Another anniversary, this one considerably sadder. Ernest Hemingway (my favorite author) put a shotgun to his head 50 years ago today.
Celebrate his life and times by digging into “The Old Man and the Sea” (literature’s great life metaphor outside of Job) or “For Whom the Bell Tolls” once more today. Or hit the cinema for “Midnight in Paris” and Corey Stoll’s pitch-perfect characterization of the man (and the myth).
A few weeks back there was a fascinating piece in London’s Independent digging into the psychology of it all. A.E. Hotchner chimed in in the New York Times yesterday. NPR jumped on today. There’s more out there, I’m sure.
I’ll pay my respects once again at Papa’s house in Key West in November when I’m there for my 30th birthday. No one nailed it like he did, in my opinion, the purity of language on the page. Maybe E.B. White.
[Photo: Melawend]
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8 responses to “Remembering Ernest”
Also of note is “To Have and Have Not”, the only cinematic collaboration between two Nobel Laureates (though with both Nobel Prizes in the future at that point), as Hemingway’s novel was adapted (a term that should be used very loosely) by William Faulkner – the two polar opposites of mid-2oth century American prose style in collaboration. Albeit, this mostly consisted of Faulkner throwing out most of what Hemingway wrote and turning it into a ripoff of “Casablanca”.
Yep. And Huston told Hemingway he thought the novel was hogwash. He told him, “I could make a movie out of your worst novel.”
Might be a cliche for me to say this, but I always had a soft spot for The Sun Also Rises. Not only a fabulous novel, but it has one of the most perfect titles in all of fiction.
I wrote my thesis at University part about Hemingways first novel “The Sun also Rises”. The perfect manifest of the lost generation in the 20s, still my favourite novel by Hemingway.
By the way, as great as many of his novels are, I have yet to seen one single great adaptation for the movies. Would be nice if some great director would try to adapt “For Whom the Bell tolls” in a more satisfying way than Sam Wood (Ingrid Bergman as the spanish girl Maria? C´mom!).
I quite enjoyed the Spencer Tracy Old Man and the Sea, even if the tone is completely shifted.
Michael Mann has been developing For Whom the Bell Tolls off and on for years. It was almost his next film after Miami Vice.
If someone finds that quote from “Midnight In Paris” please share it with us.
I’ve also enjoyed “The Sun Also Rises”.
“Have you ever shot a charging lion?”