The Young Lions

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The Young Lions

1958,

2h 47m,

Drama

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75%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

77%

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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Penelope Houston

Sight & Sound

Mar 30, 2020

It moves with leaden efficiency from one character to another, one country to another, a battle-canvas with no central point of focus.

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Stefan Pape

Common Sense Media

May 14, 2025

These skillfully interwoven storylines result in a film of surprising depth that remains relevant today.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jul 4, 2015

3/4

[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.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Nov 28, 2008

B+

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.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jul 13, 2004

B

All three stars shine and give this film a luster despite periodic breakdowns in the way the episodic story was told.

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Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

Jul 25, 2003

5/5

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.

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Leia S

Sep 8, 2018

Good, but could have been brilliant. World War 2, as seen through the eyes of three soldiers, two American and one German. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and based on a novel by Irwin Shaw, The Young Lions is a movie with heaps of potential: show the history of WW2 through the eyes of soldiers from both sides in an objective fashion. Dmytryk does reasonably well with this foundation, creating a movie that is entertaining and reasonably engaging. However, it is far from perfect. The history side is a bit clumsy, juxtaposing events to suit dramatic ends, and the military side isn't always accurate. The human side should have been gritty, showing what the soldiers went through and why they were fighting. There's a bit of that but it's largely padded with their home life and some sub-plots that don't really go anywhere. There's also rather predictable moralising sub-plots tacked on for soapboxing purposes. A tighter plot, less secondary characters and more focus on the war and this would have been a masterpiece.

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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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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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