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Rating:  - "Mine eyes have seen the glory..."
Once in a while there comes a film that completely moves you. THE GRAPES OF WRATH is one of those films. The movie has three major components that make it an excellent film, a story based on the classic novel by John Steinbeck, the magnificent cinematography, and the historical significance in terms of American history. The film undoubtedly defines the unending relevance of the American dream and manifest destiny, and John Ford depicts those themes with the Joad family's cross-country trek from Oklahoma to California seeking better opportunities further west after losing their land.
John Ford shows how far the American Dream has come. The film is a reflection of the workingman and American society during the Great Depression as well of the results of the New Deal - the revitalization of the American landscape. However, the film is about one family and their perseverance to survive in an ever-changing society, but always keeping the past in mind. Ford shows the Joad's unfortunate circumstance from a family who owned their own land to a nomadic family who became migrant workers; their story represents more than a thousand families' experiences.
The film has its defining moments. In one of the scenes mother Joad (Jane Darwell) is preparing to leave her homestead in Oklahoma and discards a few mementos she has collected over the years from a newspaper article and a postcard depicting the Statue of Liberty, but she happens to keep what looks like a porcelain dog that commemorates the St. Louis Expo of 1904. Another defining moment is the last few minutes of the film. It is one of the most legendary and empowering scenes in American film history, which shows Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) making his most moving soliloquy.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH will tug at the heartstrings. Although some may refer the film as out-dated, the story is a part of American history, and it brings an understanding and realization of the hardships that those who owned and lived on farms from the Midwest and dust bowl states experienced during the late 1920s and 1930s in order to continue to live the American dream. It is not a film that should be missed in one's lifetime.
Rating:  - Enriching film for all ages
In an emotionally stunning and perpetually twisting depression-era tale of survival and perseverance, this classic film adapted from historic author John Steinbeck delves into the lives of the tired and weary Joad family as they make their way from their recently relinquished farm in Oklahoma to the promising orange fields of California. As we watch their journey unfold, we witness just how emotionally and psychically demanding their campaign for a better life becomes while the lives of those around them are simultaneously affected at a similar cost.
The film stars legendary screen actor Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, a recently paroled convict coming home only to find that his once promising dream of re-acquaintance and celebration are marred by an open and desolate field of depression. Banks have been ordered to collect any salvageable assets during this economic hardship, thus using landowners and the companies that employ them to drive sharecroppers from their leased properties. I viewed the film in an edited form in my Modern American History class, starting at Scene 4 and watching up to a scene in which we witness the death of Grandma Joad (played dramatically by Zeffie Tilbury). Award-winning actress Jane Darwell and John Carradine as Casy stand out as the more memorable of this immediate cast of tireless crusaders in a time of drought and migration.
I feel Nunnally Johnson did a great job in adapting this film from Steinbeck's version, which I had read in high school a few years previous. Few moderate changes were made, notably the death of a pregnant Ruthie (Shirley Mills), but I believe the film had the advantage of being given the added impact of a 1939 release (a time when the Great Depression and Dust Bowl Migration was still a fresh memory for many). Also we see various themes portrayed in the film. The social stigma of sharecroppers and their plight, the tense rivalry of workers for jobs, even the ignorance of truck drivers at a diner pop up in the film to build on the story. In the end, this movie serves as a constant reminder of a period in history when so many people lost everything they had worked their whole lives for, only to find they could still hold onto their dreams...for this is the only thing that truly matters.
Rating:  - IF YOU AINT GOT THE DO RE MI
This review was written for John Steinbeck's book of the same name. The main points here also apply to the movie. Take advantage of both media to get a real feel for this classic of the 1930's.
Oddly, I first read John Steinbeck's classic tale of the 1930's depression, Grapes of Wrath, as a result of listening to Woody Guthrie's also classic Dustbowl Ballads. In that album Woody sings/narrates the trials and tribulations of the Joad family as they get the hell out of drought-stricken Oklahoma and headed for the land of milk and honey in California. After listening to that rendition I wanted to get the full story and Steinbeck did not fail me. His tightly-woven story stands as a very strong exposition of the plight of rural America as they tried to make sense of a vengeful God, unrelenting Nature and the down-side of the American dream. For those who have seem Walker Evans's and other photographers pictures of the Okies, Arkies, etc. of the period this is the story behind those forlorn, if stoic, faces.
