Wonderful World of TCM: Tortilla Flat

A few days ago, I praised John Steinbeck's comic novel "Tortilla Flat." The book was turned into a feature film by MGM in 1942, and it's played on TCM several times in recent months. As an adaptation, it's poor work, but as entertainment, it's a fun movie.

Were someone to film the novel today, they would probably do things quite differently than did MGM. For one thing, they would cast some actual Hispanics or Latinos to play the paisanos, who claim Spanish and Mexican descent. Given a decent budget, they would use some location shooting and try to avoid the professional yet cheesy backdrops of the 1942 version. And maybe, just maybe, they would not subvert the whole point of view of Steinbeck's work and turn it into a conventional love story. These things would make this new movie a more faithful adapatation of "Tortilla Flat," but you know what? Not necessarily a more entertaining one.

Start with that casting. I knew John Garfield and Spencer Tracy co-starred with Hedy Lamarr in this version, but imagine my surprise when I saw these names in the opening credits: Allen Jenkins…Frank Morgan…these guys are playing the paisanos, mind you…John Qualen...Sheldon Leonard??? I never complain when I see these guys in the credits, but this is truly ethnicity-blind casting to the point of ridiculousness. You got to love the MGM attitude. We have a bunch of good hands available, and, by jove, (or Jumpin' Jiminy, as Qualen might normally say in one of his other roles), we’re gonna use them. And that's just the supporting cast.

As for those leads, Spencer Tracy in particular seems to have a good time. Danny is the ostensible lead role, but Tracy's Pilon is by far the most interesting character. Tracy plays him with a good dose of mischief and lightness, fake accent, floppy hat, and all. He's like a canny Chico Marx. The big problem with the MGM version is how it undermines the comic spirit of the source material. Instead of a story about a group of men who have "adventures" and adhere to their own unique way of thinking, the men become sidekicks to a love story between John Garfield and Hedy Lamarr. There is some color in the supporting cast--how can there not be with that group of actors--but it's a clear overhaul of the novel, one that strips it of its distinction and blows up a side relationship until it's a generic Hollywood romance.

Perhaps even worse is the "listen up, dummies," message that comes not 20 minutes into the screenplay, in which a character actually spells out to Pilon what Pilon is doing. The lame little speech tells not just Pilon but the audience that his motives are less than pure, that he is only looking out for his own self and that people are on to him. This shatters the wry tone of Steinbeck's novel, which lets readers know exactly what the score is without being so blatant, nor having the characters be so blatant.

Still, I can't be too grouchy about this one, which works as traditional glossy Hollywood entertainment. There's that fun cast. Garfield and Lamarr do look great together--Hedy looks great, period, of course--and the story, with its drastically different ending, works on its own terms if you're not picky about what's been done to Steinbeck. Though many of the book's rougher edges have been smoothed out, a few things remain for those who pay even scant attention. Take neighbor Mrs. Morales, owner of many chickens, and how she eyes Danny. I was pleasantly surprised by how clear it is in the film what Danny does for Mrs. Morales in exchange for her chickens.

Sometimes traditional glossy Hollywood entertainment gets the job done, and "Tortilla Flat" did so for me, even though it did a real number on Steinbeck's novel.

This Week in DVD

10,000 B.C.: Ah, yes, go back to the days when everybody only had dial-up Internet access, the stars of "Sex and the City" were mere toddlers, and apparently lots of exciting action sequences played out. Personally, I'm not interested in any "B.C." movie that doesn't include Raquel Welch, Wiley, or Fat Broad.

The Furies: I know very little about this western except that it's directed by Anthony Mann. That's enough to warrant a look.

Persepolis: Animated feature based on the autobiographical graphic novels of Iranian creator Marjane Satrapi. Hmm, I still need to read the comics. Let me check back in on this one later, OK?

In Bruges: I recently developed a theory that Colin Farrell is of no value to a movie if he does not say "fookin'" at least once. Judging by the previews for this one, he does indeed say it many, many more times than once. But my theory does NOT hold that Farrell IS good value to a movie if he DOES say "fookin'." So with this one, who knows, really?

Evening Shade Season 1: Hey, what say we all get together and my place and put on this and some "B.L. Stryker" episodes for a Burt-a-thon? You bring the Miller Lite; I'll provide the chewing gum.


Definitely Maybe: And audiences continue to say "Definitely not," to the prospect of Ryan Reynolds as A-List leading man.

Brooks on Books: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

I wonder if today people tend to underestimate John Steinbeck's sense of humor because they think his most famous work, "The Grapes of Wrath," is a kind of hectoring polemic about the horrors of the Depression. But even that novel had some very funny scenes in it, and his other books feature funny material as well. "Tortilla Flat" is a comic novel that presents a certain mindset, a kind of illogical logic its characters subscribe to, and if you can accept that, you'll enjoy it.

Steinbeck writes here about the paisanos (who claimed a mixture of Spanish, Mexican, Indian, and Caucasian heritage) of a coastal area in post-WWI Northern California. In particular, there is a man named Danny around whom a group of like-minded paisanos gather and have "adventures"--most revolving around obtaining basic pleasures of life like wine, women, and song while avoiding evils like steady employment, responsibility, and permanence.

Supposedly the author modeled these likable rogues on King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, but it would take someone smarter than me to point out those parallels. Suffice to say that there is a certain romance to their lives that Steinbeck captures. He doesn't consider them bums, more like charming rascals who are incorrigible but basically good-hearted. The narrative voice neither condemns nor condones Danny and his friends, rather it recounts their tales with a wry, often florid manner that lays out their mindset in such a way that we know the narrator knows it's ridiculous but stops short of outright ridicule.

The kind of logic at work here is seen early on when Pilon, who is sort of the head rascal to Danny's group center, pursues a chicken. He tells the bird how miserable his life must be walking around near the road. After all, he reasons, the chicken is liable to get hit by an automobile and lose a wing and live in misery. So, unsaid by Pilon but implied by the narrator, far better for the bird to be killed quickly and eaten.

Better yet, later 3 men in the group have two bucks and are preparing to give it to Danny for rent. One asks what Danny needs the money for, anyway, and they discuss how he wants to buy candy for Mrs. Morales, the next-door neighbor. Quickly they mention how candy rots teeth, but what do they care if Mrs. Morales rots her teeth, BUT what if Danny eats some candy himself and rots HIS teeth? What kinds of friends would they be if they gave him the money to rot his teeth? So maybe they should warn Danny not to do so, to buy wine for the lady instead. But what if Danny decides to buy the candy after all? No, to be safe, they should be true friends and buy the wine themselves to give to Danny.

If Danny gets any of the wine, he'll be lucky.

Just put any combination of rent, wine, maybe food in there, and you'll get the kind of thinking these characters implement on a regular basis. It's a constant series of rationalizations that enable the thinker to justify doing what he wants. Not a bad way to live, actually. The circular logic could be repetitive after a while, but Steinbeck's episodic novel features enough different interesting scenarios in its relatively short length that it never gets tiresome. Reading about these guys and their efforts to barter for what they need/want is an entertaining experience because the characters are so appealing. They are not so much distinct as individuals as they are a unit, one that is quickly realized because of that common mindset.

It helps that while they sometimes steal--even from each other--and brawl and commit petty acts of vandalism, they're never truly criminal or mean. Steinbeck successfully walks the line of illustrating their roguishness while keeping them likable. Similarly, he (as the narrator) uses a literary style to recount their adventures but never lets us think he's taking it too seriously. It's a delightful comic novel with a rich cast in a vivid setting.

Often I'll see a movie and want to read the book afterwards, but in this case, I learned the movie would be on TV but reread the book before seeing it. This weekend, I'll write about MGM's 1942 adaptation of "Tortilla Flat."

While watching a Barney Miller rerun...

While checking out an episode of "Barney Miller" from WGN America's retro week last month, I started thinking about how that kind of show could never air in that form today. The cast is too male-centric and more importantly too old. Nowadays, there would have to be at least one or two or 3 sexy young singles in that precinct to jazz up the demos.

"Barney Miller" featured the kind of diversity that was hip back in the 1970s--besides Barn, there was a black guy, an Asian guy, a Polish guy, a really old guy, and an intellectual white guy. As Harris, Ron Glass fancied himself as adept with the ladies, but he wasn't exactly a sex symbol, and especially with his natty attire, he looked like he had been around a while. Let's face it, when Max Gail's Wojo is your youngest-skewing cast member, you're not exactly aiming for the "Teen Beat" set.

To me, that's a good thing. Would "Barney Miller" be better with a hotshot rookie who just happens to be a 20-year-old hunk? One who could flirt with another squad newbie portrayed by a comely lass fresh out of a stint as a teen on some daytime soap? I doubt it. But you know that's the kind of thing we'd get today.

Odds and Sods

Following up on some stuff I've written about lately:

*I now own the Popeye Volume 1 set from Warner Brothers, so now I have some credibility when I tell you to go buy Volume 2. And Volume 1 if you don't have it, as well as the forthcoming Volume 3, for that matter.

*WGN America has announced plans for its next retro week, this one honoring the eighties. This lineup is far weaker, though, including a played-out overrated movie ("E.T."), a sitcom which is already on its regular lineup ("The Cosby Show"), two nights of "Alf," and a night of "Family Ties" episodes (which actually fits in nicely and is a nice enough treat). Pavan at Sitcoms Online reports that WGN tried to get "Mork and Mindy" but failed, and he indicates there may have been other attempts to fill out that lineup with something besides two nights of "Alf." Still, I wonder: Is this retro week so much lamer than the 1970s week last month because of poor programming choices or because the 1980s just offered much less decent material?

