Youngblood Hawke (1964) User Reviews

Will Success Spoil James Franciscus?

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 19 October 2011]

Handsome blond James Franciscus (as Arthur Youngblood Hawke) goes from small town Kentucky truck driver to successful New York City novelist. Nice editor Suzanne Pleshette (as Jeanne Green) desires Mr. Franciscus, but sexually arousing older woman Genevieve Page (as Frieda) turns the sheets in his bed. The problem is that Ms. Page is married to a millionaire and finds it difficult to give up her lifestyle, although Franciscus seems to be the most tempting in a string of hunky young lovers. Both Page's son Pat Cardi and Franciscus' mother Mildred Dunnock walk in on their passionate embraces...

Franciscus and Page are attractive and passionate in this trimmer, happier version of Herman Wouk's novel, but Ms. Pleshette is sadly underused. The story features the typical corrupting influence of life in the fast lane, with a stinging indictment of adultery. "Youngblood Hawke" benefits mostly from beautiful black-and-white photography by Charles Lawton, directed with occasional brilliance by Delmer Daves. In hindsight, the lack of expected Technicolor for this type of film is a plus. In small roles, golden age movie star Mary Astor and glamorous Eva Gabor contribute to the overall glossy look.

****** Youngblood Hawke (11/4/64) James Franciscus, Genevieve Page, Suzanne Pleshette, Mildred Dunnock

A Hard-to-Find Soap Opera Epic

[mackjay2 · 6/10 · 1 February 2007]

James Franciscus gives his all as the somewhat believable eponymous hero of this long soap opera depicting the rise and fall of a young novelist. In a role turned down by Warren Beatty, Franciscus looks tremendous and and manages to bring enough life the film to make it work in its own terms. It begins as an old story: a green young writer from Kentucky gets his novel noticed by a New York publisher. Next thing we know, he's relocated and consorting with his young editor (Suzanne Pleshette) high society types, including the wife of the publisher (Geneviève Page). Hawke is also courted by Broadway performers who want him to write a play for them (John Emery and Mary Astor). Along the way, the author is conflicted by the vagaries of the publishing business (his first novel bombs, but the second wins a Pulitzer), by his changing loyalties to the women in his life, and by his strong connection to mother (Mildred Dunnock) and home.

Perhaps the best acting performance in the film comes from Geneviève Page, a French actress little known to US viewers. Page expresses multiple nuances of desire, anger and regret with minimal gestures. Her accented delivery intensifies, rather than hinders this performance. Pleshette gives her usual solid performance, but this actress may strike some as a bit chilly for the kind of character she plays. In a much smaller role, Mark Miller is excellent as a competing publisher who wants Pleshette for himself. Miller is a now-forgotten actor who had achieved brief notice on TV during this period. Eva Gabor delivers the kind of performance associated more with her notorious sister. She's more camp than character. Mary Astor and John Emery are just superb in their brief roles as aging stars of Broadway. It's instructive to see how much Astor in particular could bring to the few moments she actually has on screen. The only truly unacceptable acting in the film comes from the otherwise excellent John Dehner. He's all bluster and phony-accented overdrive.

YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE is a film of some pluses and few serious minuses. The major liability is the musical score by Max Steiner. For some reason difficult to discern, Steiner chose to base his score on a march theme. We hear it under the opening credits sequence, where it seems immediately out of place with the imagery. The march returns, ad nauseum, throughout. It really expresses nothing about Hawke or his story and only manages to annoy the viewer. Another horrible error is a Christmas-music medley that blares over Hawke's arrival in NYC (on Christmas Eve).

Sometimes this film recalls ALL ABOUT EVE in its occasionally biting dialog. There is even an Addison Dewitt surrogate in caustic book critic Quentin Judd (the superb Edward Andrews). Enough of Hawke's publishing career is played out convincingly to make the film memorable, but it's largely the soap opera aspects that dominate, played out against the book business and the vast panorama of New York City in the mid-1960s. Locations are a highlight. We see the gleaming, ice-cold structures in firm contrast to Hawke's Kentucky homestead, and the film makes its point that not everyone is suited to this sort of life

Should have been a bit more hawkish

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 14 March 2014]

This soap opera based on a Herman Wouk novel is entertaining in its meandering way but suffers from a less than riveting lead actor, James Franciscus.

Franciscus was a decent actor and certainly movie star handsome but not charismatic enough to carry a big budget film. Although he was quite effective as a series lead in Longstreet and several other shows the character of Youngblood Hawke required a more compelling actor than he. Warren Beatty, who was originally cast but bowed out or George Peppard would have worked much better in the star spot.

