A solid adaption, but I'm probably in the minority that actually prefers Malkovich's portrayal of Lennie. Chaney seems to overact a little bit to me in some of these scenes, and the stubborn and firmness of Sinise's role of George seemed to be more suited than Meredith's. It seems to add unnecessary bits, diverting from the source text just to give some more unnecessary context and spoiling some of the ambiguity of Steinbeck's writing, but the authenticity of the film is, in no doubt, real.

suffers from being overly dramatic, seriously there's no reason that that woman should be acting the way she was. aside from that theres no way to deny this movie's greatness. cheney is flippin awesome, and that ending is great. who doesn't like a luger anyway.

Good acting, but the film just meanders for what seems like an eternity. Plot and characters just didn't do it for me.

The best version of the classic Steinbeck story that there'll ever be, just by virtue of the fact that the filmmakers were actually living through the Great Depression at the time. This movie drips real sweat and blood

Chaney Jr in his only really good role.

Honest and tangibly accurate portrayal of the Great Depression providing a solid production of the Steinbeck novel. Deeply moving in parts and still really effective given the age of the film and production values of the time. A glimpse of 1920's America and an excellent film.

For me, one of great mysteries (& injustices) of film history will remain why Lon Chaney Jr. was NOT at least nominated for an Oscar for his role as Lenny, one of the single greatest character portrayals I have ever seen, one of cinema's most enduring film images (consider the countless cartoons & comedy sketches that have parodied CHANEY as Lenny over the ensuing years) & Chaney's crowning acting achievement. A solid film in many ways, essential viewing for Chaney's performance alone.

Chaney is incredible here. This truly is the superior film version of the classic story.

A true classic in every sence of the word

These two do a great job, and it's entertaining to see the performance that inspired so many Lenny impressions.