*Good news is BBC America, about which I ranted here, is running promos for a new show, "Dragon's Den" or something like that. I stopped fast-forwarding through the commericals during a recent "Robin Hood" to see what this new show would be. Bad news: It's some kind of reality show in which people share their dreams and inventions, only to be humiliated by a panel of judges. Yawn. But I suppose at least it's better than "Britain's Worst Teeth."

*I finished reading "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile, and I successfully blocked out the horrible cover and enjoyed the heck out of the book. I have a big backlog of literary posts to get together, but I hope to write more about this one next week.

Der Bingle = Der Stuff

For a long time now, I've considered the epitome of Big Screen Cool to be someone like Cary Grant or maybe Bogie or Robert Mitchum. The more I see his movies, however, the more I think Bing Crosby may well be, pound for pound, the coolest movie star of all time.

I've long enjoyed him in the "Road" pictures with Hope, where his effortless, laid-back charm is actually written into the characters, if there can be said to BE characters apart from Bing's own screen persona. As I watch him more, though, I realize that even outside of that super-casual Road universe, Der Bingle is just as cool even in more "prestigious" pictures when he's able to play Bing Just Being Bing.

Take "High Society," the amusing if not as sharp remake of "The Philadelphia Story." I finally saw this one a week or two ago, and while it's impressive that this particular crooner walks off with the film as the coolest cat in a cast that includes Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong, it's not surprising. He's playing the guy who everybody likes, the ex who has the luxury of sitting back and making sly remarks while letting everyone know, hey, he's here and available if a certain ice queen named Grace Kelly wants to come to her senses. His character is the one calm, rational individual in the entire screenplay while also providing a clear cool alternative to the stuffed shirt (John Lund) Kelly plans to marry. How can Bing miss here? This is the equivalent of giving Babe Ruth a 3-0 count with the bases loaded.

I enjoyed Bing in "High Society," but I was far more impressed with the icon in a picture he made some 20 years earlier, "Pennies From Heaven," in which he's an ex-con who meets up with a lovable orphan and her grandfather and sets out to save them from being split up by a government child welfare agency. This younger Bing has the same casual demeanor, the same breezy style that draws you in to the extent you don't even think he's acting. Lazy? I think not. Just because Der Bingle doesn't have to let us see him sweat doesn't mean he ain't working. I mean, he drawls some wisecracks here and there, spars with a comely female at the agency, and all the while sings for his supper, treating the audience to several likable pop tunes.

It's what Bing overcomes in "Pennies From Heaven" that makes his easy coolness so remarkable. Consider these 3 factors:

1) His character, Larry, plays the lute. Yep, the lute. And he doesn't just rent one when he needs it or borrow it from a local Renaissance Fair minstrel. No, he owns one, and he carries it around with him all the time. Even in jail, we are told, he sings the sappiest, most sentimental songs there are while strumming his instrument. Even worse, he's the kind of guy that insists on correcting everyone that admires his guitar. If anyone else bothered to remind us, "It's a LUTE," we'd be rather annoyed, but we don't mind if it's Bing. He's the kind of fellow that just takes pride in his lute, not in correcting people.

2) He makes "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" sound cool. I'd say it takes a lot of work to make this chestnut sophisticated, except that The Binger does it and makes it look so easy. In one fun sequence, he, the young girl, and Grandpa freestyle a series of verses to the evergreen kiddie number, and darned if it doesn't come off pretty well. I don't want to give Rod Stewart an idea for his next album, but I'd pay for a collection of Bing Sings Kids Favorites (and please, no jokes about the way he disciplined his own kids; I made those for us when I watched the movie).

3) Most impressive of all, late in the film, he stays cool as he sings the title song while in a clown suit, skull cap, fake pencil-thin mustache, and ridiculous sideburns. The site of Bingo the Clown strumming his lute while leading a parade of kids down the street is almost surreal at first. Seeing that voice coming from somewhere deep in that get-up? There's a real disconnect there. Again, though, Crosby defies the odds by taking a ludicrous situation and making it not just watchable, but somehow cool. The key thing to remember here is that Der Bingle never seems to be straining for it, either. He just IS The Man, and there's no visible exertion in his performance. It's almost like playing a lute and singing "Pennies From Heaven" in full clown regalia is the most natural thing for a guy to do.

Humphrey Bogart is my all-time favorite movie star, and once his career got going, he was rarely anything less than 100% cool. But even he would have a hard time making that look natural. So maybe we need to give Bing Crosby more credit. I know I find myself seeking out more of his movies lately.