Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 21, 2017 21:40:24 GMT
The Mexican-American community of a Northern California fishing village. The much-talked about but unseen Benny affects the lives of his father, fiancee, and romantic rival for her hand when it is learned he was decorated for heroism on the battlefield.
Director: Irving Pichel.
Screenplay: Frank Butler (based on an original screen story by John Steinbeck and Jack Wagner).
Cast: Arturo de Córdova, Dorothy Lamour, J. Carrol Naish, Fernando Alvarado, Rosita Moreno, Grant Mitchell, Mikhail Rasumny, Nestor Paiva, Frank McHugh, Eva Puig, Charles Dingle, Douglas Dumbrille.
Watched this recently, knowing only that J. Carrol Naish had gotten a supporting Oscar nomination for it.
I was struck by how much it resembles Hail The Conquering Hero -- small California town dealing with one of its own as a war hero. The difference is Eddie Bracken was simply a phony; Benny is the town ne'er-do-well who is acclaimed for heroism -- a more complex issue that the script mostly ignores.
The Steinbeck pedigree is presumably responsible for the setting in familiar Tortilla Flat territory. AMFB seems kind of stuck between Steinbeck and Sturges, unsure of where it should settle. Busybody newspaper editor Frank McHugh is straight out of Sturges, but the working class milieu -- saloon pouring wine out of a barrel, a Saturday night dance -- is pure John S. The film's treatment of the Mexican-Americans is affectionate and smpathetic, but in this PC age would undoubtedly be seen as condescending.
The town's establishment (represented here by Grant Mitchell) had earlier rejected Papa Martin's bank loan, but now treats him like royalty upon learning of his son's war medal.
The medal ceremony
