I especially liked the film's setting and location filming. Relatively few movies were filmed in Orange County, where I spent my summers as a youth at Newport Beach hanging out on Balboa Island Fun Zone and Pier .
THE BREAKING POINT is a (very) loose remake of TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), with both films inspired by a story by Ernest Hemingway. THE BREAKING POINT's screenplay was by Ranald MacDougall. John Garfield was the type of leading man who came out of that kind of working man play -- more rugged than romantic, more blue collar than white collar, more at home in a leather jacket than a tuxedo. That leading man type would peak post-war with the likes of Dean, Brando, Steiger, Newman, McQueen, and others. But their predecessor was John Garfield.
Garfield plays Harry Morgan, who lives on Balboa Island with his wife (Phyllis Thaxter) and young daughters. Once a captain of a PT boat in World War II, (John Garfield) is now trying to earn a living commanding a sport-fishing vessel in Newport, California. The Breaking Point is a character study draped loosely in traditional crime-film garb.
John Garfield plays Harry Morgan, the owner of a charter boat who is having trouble making enough money to support his wife and daughters. When he accepts a charter to take a man named Hannagan and his mistress to Mexico to do some fishing, his client skips out without paying, leaving Morgan with Hannagan's girlfriend Lenora (Patricia Neal), and a docking fee he can't pay. In order to make enough money to get home, Morgan reluctantly agrees to smuggle Chinese people into the United States, but the Coast Guard finds out about it and impounds his boat. The situation becomes increasingly desperate for Morgan as a gang of crooks blackmails him and kills his first mate, forcing him into a fateful confrontation.
Garfield turns in a fine performance as Harry Morgan, married this time around . Phyllis Thaxter is excellent as his world-weary wife and Patrica Neal's whore in all but name complements her perfectly and gets the lion's share of the one-liners. Wallace Ford is suitably oily as the architect of all Morgan's troubles and Juan Hernandez lends sterling support as Morgan's crew-cum-friend.
The final image of the movie is one of the sadder and more haunting shots in cinematic history. Terrific movie. One of Garfield's last efforts.
THE BREAKING POINT is a (very) loose remake of TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), with both films inspired by a story by Ernest Hemingway. THE BREAKING POINT's screenplay was by Ranald MacDougall. John Garfield was the type of leading man who came out of that kind of working man play -- more rugged than romantic, more blue collar than white collar, more at home in a leather jacket than a tuxedo. That leading man type would peak post-war with the likes of Dean, Brando, Steiger, Newman, McQueen, and others. But their predecessor was John Garfield.
Garfield plays Harry Morgan, who lives on Balboa Island with his wife (Phyllis Thaxter) and young daughters. Once a captain of a PT boat in World War II, (John Garfield) is now trying to earn a living commanding a sport-fishing vessel in Newport, California. The Breaking Point is a character study draped loosely in traditional crime-film garb.
John Garfield plays Harry Morgan, the owner of a charter boat who is having trouble making enough money to support his wife and daughters. When he accepts a charter to take a man named Hannagan and his mistress to Mexico to do some fishing, his client skips out without paying, leaving Morgan with Hannagan's girlfriend Lenora (Patricia Neal), and a docking fee he can't pay. In order to make enough money to get home, Morgan reluctantly agrees to smuggle Chinese people into the United States, but the Coast Guard finds out about it and impounds his boat. The situation becomes increasingly desperate for Morgan as a gang of crooks blackmails him and kills his first mate, forcing him into a fateful confrontation.
Garfield turns in a fine performance as Harry Morgan, married this time around . Phyllis Thaxter is excellent as his world-weary wife and Patrica Neal's whore in all but name complements her perfectly and gets the lion's share of the one-liners. Wallace Ford is suitably oily as the architect of all Morgan's troubles and Juan Hernandez lends sterling support as Morgan's crew-cum-friend.
The final image of the movie is one of the sadder and more haunting shots in cinematic history. Terrific movie. One of Garfield's last efforts.