John Ford's magnificent adaptation of John Steinbeck's seminal novel "The Grapes of Wrath" has eerie parallels to today's world.
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – The other day I decided to watch “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) for the first time in many years. It’s been over eighty years since John Ford filmed this classic adaptation of author John Steinbeck’s seminal study of an Oklahoma clan’s dramatic trek to California during the Great Depression, but there are eerie parallels to 21st?Century America.??As you recall, this is the story of the Joads, led by recently released convict Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), his salt-of-the-earth Ma (an amazing Jane Darwell), Tom’s friend Casy (John Carradine), Pa (Ford favorite Russell Simpson) and so many others who are forced to leave their Oklahoma farm, which has been buried by unrelenting dust storms that have eliminated farming as a viable occupation – talk about climate change!???Aside from the beautifully realized script by Fox contract writer/producer Nunnally Johnson, and Gregg Toland’s legendary b/w photography, what struck me was the mean-spirited and often violent reaction in Oklahoma and California to families trying to stay afloat in an economy circling the drain. From the bulldozers that turn dust bowl farmhouses into smashed planking to the migrant worker camps in California, where workers are treated like slaves, this is not the image people have of a free, working America. Kudos must be given to Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck for financing this unflattering portrait of the U.S. (he even contributed strongly to its post-production). This movie was a huge wakeup call and I hope influenced the public attitude towards people uprooted by terrible events. But this wasn’t just a movie that attacked an issue of the day; it’s also a riveting dramatic story with wonderful characters. Fonda apparently fought to get this role, even agreeing to a seven-year contract at Fox, which he didn’t want. He lost the Oscar that year to his good friend, Jimmy Stewart who won for “The Philadelphia Story.” Ford won that year, as did Darwell for her marvelous Ma.??Have a look at this one – it’s a brilliant film that deserves your revisit.??
Novelist, Screenwriter, Lyricist
3 年John Qualen stole the show.
Producer Operation Kathleen
3 年Masterpiece!!??????