Of Mice and Men (1939 film) it disappeared for many years at a time until the 1980s and 1990s, when it slowly appeared in revival theater houses, video and cable and earned a following of fans (both audience members and film critics) who praised the movie for its brilliant interpretation of the Steinbeck novella. Two migrant field workers in California during the Great Depression, George Milton (Burgess Meredith), an intelligent and quick-witted man (despite his frequent claims of being "not that smart"), and Lennie Small (Lon Chaney Jr.), an ironically-named man of large stature and immense strength who, due to his mental disability, has a mind
Of Mice and Men (play) keeps Lennie out of trouble, but we soon see this is a slippery slope. Lennie's displays of love result in several deaths ranging from mice and puppies to a beautiful woman. Eventually, in the face of a lynch mob, George kills Lennie to put him out of his misery. Steinbeck adapted the play from the novel. The play had its world premiere circa October 1937 by the San Francisco Theatre Union The play premiered on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on November 23, 1937 and closed in May 1938 after 207 performances. Directed by George S. Kaufman, the cast