As it is the attractive but bland Franciscus is surrounded by high quality actors who all act rings around him. The little known Genevieve Page is cast in the trickiest part as an unhappily married woman who falls for Hawke. Even though she's a bit too young for the role her air of world weariness suits sad Frieda, she makes quite an impression and you miss her when she's off-screen.

The film is loaded with a variable kaleidescope of outstanding performers in every role. Suzanne Pleshette and her volcano of hair are terrific as Hawke's editor, even in her relatively brief screen time she makes something out of a standard part. Same goes for Mildred Dunnock, Eva Gabor, John Dehner and Don Porter all of whom are handed stock characters but still manage to stretch those characters with entertaining portrayals.

Another two old reliables who add some dash to this overlong stew are Mary Astor as a renown stage actress searching for a new vehicle and thinks she sees it in Hawke's novel. This was her penultimate screen appearance, she played a key role in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte later that year then retired permanently, she imbibes her handful of scenes with a class and mastery that only the best actors are able to do with cameo appearances. The other is Edward Arnold as a critic who is both friend and foe, he obviously knows he has one of the better roles in the film and clearly relishes his opportunity. By word and gesture he makes Quentin Judd a memorable character.

This was also almost the end of the line for director Daves, that master of the overblown cinematic soap, and is right in his wheelhouse but his pacing seems rather off. The film is at least 20 minutes too long and is oddly in black and white. While all his other films of this type, A Summer Place, Rome Adventure etc, were in rich Technicolor with sweeping vistas which would have helped here he and cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. use the shadows indigenous to black & white effectively.

Not anywhere near a great film but the cast makes it worth checking out.

Was there an editor's strike in 1964?

[mls4182 · 6/10 · 13 December 2021]

This film feels more like an 80s miniseries, glossy, melodramatic, padded and EIGHT HOURS LONG. There is no need for this film to be nearly 150 minutes long.

The three stars are the reason to watch this. James Franciscus is handsome and incredibly appealing as the lead. Suzanne Pleshette is wasted again as the second banana beautiful smart girl. Even if Warner Brothers rarely found her a good role while they had her under contract, they at least knew how to coif and dress her. She is gorgeous. Genieve Page is glamorous, stunning and gives the best performance of the movie.

This films seems to meander along with some melodramatic moments thrown in to keep it going. It is stilted and doesn't gel or flow. It is still glossy and entertaining.

Youngblood Hawke Swoops In and Takes Your Interest Away

[chauge-73253 · 6/10 · 19 September 2017]

Youngblood Hawke is one of those movies that has great promise, just like the movie's namesake. It starts out with the usual story of small-town young man makes good in the big city. He writes The Great American Novel while driving his coal truck in his small hometown in Kentucky, then gets called up to the big leagues in the publishing world of NYC. James Franciscus plays the too-good-looking-to-really-be-a-novelist looking for his next big seller and winds up in the arms of Genevieve Page, who is a married arts benefactor. Meanwhile, his hard-at-work editor, played by Suzanne Pleshette, has feelings for him too. There is a subplot involving his mother and uncles fighting over mineral rights to her land that complicates things but really prove to be inconsequential. It could have been cut out in a twenty-minutes too long movie. Will Youngblood be the same fresh faced writer from a small town, or a philandering hack corrupted by the big city? Watch and see. If you've seen a fair amount of 60's TV shows, you'll definitely be playing the "I know who that is!" game that will keep you going during the drawn out dialogue. The attractive leads all deserved to be shot in color in this movie. But instead we get a black and white movie where especially Pleshette's gorgeous blue eyes don't get the love they deserve. There is a running line in the movie where Franciscus and Pleshette's characters argue about smoking too much, which is interesting and sad considering in real life both died due to illnesses derived from being chain smokers.

