Youngblood Hawke

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ****