American poetry and one of the best of all screen adaptations from literature. Lewis Milestone made "Of Mice and Men" in 1939 and it's a beautiful piece of work, a classic. This version sticks closely to the theatrical adaptation and it's a great actor's piece. Burgess Meredith is George and Lon Chaney Jr. Is the slow-witted, gentle giant Lenny and they are both superb but then they are only part of a great ensemble that includes Roman Bohnen, magnificent as Candy, Charles Bickford as Slim, Leigh Whipper as Crooks, Bob Steele as Curly and Betty Field as Curly's wife. It was also that rare thing for the time, an intelligent, adult entertainment that eschewed melodrama; it's a genuine American tragedy and it can take its place beside John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath" as the perfect screen version of a Steinbeck novel. The original score, which is wonderful, is by Aaron Copland.
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