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Tortilla Flat

Play trailer Poster for Tortilla Flat Released May 21, 1942 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Down-and-out Danny Alverez (John Garfield) gets lucky when he discovers he has inherited two vacant houses in a small seaside California town. His two friends, Pilon (Spencer Tracy) and Pablo (Akim Tamiroff), eagerly take advantage of the situation by moving into one of the homes. But when the house burns down, Pilon feels guilty and decides to help Danny get his life together and earn the affection of Dolores (Hedy Lamarr), a local woman with whom Danny is smitten.
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Tortilla Flat

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews There's something devilish about watching the gringo actors go Mexican and find themselves out in limbo in something as unreal and dumb as this harmless spoof. Rated: C+ Dec 27, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Wanted to watch this as I never pass up a chance to see the gorgeous Hedy Lemarr in anything. After ten minutes watching Tracy play a scheming, thieving, grifting Mexican, I gave up. That asshole would'a been stabbed stone dead in this neighborhood long ago. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/15/24 Full Review Audience Member Two years after the publication of the novel, Tortilla Flat, the author, John Steinbeck, apologized for his representation of people of color. Too bad, Sam Zimbalist, the producer of this unwatchable mess didn't pay heed to Steinbeck's mea culpa. It's offensive seeing no Mexican actors in any roles. It's said Spencer Tracy drank heavily during the production because he couldn't connect with the character. Only lovers of film history should bother. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review steve d The entire thing was really dumb. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I love John Steinbeck, though I've never red this novel about a a group of immigrants living in the Tortilla Flat district along with Monterey Coast. The film has a great cast with Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr (who I'm continuing my obsession with), John Garfield and Frank Morgan (who was my favorite part of the film in an episode involving a dead dog), which is almost enough to get past them playing ethnic parts, though to modern viewers it's quite distracting. Tracy inherits his grandfather's home, which he and his friends then go to live. From there, there's love, tragedy and humor. Like I said earlier, I haven't read the novel, so I don't know how true to the novel the film is to it's source, but taken on it's own, "Tortilla Flat" is an enjoyable, though rather light, slice-of-life story featuring a stellar cast. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member doesn't hold up well lots of gringos acting like latinos Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The film lags in the middle, but picks-up. Spencer Tracey does a fine job. I guess its worth watching, but don't pay for it.. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Tortilla Flat

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Movie Info

Synopsis Down-and-out Danny Alverez (John Garfield) gets lucky when he discovers he has inherited two vacant houses in a small seaside California town. His two friends, Pilon (Spencer Tracy) and Pablo (Akim Tamiroff), eagerly take advantage of the situation by moving into one of the homes. But when the house burns down, Pilon feels guilty and decides to help Danny get his life together and earn the affection of Dolores (Hedy Lamarr), a local woman with whom Danny is smitten.
Director
Victor Fleming
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 21, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 12, 2018
Runtime
1h 45m
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