Tortilla Flat (1942)

Tortilla Flat (1942) is an American drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy, John Garfield and Hedy Lamarr. The screenplay is based on the 1935 novel by John Steinbeck about a group of work-shirking, wine-guzzling tramps.


Belgian collectors card by Kwatta, Series C, no. 154 Photo: MGM. Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield in Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942).


Belgian collector card by Kwatta, Series C, no. 166. Photo: MGM. Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield in Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942).


Belgian collectors card by Kwatta, Series C, no. 174. Photo: MGM. John Garfield and Spencer Tracy in Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942).

A little idyll filled with solid humour and compassion

Crafty Pilon (Spencer Tracy) lies in the sun and thinks beautiful thoughts, especially about how to take advantage, nicely, of his pals. Their biggest concern each day is how they're going to acquire wine. pilon is one of the poor but lazy paisanos, living along the coast of California. His young and magnetic sidekick Danny Alvarez (John Garfield) inherits from his grandfather two houses in Tortilla Flat, in the central coastal area of California, just outside the old seaport town of Monterey. So Pilon decides to take advantage of him and brings in all his friends to live in one of the houses.

One of the friends, the Pirate (Frank Morgan), is a paisano who goes around with a bunch of dogs. He lives like a tramp but has plenty of money hidden in the woods. He is the only one in the group who does odd jobs. The Pirate is trying to save money to buy a silver golden stick for the Statue of St. Francis in the local Catholic Church. Pilon endeavors to steal the money, until he discovers that the Pirate intends to honour St. Francis for healing his sick dog. The dog is later run over and killed.

When the house of the paisanos burns down, Danny offers his friends to move into the other house with him. In gratitude, Pilon tries to make life better for his friend. Things are fine at first until Danny meets a pretty girl named Dolores (Hedy Lamarr). Then Danny begins to grow less irresponsible, to the horrified disgust of Pilon. Danny actually goes to work in a fishing business.

A misunderstanding caused by Pilon about a vacuum cleaner that Danny had bought for the girl enrages Danny. He becomes drunk and a bit crazy. He almost dies in an accident while interrupting the girl at her work in a cannery, but through Pilon's prayers, he is restored to health. Danny marries his sweetheart, with the promise that he will become a fisherman, now that Pilon has raised the money to buy a boat.

The film's happy ending is different from the novel's ending, in which Danny dies after a fall. Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing that the film "is really a little idyll which turns its back on a workaday world...it is filled with solid humour and compassion — and that is pleasant, even for folks who have to work". Frank Morgan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his poignant portrayal of The Pirate.


French postcard by Editions La Malibran, Saint-Dié, no. CA 22. Photo: M.G.M. Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield in Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942).


Spanish postcard, no. 4072. Photo: M.G.M. Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield in Tortilla Flat (Victor Fleming, 1942). The Spanish title is La vida es asi.


American postcard by EKC. Photo: W.T. Gray, Los Angeles. Hedy Lamarr.

Sources: Bosley Crowther (The New York Times), Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.