The Breaking Point (1950)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Ernest Hemingway (novel)
Ranald MacDougall (writer)

Release Date:

6 October 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

A guy who had nothing to sell but guts!

Plot:

Fishing boat captain Harry Morgan charters his boat. Due to strained finances, he is none too careful as to whom he does business with...

Plot Keywords:

Orchestral Music Score | Remake | Based On Novel

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

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-15 (new rating: 2001) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Newport Beach, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

Beautifully Acted By All

John Garfield is the star. What a star he was, too! He's near the end of his too-short career here but is fine. Phyllis Thaxter, as his wife, will steal your heart. She gives a beautifully performance.

One of my favorites, Patricia Neal, is good too. But she doesn't look beautiful, which she certainly was. Her costumes do not compliment her, nor does her hair in this movie.

Juano Hernandez as Garfield's fishing buddy is very touching in an understated role. And Wallace Ford is exceptionally good. He plays an extremely shady lawyer -- a loudmouthed braggart and a coward. It's the sort of role and performance that get singled out for Academy Awards but apparently he got nothing -- not here nor anywhere else in his long, interesting career.

The story centers on Garfield's boat and his travels. It's about him, his foundering career, and his family. Initially Neal plays an integral role but once she is no longer a passenger, her character's relationship to the rest of the plot is tenuous.