Recently, as I was tuning into TCM, I stumbled across THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. Even though I’ve watched it countless times, I rarely pass up the opportunity to indulge in this cinematic pleasure. As I was enjoying the incredible performances of Lana Turner and John Garfield, I pondered Garfield’s impressive cinematic career. Like a star that shines brightly and burns out too soon, his life was all too brief. I was struck by all the possibilities of what could have been.

To gain perspective on the scope of his growth as an actor, we’ll compare the bookends of his filmography. Let’s take a look at his first screen appearance and his last: Michael Curtiz’s FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938) and John Berry’s HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951).

Born Jacob Julius Garfinkle on March 4, 1913 to Hannah and David Garfinkle in New York City, “Julie” as he was nicknamed grew up poor in the yiddish theatre district. His childhood was replete with struggle. His father was a part-time cantor and suit presser but couldn’t make ends meet for the family. Five years after “Julie” entered the world, his brother Max was born. Their mother Hannah never fully recovered from a challenged pregnancy and Max’s birth. She passed in 1920 when Julie was seven and Max was two. David eventually remarried but Julie was shuttled around to equally impoverished relatives. He joined street gangs and was a poor student. His academics were strained by sporadic attendance, punctuated by illness when Julie got scarlet fever.

His interest in acting began when educators, like P.S. 45 principal Angelo Patri, noticed his ability to make impressions and perform as the class clown. He was quick with his hands and on his feet in petty theft, which then turned into boxing. To assist with his stammering tendencies, educator Margaret O’Ryan worked on his speech therapy by having him deliver speeches and encouraged him to participate in school plays and debate competitions. He continued to excel, focused more on his academics, and was a natural talent.

Julie performed more stage work, including joining the American Laboratory Theatre and later the famed Group Theatre, which were known for pioneering methods and progressive politics. He made his Broadway debut, although brief, in “Lost Boy” in 1932. Between acting gigs, he took whatever odd jobs were available, sometimes hitchhiking and hopping freight trains. Preston Sturges claimed he was inspired by Julie’s struggling days for his film, SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS. Politically, Julie called himself a FDR New Deal Democrat. The New York based troupe was led by Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler, with playwright Clifford Odets as one of the most notable fellow member. Long before the likes of Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and other household names who made this style of method acting training famous, there was John Garfield blazing the trail.

Hollywood took notice but he insisted on a schedule flexible enough for occasional stage work before he’d sign any contracts. Clifford Odets, whom claimed Julie was his discovery as they’d known each other since their youth, created a role just for him in his next play, “Golden Boy.” Unexpectedly, Luther Adler was cast in that role instead. Dejected, he took Warner Brothers’ offer. Jack Warner immediately changed his stage name to John Garfield.

His big screen debut was Michael Curtiz’s FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938). It was a critical and box office success. Garfield was nominated for Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor. Based on Fannie Hurst’s 1937 tale, “Sister Act,” about the Lemp family, the film’s success led to sequels FOUR WIVES (1939) and FOUR MOTHERS (1941). There was also a non-sequel which followed with the same main cast members but with different characters, DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS (1939). The combination of the Lane sisters- Priscilla, Lola, Rosemary, plus Gale Page, with Claude Rains and newcomer John Garfield was dynamite. But, Garfield’s character from FOUR DAUGHTERS, “Mickey” doesn’t make it out of the film alive. [Please don’t be dismayed by this spoiler, you’ve had 86 years of chances to see it.] As much as audiences wanted him to continue. So Warners appeased audiences in another way. By casting him in the Mickey typecast for years to come. Chip on his shoulder, criminal or rebellious element, brooding, blue collar, occasional soft delivery, but a raw edge.

Warners and audiences wanted the next James Cagney, but with a more authentic spin. With a few exceptions, Garfield would fight but usually lose this battle of typecasting.

By the time the United States entered World War 2, Garfield attempted to enlist but was unable to serve due his weakened heart from his childhood illness of scarlet fever. So he and Bette Davis created the famed Hollywood Canteen. He contributed in the best way possible by promoting war bonds and giving back to soldiers who were able to serve. During wartime, Hollywood’s most dazzling stars volunteered to entertain, feed, dance, and waited on over 2,000 servicemen a day. It’s estimated that over four million uniformed military (officers were not allowed) came through those doors for an unforgettable experience as a thank you for their sacrifice, before it finally closed its doors on Thanksgiving in 1945.

During the war and post-war years, he continued to make films- many dramas, melodramas, and patriotic war themes. Highlights include THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) and the antisemitism film, GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT (1947). In 1946, his contract with Warner Brothers expired and he was happy not renew and make his own choices as a free agent. He formed his own production company, Enterprise. His first film was the indie, BODY and SOUL (1947). With this prizefighter film noir, he earned another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Despite Garfield serving his country in the only way he could, years later his country and the Hollywood system questioned his patriotism and loyalties. In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, Garfield was swept up into the controversy swirling around Hollywood- the paranoia of communism with McCarthyism and the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. In 1951, he was called to testify before the HUAC. He denied being a Communist and refused to name anyone who was. His statement: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. My life is an open book. I am no Red. I am no ‘pink.’ I am no fellow traveler. I am a Democrat by politics, a liberal by inclination, and a loyal citizen of this country by every act of my life.”

