The Breaking Point (1950)

An otherwise moral captain of a charter boat becomes financially strapped and is drawn into illegal activities in order to keep up payments on his boat.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall, Ernest Hemingway (novel)

Stars:

John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Garfield	...	Harry Morgan
Patricia Neal	...	Leona Charles
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Lucy Morgan
Juano Hernandez	...	Wesley Park
Wallace Ford	...	F.R. Duncan
Edmon Ryan	...	Rogers
Ralph Dumke	...	Hannagan
Guy Thomajan	...	Danny
William Campbell	...	Concho
Sherry Jackson	...	Amelia Morgan
Donna Jo Boyce	...	Connie Morgan
Victor Sen Yung	...	Mr. Sing

Storyline

Fishing boat captain Harry Morgan charters his boat. Due to strained finances, he is none too careful as to whom he does business with. Real trouble erupts when Harry hires out his boat to transport four men who turn out to be criminals on the lam from a racetrack heist.

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Plot Keywords:

racetrack | fishing boat | charter boat | bleach blond | shootout | 

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Taglines:

There's nothing more deadly than a gentle man pushed too far!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

6 October 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Illdåd ombord

Filming Locations:

Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Finnish certificate censorship # 33288 delivered on 6-3-1951 (K-16, 120m cut).

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Quotes

Leona Charles: [to Hatty and Lucy] I guess it's late enough for me to say it's late.

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Connections

Featured in The John Garfield Story (2003)

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Soundtracks

"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Played at the dockside bar

User Reviews

Taut, terrific remake of "To Have and Have Not" more faithful to the original tale...

Ernest Hemingway is said to have liked THE BREAKING POINT more than any other film made from one of his stories and it's easy to see why--especially if you compare this to the earlier version, TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. While that film sizzled with their chemistry in the leading roles, the story here is much more compelling and has much more urgency in the telling.

Of course, it's always a shame that Hemingway's anti-heroes fail to understand that playing around with crooked gangsters can be detrimental to the health of all concerned, but THE BREAKING POINT makes you sympathize with the character of Harry Morgan that Garfield plays so well. The shady lady in this case is smoothly played by PATRICIA NEAL, whose patrician presence made Garfield inform her (or so we're told by Miss Neal herself): "You know, don't you, you're playing a whore." She tells this amusing anecdote in a documentary called THE JOHN GARFIELD STORY.

PHYLLIS THAXTER is the plain wife of boat captain Garfield, who lightens her hair when she gets a load of the woman (Patricia Neal) she suspects her husband is having an affair with. Thaxter gives one of her best performances as the loyal wife struggling to keep her husband straight, away from the gangsters she knows will ruin the lives of their small family. WALLACE FORD is excellent as the shady lawyer willing to take abusive treatment from Garfield as long as he goes along with the crooked schemes he has in mind.

The film has a stark film noir quality to the excellent B&W photography and builds to a quietly effective ending after the long shootout that ends the story, an ending that makes the viewer more aware of the consequences of Garfield's stupid decision to conspire with gangsters who shoot his best friend. Michael Curtiz does a superior job of directing.