Screen Version Of "Of Mice And Men"

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 175, 19 April 1940, Page 5

Screen Version Of "Of Mice And Men"

T?RUNETTE Betty Field, Hollywood actress, plays the role of Mae. the heroine of Hal Roach’s production of “Of Mice and Men.” the screen version of John Steinbeck’s novel, due for early release in New Zealand. Produced and directed by Lewis Milestone, the production co-stars witli Miss Field Burgess Meredith, of “Winterset” fame, and Lon Chaney, juti., mimesake and scion of a great movie family. In the supporting cast of the film are Charles Bickford, Roman Bohnen, Bob Steele and Noah Beery, junior. The story of “Of Mice and Men” was transferred to the screen from a script based on the Broadwiry stage hit and dramatizes the life of the “bindlestiffs” or migratory workers on Aguora Ranch in California. “Of Mice and Men” tells of the careers of two men—George and Lennie. It shows rhe hopes and dreams, the drama and tragedy, the humour and pathos of these central figures; it details ranch life and its vast implications for those humans who go from job to job on the path to nowhere. Most of the action of “Of Mice and Men” is on a ranch which was built exactly as it was described in Steinbeck’s novel, in a sun-seared valley 40 miles north of Hollywood. Inside of eight days, studio technicians erected nine buildings substantial enough for actual farming purposes. Men were able to sleep in the bunkhouse, livestock were kept in the barn and water actually came out of the well.