Movie review - "The Sun Also Rises" (1957) **

One of Daryl Zanuck's super productions when he was an independent producer - an all star cast, literary background, CinemaScope, racy subject matter, exotic locations, expensive look, one of his mistresses in a prominent role. For the most part the handling is all wrong in this version of Hemmingway's famous early novel - it's not really a Cinemascope story, even if the Paris and Spanish locations are pretty. It's not an epic tale rather one of a group of friends.

Some of this is hideous - the awful exposition of Power's first scene with a soldier, Power and Mel Ferrer's first scene. It's too reverential and important when these people are not really important. A lot of the casting is weak - Mel Ferrer is a poor actor, Tyrone Power does his best in what is a horrible role (how do you make impotence interesting?), Eddie Albert is whatever, Robert Evans is spectacularly bad (he has this laughable goofy look on his face - I can't believe they didn't cast a European in this time when European heartthrobs were emerging on the Continent). Juliette Greco is fine but she comes on with this big entrance and you think she's going to be a major character then she disappears. No one looks like a writer except maybe Albert, and he just looks like a cheerful newspaper reporter.

Ava Gardner is perfect as Brett - well, not exactly perfect, she's not vaguely English, but she's got the earthy, love hungry quality of the part down pat. (In real life she would develop a taste for bull fighters). I believed her love for Tyrone Power - and his for her. (Didn't quite buy her as a nurse, though).

As for Errol Flynn... Well, his presence is striking and he gives a good performance, all elegant wastrel, a drunken gentleman. I'm not sure he gives the right performance though - it doesn't make sense that Garner would want to marry him, he looks so wrecked and drunk and awful, no sexual threat (especially once we know he's broke). It's fascinating work, he has a few good moments - drunken self-pitying scenes - but for me he threw the film off balance. He fitted in a lot better in The Roots of Heaven.

Occasionally this does hit the mark - when the friends are walking around, talking to each other, having drinks, deciding which party or club to go to, running into old acquaintances, squabbling, falling in love with the one girl, etc. It was then the film created that vibe of schoolies, or ending exams, or just a big Friday or Saturday night - guys cruising on the town, looking for something and never quite finding it. And I couldn't help feeling it's a shame this novel was never filmed by someone like say John Cassevetes or Peter Bogdanovich - someone good with male ensembles and actors and atmosphere, something this lacks.

It's worth seeing if you're a fan of Flynn or Garner, or Hemmingway and don't mind seeing what they did to his novel. All others better skip it.