Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Nick Nolte | ... | Doc | |
Debra Winger | ... | Suzy DeSoto | |
Audra Lindley | ... | Fauna Flood | |
Frank McRae | ... | Hazel | |
M. Emmet Walsh | ... | Mack | |
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Tom Mahoney | ... | Hughie |
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John Malloy | ... | Jones |
James Keane | ... | Eddie | |
Sunshine Parker | ... | The Seer | |
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Santos Morales | ... | Joseph and Mary |
John Huston | ... | Narrator (voice) | |
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Ellen Blake | ... | Wisteria |
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Sharon Ernster | ... | Agnes |
Kathleen Doyle | ... | Violet | |
Mary Margaret Amato | ... | Lola |
Monterey, California in the 1940's. Cannery Row - the section of town where the now closed fish canneries are located - is inhabited primarily by the down and out, although many would not move away even if they could. Probably the most upstanding citizen in the area is Doc, a marine biologist who earns a living primarily by collecting and selling marine specimens for research. He is a lost soul who is looking for his place in life. He is running away from his past, one where he is trying to make amends for what he considers a past wrong. But his current life isn't totally satisfying either. He believes that his recent collection of eight baby octopi will help him define that future in conducting research on their behavior. However, he is finding that research is not as easy as he had hoped, and that he is still feeling restless. Into the area comes drifter Suzy DeSoto. She too is a lost soul. With few job skills, she gets a job as what she calls a floozy in the local whorehouse, ... Written by Huggo
There were a few newspapers, here and there, that named CANNERY ROW as one of the Best of the Year, and they were the few that truly appreciated what is one of the finest capturing of Steinbeck ever on the screen. The film unites a couple of Steinbeck works that also became the book for Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Pipe Dream". Unfortunately, Steinbeck goes in and out of favor, and, at the moment, he is not lionized. But CANNERY ROW is a total delight -- replete with an extraordinary capture of the Steinbeck dialogue, a magnificent mise en scene of coastal California, a delicious group of characters captured to perfection, exquisite photography, and a soundtrack that united Bach with a melodic and playful score that deserved soundtrack status. Everything works... the humor is handled with a touch of wonderful madness by Nick Nolte, Debra Winger, and a gleeful bunch of farceurs playing giddy prostitutes and aging drop-outs who live along the desolate Cannary Row. Classic moments include the jitterbug between Nolte and Winger that temporarily interrupts their insults; the infamous frog hunt; Doc's special treat at the diner.... This David Ward film should be elevated to a classic status. It must be rediscovered so that audiences can delight in it for ages to come. See it..... Relax... Enjoy....and listen to the narration of John Huston - another element that is right on the mark !!!