The Breaking Point
The Breaking Point • 1h 37m
Directed by Michael Curtiz • 1950 • United States
Starring John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter
Michael Curtiz brings a master skipper’s hand to the helm of this thriller, Hollywood’s second crack at Ernest Hemingway’s “To Have and Have Not.” John Garfield stars as Harry Morgan, an honest charter-boat captain who, facing hard times, takes on dangerous cargo to save his boat, support his family, and preserve his dignity. Left in the lurch by a freeloading passenger, Harry starts to entertain the criminal propositions of a sleazy lawyer (Wallace Ford), as well as the playful come-ons of a cheeky blonde (Patricia Neal), making a series of compromises that stretch his morality—and his marriage—further than he’ll admit. Hewing closer to Hemingway’s novel than Howard Hawks’s Bogart-Bacall vehicle does, THE BREAKING POINT charts a course through daylight noir and working-class tragedy, guided by Curtiz’s effortless visual fluency and a stoic, career-capping performance from Garfield.
Up Next in The Breaking Point
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Alan K. Rode on THE BREAKING POINT
Produced in 2017, this interview features biographer and film historian Alan K. Rode (“Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film”) discussing THE BREAKING POINT and its director, Michael Curtiz.
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Julie Garfield on THE BREAKING POINT
In this 2017 program, actor Julie Garfield remembers her father, John Garfield, and discusses his performance in THE BREAKING POINT.
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Fluid Style in THE BREAKING POINT
In this 2017 video essay, filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos (“Every Frame a Painting”) examine director Michael Curtiz’s understated artistry in THE BREAKING POINT.
