[7]

Richard Beymer (West Side Story) stars as Ernest Hemingway’s alter-ego, a young man who comes of age by traveling the country and serving in the military during the early 1900s. With beautiful scenery of rural Michigan and Franz Waxman’s wistful score, the film is unabashedly romantic and nostalgic — it transports you to a time and place you’re reluctant to leave. But as Beymer sets off to sew his wild oats, the narrative suffers the fate of nearly all episodic story lines. Some of the stories are better than others. Paul Newman has the film’s standout supporting performance as a retired prizefighter who’s taken one too many blows to the head. Ricardo Montalban and Eli Wallach are also memorable as World War I comrades. My favorite scene is one where Montalban and Wallach get Beymer drunk in his hospital bed. The impressive cast also includes Arthur Kennedy and Jessica Tandy. Directed by Martin Ritt (Hud, Sounder).