John Garfield was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of the Group Theatre. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner Bros.' stars. He received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Four Daughters (1938) and Body and Soul (1947).
Garfield in Tortilla Flat (1942)
Garfield as a child
Warner Bros. publicity photo, c. 1938
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Group Theatre (New York City)
The Group Theatre was a theater collective based in New York City and formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. It was intended as a base for the kind of theatre they and their colleagues believed in—a forceful, naturalistic and highly disciplined artistry. They were pioneers of what would become an "American acting technique", derived from the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski, but pushed beyond them as well. The company included actors, directors, playwrights, and producers. The name "Group" came from the idea of the actors as a pure ensemble; a reference to the company as "our group" led them to "accept the inevitable and call their company The Group Theatre."
The Group Theatre at Pine Brook Country Club in 1936
Men in White (1933), winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Luther Adler and Stella Adler in Awake and Sing! (1935)
Eleanor Lynn and Luther Adler in Rocket to the Moon (1938)