The Old Man and the Sea ( 1958 film ) - wikipedia The Old Man and the Sea ( 1958 film ) The Old Man and the Sea Original theatrical release poster Directed by John Sturges Uncredited : Henry King Fred Zinnemann Produced by Leland Hayward Screenplay by Peter Viertel Based on The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Starring Spencer Tracy Narrated by Spencer Tracy Music by Dimitri Tiomkin Cinematography James Wong Howe Additional photography : Floyd Crosby Tom Tutwiler Underwater photography : Lamar Boren Edited by Arthur P. Schmidt Distributed by Warner Bros. Release date October 7, 1958 ( 1958 - 10 - 07 ) ( Premiere ) October 11, 1958 ( 1958 - 10 - 11 ) Running time 86 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $5 million The Old Man and the Sea is a 1958 American adventure drama film directed by John Sturges with uncredited direction from Henry King and Fred Zinnemann. The screenplay ( the `` most literal, word - for - word rendition of a written story ever filmed '' ) was adapted by Peter Viertel from the novella of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. Dimitri Tiomkin won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the film, which was also nominated for best color cinematography. The same year, Tracy was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Music 5 Reception 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Plot The Old Man in the film is a Cuban fisherman who has gone 84 days without a catch. His only friend is a young teenager whose name is Jabby who has been barred by his father from accompanying the Old Man out to sea. On the Old Man 's 85th day out, he finally hooks a huge marlin, which he then tries to bring in and haul in from far out from shore. For three days and nights he battles the fish, which is portrayed in the film ( as it had been in Hemingway 's novella ) as a trial of mental and physical courage that becomes the ultimate test for him of his worth as a man. Cast Spencer Tracy as The Old Man Felipe Pazos Jr. as Manolin Harry Bellaver as Martin Don Diamond as Café proprietor Don Blackman as Arm wrestler Joey Ray as a gambler Richard Alameda as a gambler Tony Rosa as a gambler Carlos Rivero as a gambler Robert Alderette as a gambler Don Alvarado ( uncredited ) as a waiter Production The director originally assigned to the film was Fred Zinnemann, but he withdrew, and was replaced by John Sturges. The film 's budget, originally $2 million, grew to $5 million `` in search of suitable fish footage. '' Sturges called it `` technically the sloppiest picture I have ever made. '' According to Turner Classic Movies, a February 2005 CNN article points out that The Old Man and the Sea was one of the first films to `` use a bluescreen compositing technology invented by Arthur Widmer, that combined actors on a soundstage with a pre-filmed background. '' The credits note that `` Some of the marlin film used in this picture was of the world 's record catch by Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. at the Cabo Blanco Fishing Club in Peru. Mr. Glassell acted as special advisor for these sequences. '' Music This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2015 ) Veteran film composer Dimitri Tiomkin composed and conducted the music for the film. His soundtrack recording, with the Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra, was recorded in the auditorium of Hollywood Post No. 43, American Legion, in Hollywood ; Billboard reported that the acoustics in the Hollywood Legion were `` far superior to most studio space in Hollywood and similar to that of the best concert halls. '' During the week of April 21, 1958, Columbia held open sessions for The Old Man and the Sea at the Legion Hall. The soundtrack was later released in both stereo and mono by Columbia Records. Reception Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote : Credit Leland Hayward for trying something off the beaten track in making a motion - picture version of Ernest Hemingway 's The Old Man and the Sea, and credit Spencer Tracy for a brave performance in its one big role. Also credit Dimitri Tiomkin for providing a musical score that virtually puts Mr. Tracy in the position of a soloist with a symphony. And that just about completes a run - down of the praiseworthy aspects of this film. Among the film 's shortcomings, Crowther notes, is that `` an essential feeling of the sweep and surge of the open sea is not achieved in precise and placid pictures that obviously were shot in a studio tank. There are, to be sure, some lovely long shots of Cuban villages and the colorful coast... But the main drama, that of the ordeal, is played in a studio