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Tortilla Flat (film)

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Tortilla Flat
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVictor Fleming
Screenplay byJohn Lee Mahin
Benjamin Glazer
Based onTortilla Flat
1935 novel
by John Steinbeck
Produced bySam Zimbalist
StarringSpencer Tracy
Hedy Lamarr
John Garfield
Frank Morgan
Akim Tamiroff
CinematographyKarl W. Freund
Edited byJames E. Newcom
Robert Kern
Music byFrank Loesser
Franz Waxman
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • May 21, 1942 (1942-05-21) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,201,000[1]
Box office$2,611,000[1]

Tortilla Flat is a 1942 American romantic comedy film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff and Sheldon Leonard, based on the 1935 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck.[2] Frank Morgan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his poignant portrayal of The Pirate.

Plot

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Danny inherits two houses in the central coastal area of California, "just outside the old seaport town of Monterey", So Pilon and his poor, idle friends move in. One of them, the Pirate, is saving money that Pilon endeavors to steal, until he discovers that it is being collected to purchase a golden candlestick that Pirate intends to burn to honor St. Francis, for healing his sick dog, that later is run over and killed. One of Danny's houses burns down, so he allows his friends to move into the other house with him, and in gratitude Pilon tries to make life better for his friend. Things are fine at first, until Danny's passion for a lovely girl named Dolores causes him to actually go to work in a fishing business. A misunderstanding caused by Pilon about a vacuum cleaner that Danny had bought for the girl enrages Danny; he becomes drunk and a bit crazy. He almost dies in an accident while interrupting the girl at her work in a cannery, but through Pilon's prayers, is restored to health. Danny marries his sweetheart, with the promise that he will become a fisherman, now that Pilon has raised the money to buy a boat. The movie's happy ending is different from the novel's ending, in which Danny dies after a fall.

Cast

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Reception

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According to MGM records, the film earned $1,865,000 at the US and Canadian box office, and $746,000 elsewhere, for a profit of $542,000.[1][3]

Critical response

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Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing that the film "is really a little idyll which turns its back on a workaday world...it is filled with solid humor and compassion—and that is pleasant, even for folks who have to work".[4]

Awards

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Nominations

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Tortilla Flat at IMDb
  3. ^ "101 Pix Gross in Millions" Variety 6 Jan 1943 p 58
  4. ^ Crowther, Bosley (May 22, 1942), "Review: Tortilla Flat", The New York Times, retrieved June 22, 2013.
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