''Cannery Row'' is a 1982 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

David S. Ward David Schad Ward (born October 25, 1945) is an American screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his screenplays for the films ''The Sting'' (1973) and '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), winning for the former. ...

in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

, starring

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

and

Debra Winger Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She starred in the films '' An Officer and a Gentleman'' (1982), '' Terms of Endearment'' (1983), and '' Shadowlands'' (1993), each of which earned her a nomination for the Academy Awa ...

. The movie is adapted from

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

's novels ''

Cannery Row Cannery Row is a historic waterfront street in Monterey, California, once home to a thriving sardine canning industry. Originally named Ocean View Avenue, it was nicknamed 'Cannery Row' as early as 1918 and officially renamed in 1958. The area ...

'' (1945) and ''

Sweet Thursday ''Sweet Thursday'' is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to '' Cannery Row'' and set in the years after the end of World War II. According to Steinbeck in the narrative, "Sweet Thursday" is the day between Lousy Wednesday and Waitin ...

'' (1954).

Plot

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, declining fish stocks lead to the shutdown of the fishing and canning industry in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. The bums and prostitutes living on the city's

skid row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

lead colorful and adventurous lives in a balmy seaside setting. Eddie "Doc" Daniels, a self-employed

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

, lives in a dockside warehouse and researches octopuses. Suzy DeSoto, works at the local

bordello A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

only out of necessity. A collection of linked vignettes describes life on

. It is depicted as an impoverished area inhabited by a motley band of people who have experienced failures, but somehow have found their niche among strangely kindred souls. Doc and Suzy do not quite fit in, but are accepted. Mack and the boys gather frogs and sell them to give a surprise party for Doc, which turns into a brawl and breaks the tank housing Doc's octopus collection. To make amends, they decide to gift him with a microscope, but mistakenly purchase a telescope. A deeper mystery revolves around why Doc stays in Cannery Row. Suzy discovers that Doc was once a professional baseball pitcher but quit. Another character, Maxie Baker - known locally as "The Seer" - spends his days playing his trumpet on the beach. He depends on the gifts that mysteriously appear, such as groceries. Suzy eventually learns that the Seer is a former baseball player whom Doc injured with a pitch to the head; Doc has been looking after him. Doc and Suzy ultimately find love.

Cast

as Doc Eddie Daniels *

as Suzy DeSoto *

Audra Lindley Audra Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom '' Three's Company'' and its spin-off '' The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born in L ...

as Fauna *

M. Emmet Walsh Michael Emmet Walsh (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films and television series, including supporting roles as Earl Frank in '' Straight Time'' (1978), the Madman in ''The Jerk'' (1979), Captai ...

as Mack * Tom Mahoney as Hughie * John Malloy as Jones * James Keane as Eddie *

Sunshine Parker Lloyd Olen "Sunshine" Parker (June 10, 1927 – February 17, 1999) was an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Emmet in '' Road House'' and Edgar Deems in '' Tremors''. He typically played minor roles as either a "bum ...

as Maxie "The Seer" Baker *

Rosanna DeSoto Rosanna DeSoto (born September 2, 1950) is an American actress who has performed in films and television. She is best known for her roles in '' Stand and Deliver'', for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, and in ...

as Ellen Sedgewick *

Frank McRae Frank McRae (March 18, 1941 – April 29, 2021) was an American film and television actor and a professional football player. Early life McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major ...

as Hazel * Santos Morales as Joseph and Mary * Anne Lockhart as Barmaid *

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

as Narrator

Production

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch (; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her con ...

was originally cast as Suzy but was fired after the first few days of production and replaced by actress

, who was 15 years her junior. Welch sued the filmmakers for breach of contract. In the case, MGM claimed Welch was fired for being a "temperamental actress" whose behaviour caused the film to go overbudget. She insisted on doing her hair and make-up at home, and would refuse to co-operate with the director or producers unless she got her own way, thus breaching her $250,000

pay or play Pay or PAY may refer to: *A wage or salary earned for work *The process of payment Places * Pay-e Borj, a village in Lorestan Province of Iran *Pay-e Kal-e Garab, a village in Ilam Province of Iran * Pay-e Rah, a village in Khuzestan Province of ...

contract herself. Welch won the case, and was awarded a reported settlement of $10.8 million in court in 1986. The judgement was upheld at an appeal in 1990, but the whole affair tarnished Welch's reputation in Hollywood. After launching her lawsuit, Welch was never offered another starring role in a major motion picture again. Second unit filming took place in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Reception

Critical reception

In his two-and-a-half star review, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

wrote of the film: "The movie is almost always good to look at, thanks to Richard MacDonald's sets (he linked together two giant sound stages) and Sven Nykvist's photography. And Nolte and Winger are almost able to make their relationship work, if only it didn't seem scripted out of old country songs and lonely hearts columns. It's tough to pull off a movie like this, in the semi-cynical 1980s (it would have been impossible in the truly cynical seventies). I guess we no longer believe in the essential heroism of the little guy, and in the proposition that anyone can succeed with a little luck."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' dubbed the film 'precious nonsense' and felt it was a poor adaptation of Steinbeck. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised Nolte and Winger's performance, but felt the material was not up to them. ''Cannery Row'' holds a 71% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

film review aggregator based on 7 reviews by critics.

MGM reaction

MGM head of production

David Begelman David Begelman (August 26, 1921 – August 7, 1995) was an American film producer, film executive and talent agent who was involved in a studio embezzlement scandal in the 1970s. Life and career Begelman was born to a Jewish family in New Yor ...

later said he should not have greenlit the film, saying it "was beyond the reach of the filmmaker to realise the wonderful, wonderful values he had in a brilliant script."

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1982 films 1982 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 1980s English-language films Films scored by Jack Nitzsche Films based on American novels Films based on works by John Steinbeck Films set in California Films set in slums Films set in the 1940s Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area Films shot in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Michael Phillips (producer) 1982 directorial debut films Films based on multiple works Films directed by David S. Ward Films with screenplays by David S. Ward 1980s American films Films shot in San Diego English-language comedy-drama films