What It's About:

Saving up to buy a farm where they plan to raise rabbits, itinerant worker George (Meredith) and his feeble-minded cousin Lennie (Chaney) are hired by a California rancher for menial work, and before long run afoul of his belligerent son, Curley (Bob Steele). Tragedy strikes, though, when Curley’s bored wife Mae (Betty Field) starts flirting with Lennie, a brute simpleton who doesn’t know his own strength.

Why I Love It:

Milestone retains all the poignant drama of John Steinbeck’s Depression-era novel, matching Ford’s lyricism in his evocation of the desperate plight of migrant farmworkers sustained only by their pipe dreams. Meredith turns in fine work as Lenny’s minder, as does a sultry Mae, tormenting the hapless half-wit with sexual come-ons. But Chaney, who would later achieve fame as The Man of a Thousand Faces for his ’40s monster-movie roles, really shines as the gentle giant with a fondness for soft, furry things he can’t help but crush in his paws when he’s distressed.