The Breaking Point (1950)

A rather disillusioned "Harry Morgan" (John Garfield) is the skipper of a boat offering charters to tourists and fishing trips, but business is not very good. He is deep in debt and, together with his pal "Wes" (Juano Hernandez) is struggling to make ends meet. He isn't helped by pressure from his wife "Lucy" (Phyllis Thaxter) who just wants him to get a steady job - on her uncle's lettuce farm! The plot now takes a fairly predictable twist as they find themselves stranded in Mexico with only one way back. That solution is provided by crooked lawyer "Duncan" (Wallace Ford) who offers to bail them out if they smuggle some contraband. Pretty soon the choices he makes start to impact on his family, and his relationship with his wife is further tested by his friendship with the rather disdainful (of men, anyway) "Leona" (Patricia Neal). Michael Curtiz packs a great deal into this 90 minute adventure thriller, and Garfield and Neal work really well together to give their scenes a bit of electricity as the former finds himself getting steadily more out of his depth. The dialogue, based on the Hemmingway book, is quick-fire and the gritty plot has plenty of punch with the momentum controlled really quite effectively right until quite a dangerous denouement!