I did catch myself laughing in a couple of moments and I stopped, surprised at my own reaction. What was I laughing about? Marlon Brando for starters, his performance has the makings of a great comic creation. A relative of Cloris Leachman's Nurse Diesel in "High Axiety" The film was released in 1958, seven years after "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Brando was not only a huge star but already something of an icon. I'm trying to find out what the reaction to this performance was in its day. I thought it was outrageous, entertaining but outrageous. Montgomery Clift, a year after his nearly fatal accident shows the signs of the tragedy all over his face. Brando and Clift were the the most revolutionary actors of their generations but here they don't have a scene together. Clift plays the meek Jewish soldier that becomes a hero and he manages to be believable under the most unbelievable circumstances. Maximilian Schell, three years before his Oscar winning turn in "Judgement At Neuremberg" dominates every scene he is in. He has a scene, escaping in a motorbike with Brando that could easily have become a Saturday Night Live sketch but the intention, clearly was quite different. The biggest surprises are Dean Martin and Barbara Rush. Martin is movingly real and Rush injects a very welcome element of truth and survives triumphantly some of the impossible dialogue. I also felt the ending was unexpected and rushed. All together an oddity worth watching for the cast alone.
Review of The Young Lions
