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_NRFPT_01_small.jpg) George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant farm
workers, escape a posse and hop a freight bound for the San Joaquin Valley where
they hope to find work. On their way, they spend the night at a thicket
along the Salinas River, and there George daydreams about buying a little farm
of their own. George's dream, however, is continually endangered by Lennie,
a simple-minded giant whose actions have set the posse on their trail.
Before they leave, George tells Lennie that if he ever gets in serious trouble,
he should return to the river.
The pair continue on to the Jackson ranch, where
they find work. There, Lennie incurs the enmity of Jackson's son Curley, a
stunted bully who detests big men. Candy, an aged and decrepit swamper at
the ranch, befriends the two newcomers and warns them to stay away from Curley's
bride, Mae, of whom Curley is insanely jealous.
Later, George confides his dream to Candy, who
offers to contribute his life savings to the farm. Just as their dream is
on the verge of becoming a reality, Curley goes on the warpath over his wife
and, in a jealous rage, begins to pummel Lennie. After first retreating in
terror, Lennie crushes Curley's fist in his huge hand.
That Saturday night, while most of the ranch hands
are in town, Mae comes upon Lennie, George and Curley in the quarters of Crooks,
a crippled black stable boy, and deduces that it was Lennie who crushed her
husband's hand. Mae taunts Curley about it and, in revenge, he orders her
to pack her bags and get out. She does so the next afternoon, stopping at
the barn to take a puppy that ranch hand Slim had given her. There, she
sees Lennie brooding over the body of his own puppy, which he unintentionally
killed with his brute strength. They begin to talk and Mae, sensing
Lennie's desire to stroke soft things, persuades him to run his fingers through
her hair. When she tells him to stop, he panics, causing her to scream.
Lenny puts his hand over her mouth to quiet her, and when he removes it, she is
dead. Remembering George's words, Lennie flees to the thicket by the
river. When Curley organizes a posse to look for Lennie, George steals a
pistol and beats the posse to the river, where he finds Lennie waiting.
Determined to save Lennie from the mob, George instructs him to look across the
river as he describes their farm. As Lennie listens with glee, George puts
his pistol to the back of his friend's head and shoots him dead.
Notes
The film's action actually begins before the opening credits appear, an unusual
order for credits in a 1939 film. Actor Roman Bohnen's onscreen credit
reads: "Roman Bohnen, (Candy in the film) courtesy of the Group Theater of
New York." Actor Leigh Whipper also appeared in the original Broadway
cast. According to pre-production news items in HR , Lewis Milestone and
Rowland Brown purchased the screen rights to the play, and the two planned to
co-produce the film version with Brown writing the screenplay and Milestone
directing. Guinn Williams was tentatively set for the role of Lennie and
producer Hal Roach negotiated with Warners to borrow
James Cagney and
Humphrey Bogart for the role of George. Wallace Ford was also to have
been featured in the cast. Roach borrowed
Betty Field from Paramount, and originally considered distributing the film
through Paramount.
The HR review credits Hal Roach as producer,
although the onscreen credits refer to him only as presenter. Another news
item in HR adds that the film was shot partially on location at Agoura
Ranch in Agoura, California. It was the first of John Steinbeck's novels
to be filmed. This picture received the following Academy Award
nominations: Best Picture, Best Score and Best Sound Recording. The
picture was also included in the NBR 's list of the ten best films of the year.
Another adaptation of Steinbeck's novel was released in 1992, directed by Gary
Sinise, and starring Sinise as "George" and John Malkovich as "Lenny." |
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