The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This is a beautiful looking film with lots of wonderful acting performances! It's one of the rare times that a classic book has been turned into a classic movie, in my opinion! John Ford really captures the essence of the novel, even if some big parts are left out. And when Henry Fonda delivers that "I'll be there" speech near the end, well that's just cinema gold! It's not better than the book, but it sure can stand proud!

As subjective as it may seem, I cannot avoid making the comment this film was a bit boring. Painful to watch. There's a strain that the narrative builds over the watcher, the pressures of an incredibly tough and depressing series of life events, where a viewer may be left thinking: "well I don't have an issue with dramas or tough films, but why focus on such difficult and common life events ?" It's one of these things about historical movies - a particular event having occurred doesn't necessarily make for a great film plot or story to tell. The incredibly rough Great Depression years were awful and all, sure, but to make 2 hours plus of film based on the Steinbeck novel... this is like an American Emile Zola, an American Germinal. That monotonous old naturalism/realism narrative of exploring the misery of the working class... why, out of everything else there is to write about or make a film about... You'd ask yourself why an author would focus all his energy on something so bleak and real, there's such a lack of fantasy, the story telling is just totally flat and linear. What, we're barely given 30 seconds of poetry at the end from Fonda and then a speech from the mother in that last scene, but 2hrs10 for that ?...Good film. Tough to watch. 6.5/10.

The film opens with Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), released from prison and hitchhiking his way back to his parents' family farm in Oklahoma. Tom finds an itinerant ex-preacher named Jim Casy (John Carradine) sitting under a tree by the side of the road. Casy was the preacher who baptized Tom, but now Casy has "lost the spirit" and his faith (presaging his imminent conversion to communism). Casy goes with Tom to the Joad property only to find it deserted. There, they meet Muley Graves (John Qualen) who is hiding out. In a flashback, he describes how farmers all over the area were forced from their farms by the deed holders of the land. A local boy (Irving Bacon), hired for the purpose, is shown knocking down Muley's house with a Caterpillar tractor. The large Joad family of twelve leaves at daybreak, along with Casy who decides to accompany them. They pack everything into a dilapidated 1926 Hudson "Super Six" sedan adapted to serve as a truck in order to make the long journey to the promised land of California.

Nunnally Johnson's adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath added a visual imagery and a more upbeat ending to the more grim and downbeat novel.When Bruce Springsteen released the album The Ghost of Tom Joad the inspiration was the cinematic view of the movie and not the book.Henry Fonda is Tom Joad released from prison and discovers that his family have lost their farm along with all the others. The farmers have been hit by the dust bowl and the Joad family pack their old jalopy and head from Oklahoma for California for a better life thinking their is plentiful work as crop pickers. In an arduous journey they see the America of the Depression era 1930s, whole families displaced and getting exploited by landowners exploiting cheap labour and the police protecting them and violently breaking up any dissent by the labourers.The subject matter is certainly forbidding for the time and raw. The references to socialism were toned down by director John Ford but he certainly tackled the exploitation of migrant workers. This is a story of a family trying to stay together against the odds.Henry Fonda gives a sterling performance as Tom Joad a man who realises that he is destined to fight for social justice after his experiences on the road. He is supported by Jane Darwell as Ma Joad, the glue which keeps the family together in the dark days and John Carradine the fallen preacher Jim Casy, a man who lost his faith but as he headed out along Route 66 with the Joads he discovered socialism.