Evening star., 1940-01-20

tured in the picture which Lewis
skilled cast played, for Hal Roach.
It is a translation which not only
honors the gloomy genius of Stein
beck but pays tribute to the ca
pacity of the movie public to take
Its drama without an anesthetic
AS 1t was Critics Prize play, so
"Of Mice and Men" will be a 10
best movie, even though its selec-
ton brings the charge that critics
are the stooges of any literary rep
utation.
In one conspicuous way, the
screen version of "Of Mice and
Men" is superior to the stage play.
Without weakening its force as a
drama Of lonely, little people, Mile
stone accents the tenderness be-
tween its major characters, shows
them far better than the forlorn,
degraded subhuman things they ap-
pear to be. His direction carries
the wallop which Steinbeck intend
ed and makes his picture claw at
the heart as only the rarely fine
screen drama can.
Acting brilliance provided by a
cast headed by Burgess Meredith,
Lon CLANCY, jr., and Betty Field
does much to illuminate the dark
recesses of life among Steinbecks
"bindle stiffs," itinerant harvest
hands whose bent backs contribute
so much to the full stomachs of
more fortunate citizens. The same
excellence which these three bring
to the major roles of "Of Mice and
Men" Is attained by subordinate
members of the cast. The picture.
accordingly, is one to encourage the
feeling that there is acting ability
In Hollywood If it only can be
dressed in overalls and similar rough
garb which the player does not
have to be afraid of mussing.
Bringing "Of Mice and Men" to
the screen was no easy job. On the
one hand, Milestone faced the Hays
office, which quite naturally was
concerned with such earthly facts of
life as those with which Steinbeck
deals. On the other, there were the
Steinbeck legions who would brook
no tampering with his realism. To
make 1t trilemma, there were the
movies masses whose digestion is
deemed notoriously unfit for such
rugged fare.
For disposing of all points of view
Milestone uses method that is as
simple as it is effective. BY merely
speeding up or slowing down the
action of the story, he covers the
whole range of Steinbeck's narra-
tive, impressionistically re-creating
even its more profane. moments
without recourse to the profanity
Of the original.
"Of Mice and Men," If any one
does not know what it is about, is
particularly the tale of Lennie,
giant dimwit, a hulking, powerful
man with the mind of child, and
smart, little George, who is tied to
him by affection, pity and pledge
given to the huge imbecile's aunt
for once befriending him. Gen.
VA0A4y ~ ID Vic oVOAy VI VIC A4C VI
migratory workers in the harvest
fields of the West.
Tragedy stalks the scene in a
dozen forms, most emphatically In
tho inability of George to keep
Lennie's love for living things from
killing them In his powerful hands.
It is melodrama that might easily
become cheap and maudlin, but it
IS played with a restraint and
dignity which save it from that un-
worthy fate. 1t takes a deadly logic
in each sequence of the story to
lead 1t with conviction to the final
one In which the heartbroken George
shoots Lennie to spare him from the
mob pursuing him for the murder
Of the pretty moronic wife of the
rancher's son. Milestone's direction
carefully creates and preserves that
degree of logic.
Most difficult role, naturally, is