Lucky in adaptations of his major works, John Steinbeck saw his lighter, California-coastline stories on the rough & tumble locals of Monterey & Salinas Valley overcooked. (Even Rodgers & Hammerstein stumbled with their musical PIPE DREAM.) Here, in swarthy Latino makeup that gives him a unintentional menacing look, Spencer Tracy plays defacto head to a shiftless group of deadbeat ‘paisano’s’ (unlikely Latinos John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, John Qualen & Allen Jenkins) who avoid work and seem meant to delight us with their scams (often as not against each other) & naive peasant wisdom. But mostly come off as not-so-juvenile delinquents. The main storyline has Garfield confronting two life altering events: inheritance and love. Each of them sabotaged by Tracy who thinks they will only tie him down. Some of the intrigues & sentiment still come off in entertaining fashion, though a sour note of condescension always hangs about. (In the books, too.) In a way, authenticity might be the last nail in the coffin for these stories; inauthenticity softens them. It certainly helps Austrian/Jewish Hedy Lamarr as the fiery Portuguese who reforms Garfield and, just this once (probably thanks to director Victor Fleming), finds the temperament otherwise missing in her screen portrayals. Always gorgeous, but never ‘there,’ she finally locates her dramatic sweet spot.
DOUBLE-BILL: Though not thought of as a Hollywood team, Fleming directed Tracy five times: CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS/’37; TEST PILOT/’38; DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE/’41, TORTILLA FLAT; and A GUY NAMED JOE/’43. First was best.
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