Cruel é o Meu Destino

Down on his luck John Garfield finally sees his fortunes improve, and I do mean improve, when he teams up with Priscilla Lane. But the bad luck returns and the two end up on the lam for what turns out to be a pretty good movie.

A few scenes shot on location spice things up a bit and there are some very nice supporting performances as well.

The lead actors, John Garfield and the beautiful Priscilla Lane, work well together, as evidenced in their previous work on Four Daughters and Daughters Courageous.

A routine John Garfield film that Garfield really didn't even want to do. It starts out with Garfield serving thirteen months in jail for a crime he didn't commit and as soon as he's back on the streets, he gets on a train with two of the dead end kids and winds up getting in a fight with Ward Bond, who is hiding out from the cops. The cops arrest all of them and Bond says Garfield helped him when he committed the crime and he's sent up again for a crime he didn't commit. He's given 90 days on a work farm and he and warden take a disliking for each other immediately. That's when he meets the warden's daughter and there is a lot more plot to the movie but you can find that out for yourself.

You can see why John Garfield rocketed to stardom just from watching this film: he has a tough but charismatic demeanor and is a natural born actor. He plays an embittered, cynical and distrustful youth, who is released from prison at the start, being told he was wrongly convicted when the real culprit was caught and confessed. He vows that he will never again trust authorities. He lands in a state work farm because of vagrancy and meets Priscilla Lane, the stepdaughter of the yard boss (Stanley Ridges) and they fall in love. But they are caught in an embrace by Ridges, who slaps Lane, incensing Garfield enough to hit Ridges, who dies of a heart attack due to his poor health caused by alcoholism. They flee and feel safe over the border but are almost penniless, so they take advantage of a promotion at a movie theater and get married on stage free of charge with lots of bonuses, despite it being a humiliating experience for both. Then they hear Ridges' death is considered a murder and they are wanted fugitives. Lane wants to turn themselves in, but Garfield will have none of that, and she sticks by him. Eluding police, they are given a job by kindly diner owner, Henry Armetta, who even helps them escape when Lane is caught and Garfield breaks her out of jail. This was an exciting nail-biting sequence. Garfield then lucks out when he is at the right place at the right time: he photographs details of a bank robbery in progress and gets a job as photographer with a newspaper. Because of these sensational photos and the fame it was sure to bring, Garfield was again threatened with being exposed as the wanted fugititve. This film is worth seeing for Garfield's performance, but Henry Armetta and Alan Hale are both excellent, and there's an enjoyable Max Steiner score. For those who are interested in credit abberations, Victor Kilian and Frank Jaquet are both in the onscreen cast credits but were edited out of the film. I've seen this happen occasionally for one performer in movies of the 1930's, but this is the only time I can remember it occurred for two.

John Garfield (Joe) is released from prison after being found innocent and now has a chip on his shoulder thanks to the penal system finding him guilty in the first place. He goes looking for work but gets caught jumping trains and his insolent manner does not help with his sentencing. He's back inside a corrective institution, this time a jail/work farm where he comes across Priscilla Lane (Mabel). Together, they make a break and try to live under the radar whilst being hunted for murder.

This film is a series of episodes which keep you watching until we get to a court case at the film's end which descends into sentimental claptrap and shoves Moroni Olson into the picture as a defense lawyer who is atrocious in his part. His monotone delivery is so off that his name becomes a true description (just drop the "i" from his first name) of his acting ability. It's a shame they had to change the original ending which would have left us with a better film. As it is, smiles all round.

There is a segment in which Garfield and Lane get fed up with each other along a road and decide to split up, even though they are newly married. The way the scene is filmed is tense and fraught with the realism of a relationship that will hook you into the sequence and have you rooting for them to stay together. Then a hitch-hiker stops to give Lane a lift. The behaviours and emotions during this sequence are spot on for anyone who has ever had a row and doesn't really want things to go the way they are going.

A few soppy moments (why does Ferike Boros always turn up as a sickeningly kind older lady - aaarrggh!) but an engaging film to watch.

John Garfield stars in "Dust Be My Destiny" from 1939, also starring Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale, Billy Halop, Frank McHugh, Henry Armetta, and John Litel.

Garfield is Joe Bell, who is released from prison when someone else finally confesses to the robbery he was accused of engineering. Riding the rails, he's arrested again and sentenced to a prison farm for 90 days. There he meets 19-year-old Mabel (Lane), and they fall in love.

Mabel's stepfather is a drunk with a bad heart. He catches Joe and Mabel in a clinch; they run. He chases them, has a heart attack, and collapses, dead. Joe is sure it's no use telling the truth - he's going to be accused anyway. He has to go on the run again, this time with a determined Mabel.

Along the way, Joe and Mabel marry. They meet some decent people, and they actually start to settle down. However, another incident makes Joe want to run again, and this time, Mabel has had it with the authorities looking for them.

Good movie, with Garfield and Lane an attractive couple. This was not an unusual role for Garfield, as he often played tough, bitter guys in need of a break. He is very effective. Good performances along the way by Alan Hale and Henry Armetta.