Years before A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, the original fish story. This was a near-impossible film to make, but Warner Bros. and Sturges tackled the job sensibly and, with Tracy in bravura form, it came off surprisingly well. Tracy plays a semi-literate Cuban fisherman whose pedantic efforts to
practice his trade only cause snickers of derision from his community. Regarded as a fool, he only receives respect from the small boy (Pazos) who brings him coffee every morning. Most of the film is Tracy alone onscreen, as he goes head to head with a gigantic marlin, which, if landed, would be
the catch of a lifetime. The struggle and its outcome form a story of irony, achieve...
Released:
1958
Rated:
NR
Length:
86 mins