Movie - Of Mice and Men (1939)

 

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• Also watch "Of Mice and Men (1992)" (53 years later)

Plot

The film tells the story of two migrant field workers in California during the Great Depression, George Milton and the mentally-challenged Lennie Small, who hope to one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land.

They arrive at a ranch near Soledad and meet Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch-hand. After meeting with the ranch boss, Jackson, the pair are confronted by Curley, the violent son of the ranch owner. To make matters worse, Curley's seductive and conniving wife, Mae, flirts with the other ranch hands. George orders Lennie not to talk to, or even look at her, as he senses the troubles that Mae could bring to them.

Candy offers to join with George and Lennie so they can buy the farm and the dream appears to move closer to reality. Curley appears and makes a scene in the bunkhouse as the workers mock him after he accused Slim of keeping company with his wife. Curley catches Lennie laughing, grabs him from his bunk, and starts punching him in the face. When George tells him to fight back, Lennie crushes Curley's hand. Slim gives Curley an ultimatum: if Curley tells his father, Slim will tell everyone what happened. Curley is told to say that he got his hand caught in a piece of machinery.

Despite Slim's efforts, Mae discovers the truth. When Mae tries to be kind to Lennie, George tells her to return to the house. Mae refuses to do so, saying that she has the right to talk to and flirt with whomever she likes.

The next morning, Mae confronts Curley, calling him "a punk with a crippled hand!" Curley tells her that their marriage is over, and that she is going to be kicked off the ranch due to her carnal behavior with the ranch hands. Before she can leave, Mae enters the barn to pet a few of Slim's puppies, when she spots Lennie sobbing. Lennie says he killed his puppy when it tried to bite him. Mae explains to Lennie what she wanted to be before Curley shattered her dream. When Lennie tells Mae that he loves to stroke soft things, Mae allows him to stroke her hair. Mae starts to resist and scream when Lennie strokes her hair too hard. When Lennie tries to silence Mae, he accidentally kills her by breaking her neck.

When Candy and George find Mae's body, they tell the others and a lynch mob gathers to kill Lennie. George finds Lennie and, wanting to spare Lennie a painful death, shoots him in the back of the head before the mob can find him.