Of Mice and Men (1939) (sepiatone print from UCLA Film & Television Library)

Lewis Milestone: Of Mice and Men (US 1939) with Lon Chaney, Jr. (Lennie), Burgess Meredith (George) and Betty Field (Mae).

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck [opening credits] / Uomini e topi / Des souris et des hommes / Hiiriä ja ihmisiä / Möss och människor.

    US © 1939 Hal Roach Studios, Inc [opening credits]. [AFI Catalog copyright info: United Artists Corp. 2 February 1940, LP9395]. Prod.: Lewis Milestone per Hal Roach Studio. [Other sources indicate Hal Roach as the producer].

    Director: Lewis Milestone. Sog.: from the novel of the same name (1937) by John Steinbeck. Scen.: Eugene Solow. F.: Norbert Brodine – b&w. M.: Bert Jordan. Scgf.: Nicolai Remisoff. Mus.: Aaron Copland. Int.: Burgess Meredith (George), Lon Chaney Jr. (Lennie), Betty Field (Mae), Charles Bickford (Slim), Roman Bohnen (Candy), Bob Steele (Curley), Noah Beery Jr. (Whit), Oscar O’Shea (Jackson). Leigh Whipper (Crooks).

    Loc: Agoura Ranch (California).

    104 min

    US premiere: 22 Dec 1939 (Los Angeles), 24 Dec 1939 (New York), 12 Jan 1940 (wide). Released through United Artists.

    Helsinki premiere: 1 July 1949 – Kino-Palatsi – Suomi-Filmi.

    35 mm sepiatone print from UCLA Film & Television Archive Library

    By courtesy of Beta Film

    Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2025: Lewis Milestone: of Wars and Men.

    Introduced by Imogen Sara Smith

    Viewed with e-subtitles in Italian at Cinema Jolly, 25 June 2025.

Based on the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (London and New York, 1937) and the play of the same name as produced by Sam H. Harris and staged by George S. Kaufman (New York, 24 Nov 1937). The Finnish premieres of the play were launched in 1946, spreading into five cities during the first run. A revival started in 1974 (staged in four cities). It has been in permanent repertory since.

"The best laid schemes of mice and men 

gang aft agley

And leave us naught but grief and pain

for promised joy"

Robert Burns: "To a Mouse" (1785) [a quote that starts the opening credits, chalked on a boxcar]

Ehsan Khoshbakht (Bologna 2025): "Milestone heartfelt hymn to the underdog, based on the famous novella by John Steinbeck, tells the story of two hoboing farmhands – hulking, mentally-impaired Lennie (Lon Chaney Jr.) and his self-appointed guardian George (Burgess Meredith). The pair find work on a ranch but tragedy strikes when they encounter the flighty daughter-in-law of the owner. In one of the most biting retrospective portrayals of the Great Depression, the unkempt, shabby drifters band together in search of Utopia, only to discover it is nothing more than a pipe dream."

"Earth, itself one of the characters of the story, features prominently in Milestone’s unexpectedly lyrical compositions that are occasionally reminiscent of Soviet cinema. There are frame-within-frame shots, each broken into clustered entities, divided by elements such as bed bunks. Objects within the frame, particularly threads, belts, and fences, crisscross the composition, sometimes jutting out from the depth of field toward the camera as though Milestone is establishing a physical connection between the viewer and the scene. (The original release prints were in sepia, meant to imitate the burned-up, golden hue of the Californian at the end of July. This must have emphasised the tactile quality of the imagery.)"

"There are fine performances by everybody, especially Group Theatre talent Roman Bohnen who plays Candy, a crippled man 35 years older than his actual self. The sequence in which a foreman absurdly and cruelly insists on, and succeeds in, killing Candy’s beloved dog is one of the most moving moments in 1930s American cinema. It mirrors the film’s famous (and controversial) mercy killing at the end, where those who dream of “living off the fat of the land” end up being swallowed by its swamps." Ehsan Khoshbakht (Bologna 2025)

AA: I entered the screening with the intention of listening only to the introduction by Imogen Sara Smith and leaving early to catch a unique screening of Dimitri Kirsanoff's restored Rapt, but the heartfelt introduction was so compelling that there was no alternative than to stay. (There are eerie affinities between Rapt and Of Mice and Men, by the way).

I'm glad that I stayed. Smith mentioned that 1939 is often cited as the miraculous year of the cinema. Many of the notable films were based on fantasies and myths. The realistic Of Mice and Men is hardly ever mentioned, but it would deserve to be. It was Lewis Milestone's comeback film after years of setback. It was the first John Steinbeck film adaptation - The Grapes of Wrath had its premiere one month later. It garnered four Academy Award nominations but was a box office failure. Several times Milestone succeeded in turning plays into films (The Racket, Rain, The Front Page, Of Mice and Men). Here Milestone impresses with the introduction of the natural world of fields and swamps and animals (horses and especially dogs). Milestone excels both in intimate scenes and great ensemble sequences, caught in very long takes by a moving camera. Notable is the dignified presence of Leigh Whipper as the Black farmhand. Of Mice and Men portrays a shadow America, of loss, loneliness and failure, a band of outcasts, inspired by a mirage. (End of my resume of Imogen Sara Smith).

I realize that I may have not seen this version of Of Mice and Men before although I know the book, cultural connections from The Rain People to Den enfaldige mördaren and even Tex Avery's Lonesome Lenny (1946) in which Tex Avery himself as a voice actor creates an accurate parody of Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lennie. This film has made a deeper impact than the numerous later film adaptations for the cinema and television, including Gary Sinise's distinguished Of Mice and Men (1992) starring John Malkovich as Lennie, Sinise as George and Sherilyn Fenn as Mae.

Milestone is at his best in Of Mice and Men. There is real feeling and commitment, and the movie transcends initial doubts of being a piece of champagne socialist make-believe of proletarian life. High points include the sequence in which Curley beats brutally Lennie who is mostly afraid of his own overwhelming strength. Finally he grabs Curley's hand so hard that he breaks every bone. In the heartbreaking core sequence of the movie the old swamper Candy needs to part with his old loyal sheep dog, now terminally ill. In scenes like these Milestone displays perfect tact, timing and sense of duration.

Of Mice and Men is a classic tale of mental impairment. Milestone and Lon Chaney, Jr. negotiate the impossible mission in a way that remains deeply compelling. Of special note is also Leigh Whipper's unstereotyped portrait of a Black farmhand, the only intellectual on the ranch.

I am beginning to realize that Lewis Milestone is a great director of men – men at war, men at work. He is not a great director of women, in contrast to Luigi Comencini, the other director whose retrospective I am tracking in Bologna.

It is a highly gratifying to view this sepia-toned print. There is an appealing watercolour affinity, expressive of the sensuality of the natural world. The aquarelle touch also means that there is at times blur in the image, organic to the vision. The illusion of realism is at times undermined by studio echo.