Of Mice and Men

First off, I cannot discuss Of Mice and Men without giving away some major plot spoilers, you deserve fair warning.  Second, I want to encourage everyone to read the book by John Steinbeck before seeing the film, I feel it only enhances the experience.  Besides, it’s a pretty thin book, not like I’m sending you out to read War and Peace.

In the midst of the depression, two migrant workers stick together as they move from job to job.  George (Burgess Meredith) takes care of his large and strong but mentally slow partner, Lennie (Lon Chaney Jr.) out of a promise to Lennie’s mother.  While Lennie is a good worker, he gets in trouble easily, which sends the duo on the run and searching for a new job constantly.  Through their hard times, George dreams aloud with Lennie about owning their own piece of land they can farm and keep the profits for themselves where they can be safe and content and Lennie can tend the rabbits.  Before starting their new job on a new ranch, George prepares Lennie as best as he can, planning a place to meet just in case he gets in trouble, again.

At the ranch, there seems to be a good mix of obstacles to avoid and opportunities for a better life.  Most of the men are accommodating and understand that Lennie is a gentle giant.  Then there’s Curley (Bob Steele), a mean spirited small man who likes to pick on whichever man is biggest, but messing with Lennie is never a smart move.  Curley’s wife (Betty Field) is nothing but trouble as well.  As the rest of the men bond and hear about George and Lennie’s dream, some of the men suggest to pool their savings together.  Suddenly, the dream seems attainable, but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

As far as film adaptations of this work goes, I find this to be my favorite.  The focus of the story is to be on the men, their comradery and the tensions between them, and it is.  The acting is wonderful, I especially enjoyed Lon Chaney Jr.’s portrayal of Lennie.  As far as the sets and visual effects go, everything is up to par, in a smart but conservative manner.  This isn’t a story that needs many frills, so the film doesn’t have many either, I think it works perfectly.

My first experience studying Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was one of the first times I had to critically argue about a work of literature.  I was a high school senior, and for the past twelve years my teachers had been content letting me be the quiet thinker, but not this term.  Once this teacher knew from my papers that I could understand some deeper ideas found within literature, she began to call on me constantly.  Reluctant at first, I discussed the symbolism in poetry and some social ideas presented in Huck Fin that had my peers grasping at straws.  By the time we got to Of Mice and Men, I had learned to play devil’s advocate pretty well.

Now, trying to intellectually discuss Of Mice and Men with some teenage girls can be a headache, even if you’re a teenage girl yourself.  I’ll never forget the hour of class spent arguing about Lennie’s end with a few classmates who decided the whole world could have turned to sunshine and rainbows if only Lennie was allowed to live.  After trying to explain how the story is full of partnerships that have to split apart for the greater good and illustrate that Lennie’s fate was more humane than that of the dog, the only argument they ever used was simply, “killing is wrong.”  At some point, I exasperated something along the lines of, “This is a piece of literature, not a trial.”  I never expected to be so thankful for such a long day in literature class, but I find myself thinking back to it when some heated discussions arise on this blog.  Thankfully, all my readers who leave comments are much more insightful people who make fun and intelligent arguments.

“Look across that river, cause I’m gonna tell you like you can almost see it.”

Picnic

The image of this DVD looked like the cover of a cheesy romance novel.  There was Holden, his shirt ripped and all muscle and there was Novak, all beauty and innocence.  The girl can’t help but find this man attractive and this guy just can’t keep his shirt on for an hour.  Thus is the rough set up of Picnic.

William Holden plays Hal, a drifter who rides the rails into a small Kansas town looking for an old fraternity friend, Alan (Cliff Robertson).  He just so happens to turn up on Labor Day morning, where that evening this town will hold a huge celebration picnic.  He stumbles upon the yard of the Owen family.  There’s mama Owen (Betty Field), eldest beauty Madge (Kim Novak), younger tomboy Millie (Susan Strasberg) and a schoolteacher who rents a room, Rosemary (Rosalind Russell).  Madge is dating Alan, who’s wealthy and runs a mill with his father.  But that morning when Madge sees Hal all sweaty and shirtless in the neighbor’s yard- well, you can guess.

Anyway, in the afternoon just before the picnic, everything seems to be perfectly in order: Alan’s going to get Hal a job, Madge might let Alan get past first base and mama’s proud of her girls.  But when Rosemary’s boyfriend, Howard (Arthur O’Connell) starts passing around a bottle of whiskey, tensions rise, and reputations are ruined.

