Dust be My Destiny (1939)

[Mr. Arkadin]

By 1939, John Garfield was tired of playing Mickey Borden. His fabulous debut in the previous year's Four Daughters had garnered him instant stardom, an Oscar nomination, and, unfortunately, typecasting from Warner Brothers executives who were trying to recreate magic instead of finding new vehicles for their young actor.

The forties would bring changes, but Dust be My Destiny (showing today 9/18) finds Garfield in transition. Paired once again with Priscilla Lane, Garfield plays Joe Bell, an angry antihero accused of murder in this couple on the run flick. While echoes of Four Daughters remain, his ability to stretch the role, making Bell more than a tough/tender stereotype, show a growing maturity and confidence that would serve Garfield well in future projects. Photography from James Wong Howe, Robert Rossen's script, and decent casting also elevate this average film.

Although not a masterpiece, Dust be My Destiny is a turning point in the Garfield cannon and for fans, another chance to see the man at work. John Garfield made only thirty-two films, many of them poor, but his talent is always worth watching.

[moira finnie]

I agree, Arkadin, Dust Be My Destiny is not a perfect film, but it's a good programmer. Garfield was already getting a bit tired of being pigeon-holed as an angry, misunderstood youth, but he and Priscilla Lane have real chemistry as they struggle together. I've always loved J.G.'s impulsively honest moments of sweetness, rage and sadness in this movie, especially in the scene when he is on the stand, when Garfield says what everyone knows: the jurors don't consider him, a nobody, their equal. (Perhaps the fact that I still remember that bit of dialogue is due in part to the actor's talent, but screenwriter Robert Rossen should probably be credited too, as well as novelist Jerome Odlum's book. Odlum seems to have been an interesting, little known figure, who contributed to quite a few interesting film scripts.

POSSIBLE MILD SPOILER
Wouldn't it be interesting to see this movie in a double bill with Fritz Lang's more downbeat tale of love on the run in You Only Live Once (1937)? Dust Be My Destiny seems to succeed in its own small way, though sending the audience home with a glimmer of hope for the embattled couple may make it seem less realistic than Lang's well crafted film, which really made me think about how easily fate can lead decent people to oblivion.

Thanks for adding that beautiful poster to your entry and the heads up.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Hi Moira,
Rossen supposedly wanted to end the film in a similar way to Lang's but was denied (he wanted to end Body and Soul [1947] in the same manner). You Only Live Once is also my standard for couple on the run noir (although it's a 30's film). I love Gun Crazy (1949) and They Live By Night (1948), but Lang's film is different in the sense that Fonda actually becomes a hunted man not by intentional wrong, but the fact he's trying to save his own life and has become hardened through mistreatment at the hands of "law abiding" citizens.

Probably my favorite scene in Dust be My Destiny is the wedding where Garfield and Lane both look humiliated. This short scene reveals so much in what should be their proudest moment. Instead, it's simply a replay of past sufferings on stage for all to see.