A group of aimless American expatriates drifts through post-war Europe, searching for sensation to mask their disillusionment.
In the years following World War I, a circle of Americans wanders through France and Spain. The group includes journalist Jake Barnes (Tyrone Power), whose war wound has left him impotent; the beautiful aristocrat Lady Brett Ashley (Ava Gardner); Jake’s friend Bill Gorton (Eddie Albert); alcoholic writer Robert Cohn (Mel Ferrer); and the devil-may-care Scot, Mike Campbell (Errol Flynn). Each of the men pursues Brett, who was a nurse to Jake during the war. The party travels to Pamplona for the running of the bulls, where their emotional tensions escalate and Brett becomes infatuated with a handsome young matador, Pedro Romero (Robert Evans).
Director Henry King’s film is a largely faithful adaptation of the quintessential Ernest Hemingway novel about the “Lost Generation.” The production captures the rootless spirit of its characters, who seek distraction in drink and travel to salve their spiritual wounds. The screenplay, co-written by Peter Viertel, was only approved after Hemingway himself became involved in revisions, having been displeased with an early draft. In one of his final roles, Errol Flynn provides a slyly charming performance as the bankrupt Campbell. Tyrone Power, also near the end of his career, is less convincing in his portrayal of youthful restlessness, but Ava Gardner embodies the magnetic allure of Lady Brett, a woman pursued by all but truly connected to none.
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox / 130 minutes / 1957
Director: Henry King
Screenplay: Peter Viertel
Main Cast: Tyrone Power (Jake Barnes), Ava Gardner (Lady Brett Ashley), Mel Ferrer (Robert Cohn), Errol Flynn (Mike Campbell), Eddie Albert (Bill Gorton), Gregory Ratoff (Count Mippipopolous), Robert Evans (Pedro Romero), Juliette Gréco (Georgette Aubin)
