The Young Lions (1958)

WW2 drama that follows the lives of three young men, one German and two Americans, during wartime.

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Edward Anhalt (screenplay), Irwin Shaw (novel)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marlon Brando	...	Lt. Christian Diestl
Montgomery Clift	...	Noah Ackerman
Dean Martin	...	Michael Whiteacre
Hope Lange	...	Hope Plowman
Barbara Rush	...	Margaret Freemantle
May Britt	...	Gretchen Hardenberg
Maximilian Schell	...	Capt. Hardenberg
Dora Doll	...	Simone
Lee Van Cleef	...	1st Sgt. Rickett
Liliane Montevecchi	...	Françoise
Parley Baer	...	Sgt. Brandt
Arthur Franz	...	Lt. Green
Hal Baylor	...	Pvt. Burnecker
Richard Gardner	...	Pvt. Crowley
Herbert Rudley	...	Capt. Colclough

Storyline

The destiny of three soldiers during World War II. The German officer Christian Diestl approves less and less of the war. Jewish-American Noah Ackerman deals with antisemitism at home and in the army while entertainer Michael Whiteacre transforms from playboy to hero.

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Plot Keywords:

prisoner of war | british army | u.s. army | german army | world war two | 

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Taglines:

Irwin Shaw's monumental best-seller

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

2 April 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Young Lions

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,960,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Edward Dmytryk's favorites of his own films.

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Goofs

When Diestl visits Hardenburg at the Hospital the background changes as he walks into the room: a screen appears behind him after he enters the room and stops.

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Quotes

Capt. Hardenberg: The German army is invincible because it is an army that obeys orders. Any order. No matter how distasteful. It has no sentimentalists, no moralists, no individualists. You will have no future in it if you don't understand that. You may have no future at all if you oppose it. I trouble to tell you this because you have a fine record. You will be a creative soldier, once you get all this "thinking" knocked out of you.

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Connections

Referenced in E! True Hollywood Story: Dean Martin (1999)

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Soundtracks

Bless 'Em All
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Godfrey, Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake
Heard at the restaurant where Margaret and Whiteacre are dining

User Reviews

Destroys the power of the book

This is a textbook example of how Hollywood didn't (doesn't) trust moviegoers, and panders to its big name stars. The character of Christian is completely re-written, the anti-semitism Noah faces from his own army unit is virtually eliminated, Michael's story is changed significantly, and the end result is to decimate the power and terrible beauty of the book. I almost wish I hadn't even seen it, because of the ability of movies (sounds and images) to resonate so powerfully in your brain; I would have much rather just been left with the impression of the book. The book could have been written today, it is that honest and brave. The movie, neither. My advice: SKIP the movie; READ the book.