''Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man'' is a 1962 American adventure film directed by

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films. Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...

based on

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

's semi-autobiographical character Nick Adams, and featuring

Richard Beymer George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of ''West Side Story'' (1961), Peter in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horne on the telev ...

as Adams.

A.E. Hotchner Aaron Edward Hotchner (June 28, 1917 – February 15, 2020) was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer.Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

, Arthur Kennedy and Paul Newman. It was released in July 1962.

Licensing

Producer

Jerry Wald Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs. Life and career Early life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were act ...

negotiated with Hemingway to license his short stories: "

Indian Camp "Indian Camp" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. The story was first published in 1924 in Ford Madox Ford's literary magazine ''Transatlantic Review'' in Paris and republished by Boni & Liveright in Hemingway's first American volume of ...

", "

The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, published in the 1925 New York edition of ''In Our Time'', by Boni & Liveright. The story is the second in the collection to feature Nick Adams, Hemingway’s autobiographi ...

", "

The End of Something “The End of Something” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, published in the 1925 New York edition of ''In Our Time'', by Boni & Liveright. The story is the third in the collection to feature Nick Adams, Hemingway's autobiographical ...

", "

The Three-Day Blow “The Three-Day Blow” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, published in the 1925 New York edition of ''In Our Time'', by Boni & Liveright.Oliver (1999), 324 The story is the fourth in the collection to feature Nick Adams, Hemingway's ...

", "

The Battler "The Battler" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, published in the 1925 New York edition of '' In Our Time'', by Boni & Liveright Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American trade book publisher estab ...

", "

A Very Short Story "A Very Short Story" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published as a vignette, or chapter, in the 1924 Paris edition titled '' In Our Time'', and later rewritten and added to Hemingway's first American short story collec ...

", "

In Another Country "In Another Country" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway. It was published in Hemingway's 1927 short story collection, ''Men Without Women''. The story deals with WWI soldiers receiving treatment in Italy during the war. Summa ...

", "

Now I Lay Me "Now I Lay Me" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway, the title is taken from the prayer above. It is a part of Ernest Hemingway's collection of short stories titled '' Men Without Women'', which was published in 1927. Descriptio ...

", "

A Way You'll Never Be "A Way You'll Never Be" is a 1933 short story by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he t ...

" and "

A Pursuit Race "A Pursuit Race" is a 1927 short story by American writer Ernest Hemingway. It was published in the collection '' Men Without Women''. Plot summary "A Pursuit Race" tells the story of a man, William Campbell, involved in a " pursuit race" with a ...

". Hemingway had to approve the screenplay during all stages of development.

Plot

Nick Adams is a young, restless man in rural Michigan who wants a good life and to see the world. He leaves his domineering mother and noble but weak physician father on a cross country trip. In his ramblings he encounters a punch-drunk boxer, a sympathetic telegrapher, and a burlesque show promoter. Nick applies to be a reporter for a newspaper in New York City, but is told he lacks experience. While working at a catered banquet, he hears a speech by a beautiful woman soliciting volunteer ambulance drivers for the Italian Army in World War I, and impulsively signs up. On arrival, he is assigned a bilingual companion to help him, who cannot believe that Nick would volunteer for such a posting. They experience battlefield horrors, Nick is injured, and falls in love with his nurse, who then falls ill herself and dies at the moment they are taking their bedside wedding vows. Finally returning home to his family, he is stunned to hear that his father had died after worrying about Nick.

Cast

Production

and

A. E. Hotchner Aaron Edward Hotchner (June 28, 1917 – February 15, 2020) was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer.Across the River and Into the Trees ''Across the River and Into the Trees'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1950, after first being serialized in ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine earlier that year. The title is derived from the last ...

'' or the Nick Adams stories. Hemingway did not want to sell rights to his novel and was only keen on selling one Nick Adams story. Hotchner pitched to buy the rights for 10 of the 19 stories. Hemingway agreed provided certain conditions were met, including ensuring that "Nick was a good boy." Jerry Wald said he and director

agreed that

was "the young actor I think stands the best chance of being the next

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

." Filming started 25 September 1961 in

Mellen, Wisconsin Mellen is a city in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 698 at the 2020 census. Attractions *Copper Falls State Park is located just north of Mellen. Government Mellen has a mayor-council form of government. ...

and wound up in 22 January in

Verona, Italy Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in north ...

. Interiors were supposed to be shot at

Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. The centre is the oldest film school in ...

in Rome, but that facility was taken up by the production of '' Cleopatra'' (1963), forcing ''Hemingway's'' to finish its studio work back in the United States. Jerry Wald died just before the film was released.

References

External links

* * * * {{Martin Ritt 1962 films 1962 drama films 20th Century Fox films American coming-of-age films American drama films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films based on works by Ernest Hemingway Films directed by Martin Ritt Films set in the 1910s CinemaScope films 1960s American films