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IMDB rating: 7,7
Director: Lewis Milestone
Main Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Charles Bickford
"This 1939 film version of John Steinbeck's classic novel was a surprising choice for comedy producer Hal Roach; in fact, Roach had no intention of filming the property until forced to do so as a result of a lawsuit brought by director Lewis Milestone. Milestone was a filmmaker of many parts - in the silent era, he had been known for his skills as a director of comedies, while with the dawn of sound films, he was responsible for one of the most enduring and serious dramas of the time, All Quiet On The Western Front (1930), which is among the earliest sound films that is considered easily watchable by modern audiences; and across the 1930's, he moved between romantic comedies (The Captain Hates The Sea) and serious, topical dramas (The General Died At Dawn). But it was with Of Mice And Men in 1939 that he came into his own as a stylist and he ended up with one of the most prestigious movies ever to come out of Hal Roach Studios, nominated for four Academy Awards. This adaptation of John Steinbeck's short novel, appearing just two years after the book's publication, was released in the same year as John Ford's more prestigious and star-powered adaptation of the author's The Grapes Of Wrath, and yet it still managed to impress critics and audiences. The performances by Burgess Meredith as George and Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lenny (a role he had to maneuver and campaign for to earn a shot at) possess and immediacy that makes them seem like finely-honed theater work. And Milestone also got superb performances out of a supporting cast that included Bob Steele (essaying his first 'serious' role, after years of playing in B-westerns), Betty Field, Charles Bickford, Noah Beery, Jr., Leigh Whipper, and Roman Bohnen. For many of those concerned, this movie would be some of the best work they ever did; with just a few lines in a very spare script, all of these players create memorable and finely-etched characters, that audiences know and understand in just a few frames, their work filling out the corners and background of this story in fine, full dramatic form. Composer Aaron Copland, then 39 years old and coming into the production on the late end (as film composers usually do), also rose to the occasion, on his first opportunity to score a movie. The result was a poetic and lyrical film that was perhaps a little less bravura than Ford's masterpiece, but no less haunting in its nuances and its overall impact. Milestone later tried to repeat the artistic success, working as an independent producer/director under the auspices of Republic Pictures, on The Red Pony, with slightly less impressive results.
Of Mice and Men retains its raw dramatic power. On its initial release, however, it proved a bit too powerful for many filmgoers, and it lost money.
The 1981 TV remake of Of Mice and Men starring Robert Blake and Randy Quaid, was a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1939 version. The 1993 theatrical remake, starring Gary Sinise (who also directed) and John Malkovich, is perhaps closer to the source than its predecessors, but only time will tell if it attains the classic status of the Lewis Milestone version." - www.allmovie.com
