Sploich's Movie Review of Of Mice and Men (1939)

Rating of
4/4

Of Mice and Men (1939)

Sploich Reviews Of Mice and Men (1939)
Sploich - wrote on 03/06/11

John Steinbeck is really only known today for three of his works, but in his lifetime he published almost thirty novels. His most well-known and probably his best work is more than likely Of Mice and Men. If you attend(ed) public school in the United States then you almost certainly have read this book at one time or another. Whether you've seen the 1939 film however is a different matter. You may have seen it in class after reading the book, but I never did. Having seen it now though, I can say that if you haven't, then you really need to.

The film centers on two traveling workmen, one of whom suffered a crippling head injury at childhood. They begin work on an old farm where they try their hardest not to get fired. Unfortunately, this is pretty difficult when you have a giant, dimwitted partner traveling with you.

As a great admirer of the John Steinbeck classic, I was very glad to see just how faithful this film was to the original source material. It's fun and enjoyable with a healthy balance of drama and suspense. A lot of the themes and situations are pretty brutal, with outcomes that are, at least today, somewhat morally ambiguous. There are a lot of characters involved in the goings-on of the farm, and each of them is likable in their own respect. That is to say, the "good guys" really feel like the "good guys," while the "bad guys" are accurately as despicable as they should be.

At first I was a little leery of Lon Chaney Jr.'s performance in this film. For the first couple minutes I just couldn't buy him as the bumbling idiot, especially with the manner of speaking he chose to go with. Very shortly after, however, it became clear that he was doing exactly what he needed to do to allow his character to be both realistic and lovable for the audience. Burgess Meredith also gives a great performance as his traveling guardian, being tough without having to act tough and being kind without having to act kind.

Probably the most outstanding aspect of the film is the score by Aaron Copland. The music is phenomenal, serving its purpose better than in most films I have seen. Most particularly the soundtrack near the end of the film is so heart-wrenching that even hearing it isolated from the footage is tragically beautiful.

Of Mice and Men is, in my opinion, possibly the greatest work of American literature. This makes it very comforting that director Lewis Milestone was able to live up to his surname.

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this review?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?