Of Mice and Men (1939 film)
| Of Mice and Men | |
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Theatrical release lobby card
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| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by | Lewis Milestone |
| Screenplay by | Eugene Solow |
| Based on |
Of Mice and Men 1937 novella by John Steinbeck |
| Starring |
Burgess Meredith Betty Field Lon Chaney, Jr. Charles Bickford Noah Beery, Jr. |
| Music by | Aaron Copland |
| Cinematography | Norbert Brodine |
| Edited by | Bert Jordan |
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Production
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Of Mice and Men is a 1939 drama film based on the 1937 play based on the novella of the same title by American author John Steinbeck and starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field and Lon Chaney, Jr. The supporting cast features Charles Bickford, Roman Bohnen, Bob Steele and Noah Beery, Jr.
The film tells the story of two men, George and his mentally challenged partner Lennie, trying to survive during the dustbowl of the 1930s and pursuing a dream of owning their own ranch, instead of always working for others. Starring in the lead roles were relative Hollywood newcomer Burgess Meredith as George, and veteran actor Lon Chaney, Jr. (the son of famed silent film actor Lon Chaney) as Lennie. Chaney had appeared in more than 50 films to that point in his career, but Of Mice and Men was his first major role.
The film, produced by the Hal Roach Studios, was adapted by Eugene Solow and directed by Lewis Milestone. It was nominated for four Oscars. The musical score was by American composer Aaron Copland. Running in theaters in 1939, it disappeared for many years at a time until the 1980s and 1990s, when it slowly appeared in revival theater houses, video and cable and earned a following of fans (both audience members and film critics) who praised the movie for its brilliant interpretation of the Steinbeck novella.
Two migrant field workers in California during the Great Depression—George Milton (Burgess Meredith), an intelligent and quick-witted man (despite his frequent claims of being "not that smart"), and Lennie Small (Lon Chaney, Jr.), an ironically-named man of large stature and immense strength who, due to his mental disability, has a mind of a younger child—hope to one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream, which he never tires of hearing George describe, is merely to tend to (and touch) soft rabbits on the farm. George protects Lennie at the beginning by telling him that if Lennie gets into trouble George won't let him "tend them rabbits." They are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed where they were run out of town after Lennie's love of stroking soft things resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched and held onto a young woman's dress (not shown, but mentioned).
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