Themes: Love Triangles, Faltering Friendships, Cons and Scams
Main Cast: Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff
Release Year: 1942
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Like the John Steinbeck novel on which it is based, Tortilla Flat is not so much a movie as a series of warm-hearted anecdotes, all linked to a small California fishing village populated by poor but happy immigrants. The focus is upon Pilon (Spencer Tracy), a good-natured, charismatic freeloader, and Danny (John Garfield), a hot-headed fisherman who is dragged kicking and screaming into the world of personal responsibility when he inherits two small houses. As Pilon toys with the notion of stealing the nest egg saved up by an old man known as "the Pirate" (Frank Morgan), Danny tries to spark a romance with sexy cannery worker Dolores "Sweets" Ramirez (Hedy Lamarr). Abandoning the robbery plans when he learns that the Pirate intends to use his money to purchase a candlestick for St. Francis, Pilon turns his attentions to stealing Sweets away from Danny. But when Danny is injured in a drunken fight, the mercurial Pilon switches gears again, devoting his energies to bringing Danny and Sweets back together. Of the film's many highlights, standouts include the surprisingly effective "straight" performance by comic actor Frank Morgan (for which he received an Oscar nomination), and the seemingly improvised songfest between Spencer Tracy and John Garfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Tortilla Flat has dated quite a bit since its 1942 release, and many modern viewers will find its portrayal of its mixed-Ethnic characters to be condescending and a bit insulting. But if one can look past this flaw, one is likely to find Tortilla an amiable and very agreeable little film. True, it's far from perfect: like the novel on which it is based, Tortilla is really more about atmosphere and character than it is about plot, and so the cinematic version comes off as a bit episodic and occasionally disjointed, in spite of the best efforts of director Victor Fleming to smooth over the rough patches and distract viewers from noticing this. But Fleming and his cast are so good at creating the atmosphere and at breathing life into the characters and their relationships that most viewers won't care about the bumps in the story. The cast is uniformly good, even Hedy Lamarr, whose abilities as an actress were limited and required special handling. She shines here, and has a great chemistry with John Garfield -- who for his part is lovably raffish. Spencer Tracy is perhaps first among the cast, seeming to enjoy his earthy part and having the chance to "unbend" a little. And Frank Morgan, in a rare non-comic part, demonstrates that he had a gift for drama that was rarely utilized. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Danny (John Garfield) inherits two houses, so Pilon (Spencer Tracy) and his poor, idle friends move in. One of them, Pirate, (Frank Morgan) is saving money which Pilon endeavors to steal, until he discovers that it is being collected to purchase a golden candlestick which he intends to burn for St. Francis to honor the Pirate's dead dog. One of the houses burns down, so Danny 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 (Hedy Lamarr) causes him to actually go to work. A misunderstanding caused by Pilon about a vacuum cleaner causes Danny to lose it; he becomes drunk and a bit crazy. He almost dies in an accident in the cannery but through Pilon's prayers, is restored to health. He then marries his sweetheart with the promise that he will become a fisherman now that Pilon has found the money to buy a boat. The happy ending is quite different from the novel's ending in which Danny dies after a fall, and is totally in keeping with the optimistic, feel-good, MGM movies of that time.