Entertaining story of the climb to the Top

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 16 October 2011]

Youngblood Hawk is more than just a story about a writer. Similar to Executive Suite, we are shown the "inner workings" of a process that most people at the time were not aware of, and the personal relationships of the people involved; here, we see the book editing process, and how a young writer (James Franciscus) from suburbia comes to New York and takes the town by storm. In one of the opening scenes, a critic, played by Edward Andrews, tells him a story of the stag who must outrun the hounds to survive, an apt lesson for a truck driver trying to make it in the big city. (Andrews always played the Colonel, the General, the statesman, and was a riot in Glass Bottom Boat.) Suzanne Pleshette plays Jeanne Green, Hawk's editor. Pleshette, had just made "The Birds" with Hitchcock, the year before, and will probably be best known as Bob Newhart's wife on the B. Newhart show in the 1970s. Unfortunately, Pleshette's southern drawl comes and goes in this one. French actress Geneviève Page is Frieda Winter, who introduces Hawk to all the right people who can help his career. Viewers will also recognize Mary Astor as Irene Perry, who makes an appearance about halfway through. Also keep an eye out for Martin Balsam and Werner Klemperer. And even Eva Gabor has a couple lines. Good, solid, entertaining, (LONG) story. It's got some flaws, but its entertaining enough. Written by Herman Wouk, who also did Caine Mutiny and The Winds of War. Wikipedia says this is loosely based on Thomas Wolfe... very loosely. Lots of changes in the story and facts. Directed by Delmer Daves, who wrote and directed many of our classic films. His films all have great pacing, and good solid plots.

A woman can feel him from across the room!

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 17 October 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Overblown and overlong, 137 minutes, yet unintentionally funny movie soap opera about this Kentucky truck driver who in what seems like a few weeks becomes the darling of the New York literary set as well as the most sought after man, married or unmarried, by women all across the USA.

Artie "Youngblood" Hawke, James Franciscus,has been dabbling in writing the great American novel while making coal deliveries in rural Kentucky. It's when his literary talent is discovered by New York publisher Jason Prince, Lee Bowman, after getting a draft of Artie's book "Alms of Oblivion" that he saw a star in the making. Prince knowing a good thing when he sees one singed Artie up before any other publishing house grabbed him. It's Artie's copy editor Jeanne Green, Suzanne Pleshette, who fist fall head over heels for the handsome young writer but as we, and Jeanne, soon find out Artie is playing the field of rich and well connected women in NYC which she doesn't fit in to. Meeting her at a Christmas eve writers cocktail party Artie soon gets involved with married socialite Freda Padge, Genevieve Page, who's got, with her money and connections, a lot more to offer him then just plain working girl Jeanne Green.

The movie gets bogged down with Artie's adventures in writing and bedding down women that you soon get lost in what it's really trying to tell you: A story about someone who bit into far more then he can chew and in the end ended up choking on it. There's a very touching scene between Freda and Artie in her leaving her husband Paul, Kent Smith, in order to marry him that Artie turns down. Freda or actress Genevieve Page gave such an outstanding and electrifying performance in it that despite the crummy and ridicules film she was in she should have gotten the Best Actress Academy Award for 1964 just for it alone! In another Academy Award caliber scene Freda brakes the news to Artie that her son Paul Jr, Pat Cardi, who worships the ground that he walked on killed himself because he felt embarrassed in his classmates, in the private school he was in, taunting him about his mother having a secret affair with Artie while married to Paul's pop Paul Sr. This was a case of what's now called bullying in school that in times leads to the person being bullied ended up killing himself some 40 years before it was even mentioned or talked about!

One of the most unusual things about "Youngblood Hawke" is James Franciscus' hammy Kentucky or southern accent. Watching the movie Franciscus uses it in something like less 20% of the scenes he's in and sounded like he was doing a very corny and laughable imitation of it on the "Saturday Night Live" TV show. Franciscus who graduated magna cum laude from Yale University had such a difficult time talking like a native Kentuckian that he'd switch to his real talking voice, where he sounds like a collage English professor, in most of the dialog he had in the film! That made it look like he was playing two different parts or roles in the film. Which completely confused and even floored everyone watching the movie!

"That's quite an explosion of talent...a real dinosaur of a book!"

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 7 August 2009]

Talented rube from a mining town in Kentucky pens a novel ("Alms For Oblivion"!) and apparently has it accepted by the very first publishing house in New York City that he sends it to. Writer-director Delmer Daves, who adapted his screenplay from Herman Wouk's bestseller, keenly understands the awe and wonderment a trip to the big city can hold for a country kid--and he also handles the circling society sharks and poison-pen critics with aplomb. However, this two hour-twenty minute melodrama is teeming with ridiculousness, some of which is so absurd that one can only scoff. This is the kind of movie in which book reviewers actually turn up on television, or are invited to stand up and read their critiques at major galas. Daves hopes to underline the notion that a few bad reviews can destroy a book's chances at finding an audience (or automatically cause a play to fold), but it's a nonsensical extension of circumstances--and this approach is applied throughout the film, from characters to situations. "Youngblood Hawke" (bad title!) is a glossy, fairly well-acted keg of soap, but not the involving guilty pleasure you may be hoping it'll be. It's too overripe to take seriously, and too slow to be viewed as camp (though it certainly comes close). ** from ****

