Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942) novel by John Steinbeck; Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff
Blurbs: Danny inherits two houses so Pilon and his lazy, impoverished friends move in. One of them, Pirate, is saving money which Pilon hopes to steal till he learns it is being saved to buy a gold candlestick for St. Francis. When one of the houses burns down and Danny is hurt fighting, Pilon makes an effort to make life better for his friend.
An IMDb user review: 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 1930s 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 etc. 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 Akim 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.
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reviews | Garry Gillard | New: 5 January, 2021 | Now: 5 January, 2021