BEFORE: Day 2 of the Hemingway chain, and Spencer Tracy links to Gregory Peck (last seen in "The Paradine Case") through "How the West Was Won".
AFTER: Well, this Hemingway code was even easier to crack than I thought it would be. There's no way that this "Harry Street" guy is NOT a stand-in for Hemingway. This story was published in 1961, the year Hemingway died - and concerns a writer looking back on his accomplishments and lost loves.
Both the fictional Street and the real Hemingway lived in Paris for a time, both did very manly man-things like shooting wild animals on safari and punching out hippos. (Let's face it, Hemingway was twice the man you are, unless of course, you're a lady, which means he was probably five times the man you are.)
Other not-so-coincidental coincidences: both Street and Hemingway wrote in Paris about the "lost generation", both enjoyed watching bullfighting in Spain, both fell in love with American women against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Both are heavy drinkers, sure, but aren't all writers? The only thing that separates Street and Hemingway seems to be the way they died, otherwise Street might as well be named "Schmernest Schmemingway".
Your English teacher is probably going to mention that the main themes in Hemingway's stories are women and death. Well, that's exactly what this one is about - but aren't all stories about women and death? For extra credit you've got to use words like "emancipation" and "emasculation" - Hemingway was fighting the good fight for men at a time when women were coming in to their own. Just look at how Harry Street is laid up here with an infection, while his wife goes on safari and shoots some antelope - by God, isn't that man's work?
Oh, another key difference between Street and Hemingway - as Street lays dying, he looks back on the great moments of his life and regrets that he never made a record of them. But, in taking a look at what Hemingway wrote about, it seems that in the end, that's kind of all that he did - he just changed the names.
This film and "Old Man and the Sea" demonstrate a key moment in filmmaking history, as directors began to utilize the "blue-screen" or "green-screen" technique, instead of the rear-projection technique used for years in driving scenes. So Spencer Tracy never went marlin-fishing, and Gregory Peck never went on safari, both stayed in Hollywood as these films were made. They look shoddy by today's digital standards, but it was no doubt a godsend in keeping production costs down in the 1950's.
There's also the matter of keeping the actors safe. (One school of thought says you should shoot the most dangerous scenes first and get them out of the way, the other says that you should shoot them last, that way in case the actor dies, you can still finish the movie.) Gregory Peck injured his knee during production while lifting Ava Gardner, and this halted production, because all of the scenes where his character was lying in bed fighting the infection had already been filmed.
Also starring Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner (last seen in "Earthquake"), Hildegard Knef, Leo G. Carroll (last seen in "North by Northwest")
RATING: 3 out of 10 hyenas
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