The story line is actually very simple. The land in Oklahoma was played out, the banks nevertheless were pressing for payment or threatening foreclosure and for the Joads, as for others, time had run out. In classic American tradition they pulled up stakes and headed west to get a new start. With great hopes and no few illusions they set out as a family for the sunny and plentiful California of their dreams. Their struggle along the way is a modern day version of the struggles of the old Westward heading wagon trains-including the causalities. But, that is not the least of it. Apparently they had not read Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis that the frontier was gone- the land was taken. The bulk of the story centers of what happened when they get to the golden land-and it is not pretty. Day labor, work camps, strike action, murder, and mayhem-you know, California, the real California of the day. Not the Chamber of Commerce version. In short, as Woody sang, no hope if you aint got the do re mi.
Grapes of Wrath was made into a starkly beautiful film starring a young Henry Fonda as Tom Joad. On a day when you are not depressed it is a film you want to see, if only for the photography. So here is the list. Listen to Woody sing the tale. Watch Henry Fonda to act it out. And by all means read Steinbeck. He had an ear for the 1930's struggle of the Okies and their ilk as they hit California. What happened to those people later and their influence on California culture and those who didn't make it are chronicled by others like Howard Fast and Nelson Algren. But for this period your man is Steinbeck.
Rating: - A Classic Adaptation of Steinbeck's Novel
Director John Ford has done a masterful job of bringing John Steinbeck's timeless novel to life in this movie. Starring Henry Fonda, Ford's film brings the struggle of the 1930s migrant working family to life.
Fonda stars as Tom Joad, a young man who's just been paroled from prision after serving four years for manslaughter. Upon arriving home, he meets Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher turned drifter. The two then head for the Joad homestead. Once there, Tom discovers that his family is gone. However, Muley Graves (John Qualen) has been hiding out in the Joad home. After he is discovered by Tom, Muley tells of the numerous land corporations and banks who have been taking possession of the local farms. Tom's father's farm has been repossessed, and the family has went to Uncle John's (Frank Darien) home.
Tom and Casey head to uncle John's house, where they find the rest of the family, including Pa (Russell Simpson), Ma (Jane Darwell), Rose-of-Sharon (Dorris Bowden), her husband Connie Rivers (Eddie Quillan), and Grandma and Grandpa Joad. The government agent comes to inform John that his land is being taken over, and the family packs their truck and begins the journey to California.
Along the way, the family is faced with many different trials and tribulations, including the deaths of grandma and grandpa Joad as well as Connie deciding to leave. They are forced to live in campgrounds designed specifically for refugee migrant workers, while Pa, Tom, and Uncle John try to find work.
Eventually, the men find jobs as fruit pickers, but they barely make enough money to buy food. There are run-ins with townspeople who don't want "Okies" stealing any more jobs. All through these troubled times, Ma does her best to keep the family together. Will the Joad family survive?
This movie, like the novel, has become a classic. The movie was nominated for numerous academy awards, and Jane Darwell won for best actress, while John Ford won for best director. The portrayal of life on the plains during the dustbowl years is done with great accuracy. Numerous families lost their farms and land during this terrible time and headed west to find new lives, and their struggle is portrayed excellently by the Joad family. The acting is excellent and the story is moving. There are many acts of kindness during the film, such as the scene where the diner waitress agrees to sell the Joads a loaf of bread and then sells the young Joad children candy for a penny. The scene where Ma Joad shares her meager food with the hungry children at the worker camp is moving, too.
I give this movie my highest recommendation. The acting and story are great, and the historical aspect of the time period is handled perfectly. Watch this classic movie and see what the lives of the migrant farmer families of the dustbowl years were like.
Rating: - Unionism, The Triumph Of The Individual In The Face Of Adversity @ The American Birth Of The Counterculture
Indeed as most reviewers note this film and story and cinematography is one of those unparalleled for overall brilliance in the portrayal of what is considered the plight of the common man in the throes of the dust bowl and depression popularized in modern music by Pete Seeger,Bruce Springsteen, Jack Kerouac in literature and the artistic expression of most anything labelled left-leaning from fashion to art.
This movie has a sublime power because it easily juxtaposes and makes one take sides between the family and the individual,love and hate, exploitation and fairness, Capitalism or benevolent Federalism all renderd in classic black and white nuanced beauty.
The film remains a tearjerker depicting Tom Joad and his family portrait of the the working poor and the disenfranchised farmer kicked off his land by carpetbaggers and bankers.Despite themes of exploitation and abuse it is possible to see the makings of an American epic and country in formation and development in which the movie pays it's homage.
A needed movie to be viewed by all on this DVD with wonderful transfers and stills, extras include newsflashes,commentary on the film, making this a worthy purchase of a history making movie that depicts a side of American history of a forgotten people living faithfully in the pursuit of security and family values amidst rapid change and industrialization changing the face of the USA and the world forever.
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