BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Steineded How sad is this?

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Edgar Soberon Torchia "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. But most of all it is a film 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".

Longjohnbob I saw this movie in junior high and high school on television. I loved it very much, and it actually got me interested in Hemingway's Nick Adams stories. Jessica Tandy is at her best in this film as Nick's long suffering mom. Arthur Kennedy is good , too. It may not have won any Oscar's--the simplicity and innocence of such coming of age stories are not always artsy-artsy enough for the Hollywood crowd--but in its quiet way this is a great film. Michael Pollard as George is wonderful. Most will remember him as Moss in BARNEY AND CLYDE but he plays wonderfully opposite Beymer's Nick. Paul Newman was great as the boxer. The reason I liked this movie so much was because it was not a typical Paul Newman role. Whoever guessed that Newman can really act? He proved it in this small part. I love the film. I only wish it was available on DVD--director's cut--if it is will somebody let me know. I really don't want to buy the entire HEMINGWAY COLLECTION now being sold to get a DVD of this timeless film classic

Nazi_Fighter_David The motion picture, based on Hemingway's autobiographical "Nick Adams" stories, depicts the picaresque experiences of an aspiring writer (Richard Beymer) who leaves his home in 1917 to learn about life… Near the beginning, the young man, thrown off a freight train, encounters the punch drunk fighter and his black manager and friend, Bugs (Juano Hernandez). The Battler, in his fifties, was once a top fighter, but he declined into second-rate matches, prison and panhandling (Rocky Graziano in reverse!).As he and Nick sit in the woods by a fire, the pitiful, half-alive Battler speaks roughly, sometimes mumbling incoherently, about his life… He searches pathetically for his thoughts and memories, makes useless swinging gestures in the air, and reflexively punches his fist into his palm—a man barely in control of his mind or muscles… This is the kind of self-effacing, grotesque-makeup part critics often like, and many thought he brought compassion as well, as physical reality to it… Others believed that he overplayed it almost to the point of caricature; Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said, "It is Paul Newman's very good fortune that he isn't recognizable… for he is simply terrible."

helpless_dancer Don't know how the hot headed Hemmingway felt about this makeover of his book but I sure liked it. The likable Beymer was just right as the backwoods 19 year old eager to leave the lakeside cabin and taste the world. Finally he makes his plunge and, after almost calling it quits, makes it to the big apple while meeting several interesting characters along the way. His visions of the 'new world' didn't pan out as he had dreamed and he winds up involved in a world war. This was the pivotal event which caused the boy to become a man giving him the underpinning to take on a life formerly denied because of inexperience. As always, it was fun seeing some of the old, familiar faces again. 5 stars.