Of Mice and Men – 1939
I went into this movie knowing very little about the plot – just enough, in fact, to know the personalities of the two main characters, but not much else. And as far as that went, the characters were so well written. I make that distinction because, yes, they were also very well acted, but the author of the original novella upon which the film was based, John Steinbeck, did an incredible job.
Burgess Meredith plays the part of George Milton. He is an intelligent and good natured man who cannot find a regular job because he has formed a special relationship with a half-wit with the strength of an ox named Lennie Small, played by Lon Chaney Jr. Lennie is a gentle giant. But there’s the rub. He is mentally handicapped. His mental capacity is no more than that of a child, and he is not smart enough to realize how powerful his adult body is. He also has a remarkably short memory span.
The nature of their relationship is one of brotherhood, companionship, and I think a platonic love that is hard to describe. It was very touching. The two men had been roaming the country as vagabonds, looking for work for so long that they grew to need each other in a very touching way. George needed Lennie to stave off loneliness and for physical protection. Lennie needed George to protect him from himself and to help him survive in a world he was not capable of understanding.
The plot follows the two men as they find work at a California ranch, hefting bags of grain onto trailers. There, they meet several characters: Candy, the old, one-handed ranch-hand, wonderfully played by Roman Bonhen, Slim, the quiet and serious-minded rancher, played by Charles Bickford, Curly, the hot-tempered and vicious son of the ranch owner, played by Bob Steele, and Curly’s emotionally damaged wife Mae, played by Betty Field.
Each of the characters had their own moments of great writing and character development that really made you understand and feel for them in special ways. Again, this is a testament to the great skill of Steinbeck, the original author. All, except for Curly, but his character’s personality and motivations are easy to figure out. He is a mean man who has a short-guy complex. He is a small guy with a chip on his shoulder the size of a mountain.
All of the actors did a fantastic job, especially the two leads. Meredith was surprisingly fantastic as George. I only know him from the films in which he appeared later in his life, movies from the 80s and 90s. I really only knew him as Mickey the boxing trainer from the iconic 1976 Best Picture winning movie, Rocky, and its sequels. But over his 60 year career, he was in many films, most of which I have never heard of. Lon Chaney Jr., of course, mostly became known for his monster movies like the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster. But his incredible portrayal of Lennie was done with real sensitivity to the character’s child-like mental and emotional state.
Betty Field also surprised me. At first, I thought of her character as an unlikable woman who brought all her troubles on herself. But near the end of the film, as she is talking to Lennie, we learn a little about her history and why she is married to Curly. Field’s acting actually made me begin to sympathize with her character. I still didn’t like Mae, but I don’t think I was supposed to.
Without giving too much away about the ending of the film, I will say that it was incredibly depressing and yet appropriate. On the one hand, it was the only way the story could have ended. But on the other, it left a few things open to interpretation. George’s fate was left unresolved. Would he go to prison, or would he be allowed to go free? Idealistically, I’d have wanted him to go free, but I don’t think it would have happened that way.
And finally, I have to make special mention of the film’s score. The music was wonderful and as I was watching the film, I thought that it reminded me of the music of the great American composer, Aaron Copeland. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was actually he who had written the score. I was not aware that he had ever done any film scores, but he did such a fine job that he was nominated that year for Best Original Score.