The toast of NYC

[dbdumonteil · 5 March 2012]

Of all the melodramas Delmer Daves made in the sixties,"Youngblood Hawke" is perhaps the least interesting ;it was probably intended to match the scale and the duration of "Parrish",James Franciscus replacing Troy Donahue -who in "Susan Slade " was also a writer who finally found an editor .Suzanne Pleshette was Donahue's co-star in "Rome adventure".Daves ,who ditched westerns ,his forte in the fifties,is on home ground.But there is something hollow in this success story:unlike "Parrish" ,the movie drags on -you could easily cut 30 min-and French Genevieve Page's (and her deep voice)role is too underwritten to justify the tragedy that happens to her -compare to Ingrid Bergman's one in Rosselini's "Europe 51" to see what THAT tragedy means.

Even social criticism -overnight success whereas your books ,if we are to believe the critics ,are nothing but novelettes- does not ring true for we know little or almost nothing of the writer's literary talents.

Long, Melodramatic, and Worth Watching

[mrb1980 · 7/10 · 24 November 2017]

In the early 1960s James Franciscus was beginning a long career in TV and movies, mostly in roles that took advantage of his good looks and acting style. "Youngblood Hawke" was pretty typical of his roles at the time. The film tells the story of backwoods Kentucky author Youngblood Hawke (Franciscus), and his meteoric rise to literary fame in New York. Along the way, Hawke romances publishing employee Jeanne (a beautiful Suzanne Pleshette) and a spoiled and lonely rich woman Frieda (Genevieve Page), while doing battle with condescending book critic Judd (a perfectly cast Edward Andrews) and working as a playwright for an older, rich dowager (Mary Astor). Hawke's spectacular rise is followed by an inevitable fall, and a return to his former impoverished life after financial disaster. Among the dynamite cast are Kent Smith, Rusty Lane, Werner Klemperer, Eva Gabor, John Emery, and many other notables.

The story lags a bit toward the middle, and there's an oversupply of melodrama (including the improbable suicide of a young boy), but "Youngblood Hawke" will hold your interest throughout. The B&W cinematography is perfect for its era, and the entire cast acquits itself well, especially Franciscus and Pleshette. It's not a classic, but this movie will hold your interest and is very entertaining, not to mention a journey back in time to 1964. This film's not easy to find but it's certainly worth looking for.

Trashy film from trashy novel

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 16 October 2011]

Herman Wouk who wrote such classics as the Caine Mutiny and Marjorie Morningstar must have decided one morning maybe on a bet that he could write a trashy novel the equal of Harold Robbins or Jacqueline Susann. So he penned Youngblood Hawke and an equally trashy film was made from a trashy novel. In writing trash Wouk succeeded admirably.

Playing the title role in this film is James Franciscus who back in the day was a poor man's Richard Chamberlain and was fresh from his Mr. Novak series where he played a high school English teacher. Youngblood Hawke was his bid to transfer to big screen stardom, but the reviewers panned it horribly and deservedly.

Franciscus comes over as way too nice for such a rebel part. Paul Newman might have carried this film, but if someone sent him the script he probably sent it back showing uncommon good judgment. The title role concerns a kid from Kentucky who writes a best seller and then gets caught up in the fast life. Women are throwing themselves at him and he has to choose between his editor Suzanne Pleshette and the married and voluptuous Geraldine Page.

A really good cast of supporting character actors are the film's best asset and the two who standout are critic Edward Andrews and agent Don Porter. My favorite scene is Porter negotiating with Franciscus's current publisher to get out of his current contract. As for Andrews he's unmistakeably based on Bennett Cerf who could have sued but probably didn't want to give the film any publicity.

Poor Jim Franciscus must have wondered for the rest of his life how he got talked into doing Youngblood Hawke.

The last of Delmer Daves' potboiler masterpieces

[reelguy2 · 10/10 · 21 May 2002]

James Franciscus had the role of his career (yes, even greater than Beneath the Planet of the Apes!) as a Kentucky truck driver who comes to New York City to make it as a novelist. I'm not being facetious about Franciscus: he never looked more handsome, and he plays his role with a disarming blend of cockiness and vulnerability. He has perhaps the most soulful and expressive eyes of any blond-haired actor in the movies.

