Cannery Row (1982)

Director:

David S. Ward

Writers:

John Steinbeck (novels)
David S. Ward (written for the screen by)
(more)

Release Date:

12 February 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

You don't have to be crazy to live here...but it helps.

Plot:

A depressed section of Monterey, California, known as Cannery Row from its string of now-empty canning...

Plot Keywords:

Loneliness | Octopus | Snake | Baseball Bat | Brothel

Cast

Nick Nolte	...	Doc
Debra Winger	...	Suzy DeSoto
Audra Lindley	...	Fauna
Frank McRae	...	Hazel
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Mack
Tom Mahoney	...	Hughie
John Malloy	...	Jones
James Keane	...	Eddie
Sunshine Parker	...	The Seer
Santos Morales	...	Joseph / Mary
John Huston	...	Narrator (voice)
Ellen Blake	...	Wisteria
Sharon Ernster	...	Agnes
Kathleen Doyle	...	Violet
Mary Margaret Amato	...	Lola
Brenda Hillhouse	...	Martha
Mariko Tse	...	Blossom
Colleen O'Grady	...	The Pitcher
Tona Dodd	...	Golden Poppy Waitress
Judy Kerr	...	Beer Milkshake Waitress
Tom Pletts	...	Doctor
William Bronder	...	Suzy's Trick
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Ellen Sedgewick (as Rosana DiSoto)
Walter Mathews	...	Sonny
Art LaFleur	...	Doorman
Joshua Lawrence	...	Boy
Joe Terry	...	Tucker
Carl Ciarfalio	...	Tackle
Reid Rondell	...	Frat Boy #1
John Meier	...	Frat Boy #2
Tim Culbertson	...	Frat Boy #3
Scott Wilder	...	Frat Boy #4
Gilbert B. Combs	...	Frat Boy #5
Christopher Doyle	...	Frat Boy #6
Gary McLarty	...	Frat Boy #7
Bobby Sargent	...	Frat Boy #8
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anne Lockhart	...	Barmaid (uncredited)
Tom Willett	...	Bartender (uncredited)

Directed by
David S. Ward

Writing credits
John Steinbeck		(novels "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday")
David S. Ward		(written for the screen by)
William Graham		uncredited

Produced by
Kurt Neumann	....	associate producer
Michael Phillips	....	producer

Original Music by
Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by
Sven Nykvist

Film Editing by
David Bretherton

Casting by
Jennifer Shull

Production Design by
Richard Macdonald

Art Direction by
William F. O'Brien

Set Decoration by
Mary Swanson		(as Mary Olivia Swanson)

Costume Design by
Ruth Myers

Makeup Department
Edouard F. Henriques	....	makeup artist
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist
Elizabeth Rabe	....	additional hair stylist (1982)
Bron Roylance	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Kurt Neumann	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ross Brown	....	second assistant director
Jerry Sobul	....	first assistant director
Wendy Thompson	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Henry Alberti	....	set designer
Joseph Hurley	....	illustrator
William Maldonado	....	construction coordinator
Margie Stone McShirley	....	set designer
Duff Miller	....	assistant property master
Gregory Pickrell	....	set designer
Sal Sommatino	....	property master
Marjorie Stone	....	set designer
John Warnke	....	set designer

Sound Department
Jay M. Harding	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dale Johnston	....	sound effects
Jerry Jost	....	sound
Michael J. Kohut	....	sound re-recording mixer
Frank M. Reale	....	sound re-recording mixer
Norman B. Schwartz	....	post-production dialogue
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Duncan McEwan	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
David A. Whittaker	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Peter Albiez	....	special effects
Bruce Mattox	....	special effects
Andrew Miller	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Matthew Yuricich	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Bill Cross	....	stunts
Ted Duncan	....	stunts
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph Capshaw	....	best boy
Adam Glick	....	set lighting technician
Daniel Graff	....	special lighting technician
Gregg Heschong	....	camera operator
Gene Kearney	....	key grip
Jud Kehl	....	first assistant camera
Gary B. Kibbe	....	camera operator
Bruce McBroom	....	still photographer
Bob Munoz	....	best boy grip
James Plannette	....	gaffer
Peter Santoro	....	second assistant camera
R. Michael De Chellis	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Bronson	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Richard G. Haines	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Harry V. Lojewski	....	music supervisor
Greg Orloff	....	assistant scoring mixer
Dennis S. Sands	....	score mixer
Curt Sobel	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Alan Kaminsky	....	picture car coordinator
Randy Peters	....	transportation captain
Jim Martell	....	transportation coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Wendy Atterbury	....	script supervisor
Jim Dannaldson	....	zoological specialist
Leo Janos	....	unit publicist
Kevin King	....	payroll accountant
Don Kruger	....	location manager
Andrew Miller	....	rubber frogs
Robert Ward	....	creative consultant
Lou Wills	....	choreographer
Dixie Fusillo	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Chai Productions
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1982) (worldwide) (VHS) (Pan and scan in oversized box)
• IMV-Vertrieb (1985) (West Germany) (video)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Esselte Video (1991) (Finland) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1990) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• California Views  photo archives (as Pat Hathaway Collection)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Canada:A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Monterey, California, USA

Company:

Chai Productions

Trivia:

The original screenplay for this film was based only on John Steinbeck's novel "Cannery Row" and did not include its sequel "Sweet Thursday" as the movie in the end did.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "sick or a busted arm" scene in the Golden Poppy between Suzy and Hazel, the number of ketchup bottles with and without caps changes between shots.

Quotes:

Fauna:The stars say that you are gonna be - oh... that you are gonna be President of the United States!
Mack:I don't believe it.
Hazel:I don't wanna be no President!
Fauna:You got no choice; the stars have spoke. You'll just have to go to Washington.
Hazel:But I don't want to! I don't know nobody there!
Fauna:I'm sorry, Hazel.
Hazel:Ain't there any way I can tell 'em I won't do it?
Fauna:No.
Hazel:[sobbing] A thing like this could ruin my whole life!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Cannery Row' (1982) (V)

Soundtrack:

BIG NOISE FROM WINNETKA

Not the book, but well worth a few views

The one author whose writing I consistently enjoy reading is John Steinbeck.

Cannery Row is my favorite of his stories. I've read my way through one paperback and am now preserving my second. His short novel "Sweet Thursday" is as much of a sequel to Cannery Row as it's possible to be.

The only non-paper version of the tale that I rate at least as highly as the book is the audio version, narrated by Jerry Farden. If the book is a 10, Jerry's reading is a 15. It's difficult to track down, though. If you want a real treat for your ears and your mind, get it.

Back to the movie. It's difficult to appreciate a film when you've read the book beforehand. And vice versa. So when I borrowed the VHS a few years ago, I had plenty of preconceptions, and some eager anticipation. It didn't take long for my preconceptions to shatter the anticipation.

This movie is NOT Cannery Row, but a mix of parts of it and Sweet Thursday.

I could easily be critical of it... Nick Nolte is much too much of a Man, and does not fit my mental image of Ed Ricketts at all. Debra Winger fits, more or less. The mix of two books changed the whole pace of the story, and spoiled it wholesale. There were bright spots, but tainted with those same old preconceptions.

So, don't expect to see a visual equivalent of the books, because it isn't. I don't go along with those who say that it's not worth watching. It's different than the book, and sometimes that can be hard to work through.

But, standing apart from the books, the movie is good. Darn good. It is well worth at least two viewings. And, I think, the more it's viewed, the better it gets.