Movie · 1958 · Adventure, Drama · 1h 26m · NR · English
Curator score: 3.1/10 (13.5K ratings)
SPENCER TRACY in his most suspenseful role...ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S story of Heroism...Defeat...Victory!
Overview
Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.1/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.28/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 49
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
John Sturges
Production
Leland Hayward Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Spencer Tracy, Felipe Pazos, Harry Bellaver, Don Diamond, Mary Hemingway, Joey Ray, Mauritz Hugo, Tony Rosa, Don Blackman
Curator Review
Verdict
A spare, faithful Hemingway adaptation with strong photography and a memorable central performance, but its minimalist structure and heavy narration make it feel static and repetitive for some viewers. Best appreciated as a mood piece about endurance, pride, and man versus nature rather than a conventional adventure.
Best for
Hemingway readers
fans of meditative literary adaptations
viewers who like survival stories with philosophical weight
classic Hollywood enthusiasts
people drawn to ocean settings and elemental struggle
Skip if
you want a fast-moving plot
you dislike narration-heavy films
you prefer modern pacing and spectacle
you need strong character ensemble dynamics
you are impatient with repetition and minimal action
Overview
John Sturges’ adaptation treats Hemingway’s novella as a solemn, almost ritualistic ordeal. The film leans hard on narration and direct quotation, which preserves the book’s voice but also gives the drama a measured, sometimes airless quality. What remains is a clear, old-fashioned study of perseverance: a man, a boat, the sea, and a stubborn will that refuses to yield.
Worth noting
Spencer Tracy anchors the film with weathered dignity, and James Wong Howe’s photography gives the water and sky a stark, painterly presence. The production is at its strongest when it lets the image and the physical labor carry the emotion. At its weakest, it can feel like it is explaining its own meaning instead of letting it emerge naturally.
Bottom line
For viewers who respond to literary fidelity, classical craftsmanship, and existential struggle, it has real value. For anyone expecting a sweeping adventure, the experience may feel more like a long, austere meditation than a dramatic payoff.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3★) · 149 likes
RESEÑA EN ESPAÑOL AQUI
FIGHT! - THE TWO STURGES
A story of obsession, a story of resilience, John Sturges’ adaptation of Hemingway’s seminal work is based on one of those books I’ve heard a lot about but never got around to reading. And based on this film, it’s very much what I expected it to be, and even more.
Spencer Tracy plays the titular old man who becomes infatuated with catching the biggest fish of his life, and as the… more
Jesse Snoddon (3★) · 70 likes
"Everything about him was old except his eyes, and they were the same colour as the sea. Cheerful and undefeated."
John Sturges' adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea captures the strange dichotomy between the quiet, cerebral and meditative side of mankind and the physical glory seeking through action side found in the source material. It captures an inherent contradiction that Hemingway never seemed to be able to reconcile. The Old Man (Spencer Tracy) can't simply let… more
Nightwing04 (3.5★) · 60 likes
The Old Man and the Sea was one of the many novels my mother “forced” me to read in middle school. It became one of my favorite stories from that day on. The film pretty much lives up to its source material. There’s a lot of parts that are narrated with excerpts from the novel, so that helps keep it pretty close.
There’s a handful of dated aspects of it though including some of the used language and the backdrop of the sea, but as a whole The Old Man and the Sea lives up to its phenomenal source material.
sirrah993 (3★) · 41 likes
Spencer Tracy was nominated for an Oscar because of one scene: the one where he was going ballistic, hitting the water surface with his boat paddle. Amazing.
Bryce Receveur (3★) · 30 likes
Being so accurate to the book is by far it's greatest strength and weakness.
Spencer Tracy is great. John Sturges is great. Ernest Hemingway is great. This movie is average though.