing into a real actor with films like Razor's Edge and Nightmare Alley; Ava Gardner was a slick chick on the MGM lot who had been married to Mickey Rooney, but otherwise didn't have a lot of movie experience. Errol Flynn was deteriorating noticeably, but hadn't acquired the self-knowledge he demonstrated in The Sun Also Rises.

If the Cast of '57 could have conveyed their panache in '47, it might have worked really well. As it is, only Flynn really rises to the occasion. Ironically, he steals the film in a distinctly supporting role. He is the only one who captures the tragedy of a misspent life - the others just seem cranky and self indulgent.