He started working for the Group Theater (where he’d establish a lasting friendship with playwright Clifford Odets) before gaining a contract with Warner Bros. John Garfield (1913–1952), son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, was born Jacob Julius Garfinkle on the Lower East Side of New York City. Organized in 20 chapters, Nott’s book is a passionate journey through Golden Hollywood’s sieves and simultaneously a cautionary tale. Reading He Ran All The Way: The Life of John Garfield (2004), a biography penned by Robert Nott with a special emphasis in Garfield’s filmography and the ’50s witchhunt that would seal his fate abruptly, we come to understand the normalcy and humanity behind a film icon when separated from his Hollywood proscenium. His chemistry with Patricia Neal is immensurable, although during the shooting Garfield reminded her offhandedly she played a whore in the picture. Garfield reenacted Hemingway’s hero in The Breaking Point, affirming: “I think it’s the best I’ve done since Body & Soul. “A man alone ain’t got no chance.” - John Garfield as Harry Morgan in The Breaking Point (1950)
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