9^th Grade English Name:_______________________

Of Mice & Men, by John Steinbeck

Film Viewing Guide

Take notes on this sheet. Then make a neat copy to hand in.

I. Cast & Crew (Answer all four questions.)

1. Who wrote the screenplay?

2. Who is the director?

3. Name the actor who plays George.

• Is this good casting? Is he like or not like your mental image of George from the novel?

4. Name the actor who plays Lennie.

• Is this good casting? Is he like or not like your mental image of Lennie from the novel?

II. Flashback (This question is required.)

1. In the first image, we see George. What is the setting? How is the main part of the film a flashback? Think of a reason the screenwriter may have had for making the film a flashback.

III. The Action (Pick 10 questions to answer.)

1. Imagine you had not read the book. What is implied in the movie about why George and Lennie are being chased by dogs and shotguns? How does the film imply this?

2. During the conversation between George and Lennie about the mouse, comment on changes between the book and the movie.

3. A filmmaker often cannot use language to create metaphors. How does this film create the comparison of Lennie to a dog, when Lennie drinks from the water?

4. When George and Lennie are talking about the ranch, George abruptly stops talking. What does the shot of George imply he is thinking?

5. How does the film portray the boss differently from the book?

6. What does the close-up of the boss’s food achieve?

7. When Lennie is lifting bags in the field, how does the filmmaker make it clear to the viewer that Lennie is strong?

8. When George sees Lennie working, and Slim sees Lennie working, what are George’s feelings? How can you tell?

9. There is an added scene. What does the scene with Curley’s wife and George add to the story? How does it change the characterization of Curley’s wife?

10. How does the director make a connection between George and Candy when Carlson is going out to shoot the dog? What does the film achieve by making this connection?

11. There is a shot of Curley, Curley’s wife, and the boss, the only characters that are related to each other. What is gained by showing these three characters together using a wide angle shot?

12. What is Lennie laughing at? How is this different from the book?

13. There is a scene where George cleans the blood off Lennie’s face. What does this scene communicate about George?

14. How is the scene with Crooks different? To you, was this a positive or negative change? Explain.

15. What is different about how Lennie killed the pup? What does this change about Lennie’s character?

16. Seeing Curley react to his wife’s death is different from reading about it. What is strange about the way Curley reacts.

17. What is different between the novel and the film about the scene where George shoots Lennie? Explain how the difference(s) affect the scene.

18. If you were to re-make this film, what things would you change/add/remove? What would you keep the same?

19. Comment on the use of music in the film. How does it help or hurt the scenes where it is used?

20. Pick any one character, not George or Lennie, and comment on the character in the film—whether the actor was appropriately chosen, and that actor’s performance of the part.

Based on a worksheet by Mr. B. Lettiere, <http://www.argo217.k12.il.us/departs/english/blettiere/OMAM_movie_guide_student.pdf>

as well as information from an AFI guide to the film, “Of Mice and Men: A Novel Look at Film”.