American Cinematographer - May 1990 - 38

explained that he had read the book and liked it be¬
it was about mule skinners; he had been a
mule skinner in his early years. A contract was
cause

signed on the spot for Roach to sponsor the picture
as a
part of his schedule for the United Artists pro¬
gram. Roach would also provide studio facilities
and put his excellent production crew at their dis¬
posal. It was agreed that a mutual friend, director
Leo McCarey, would mediate any controversies
regarding casting.
At the studio Milestone met an old friend,
Norbert Brodine, ASC. The two had served together
in the Signal Corps and subsequently worked to¬

gether bicycling film at the studios, but had never
been teamed as director and cinematographer.
Brodine had become assistant to Clyde DeVinna,
Above:
man

Breen

Candy(Ro¬

Bohnen, left)

and Crooks

(Leigh
Whipper) watch
fearfully as George
(Burgess Meredith)
tells Mae (Betty
Field) to stay away
from the bunkhouse.

Right: Charles
Bickford as Slim.

promised that he would read the

script that day and give his answer next morning.
When

they returned he congratulated them on
having done a fine piece of work, suggested a few
minor changes to avoid censorship pitfalls, and sent
them away happy.
Solow telephoned Steinbeck, who invited
him to bring the script to his ranch, some 300 miles
north of Los Angeles. After an all-day drive, Solow.
had a drink with the author, who promptly invited
him to read the script aloud. Steinbeck listened in¬
tently, interrupting at one point to mention that one
of the characters had uttered a "New England ex¬
pression" that might be uttered by "one of those
Harvard men" but wouldn't be used by a Salinas
Valley man.
Solow finished reading at five a. m. After
what seemed an eternity of silence, Steinbeck told
him he had done a wonderful job of preserving the
integrity of the book and of the play. "I wouldn't
want a scene changed," he added. While Solow
gratefully downed a whisky, Steinbeck said he had
an idea for a short scene that might be useful. In the
space of half an hour he typed a seven-page se¬
quence that made the screenplay complete.

ASC, and

first

cameraman

in 1919 at

By this time

everyone

in the movie indus¬

try knew that Of Mice and Men was actually being
made. John Garfield and James Cagney of Warner
Bros, and Spencer Tracy of MGM were anxious to
portray George, but such names were far from af¬
fordable even if their studios had been willing to
loan them out. Extensive

screen tests of
dependable
performers who had not yet been canonized as stars
were
begun on a Roach stage.
Of 20 stage and screen actors tested, Bur¬
gess Meredith was chosen to portray George, the

Milestone heard that Hal Roach, the veteran

independent producer, had expressed an interest in
their project. Roach had become famous for his tworeel comedies with Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chase
and the Our Gang kids. More recently he had
stepped up his schedule of features and was anx¬
ious to enhance their prestige. Nine days before
their option was due to expire, Milestone and So¬
low met with Roach at his studio in Culver City.
Roach wasn't convinced that the picture
could be made as cheaply as Milestone claimed, but
almost immediately he offered to back it on a coop¬
erative basis. He didn't bother to read the script; he

Cinematographer

scale features.

Milestone and Solow had determined that

American

named

of 21. After many years at most of the major
studios, he had become the top cinematographer at
the Roach lot, where he filmed the three Topper
pictures, Merrily We Live, There Goes My Heart, One
Million B. C., Captain Fury and several other large-

they could make the picture for about $250,000 pro¬
vided they avoided expensive "name" stars. This
was considerably more than most "B" pictures cost
at the time but well below the usual "A" budget.
Besides, they rationalized, it would permit them to
cast actors perfectly suited to the roles without the
necessity of catering to established personalities.

was

the age

May 1990

American Cinematographer - May 1990

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