Of Mice and Men (1939)

OF MICE AND MEN  (1939)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Lewis Milestone
    Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr., Betty Field,
    Charles Bickford, Bob Steele, Noah Beery Jr.
For all the monster movies he appeared in over the years, Lon Chaney Jr. gave his most frightening performance as Lennie, the simple-minded giant, in John Steinbeck's enduring pastoral tragedy. Lennie and his pal George (Burgess Meredith) are itinerant ranch hands, moving from job to job during the Depression and dreaming about someday owning a little spread of their own. But Lennie's childlike mind and outsized strength always land him in trouble, and sooner or later, he and George are forced to move on. Other screen adaptations have come along since, and Nicol Williamson, Randy Quaid and John Malkovich have all taken on the role, but none of them have matched the scary simplicity Chaney brought to Lennie. Throw in Milestone's direction, Aaron Copland's music and Meredith doing some of his best work, too, and this version is pretty much definitive.