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The Young Lions

Play trailer Poster for The Young Lions Released Apr 2, 1958 2h 47m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Three soldiers endure the crucible of World War II. Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando) is a ski instructor turned Nazi lieutenant whose initial enthusiasm for Hitler is vanishing, Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) is a Jewish-American grunt who fights to overcome prejudice in his own unit, and Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin) is a Broadway crooner who uses his connections to avoid combat, only to later feel guilty about it. Near the end of the war, all three cross paths at a concentration camp.
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The Young Lions

Critics Reviews

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Penelope Houston Sight & Sound It moves with leaden efficiency from one character to another, one country to another, a battle-canvas with no central point of focus. Mar 30, 2020 Full Review Stefan Pape Common Sense Media These skillfully interwoven storylines result in a film of surprising depth that remains relevant today. May 14, 2025 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy [UPDATED 2025 STREAMING REVIEW] As for Dino, he easily holds his own against Brando and Clift, the era’s most celebrated Method performers and among the cream of the Hollywood crop. Rated: 3/4 Jul 4, 2015 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Despite major departures from Irwin Shaw's novel, Edward Dmytryk's film is an enjoyable, well executed WWII melodrama with top-notch turns from Marlon Brando as the sympathetic Nazi officer and Montgomery Clift as the shy Jewish-American soldier. Rated: B+ Nov 28, 2008 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews All three stars shine and give this film a luster despite periodic breakdowns in the way the episodic story was told. Rated: B Jul 13, 2004 Full Review Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Belssimo filme sobre a segunda guerra, mostrando ponto de vistas de soldados de ambos os lados do front. Brando, obviamente, assume o papel de alemo - e sua humanidade faz contraponto aos horrores que testemunha. Rated: 5/5 Jul 25, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Boopi H for a 50's production it was a nice little war movie. a tad talky at times, it still delivered a good amount of action. not nearly as good as European war flics. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/16/25 Full Review Leo P This static war movie could've well been staged in a theater as one act melodrama. Stereotypical heroes go through emotional hell without any conviction. Dying Brando is outright ridiculous. Too long, too pretentious, failed to stand the test of time. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/03/25 Full Review Rick L The director failed to give this movie some direction. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/07/25 Full Review Jack H Strange movie. The changes to different story lines (and there were lots of them) could not have been more clunky. Brando's performance caused me to re evaluate his legacy, and not in a good way. Clift was not much better. His choice for this character would have to be one of the worst actor choices ever. He was not believable in this part. Cringeworthy acting. The male leads made Dean Martin's performance look fantastic, by comparison. The camera work was terrible at times. There were scenes when we were looking at the back of far too many people's heads. The river scene looked like it was shot in someone's swimming pool. Some people seem to like the movie. I don't get it. I was laughing at some scenes. Brando's death scene was so bad , that is was good. Some of the dialogue so terrible. The office scenes in the concerntration camp was unbelievable. It would be one of the worst films I have ever seen. But it is like watching a trainwreck. Once seen, never forgotten. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/29/24 Full Review David C Definitely worth watching for Brando and Clift. Martin was okay, he was cast in the right role for him. Unfortunately, his acting abilities just not in the same league as Brando and Clift. They bring all kinds of subtleties that you can see and feel but would be difficult to put into words. That's artistry. Martin was just "behaving" not really acting. Clift and Brando add to the lines thoughts and feelings we can see in their faces and movements. That's what put them in a special category: genius. Great combat scenes especially Brando and Schell who were comparable talents. Good direction. Long but few scenes you would want to cut. Good storytelling. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/20/24 Full Review Alan g Dean Martins comeback role. He is better than Clift or Brando. Why did they need a happy ending? The book has a much more distressing ending. It would have made an even better film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Young Lions

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Cast & Crew

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Edward Dmytryk

Director

Marlon Brando

Lt. Christian Diestl

Montgomery Clift

Noah Ackerman

Dean Martin

Michael Whiteacre

Hope Lange

Hope Plowman

Barbara Rush

Margaret Freemantle

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The Young Lions

The Young Lions (1958) The Young Lions (1958) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Three soldiers endure the crucible of World War II. Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando) is a ski instructor turned Nazi lieutenant whose initial enthusiasm for Hitler is vanishing, Noah Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) is a Jewish-American grunt who fights to overcome prejudice in his own unit, and Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin) is a Broadway crooner who uses his connections to avoid combat, only to later feel guilty about it. Near the end of the war, all three cross paths at a concentration camp.
Director
Edward Dmytryk
Producer
Al Lichtman
Screenwriter
Edward Anhalt
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 2, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 17, 2016
Runtime
2h 47m
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