Cannery Row (film)
Encyclopedia
Cannery Row is the title of a 1982 film directed by David S. Ward
. It stars Nick Nolte
and Debra Winger
.
Like the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Pipe Dream
, the movie is adapted from John Steinbeck
's novels Cannery Row
and Sweet Thursday
and contains many of the same plot elements. However, it is not a musical.
, set on the row during World War II
. As declining fish stocks are shutting down a previously rich fishery and the dependent canning industry, bums and hookers lead colorful and adventurous lives in a balmy seaside setting.
Doc, a self-employed marine biologist, lives in a dockside warehouse and researches octopi. Suzy DeSoto, a girl from the local bordello, is working there only out of necessity and doesn't cover her feelings very well.
A collection of linked vignettes describe the locals and life on Cannery Row. It is depicted as an impoverished area inhabited by a motley band of people who have experienced failures but somehow have found their niche and a community of strangely kindred souls.
Doc and Suzy don’t quite fit in, but are accepted. Even when good intentions turn bad -- e.g., Mac and the boys gather frogs and sell them to give a surprise party for Doc, which turns into a brawl breaking Doc’s microscope -- they make things right by replacing it with a telescope.
The deeper mystery and message revolves around why Doc stays in Cannery Row
. Suzy discovers that Doc was once a professional baseball
pitcher but quit. Another character, the Seer, spends his days playing his horn and depends on the gifts that mysteriously appear for him (like groceries). Suzy eventually puts the pieces together and understands that the Seer is another baseball player that Doc injured with a pitch to the head. Doc takes care of him. And he and Suzy ultimately find love.
Raquel Welch
was originally cast to play Suzy, but was fired after five days' filming. It was alleged she was taking too long to get ready each day. Welch sued the studio, MGM, and obtained a multi-million dollar settlement in the mid-1980s, but by then her film career was badly damaged. Because Turner Entertainment
owned the film when the settlement was reached, Turner had to pay it.
David S. Ward
David Schad Ward is an American film director and screen writer.-Life and career:Ward was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Miriam and Robert McCollum Ward. Ward has degrees from Pomona College , as well as both USC and the UCLA Film School...
. It stars Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
and Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
.
Like the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical Pipe Dream
Pipe Dream (musical)
Pipe Dream is the seventh stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; it premiered on Broadway on November 30, 1955. The work is based on John Steinbeck's short novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into...
, the movie is adapted from John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's novels Cannery Row
Cannery Row (novel)
Cannery Row is an English language novel by American author John Steinbeck. It was published in 1945. A film version was released in 1982. A stage version was produced in 1995....
and Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to Cannery Row and set in the years after the end of World War II. According to the author, "Sweet Thursday" is the day after Lousy Wednesday and the day before Waiting Friday....
and contains many of the same plot elements. However, it is not a musical.
Synopsis
The story is about the skid row citizens of Monterey, CaliforniaMonterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, set on the row during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As declining fish stocks are shutting down a previously rich fishery and the dependent canning industry, bums and hookers lead colorful and adventurous lives in a balmy seaside setting.
Doc, a self-employed marine biologist, lives in a dockside warehouse and researches octopi. Suzy DeSoto, a girl from the local bordello, is working there only out of necessity and doesn't cover her feelings very well.
A collection of linked vignettes describe the locals and life on Cannery Row. It is depicted as an impoverished area inhabited by a motley band of people who have experienced failures but somehow have found their niche and a community of strangely kindred souls.
Doc and Suzy don’t quite fit in, but are accepted. Even when good intentions turn bad -- e.g., Mac and the boys gather frogs and sell them to give a surprise party for Doc, which turns into a brawl breaking Doc’s microscope -- they make things right by replacing it with a telescope.
The deeper mystery and message revolves around why Doc stays in Cannery Row
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973...
. Suzy discovers that Doc was once a professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher but quit. Another character, the Seer, spends his days playing his horn and depends on the gifts that mysteriously appear for him (like groceries). Suzy eventually puts the pieces together and understands that the Seer is another baseball player that Doc injured with a pitch to the head. Doc takes care of him. And he and Suzy ultimately find love.
Cast
- Nick NolteNick NolteNicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
... Doc - Debra WingerDebra WingerMary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
... Suzy - Audra LindleyAudra LindleyAudra Marie Lindley was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Career:...
... Fauna - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
... Mack - Tom Mahoney ... Hughie
- John MalloyJohn MalloyJohn Malloy is an American illustrator, comics creator, designer, and fine artist. His illustrations have appeared in magazines, cd covers, apparel, and posters...
... Jones - James Keane ... Eddie
- Sunshine ParkerSunshine ParkerSunshine Parker was an American actor. He was born as Lloyd Olen Parker in Lawn, Texas.He is best-known for his roles as Emmet in Road House and Edgar Deems in Tremors...
... The Seer - Rosanna DeSotoRosanna DeSotoRosanna DeSoto is a Mexican-American actress who has performed in films and television. She is best known for her role in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Azetbur, the daughter of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon....
... Ellen Sedgewick - Frank McRaeFrank McRaeFrank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player.McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.Among his acting roles are...
... Hazel - Santos Morales ... Joseph and Mary
- John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
... Narrator
Production
Cannery Row was originally a screenplay based only on Steinbeck's novel of the same name. It was rejected in favor of Ward's script which used Sweet Thursday also.Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
was originally cast to play Suzy, but was fired after five days' filming. It was alleged she was taking too long to get ready each day. Welch sued the studio, MGM, and obtained a multi-million dollar settlement in the mid-1980s, but by then her film career was badly damaged. Because Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
owned the film when the settlement was reached, Turner had to pay it.