Suzanne Pleshette plays his patient editor with her usual warmth and intelligence, and Genevieve Page is elegant and fascinating as the society woman who "keeps" him. Edward Andrews is witty and menacing as a literary critic, and Mary Astor is totally believable as a veteran stage actress. Everybody shines in the all-star cast.

Delmer Daves took Herman Wouk's mammoth bestseller (what's new?) and wisely made some changes in his screen adaptation. In the novel, Youngblood Hawke is a brawny, average looking man where Daves gives us a beautiful, cerebral hero. Now for a glossy, unabashed soap opera, eye candy can sure help 137 minutes pass a little more pleasantly! Another of Daves' departures from the novel is in permitting more of the leads to remain alive by the end; by doing this, Daves is giving us our cake and letting us eat it. Frankly, I *devour* it on average of once a month!

This film was the last of Delmer Daves' potboiler masterpieces - an enormously entertaining blend of class and trash.

Another irresistible bad boy

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 25 June 2021]

In the popular subgenre of "cads are irresistible" comes another perfect Paul Newman vehicle: Youngblood Hawke. By 1964, there were plenty of competing actors, and Warren Beatty had been signed to play the heartless bad boy with a charming Southern accent. When he dropped out, Stuart Whitman, George Peppard, and Terence Stamp were considered before James Franciscus was cast. What a cutie pie! If you have pictures of Randolph Scott and Richard Chamberlain on your wall, you'll be in love once you see this movie.

James plays a backwater hick who's written a novel. It's unrealistic, but his dream becomes a reality as his book quickly gets snatched up by a publisher, Lee Bowman, and editor, Suzanne Pleshette. He starts off wide-eyed and innocent, but once fame and fortune go to his head, he turns into a selfish cad. He starts up a torrid affair with Genevieve Page, which really isn't interesting. Not only is there no motivation in the script, but Genevieve carries no chemistry in her performance. James's character is incredibly unlikable, since he constantly makes the wrong choice and hurts people who try to love him. He's also quite spineless. Whenever someone criticizes his work, he agrees with them, and whenever Genevieve crooks her finger, he succumbs even when he's vowed not to. Even though she's a married woman with children. When Genevieve suggests James enter into a business deal with her husband, Kent Smith, he agrees. When she sets him up in a penthouse suite, he quickly ditches the place Suzanne had found for him earlier in the film.

Since sections of the film are a bit uneven, I can only imagine that the original novel is quite lengthy and complicated. After all, it's a Herman Wouk book. The running time is long, but I'm sure swaths of the novel were cut out. This isn't really a movie I'd care to watch again, but if you think James is cute, you'll probably want to watch it. Suzanne fans will be wasting their time since she's made out to be the undesirable one; and I can't imagine anyone being a fan of Genevieve.

This Hawke's Flown the Coop!

[JLRMovieReviews · 4/10 · 18 September 2013]

Youngblood Hawke is the pen name for James Franciscus, an aspiring writer. The film boasts a strong supporting cast with Suzanne Pleshette, Eva Gabor, Mary Astor, John Dehner, Mildred Dunnock and Edward Andrews. But what drags this film down is the fact that James can't act and his affair with a married woman, Genevieve Page, is not only boring, but depressing, too. And, add the fact that the film talks you to death with little to no action, and you get this mess. The film drags and drags and drags and you feel beaten to death and down-trodden by the end. And the film is so long at almost two hours and a half. Of course, Suzanne Pleshette is a knockout, and it's always nice to see her. But she can't salvage trash by herself.

coal miner's trucker

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 17 October 2011]

Delmar Daves is best known as one of the major director/producer/screenwriters of sprawling melodramas in the '50s and '60s, though his work in Hollywood began in the '30s. These films often featured young, up and coming stars, high production values, and ran over two hours. "Youngblood Hawke" was Daves' last foray into this kind of film. He only made one more movie, The Battle of Villa Florita, a year later.

Based on the novel by Herman Wouk, Youngblood Hawke concerns a young writer (James Franciscus) who drives a coal truck in his native Kentucky before being plucked from obscurity by a New York publisher who wants to publish his novel. Hawke is assigned an attractive editor (Suzanne Pleshette) and moves to New York City. He soon loses his way by taking up with a married woman (Genevieve Page) who has a powerful husband (Kent Smith), and he runs into a variety of difficulties while trying to do what he came to New York to do - write books.