tank, and even some fine shots of a marlin breaking the surface and shaking in violent battle are deflated by obvious showing on the process screen. '' Time noted that `` the script follows the book in almost every detail '', but called the novel a fable `` no more suitable for the screen than The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock ''. Time pointed out that Tracy was `` never permitted to catch a marlin '' while on location, so the `` camera could never catch him at it '' and the result is `` Sturges must cross-cut so interminably -- fish, Tracy, fish, Tracy -- that Old Man loses the lifelikeness, the excitement, and above all the generosity of rhythm that the theme requires. According to producer Hayward, Hemingway was pleased with the film, and said it had `` a wonderful emotional quality and ( he ) is very grateful and pleased with the transference of his material to the screen. He thought Tracy was great ( in light of his quarrels with him this is quite a compliment )... the photography was excellent... the handling of the fishing and mechanical fish very good. Had some minor dislikes... but all in all he was terribly high on the picture and pleased with it. '' See also List of American films of 1958 Notes Jump up ^ Felipe Pazos Jr., who played the role of the boy in the film, is the son of the Cuban economist and revolutionary, Felipe Pazos. References ^ Jump up to : `` Notes for The Old Man and the Sea ( 1958 ) ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Full Credits for The Old Man and the Sea ( 1958 ) ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ `` THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA ( U ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. March 27, 1958. Retrieved January 25, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Crowther, Bosley ( October 8, 1958 ). `` Old Man and the Sea Stars Spencer Tracy ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 17. ^ Jump up to : `` Cinema : Two with Tracy ''. Time. October 27, 1958. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ Adele Conover ( April 2000 ). `` The Biggest One That Did n't Get Away ''. Smithsonian. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ Curtis, James ( 2011 ). Spencer Tracy : A Biography. London : Hutchinson. pp. 744 - 745. The notes for this page attribute the quotation as follows : `` Leland Hayward as reported to Jack L. Warner by Steve Trilling, 3 / 10 / 58, Jack Warner Collection, University of Southern California. '' External links The Old Man and the Sea on IMDb The Old Man and the Sea at Rotten Tomatoes The Old Man and the Sea at the American Film Institute Catalog The Old Man and the Sea at the TCM Movie Database Films directed by John Sturges The Man Who Dared ( 1946 ) Shadowed ( 1946 ) Alias Mr. Twilight ( 1946 ) For the Love of Rusty ( 1947 ) Keeper of the Bees ( 1947 ) The Sign of the Ram ( 1948 ) Best Man Wins ( 1948 ) The Walking Hills ( 1949 ) The Capture ( 1950 ) Mystery Street ( 1950 ) Right Cross ( 1950 ) The Magnificent Yankee ( 1950 ) Kind Lady ( 1951 ) The People Against O'Hara ( 1951 ) It 's a Big Country ( 1951 ) The Girl in White ( 1952 ) Jeopardy ( 1953 ) Fast Company ( 1953 ) Escape from Fort Bravo ( 1953 ) Bad Day at Black Rock ( 1955 ) Underwater ! ( 1955 ) The Scarlet Coat ( 1955 ) Backlash ( 1956 ) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ( 1957 ) The Law and Jake Wade ( 1958 ) The Old Man and the Sea ( 1958 ) Last Train from Gun Hill ( 1959 ) Never So Few ( 1959 ) The Magnificent Seven ( 1960 ) By Love Possessed ( 1961 ) Sergeants 3 ( 1962 ) A Girl Named Tamiko ( 1962 ) The Great Escape ( 1963 ) The Satan Bug ( 1965 ) The Hallelujah Trail ( 1965 ) Hour of the Gun ( 1967 ) Ice Station Zebra ( 1968 ) Marooned ( 1969 ) Joe Kidd ( 1972 ) Chino ( 1973 ) McQ ( 1974 ) The Eagle Has Landed ( 1976 ) Films directed by Fred Zinnemann Redes ( 1936 ) That Mothers Might Live ( 1938 ) Stuffie ( 1940 ) Forbidden Passage ( 1941 ) Kid Glove Killer ( 1942 ) Eyes in the Night ( 1942 ) The Seventh Cross ( 1944 ) Little Mister Jim ( 1946 ) My Brother Talks to Horses ( 1947 ) The Search ( 1948 ) Act of Violence ( 1949 ) The Men ( 1950 ) Benjy ( 1951 ) Teresa ( 1951 ) High Noon ( 1952 ) The Member of the Wedding ( 1952 ) From Here to Eternity ( 1953 ) Oklahoma ! ( 1955 ) A Hatful of Rain ( 1957 ) The Nun 's Story ( 1959 ) The Sundowners ( 1960 ) Behold a Pale Horse ( 1964 ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1966 ) Man 's Fate ( unfinished ) The Day of the Jackal ( 1973 ) Julia ( 1977 ) Five Days One Summer ( 1982 ) Ernest Hemingway Bibliography Novels The Torrents of Spring ( 1926 ) The Sun Also Rises ( 1926 ) A Farewell to Arms ( 1929 ) To Have and Have Not ( 1937 ) For Whom the Bell Tolls ( 1940 ) Across the River and into the Trees ( 1950 ) The Old Man and the Sea ( 1952 ) Non-fiction Death in the Afternoon ( 1932 ) Green Hills of Africa ( 1935 ) Posthumous A Moveable Feast ( 1964 ) Islands in the Stream ( 1970 ) The Dangerous Summer ( 1985 ) The Garden of Eden ( 1986 ) True at First Light ( 1999 ) Under Kilimanjaro ( 2005 ) Short stories `` Indian Camp '' ( 1925 ) `` The Doctor and the Doctor 's Wife '' ( 1925 ) `` The End of Something '' ( 1925 ) `` The Three - Day Blow '' ( 1925 ) `` The Battler '' ( 1925 ) `` A Very Short Story '' ( 1925 ) `` Soldier 's Home '' ( 1925 ) `` The Revolutionist '' ( 1925 ) `` Mr. and Mrs. Elliot '' ( 1925 ) `` Cat in the Rain '' ( 1925 ) `` Out of Season '' ( 1925 ) `` Cross Country Snow '' ( 1925 ) `` My Old Man '' ( 1925 ) `` Big Two - Hearted River '' ( 1925 ) `` A Clean, Well - Lighted Place '' ( 1926 ) `` A Canary for One '' ( 1926 ) `` Fifty Grand '' ( 1927 ) `` Hills Like White Elephants '' ( 1927 ) `` The Killers '' ( 1927 ) `` The Undefeated '' ( 1927 ) `` Che Ti Dice La Patria ? '' ( 1927 ) `` In Another Country '' ( 1927 ) `` On the Quai at Smyrna '' ( 1930 ) `` Fathers and Sons '' ( 1932 ) `` A Day 's Wait '' ( 1933 ) `` The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio '' ( 1933 ) `` A Way You 'll Never Be '' ( 1933 ) `` The Snows of Kilimanjaro '' ( 1936 ) `` The Capital of the World '' ( 1936 ) `` The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber '' ( 1936 ) Short story collections Three Stories and Ten Poems ( 1923 ) In Our Time ( 1925 ) Men Without Women ( 1927 ) Winner Take Nothing ( 1933 ) The Fifth Column and the First Forty - Nine Stories ( 1938 ) The Snows of Kilimanjaro ( 1961 ) The Fifth Column and Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War ( 1969 ) The Nick Adams Stories ( 1972 ) The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway ( 1987 ) Ernest Hemingway : The Collected Stories ( 1995 ) Story fragments `` On Writing '' Poetry 88 Poems ( 1979 ) Complete Poems Letters and journalism Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters 1917 -- 1961 ( 1981 ) Dateline : Toronto ( 1985 ) The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of Ernest Hemingway ( 2011 ) Adaptations The Sun Also Rises 1957 film 1984 film Opera The Select ( The Sun Also Rises ) Ballet `` The Killers '' 1946 film 1956 film 1964 film Bukowski short story A Farewell to Arms 1932 film 1957 film 1966 TV series To Have and Have Not 1944 film The Breaking Point ( 1950 ) The Gun Runners ( 1958 ) Captain Khorshid ( 1987 ) For Whom the Bell Tolls 1943 film 1965 TV series Metallica song The Old Man and the Sea 1958 film 1990 miniseries 1999 film Other film adaptations The Macomber Affair ( 1947 ) The Snows of Kilimanjaro ( 1952 ) Hemingway 's Adventures of a Young Man ( 1962 ) Islands in the Stream ( 1977 ) See also Nick Adams Michigan cottage Idaho house Key West home Hotel Ambos Mundos, Havana home Finca Vigía, Cuba home Pilar ( boat ) The Spanish Earth ( 1937 film ) Bacall to Arms ( 1946 cartoon ) Hello Hemingway ( 1990 film ) In Love and War ( 1996 film ) Hemingway & Gellhorn ( 2012 film ) Cooper & Hemingway : The True Gen ( 2013 documentary ) Papa : Hemingway in Cuba ( 2015 film ) Hemingway Foundation / PEN Award Kennedy Library Hemingway collection Family Elizabeth Hadley Richardson ( first wife ) Jack Hemingway ( son ) Pauline Pfeiffer ( second wife ) Patrick Hemingway ( son ) Gregory Hemingway ( son ) Martha Gellhorn ( third wife ) Mary Welsh Hemingway ( fourth wife ) Grace Hall Hemingway ( mother ) Leicester Hemingway ( brother ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea_(1958_film)&oldid=798763827 '' Categories : 1958 films English - language films American films 1950s adventure films 1950s drama films American adventure drama films Film scores by Dimitri Tiomkin Films about fishing Films about old age Films based on works by Ernest Hemingway Films directed by John Sturges Films directed by Fred Zinnemann Films set in Cuba Films set in the Caribbean Films shot in Cuba Films shot in Ecuador Films shot in Peru Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award Warner Bros. films Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015 Use mdy dates from January 2016 Articles needing additional references from December 2015 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Català Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Русский Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 3 September 2017, at 18 : 00. 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Question: who narrated the old man and the sea
Answer: Spencer Tracy