Even though his loyalties to his country should’ve been obvious to anyone with a pulse, because he was one of those called to testify, he was essentially “greylisted” by the industry. With film work scarce with little support from industry backers for his production company, he continued stage work. He returned to Broadway in 1952 to revive “Golden Boy” in the role which was denied him years earlier. In attempt to clear his name and pave a path for his return to Hollywood, he planned to publish a magazine interview titled, “I was a Sucker for a Left Hook,” which would state his case for the American public, without naming names but admitting that he was conned when he had donated money to left-leaning groups that were fronts for the Communist Party, and reassert his strong American values. He arranged to meet with the FBI to bring closure. Instead, they presented him with a file on his wife Robbe, noting that she signed an old Communist card in her past and attempted to turn him to testify against his own wife. He walked out.

In 1951, just two months prior to his April 23rd testimony in front of the HUAC, HE RAN ALL THE WAY was scheduled to premiere, on June 19th. Little did the world know at the time, that his film would be John Garfield’s last. Based on Sam Ross’s novel, Dalton Trumbo was hired to write the screenplay. However, this was shortly before Trumbo was scheduled to start his jail term from his own HUAC testimony, in which he refused the name names. As a result, screenwriters Guy Endore and Hugo Butler were called in to make revisions to Trumbo’s work to finish director John Berry’s vision for filming. Co-producer (this film was produced by Garfield’s own production company) Bob Roberts who was successful in producing film noirs at this time faced his own Red Scare pressures and later fled to England with his family.

HE RAN ALL THE WAY offers a tight, well-paced crime thriller with a solid cast including Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle, Robert Hyatt, Gladys George, and Norman Lloyd. Garfield brings an intense performance with chef’s kiss of nuance in his portrayal of a dim-witted criminal, “Nick Robey.” With good reason he trusts no one, and makes the wrong decisions at every turn. Thanks to the complexity of Garfield’s performance, this character study initially presents a no-good thug but reveals the plausibility of a victim of society and poor upbringing. In contrast to his own background, Nick’s fate leads him to a good-hearted family that is forged in love. Like a caged animal, he’s trapped in this unfamiliar territory. He only knows the language of hate and fear. Does he ponder what could’ve been? Or, is it simply too late for Nick? Is he the victim -or are they?

The family dynamics as portrayed by Winters, Ford, and Royle go deeper than the typical one-dimensional hostage scenario as often portrayed in these crime dramas. Winters is believable as the naive girl who falls for her criminal abductor. Sheltered by a lifetime of love, she is still capable of making poor decisions. Much to her father’s dismay. It’s a palatable insight into many a father’s nightmare. But fear not, in the end, love wins.

Noteworthy of this film’s strengths are the layers of music by Franz Waxman and the cinematography by James Wong Howe. Howe creates brilliant camera movements and closeups which amps up the tension and character study at the perfect moments. While Nick flees the streets initially, the bulk of the plot takes place in a small urban apartment on a hot seventy hour stretch, which forces the focus on the superb performances from these main characters and leans into a sweltering claustrophobic suspense. We feel every drop of sweat on Garfield’s brow.

In early May of 1952, Garfield separated from his wife and moved out of their apartment they shared with their children. No doubt the stress of Garfield’s career and the political tyranny were walls closing in too tightly to keep a marriage in tact. Friends said his wife was not supportive of his upcoming “public apology” magazine article. John and Roberta Seidman “Robbe” had been married since February of 1935. They had three children- Katherine, born in 1938 died as a young child of an allergic reaction in 1945, David, born in 1943 and died in 1994, and Julie was born in 1946. On May 20, 1952 Garfield spent hours playing tennis after a sleepless night. Afterwards while at a friend’s apartment, feeling unwell and chilled, he asked to lay down. He never woke up. His heart failed. At the age of only thirty-nine years, John Garfield died.

It may not be surprising that an intense actor, who smoked heavily with a weak heart condition, would not live a long life. But many of his friends and colleagues squarely blamed the intense scrutiny and direct threat upon his career on the HUAC and the FBI as a major contributor in expediting the speed of his shortened life expectancy. What we know in modern medicine today regarding stress and its affects on our overall health, I’m inclined to agree. It’s a heartfelt tragedy to consider what could’ve been- not only with John Garfield’s career if the Red Scare hadn’t brutalized so many creatives’ careers, but also to his family, and possibly to the longevity of his life.

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This article was written as apart of CMBA’s spring blogathon, Screen Debuts and Last Hurrahs. The CMBA is an organization comprised of elected members from the classic filming blog community. I currently serve on CMBA’s Board of Governors. Please contact me if you are interested in more information or joining!

Sources:

“John Garfield Dies in N.Y. Home of Actress” May 22, 1959. Los Angeles Times.

IMDB