Tortilla Flat (film)

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Movie
Original title Tortilla Flat
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1942
length 105 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Victor Fleming
script John Lee Mahin ,
Benjamin Glazer
production Sam Zimbalist
music George Bassman
camera Karl Freund ,
Sidney Wagner
cut James E. Newcom
occupation

Tortilla Flat is an American feature film from 1942 based on the 1935 novel Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck . Directed by Victor Fleming , it stars Spencer Tracy , Hedy Lamarr , John Garfield , Frank Morgan , Akim Tamiroff and Sheldon Leonard .

action

Danny inherits two houses in Tortilla Flat. He lets Pilon and a few other poor but lazy friends move into one of them, the other he lives in himself. The pirate is the only one who does odd jobs and saves a little money. But Pilon would like to steal it from him until he realizes that the pirate would like to buy a golden candlestick to donate it to St. Francis Church as a reminder of his dead, faithful dog.

When one of the two houses burns down, Danny allows his friends to move in with him. Out of gratitude, Pilon wants to make Danny's life a little easier, but it doesn't always work. Things get complicated when Danny falls in love with the pretty Dolores and therefore takes up a regular job. A misunderstanding about a used vacuum cleaner leads to an argument between Danny and Pilon, whereupon Danny gets completely drunk. After that, he begins to behave increasingly crazy.

Danny almost loses his life in an accident at the can factory, but thanks to Pilon's prayers, he gets well again. He then marries Dolores and promises to become a fisherman after Pilon has managed to get the money for a boat.

background

In the novel, however, the end of the film is not intended: Danny dies of a fall after a dissolute party. However, MGM ensured a happy ending for the film audience . Apart from that, the plot of the film essentially sticks to the episodic style given by John Steinbeck. Critics saw it as a reason for the lack of success at the box office, others in the rather poor acting performances of Hedy Lamarr and Spencer Tracy. Tracy himself mentioned in his autobiography that he didn't act well because he couldn't develop a relationship with the characters in the novel. Lamarr, on the other hand, said in her memoirs that "Dolores" was one of her greatest roles.

Filming began in 1941 and was overshadowed by the attack on Pearl Harbor .

Reviews

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called the film a real idyll in his review, full of honest humor and compassion.

Awards

Frank Morgan received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in 1943 for his portrayal as "Pirate" .

Novel

  • John Steinbeck: Tortilla Flat (Original title: Tortilla Flat ). German by Elisabeth Rotten. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (1987), 176 pp., ISBN 3-423-10764-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bosley Crowther : Review . In: The New York Times , May 22, 1942.