Despite some great shots of '60s New York, Youngblood Hawke falls flat, mainly because of the lead performance. Franciscus, who died at the age of 57 from emphysema, was an extremely handsome actor who enjoyed a good career in television. As an actor, he was on the superficial side. Here, he plays a Kentuckian, a hick, who goes to the big city, cleans up well, and becomes overwhelmed by the good life. Occasionally Franciscus made an attempt at a down home accent but it was only an attempt and only occasional. As far as cleaning up well, he looked pretty darn good to me from the first reel and also came off as sophisticated from his first trip to NYC - way too sophisticated for a truck driver from Kentucky. We should see this naive, energetic, ambitious young man, rough around the edges, who evolves over time. In over two hours, there was no evolution.

The rest of the cast - Pleshette, Edward Andrews, Don Porter, Mary Astor, Lee Bowman et al. were all good. Though one of the posters here praised Genevieve Page, I had a great deal of trouble understanding her so I can't comment.

Youngblood Hawke is a fairly predictable story, entertaining in spots, but evocative of movies like "The Oscar" - big, overdone, without much substance. Daves in the past had better material.

Hollywood derangement syndrome

[daleholmgren · 5/10 · 17 June 2018]

The movie (and book) presumes that a NYC publishing house likes Youngblood's first novel so much they fly him to NYC, then helicopter him into Manhattan, on Christmas Eve for a 2pm meeting, yet only offer him a $500 advance and balk when he asks for $5000. The helicopter ride cost the company more. In the 1940's, a 1 1/2 room apt on 40th st was about $150. He pays $50 for an attic in Brooklyn Heights. The movie presumes a boy seeing his mother making out with another man will have virtually no reaction. The movie presumes his mom would come to NYC and burst in on him without even knocking on his door. The movie presumes Youngblood would allow one lover to hang around his Nassau villa after inviting a woman he's really interested in to fly down to be with him. Yes, I know we have to have the love triangle where the woman walks in on them, but come on! The movie presumes that after taking being taken advantage of by his first publisher that he remains gullible, guaranteeing $250,000 towards building a shopping center and forming his own publishing house. I mean, I realize we have to build drama, but not self inflicted so much!

There's an ironic scene where James Franciscus tells Suzanne Pleshette not to smoke because it's "not good for you"; they both died from smokiing in real life. Apparently Franciscus was a 4 pack a day smoker, which would almost require him to be smoking while taking a shower and while making love to his wife.

This was the final movie of John Emery, an actor with such an impossible deep and rich voice he made Johnny Carson sound like a eunuch. Emery was only 59, yet suffered with cancer for 18 months. He had been coughing up blood since mid 1963, so he was already probably in the middle stages of the cancer when this was filmed. He had an arm amputated weeks before his death when the cancer spread to his bones.

This was also Mary Astor's final film release. Scandal: Apparently she had made a diary listing all her affairs that her second husband had gotten hold of during a 1935 custody hearing for their daughter. Since she was already 33 when she married her second husband you'd think she'd have been over whoring it up, but evidently not.

I'd never heard of Genevieve Page before, but she is a gorgeous woman, and the movie makes full use of closeups to show her off. She is never more glamorous than with her hair in a coiffed bun as it was in this film. Her looks become more plain with other hair styles. Her French accent hurt her, though, especially when she said "Da whole dom ting!!!"

Why do I feel that this needed more detail, but a great deal of editing as well?

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 9 December 2019]

This film didn't really come together for me until Edward Andrews as a book publisher makes his speech about the first novel to be released from Hawk House, the publishing company opened by James Franciscus's title character. This adoption of the novel by Herman Wouk could have used a good deal of trimming in addition to color and yet a little bit more continuity as well. So much of it has the potential of greatness with a small town mining employee with a desire to write going to New York and hitting it big.

Franciscus gives a decent performance as the hopeful young writer who find success probably too fast, goes overboard with living the big life, and has a great deal of impact on the lives of the women around him which include mother Mildred Dunnock, editor Suzanne Pleshette and the young and wealthy Genevieve Page who has a troubled young son. His biggest chance at finding happiness with Pleshette is derailed by his ambitions, and he finds that his artistic ambitions aren't necessarily appreciated by the critics.

The film goes from episode to episode with weak continuity, scoring a bit of nostalgia when it brings in veteran actors Mary Astor and John Emery to play to veteran stage Stars cast in the Broadway production of one of his novels. I longed to see more of Astor who is surprisingly youthful-looking as she glows over the potential of another stage success. There also should have been more detail concerning his relationship with his mother who shows up at a precarious time when he is alone with Page and realizes what type of a person her son has become.

