The Breaking Point (1950) -Curtiz

Plot:  Based on Hemingway's To Have and Have Not.  A struggling small boat owner gets involved in smuggling and bank robbery.
Stars:  John Garfield, Patricia Neal
Best Quote:
Harry: Where can I find Harrigan?
Leona: I don't know.
Harry: Where did you meet him?
Leona: Sunday school.

Do you love John Garfield? If so, you might like the Breaking Point, because he's in almost every second of this 97 minute crime-drama.  And maybe an overwhelming love for John Garfield explains all the over-the-top critical praise, because its  no more than an uneven, pleasant re-telling of Hemingway's worst novel.

What I liked.

•  Excellent 15 minute bank robbery/escape action 
•  Some clever banter between Neal and Garfield.
•  Good photography and set design, considering the low budget.
•  Garfield & Phyllis Thaxter do well in dramatic scenes.
•  Nice closing shot of the mate's boy on the dock.

What I didn't like.  

• Neal sports an awful blond wig and is badly photographed.  Plus Neal's obsession with Garfield is puzzling since he's broke, married, and treats her badly.
• Too much domestic drama that went nowhere.  The middle third is talky and sluggish. 
• Garfield unbelievable as a "tough guy" or a former PT Boat Captain. I kept wishing Kirk Douglas/Mitchum would show up. Garfield was an excellent actor, but 12 other stars had more charisma. 
•  Wallace Ford  was too bland as the sleazy lawyer. Where's Thomas Gomez when you need him?
• Finally, the robbers escape plan by boat was nonsense.  Coast Guard planes had radar that could easily locate Garfield's boat whether at night or "on the other side of Catalina Island". 

 Novel vs. Movie
In the book, Harry Morgan is not a nice guy. He's a poor Key West boat operator who turns to crime/smuggling to make a living.  He's also a  ruthless killer - and dies after trying to murder the Cuban Revolutionaries and steal their loot. The movie makes Harry Morgan into a good guy  - a family man and former PT Boat Captain based in Newport CA - forced to smuggle to keep his boat and killing only in self-defense.  Yeah, he gets involved in a bank robbery - but he plans to capture/kill the robbers. The movie also adds the Patricia Neal character - and of course, Hollywood stars don't die at the end.

The changes pretty much gut the point of the novel. Its hard to think about "Haves" vs "Have Not's" when Garfield has a nice Newport home and only runs a boat because he doesn't want to manage a farm.

The Unusual Ending
Like Key Largo, this film has crooks on a boat who intend to kill the Captain once they arrive at their destination.  Like Key Largo, the Captain pulls an undiscovered gun, is wounded, but kills all the criminals. At this point, the two films diverge. In KL, Bogart radios for help and we fade out - the end. Breaking Point goes on for another seven minutes. We see the boat adrift, see the Coast Guard find it and bring it to the dock.  Then Thaxter goes on board and convinces Garfield to allow his arm to amputated. After everyone's left, we see only one figure on the dock - the small son of the murdered Mate. Its a touching end, but I'm not sure its worth the extra seven minutes.