Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man

"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".

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.

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.

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.

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.