Tortilla Flat

source: Tortilla Flat

This movie is a disappointment. The characters are terrible. Spencer Tracy's accent is ridiculous. Was he supposed to be a Mexican? Whatever he was trying to portray, he comes across very silly. The only likable character is Frank Morgan who plays the humble hermit. Everyone else is selfish and looking out for themselves. Spencer Tracy is a con man, always trying to take advantage of people. John Garfield is another story. First, he's in and out of jail. That's not a good sign. He is very selfish too. He goes to the girl's house and is very rude to another guest and tells him to leave. Then he very disrespectfully kisses the girl and hold her against her wishes like a creep. Then she gets mad and he goes crazy and starts beating people for no good reason. But for some reason everyone keeps saying how Garfield is such a good person! What are they talking about!! As for Hedy Lamarr, she is just a nut. She threatens John Garfield with a kitchen knife and tells him to get out and says she hates him. Next minute she loves him. Then she hates him again. It goes back and forth like this the whole movie! Overall, this is a cheap and boring movie.

This movie was made during the U.S. entry in WWII. Maybe that is why it leaves out the deaths that occur in the actual story of Steinbeck. The people in charge perhaps had the directive to make a light inspiring movie ("no heavy stuff, y'hear?"). I don't think it was in the spirit of the novel AT ALL. My low rating is based on the movie's lack of faithfulness to the novel AND the casting of Spencer Tracy in the role of Pilon. It was just not a good fit. Even if I could ignore the messing with Steinbeck's story, I could not watch Tracy's performance with any ease. It pretty much ruined the movie for me despite what I thought were pretty good performances by everyone else.

Overlooking the fact that the picture was made at a time when people weren't worried about political correctness, the casting and the storyline are so blatantly offensive that I couldn't enjoy the picture. Hedy Lamarr can "almost" pull this off, but John Garfield and even worse = A brown faced Spencer Tracy with a gawd-awful accent. The latino population of Tortilla Flats is extremely stereotypical. Maybe I wasn't in the mood to watch this film, but the casting - regardless good or bad - ruined what may have been a good film.

> As i watched this fine old movie,I was struck with the Idea that the style was so much like a later production "the fiddler on the roof." > Almost like the producer of fiddler had just watched "tortilla flat" > Spencer Tracey Probably would have made a good Tevye. > This movie will first make you tolerate Spencer Tracey as Pilon then grow to love him then take you back to tolerating again. > Hedy Lamarr a girl who works in a canning factory is lovely and full of fire . > John Garfield was all ways better in my mind when he was young and full of life,he was all of that in this. > John Steinbeck as a novelist works close to dirt and human feelings this is evident in this film.

Greatly enjoyed this story written by John Steinbeck and a great cast of veteran actors who all gave outstanding performances. Daniel Alvarez, (John Garfield) is a poor young man who pals around with a bunch of lazy men who never seem to work and love to eat and drink wine. Daniel inherits two homes that his grandfather left him and one of his friends, Pilon, (Spencer Tracy) decides to take advantage of him and brings in all his friends to live in one of the houses. There is a great deal of trying to steal chickens and also obtaining free wine from local female ladies. Daniel meets up with a very pretty woman named Dolores Ramirez, (Hedy Lamarr) and they both become very good friends and lovers. There is also a man named The Pirate, (Frank Morgan) who lives like a tramp, but has plenty of money hidden in the woods. The Pirate is trying to save money to buy a silver golden stick for the Statue of St. Franicis in the local Catholic Church. Pilon wants to steal this money from the Pirate and then he starts experiencing different changes in his personality which creates a great ending to this story. Enjoy.

This work turned out to be an unexpected disappointment. Heres a film from a major producer, with a respected Director and top flight cast, that just ambles along without doing any of the characters full justice. No-one seems able to convince the viewer they are whom they play. Tracys accent is near laughable, and Garfield tends to drop in and out of his, as if he feels silly putting it on. Nearly every major character is unlikeable, with greed and drunkenness almost their only motivation. It seems the only one that succeeds is Frank Morgan as the towns humble hermit and friend to all lost dogs. Static studio backgrounds give the film a cheapened look. The best thing about this one is Franz Waxmans melodic Music score. Some will enjoy, but I feel most will be left wanting better. KenR............

I've been reading some of the negatives of some of the reviewers here about the authenticity of the actors involved. Its only a movie and brought out by a studio that had to use their top actors that were available at the time. It goes way back to the early 30's on how actors were used for certain roles. Recall Edward G. Robinson a Jew, as Rico an Italian mobster, Paul Muni another Jew, as a Mexican, Meryl Streep, Polish as an Italian and etc. and etc. If this bothers you, then don't go to the movies. Its called "make believe"...remember? Most commend Frank Morgan's role here as a big highlight for his performance, but he was definitely not a Mexican. But the only ones that I thought pulled it off was Akin Tamiroff and Hedy Lamarr...maybe because they actually have accents..and speaking of Hedy, she looked terrific as usual and was very sexy. Somehow I wished Cecil B. DeMille made "Samson & Delilah" then. Worth to watch this movie for her alone.

There are two standout features of this film version of John Steinbeck's TORTILLA FLAT. One is the improbably beautiful HEDY LAMARR as a Portugese girl, showing more fire and spirit than usual in an unusual role (for her). The other is FRANK MORGAN, who in an exquisite sequence set in a forest, does an unforgettable job as an old man who thinks his dogs have seen a vision. Other than that, it's pretty hard to accept SPENCER TRACY (again assuming the sort of accent he had in CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS) as the town's laziest and most conniving drifter, JOHN GARFIELD, SHELDON LEONARD and others as Latinos with Brooklyn accents showing, and AKIM TAMIROFF, the only supporting player who seems the least bit authentic. The story is almost non-existent, a minor trifle in which it's pretty obvious that the California fishing community has been filmed on studio soundstages at MGM with the actors often photographed against location shots filmed in northern California's Monterey. Definitely a Victor Fleming film that hasn't dated well and many will find offensive in its racial stereotypes. It's a wonder J. CARROL NAISH didn't find his way into the suppporting cast. He would have been a lot more believable than casting actors like ALLEN JENKINS and CONNIE GILCHRIST as Chicanos. An almost unrecognizable FRANK MORGAN deserved his Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination as The Pirate, a lazy, dog-loving eccentric whom Tracy tricks into revealing the whereabouts of his money. He's in the film's most memorable sequence but most of the film is slow and talky to an irritating degree and filled with unsympathetic characters.

Okay yes, Spencer Tracy does NOT look like a Paisano, but his performance in this movie is pretty cool and worth noting. I absolutely loved the book and Spencer Tracy's portrayal of Pilon went above and beyond what I expected the character to turn out like on screen. Frank Morgan was wonderful too. The scenes with the songs are particularly charming. The story is about homeless men who live life one day at a time. Their biggest concern of each day is how they're going to acquire wine. Their friend Danny inherits two houses and Pilon is concerned that this newfound wealth is affecting their friendship. Along the way they bring in more roommates including the wonderful Pirate character and the guys get into some shenanigans involving what else? Money, women and wine. I also very much adored the simplicity of Victor Fleming's direction. He made a lot of beautiful shots, especially of the Pirate's adorable dogs!