The Silver Screen Oasis

Since today is being touted (if that is the correct word) all over the media as the 50th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway's death (at least that's how it seems on NPR, The New York Times and LA Times), I was wondering if others have a fondness or dislike for the many films made from the writer's books and stories. Like him or not for his often foolish public persona of adventurer-blowhard, it was his spare prose, forceful characters and beautifully rendered settings that helped to define what used to be called "serious writing."

Below is a list of the major productions associated with the writer between 1932 and 1964. Not all of them are good, but a few may be great. Which of these do you think should be destined for the recycling bin? Are any of these movies that you'd like to recommend to others? Why did they impress you? Are there any Hemingway stories that you wish had been filmed?

Thanks in advance for any responses.


Requiscat in Pacem, Ernie.

A Farewell to Arms (1932)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
The Killers (1946)
The Macomber Affair (1947)
Under My Skin (1950)
The Breaking Point (1950)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
The Sun Also Rises (1957)
A Farewell to Arms (1957)
The Gun Runners (1958)
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
The Killers (1964)

I could comment on these films as 'films' but not in relation to Hemingway since I am not a student of his writing (That would had been my dad). From what I have read through the years, however, it seems that FOR WHOM BELLS TOLL, SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO and SUN ALSO RISES best represent Hemingway's philosophy, as transferred to film. And we all know that TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT is pure Hollywood, has nothing to do with Hemingway and is one of the greatest movies of the Forties.

I'm sure this will be of no help to you, Moira.

It's years since I saw For Whom The Bell Tolls but I remember liking the story and especially Ingrid's performance. I love To Have and Have Not but my especial favorite is Farewell to Arms 1932. Am I right in saying that Cooper was Hemingway's favorite leading man? I've read a couple of his books, A Farewell to Arms is reasonably true to the original story. I haven't seen the others, the one I'd like to watch more than the others is The Sun Also Rises for the casting alone.

I maybe the only living sole who prefered the later A Farewell To Arms than the earlier version, as I felt a large chunk was left out of the original.

In Snows Of Killimanjaro I felt Ava Gardner was the great love of Gregory Pecks life, but as a couple they had little in common. However, while they argued I felt his marraige to Susan Hayword worked more on a pratical level, as she enjoyed big game hunting as much as her husband

I prefered Ingrid's action heroine in both The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness and The Yellow Rolls Royce than the war-time character she played in For Whom The Bells Toll

Almost everybody I know likes Papa's writing. It doesn't do much for me. Always seems like he writes philosophy more than fiction. As for the movies, Siodmak's THE KILLERS is our big winner. The later filming is good also. But the rough, blunt, black and white telling gives the story exactly what it needs.

I like "Kilimanjaro." Some fans of the book are disappointed. But the flashbacks are interesting, the cast is good, and it's presented well. For some reason, I can't remember if I've seen THE SUN ALSO RISES. That's kind of scary. But I'd probably remember. Let's say I haven't!

I really like The Old Man and the Sea, though I recall some weird process shots and fake fish. I like the idea of it being just Spence, battling himself, with narration.

But then, I actually dislike Papa's writing, except for that one and the story "Soldier's Home" which is brilliant.

I like fake fish. Ever been to Long John Silver's?

Yes. It's delicious.

I like Hemingway's short stories the best. He was less self-conscious then, or so it seems to me. His reputation has taken such a beating in the last few decades, I suspect that his best work--all published before 1935--will be re-discovered someday soon. If he'd never written anything other than the stories and not become a media darling, I think his rep might be much better today.

That's probably true. The stories are varied, and don't have that Hemingway macho mystique clinging to them at all. In fact, some of them go in the opposite direction. If he weren't touted all the time as THE writer of the twentieth century, I might like him better. I also suspect he did a fair amount of self promotion in that direction, and perhaps this gets in his way now. Hemingway the icon gets in the way of Hemingway the writer. I really have trouble with him as a human being, and find that his writing isn't strong enough, for the most part, for me to ignore that powerful image he built up.

I didn't know his reputation had suffered. I thought I was the only one who didn't care for him. I remember when he died. I didn't know who he was. Didn't know much about suicide. But I heard the news.