1942 – Frank Morgan
Tortilla Flat
I’ve been trying to decide whether or not I liked this movie. But what has not been in question is that I loved Frank Morgan’s performance. He was amazing. First of all, I’ve never seen him play this kind of a role. It was a completely new side of the actor for me. He played a dirty old hermit called The Pirate, whose only friends are dogs. He lives in a smelly bird-coop, and wasn’t quite sane. He is either touched, or blessed, and I think the character was a bit of both.
Morgan played The Pirate as a simpleton who is a good man at heart, a religious man. He once had a vision of Saint Francis who healed one of his dogs, and as payment for the miracle, he dedicated his life to buying an expensive candlestick for the church. I was surprised how well Morgan inhabited the crazy but harmless old man. He didn’t even show up until the second half of the film. Until then, we had been following the character of Pilon, played by Spencer Tracy. Pilon was a lazy vagabond, and manipulative con artist. And when he set his sights on the money The Pirate had secretly been saving to buy the golden candlestick, my heart began to sink. But The Pirate’s story about Saint Francis and his promise moved even the unscrupulous heart of Pilon into not stealing his hard-earned cash.
Morgan had two scenes that stood out to me. The first took place after one of Pilon’s friends moved his stash of money to a different hiding place, and The Pirate almost had a breakdown when he thinks it has been stolen. Morgan’s cries of abject despair were heart-wrenching. He really sold the moment with his wailing and the look of utter devastation on his face. The second was a little bit later when he is in the woods, giving thanks to Saint Francis with his dogs, and he has a second vision of the saint. A light shines through the trees, illuminating the altar he has constructed. Several emotions showed on his face. There was humility, fear, wonder, and exultation, all in equal measure. Morgan played it perfectly. I think he absolutely deserved his Oscar nomination, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d given the winner, Van Heflin in Johnny Eager, a real run for his money. Morgan really looked the part, and gave us a wonderfully memorable performance.