The late 1950's and 60's had dozens of sagas of rises to success that resulted in tragedy or shocking downfalls. Some work, but most missed, and this one is both overproduced and under-produced, showing insecurities regarding the project and becoming a disappointment in the career of veteran director Delmer Daves. Eva Gabor, Don Porter, John Dehner, Werner Klemperer and Diane Sayer (unbilled in a role that would have been perfect for Barbara Nichols) stand out in supporting and minor roles. This is one of those novels that probably looked great on paper but most likely was unable to be transferred to film properly.

Franciscus perfect in title role

[superstarmoney · 10/10 · 19 April 2014]

James Franciscus was perfectly cast in the title role of Youngblood Hawke. he was a excellent intense actor who always gave his all. fact is he was handsome and very talented who should have became a major star and this film should have given him the success he deserved. Franciscus commands the film along with great dramatic scenes with Genevieve Page. don't know why the film was poorly received and why his critics on here make false comments about him and his acting. if you wanna see a good soap opera story with attractive leads, then watch this film. i liked it and it keeps your interest. the film is loosely based on Thomas Wolfe from a novel by Herman Wouk.

romance potboiler

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 16 September 2017]

Arthur "Youngblood" Hawke is a coal truck driver living with his mother in Kentucky. His uncle Scotty had swindled his father's share of the mining company. He dreams of becoming a writer when he gets a call from New York. Jeanne Green (Suzanne Pleshette) is assigned his editor and is taken with the handsome writer. As he gains more success, he drifts away from Jeanne and towards his other leading ladies.

It may be a small thing but James Franciscus' swoopy blonde locks don't fit a coal truck driver. I wonder if people wore baseball caps back in the day but he needs a hat to protect those fine feathers. Anyways, he's a bit of a stiff acting-wise. There is plenty of old fashion over-acting. This is based on a Herman Wouk novel. From this film, it looks like a lesser work. It's basically a romance potboiler. It does have Suzanne Pleshette whom I only know from her later TV work. There is a place for this type of work and it's not the top shelve. It is also much too long. It seems to be aiming for a cinematic epic but it's really a dime novel.

One of the cinema's finest female performances ever

[robert-temple-1 · 10/10 · 21 May 2005]

Genevieve Page sets the screen alight with one of the most scintillating, passionate, humorous, and intense performances ever seen in a Hollywood movie. What an original! This film is excellently scripted and directed, and all of the cast are superb. I cannot understand why it is not for sale on DVD in every major shop. The word 'classic' is often used to describe a film, but in this case the word 'classic' is if anything inadequate. The film ranks with SHIP OF FOOLS as one of the greatest world cinematic achievements of the 1960s. And as in the case of that film as well (Simone Signoret and Oscar Werner), it is the performances which put it over the top. Without Genevieve Page, this film would have been very good, but with her it is a triumph. She really ranks at the very top of screen actresses in the history of the cinema, for this amazing performance. The sophistication of her technique and the subtlety of her work are a lesson to all aspiring actresses, and the film is pure delight.

James Franciscus was a Great Actor

[adventure-21903 · 8/10 · 12 March 2020]

James Fransiscus was Mr. Novak on TV and landed the star role in this film after Jack Warner fired Warren Beatty from this film.. Beatty after 2 weeks of rehearsals on the WB Lot refused to sign his contract. Warner exploded and banned Beatty from the WB Lot. In a jam Warner picked James Fransiscus to star in this film directed by Delmer Davis with a great cast that included Suzy Pleshette and lovely French actress Genevieve Page. I recall Rita Hayworth one of the biggest stars in movies during the 40's and 50's and Queen of the Columbia Lot had to test for the role eventually played by Ms. Page. James Franciscus was at the time of filming son in law of famed director Bill Wellman.

Troy Donahue was the star of Delmer Daves: Summer Place, Pasrish, Susan Slade and Rome Adventure why wasn't he cast as Youngblood Hawke? Troy was at the time a huge star at WB.

This is a fine film with top notch WB production values. After Beatty left the film the studio decided to film it in black and white rather than color.

I have a feeling the back story of this film's production would be more intriguing than the film itself.

