Born March 4, 1913, Jacob Julius Garfinkle was the son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine.  He was raised by his father, a clothes presser and part-time cantor, after the death of his mother when he was 7.  Sent to a special school for problem children where he was introduced to boxing and drama, he won a scholarship to Maria Ouspenskaya’s drama school.

Changing his name to Jules Garfield, he joined the Civic Repertory Theatre in 1932 and made his Broadway debut in Counsellor-at-Law.  He then joined the Group Theatre Company where he won acclaim for his performance in Awake and Sing.  He married Roberta Seidman in 1935 with whom he had three children.

Having starred in the 1937 Broadway hit, Golden Boy, which was written for him by Clifford Odets, he was embittered at being passed over by Columbia for the film role in favor of William Holden.  He then signed a contract with Warner Brothers, changing his name to John Garfield.  He made his film debut as a cynical antihero in 1938’s Four Daughters for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

Garfield was now typecast in cynical antihero roles despite his wanting to branch into other things.  He was the only over-the-title star of 1939’s They Made Me a Criminal, but took fifth billing in the same year’s all-star hit, Juarez.  Other early successes included 1940’s Saturday’s Children opposite Anne Shirley, 1941’s The Sea Wolf third billed behind Edward G. Robinson and Ida Lupino, 1942’s Tortilla Flat billed behind Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr, 1943’s Air Force in which he led an all-star cast, and the same year’s The Fallen Sparrow opposite Maureen O’Hara and Destination Tokyo opposite Cary Grant.

He starred opposite Eleanor Parker in both 1944’s Between Two Worlds and 1945’s Pride of the Marines.  He starred in two big ones in 1946, The Postman Always Rings Twice opposite Lana Turner and Humoresque opposite Joan Crawford.  He starred in two more big ones in 1947, Body and Soul for which he was nominated for Oscar, and Gentleman’s Agreement which won the Oscar for Best Picture.

1948’s Force of Evil, directed by the soon-to-be blacklisted Abraham Polonsky, put a spotlight on Garfield.  Active in liberal political and social causes, he found himself embroiled in the Communist scare of the era.  Although he testified before Congress that he was never a Communist, his ability to work declined.  Despite this, he made several fine films included 1949’s We Were Strangers opposite Jennifer Jones, 1950’s The Breaking Point opposite Patricia Neal, and 1951’s He Ran All the Way opposite Shelley Winters.

Separated from his wife, Garfield succumbed to long-term heart problems, dying suddenly in the home of a woman friend at 39 on May 21, 1952.  His funeral was mobbed by thousands of fans, in the largest funeral attendance for an actor since Rudolph Valentino in 1926.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938), directed by Michael Curtiz

Based on a novel by Fannie Hurst (Imitation of Life), this critically acclaimed film was a surprise hit earning five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor, Garfield as the troubled young musician who falls for Priscilla Lane, one of the four titled daughters of Claude Rains, the dean of a musical foundation.  Curtiz was a double Oscar nominee for Best Director that year, having also received a nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces.  The film was remade as Young at Heart in 1954 with Frank Sinatra and Doris Day in the Garfield-Lane roles.

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946), directed by Tay Garnett

Based on a novel by James M. Cain (Double Indemnity), this classic thriller had a similar theme to Cain’s earlier work in which Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray plot to kill Stanwyck’s husband.  In this one, Lana Turner is the young wife of Cecil Kellaway and Garfield is the drifter who enters their lives and is convinced by Turner to murder her husband.  The film was originally planned to go before the cameras in 1934 but was held back due to censorship concerns over the material.  In the interim, there was a 1934 French version and a 1943 Italian version.  It was remade in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.

HUMORESQUE (1946), directed by Jean Negulesco

Joan Crawford’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning role in 1945’s Mildred Pierce was this remake of a 1920 silent film taken from a novel by Fannie Hurst in which Garfield co-stars as another sensitive musician.  Garfield, played by Robert Blake as a boy, plays a violinist who grew up in the slums.  Crawford is the wealthy neurotic who becomes his patron.  Both Crawford and Garfield give one of their best performances, nicely supported by Ruth Nelson, J. Carroll Naish, and Joan Chandler.  Oscar Levant plays Garfield’s fellow musician.  Franz Waxman’s score was nominated for an Oscar.

BODY AND SOUL (1947), directed by Robert Rossen

Garfield received his second and last Oscar nomination as a fictionalized version of Barney Ross, a three-time boxing champion.  Lilli Plamer had one of her best early roles as the woman he loves and Anne Revere, Hazel Brooks, William Conrad, Canada lee, and Lloyd Gough provide solid support.  The soon to be backlisted Abraham Polonsky received his only Oscar nomination for the film’s screenplay.  Revere, who played Garfield’s mother, received an Oscar nomination the same year for her portrayal of Gregory Peck’s mother in Gentleman’s Agreement in which Garfield played Peck’s friend.

THE BREAKING POINT (1950), directed by Michael Curtiz

This remake of Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not is generally regarded as the better film.  It follows the book closely whereas the Bogart-Bacall version directed by Howard Hawks basically used just the title.  Garfield, in his next-to-last performance, considered this to be the film of which he was most proud.  With solid support from Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano  Hernandez, and Wallace Ford among others, this tale of an otherwise moral captain of a charter boat who is drawn into illegal activities after he comes financially strapped was tailor made for the actor who gives it his all.

JOHN GARFIELD AND OSCAR

Four Daughters (1938) – nominated – Best Supporting Actor.

Body and Soul (1947) – nominated – Best Actor