The dynamic between the sisters is intriguing and shocking, at least to a 21st century viewer.  You see, Millie spends her time reading and not primping herself and therefore is considered the ugly one.  She is ugly the same way Tina Fey is, as in not at all.  But this is the 1950s where women were just to be looked at.  If Millie likes to play basketball in blue jeans and read with glasses on, that is enough to dismiss her as a simply ugly girl.  What a shame.

So, we’ve got sisters of brains and beauty, each secretly longing for what the other has.  But only Millie can really voice this longing because it’s expected of her  Every girl should long to be pretty, right?  When Madge realizes she wants to be more than a beauty queen, well, I don’t think she has the intelligence to understand she wants instead.  So when Hal notices her, and he’s not like the other guys, maybe that makes her feel like she’s not like the other pretty girls.  I say Madge is just a dumb pretty girl in need of constant attention and validation.

But how much more attention could a girl want?  When she’s crowned Queen at the Picnic, they literally put her in the swan boat, with a huge bunch of roses and a paper crown and float her down the river where everyone waits and tosses rose pedals.  They even do a weird bow/chant thing that made me feel like they were worshiping this girl.  Yet, she’s seeking more attention.  She wants the bad boy.  Those pecks or something made her feel different and now she sees that as a way to be different and special.  “I’m so tired of just being told I’m pretty.”

What is the moral of this film?  Don’t be afraid to be different?  There’s more to life than being pretty?  Real satisfaction comes from doing things on your own?  I have no idea, but today I interpreted it as let your girls be “ugly” and smart so they can accomplish something in their lives without relying on their beauty like a crutch and then they will not run after trouble making guys in order to validate themselves.  What girl watched this movie in 1955 and wanted to be just like Madge?

By the end of this film, I honestly wondered what the rate of unmarried women committing suicide in the 1950s was.  In a world where intelligent women don’t have much merit and there were no boob jobs available, I wonder how many mothers really said this:

– “She’ll lose her chance when she’s young. She might as well throw all her prettiness away.”
— “I’m only 19.”
– “And next summer you’ll be 20, then 21. and then 40.”
— “You don’t have to be morbid.”

Kings Row

Four childhood friends grow up an a typical American small town in the early 1900’s.  Paris (Robert Cummings) is raised by his grandmother, pursues his dreams of becoming a doctor and studies under Dr. Tower (Claude Rains), father of his sweetheart, Cassandra (Betty Field).  Paris hasn’t actually seen Cassy since they were kids, her father has mysteriously kept her in their house these past years and now Paris tries to reconnect with her.  Meanwhile, Drake (Ronald Reagan) is Paris’s best friend and hopes to become a businessman, but until then he’s taking all the girls out to ride in his buggy.  Everything seems small town hunky-dory until an unbelievable tragedy strikes, motivating Paris to study psychiatry in Europe and leaving Drake to discover more startling secrets within their happy little small town of Kings Row.

Things change on a dime every act or so in this film.  That’s good news if you get bored, bad news if you’re attached to anything.  Parts of this film feel like a mystery, we find clues and can piece them together at the end, but other than that it’s a straight up drama.  I don’t want to give away any of the surprises, so we’ll just keep that air of mystery.

Oh, by the way, Drake is played by Ronald Reagan.  He’s really enjoyable in this film, but I’ve got to admit I was a little distracted.  The whole time I kept thinking, “This guy taking all the girls out on a buggy, no one suspects him to become President.”  All in all, he was my favorite actor in Kings Row, he’s lively and uplifting, especially toward the end.

Honestly, I liked these people better as kids.  When little Cassy is crying because no one showed up at her party, I was honestly sad, never again did that feeling return through the entire film. Later when she’s been a recluse for years I don’t understand her and her wild eyes don’t convince me of anything other than paranoia.  Same with Paris and Drake, when the boys run scared of the doctor I understand their fear, but as grown men trying to overcome their circumstances I don’t believe a word they’re saying.  Are they trying to convince me or themselves?

Kings Row has a little bit of everything: drama, romance, mystery, small town secrets, so it should appeal to a wide audience.  On the flip side, it can seem too spread out and thin.  Then there’s that whole psychiatric notion thrown in that Paris has to deal with that tries to make everything make sense, but can just confuse some viewers.  All in all, I enjoyed the film enough but was able to poke some holes through, so I don’t encourage trying to over think this film.  Just relax and enjoy a Reagan film.

“Where’s the rest of me?”