{"id":24035,"date":"2020-07-28T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=24035"},"modified":"2021-05-22T09:51:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T13:51:12","slug":"the-breaking-point-1950-z-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=24035","title":{"rendered":"The Breaking Point (1950) \/ Z-View"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Breaking Point<\/em><\/strong> (1950)<\/p>\n

Director: Michael Curtiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Screenplay: Ranald MacDougall<\/strong> (Based on Ernest Hemingway’s\u00a0<\/strong>novel To<\/span> Have<\/span> and<\/span> Have<\/span> Not<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Stars: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano Hernandez <\/strong>and Wallace Ford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Pitch: “Let’s redo To Have and Have Not<\/em> but make it closer to Hemmingway’s novel!”<\/p>\n

Tagline: There’s nothing more deadly than a gentle man pushed too far!<\/em><\/p>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/p>\n

Harry Morgan was a war hero, but that doesn’t mean much any more.\u00a0 Times are tough. Now Morgan is a charter boat captain with a wife, two little girls and a stack of bills he needs to take care of.\u00a0 When a sleazy lawyer offers Morgan a chance at some easy money<\/em>, he turns it down.\u00a0 Morgan knows something legal will come along.<\/p>\n

And it does.\u00a0 Morgan gets a week’s rental from a business man wanting a fishing trip to Mexico.\u00a0 Things start to go sideways when the man unexpectedly brings along his sexy, flirtatious girlfriend<\/em>.\u00a0 The woman is trouble and she knows it.<\/p>\n

In Mexico, the man decides to cut his trip short and agrees to pay Morgan in the morning before they head back.\u00a0 The next day Morgan learns that the man skipped out and flew back to the states.\u00a0 Morgan is stuck in Mexico with no money, the guy’s girlfriend<\/em> and no way home.<\/p>\n

Of course the easy money<\/em> offer is still available…<\/p>\n

The Breaking Point<\/em> is an under-rated gem.\u00a0 If you like noir, then this is for you.<\/p>\n

This is Garfield’s best role.\u00a0 Patricia Neal is perfect as the sexy, trouble-making young woman with experience beyond her years.\u00a0 Thaxter is great as the wife trying to keep things together as her husband makes increasingly bad decisions.\u00a0 Juano Hernandez, as Morgan’s best friend, isn’t there with Walter Brennan comic relief.<\/p>\n

I can’t believe I waited so long to finally watch The Breaking Point.\u00a0 Part of the problem may be the poster and trailer aren’t good indicators of how great the film is.\u00a0 And that final scene!<\/p>\n