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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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71% Tomatometer 7 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

View All (7) Critics Reviews
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 Matt Brunson Creative Loafing What's most impressive about Dean Martin's turn is that while his co-stars are Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, the era's most celebrated Method performers and among the cream of the Hollywood crop, he easily holds his own against this esteemed pair. 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 Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 3/5 Oct 30, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (112) audience reviews
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 Rosana B Um ótimo filme de guerra, com pouca ação, os grandes acontecimentos da guerra, tornam-se apenas diálogos na boca dos personagens, o que não tira o mérito do filme, um belo roteiro, baseado num livro estupendo (provavelmente) principalmente pelo alemão não ser um personagem simpático, ''não havendo nenhuma diferença moral perceptível entre um alemão e dois americanos" Marlon Brando, se não fosse tão repugnante (por O último tango) teria sido um eterno galã… Um bom filme, poderiam colorizá-lo. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/07/24 Full Review Steve D Ok war film not quite as good as its cast. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 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

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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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