The Old Man and the Sea

The heroic saga of Santiago, in his prime the greatest fisherman of them all and now 84 days without a catch. The villagers claim he’s too old – he has "lost his luck." His daughter thinks he should give up the sea and live with her in Havana.

Determined to prove them wrong by bringing back a magnificent catch, Santiago goes out to sea. Farther out than ever before. Out to the battle of his life.

The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway’s "signature" novel won a Pulitzer Prize and was specifically cited when he won the Nobel Prize in literature.

It takes courage for any actor to fill shoes previously worn by Spencer Tracy, but no one could accuse fellow two-time Oscar^® winner Anthony Quinn of cowardice. It was, in fact, a longtime goal of the Mexican-born actor to take on the role of Ernest Hemingway's luckless fisherman Santiago. It would be churlish to suggest that he bests Tracy (who received an Oscar nod for his performance), but there's little doubt that Quinn, in his 70s at the time (Tracy was in his 50s in 1958), looks and sounds more right for the part. This 1990 telefilm is also a family affair as Quinn's daughter, Valentina, portrays Santiago's concerned daughter and his son, Francesco, portrays the Cuban as a scrappy young man. Gary Cole and Patricia Clarkson provide strong support as an American couple who take inspiration from Santiago's quest to catch just one fish after an 84-day dry spell. --Kathleen C. Fennessy