On G List of Movie Reviews

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The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 2/17

GrapesW
2/17: When I think of top ten films ever made, The Grapes of Wrath immediately comes to my mind.

I felt that way when I first saw it in the early 90's. It's just a fantastic movie. So is the book which won the Nobel Prize for John Steinbeck who's universally acknowledged as the greatest American author of the 20th century. Also, it was my first introduction to Henry Fonda whom I regard as one of the finest actors in cinema history. The characters he played have been great champions of social justice, and Tom Joad is one of them.

Accompanying Henry Fonda are Jane Darwell and John Carradine. The former won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Ma Joad, and the latter, as Jim Casy, wasn't nominated for anything which is a shame. Just like the book, The Grapes of Wrath is a historically important picture that depicts the great migration that was caused by the Dust Bowl during the 30's, the class struggle between the haves and the have-nots, and workers' rights.

Here's a trivia that's taken from IMDb: "Prior to filming, producer Darryl F. Zanuck sent undercover investigators out to the migrant camps to see if John Steinbeck had been exaggerating about the squalor and unfair treatment meted out there. He was horrified to discover that, if anything, Steinbeck had actually downplayed what went on in the camps."

My favorite line is from Ma Joad when she said: "Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't no good an' they die out. But we keep a'comin'. We're the people that live. They can't wipe us out; they can't lick us. We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cause we're the people." That's actually true, and history has proven this many times.

There are many memorable scenes, with just about all of them with John Carradine, but one of them is a classic which is the opening scene that ends with Tom Joad saying, "Homicide." Also, Gregg Toland took care of the cinematography before moving on to Citizen Kane one year later.

All in all, it's impossible not to feel for the characters in The Grapes of Wrath.