Hawke & Roarke - together for time

[walker1219 · 10/10 · 27 August 2004]

Youngblood Hawke is a film treasure. The plot is timeless and the movie flows with the grace of an Olympic skater. This movie, along with The Fountainhead give us two of the strongest and most creative heroes of our day - Howard Roarke (Gary Cooper) and Youngblood Hawke (James Franciscus. Both of these individuals express through their art form (Roarke the architect and Hawke the author) their passion and individuality and allow us to dream of overcoming temptation and triumphing in the end. The performance of both leading actors stand the test of time and are worth viewing again and again. The supporting casts are outstanding and the two authors of original texts Herman Wouk and Ann Rayn are without peer.

Suzanne Pleshette v. Genevieve Page (and they steal the show)

[montgomerysue · 8/10 · 27 March 2021]

Although this movie has flaws (and there are some), it is worth watching on several levels. First, how often do you see a movie that delves into the book publishing and broadway production worlds at the same time during the 1960's in a very captivating manner. There is no doubt that this is a very intriguing story. Second, it beautifully captures New York City and its rich and powerful society world that existed in the early 1960's. Third, the costumes and sets are very sophisticated and sixties cool, particularly the women's fashions, make-up, and hairstyles as worn by the extremely attractive Suzanne Pleshette and Genevieve Page. Fourth, the acting by Pleshette and Page is top notch. This is one of the best performances of Pleshette's career, which leads to one of the film's biggest flaws. James Franciscus was always a very likable actor, but, here, as the lead character, Youngblood Hawke, a country boy turned into a successful author, his performance is very two-dimensional. There is something missing. You really don't develop any type of feeling for what his character is going through. So, it's Pleshette and Page as Youngblood's book editor (Pleshette) and married paramour (Page) who carry the film, with wonderful performances that keep the viewer very interested in the plot of the story. The other flaw is the script. Based on a then best-selling novel by Herman Wouk, Delmer Daves not only directed this movie, he also wrote the script. At times, the dialogue is cliched and hackneyed while, at others, it is smart and snappy. So, it is very inconsistent. As a matter of fact, a subplot involving the death of Page's pre-teen son is revealed is such a melodramatic and unbelievable manner, that it is almost silly instead of devastating as was probably intended. Pleshette was known to be an intelligent and very capable actress. She had a reputation for always being able to rise above the material. One wonders if, during filming, she told Daves, "why don't I say it this way instead," because her lines are always sincere, realistic, natural, and, at times, witty. Finally, the supporting cast is full of familiar faces from 1960's and 1970's movies and television. The only problem is that so many of them tend to overract and are hammy in order to compensate for some of the overwrought dialogue they have to deliver. Unscathed and very good in their roles, however, are Mildred Dunnock as Youngblood's mother, Mark Miller as a rival publisher, and the great Oscar winner Mary Astor as Broadway star Irene. Astor won her Oscar supporting Bette Davis in "The Great Lie" and should have won on Oscar for her brilliant femme fatale performance in Humphrey Bogart's "The Maltese Falcon". She returned to acting as a favor to friend Davis in "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte," but this is her final acting job. "Hawke" was released to theaters before "Charlotte" so "Charlotte" is often erroneously referred to as Astor's last movie. Ironically, in both movies, she has a scene where she says she is tired and must depart. Depart she did, to an actor's retirement home in Woodland Hills, CA, where she lived out the rest of her life content and happy. So, this movie also serves as a nice record of a film great's last performance, delivered with style and grace.

So, the bottom line is, this is a movie that is truly worthwhile due to the captivating storyline, the scenery, and the terrific acting of Pleshette and Page, two female performers who steal the show from the lead male character. Who wins in the acting department between the two ? Pleshette, by the eyes and a smile. She rivals Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood for the most attractive and expressive eyes ever recorded on film in the 1960's. She knew how to use them to maximum effect, as well as her warm and natural smile.

Classic 1960's drama borne from the heart.

[gregerfinkelly · 8/10 · 3 August 2021]

Even if you're not an aspiring author/artist, this film offers so much. You'll know of what that is after viewing it. Just know from the outset that it has a great story with great characters, and it's performed by exceptionally qualified, well-cast actors all.

Gregory C . Finkell.

Thank You TCM..!

[retrodeco · 10/10 · 31 March 2021]

Well @ 69 This Is One That Got My Me...

I Had NEVER THIS FILM UNTIL TODAY 3-31-2021..!

The Support Cast Was Magnificent, A Who's Who..?

Another Classic Regarding The Old Adage From God That "No None Gets EVERYTHING" No One..!

No Matter How Rich Or How Poor - No One Gets EVERYTHING...

Page & Pleshette Were BOTH Brilliant...

Page's LAST Attempt At Reconciliation Was Most Gut Wrenching...