The Grapes of Wrath (film)
"The Grapes of Wrath" is a 1940 American film directed by John Ford, based on John Steinbeck's acclaimed novel of the same name. The film portrays the harrowing journey of the Joad family as they flee the Dust Bowl and seek a better life as migrant workers in California during the Great Depression. Henry Fonda delivers a powerful performance as Tom Joad, who reunites with his family and becomes increasingly aware of the social injustices faced by the impoverished. The film captures the struggles of the Joads and other migrants as they encounter hardships, including exploitation and violence, while striving for dignity and a sense of community.
Despite potential political controversies surrounding its themes, the film received critical acclaim upon release, winning two Academy Awards and earning several nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. It is noted for its blend of deep human empathy and political consciousness, resonating with audiences and reflecting the era's socio-economic challenges. "The Grapes of Wrath" has maintained its cultural significance, being preserved in the National Film Registry and recognized as one of the greatest American films. The film's iconic closing lines by Tom Joad have entered popular culture, symbolizing hope and resilience in the face of adversity.
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
- Release Date: 1940
- Director(s): John Ford
- Writer(s): Nunnally Johnsonl
- Principal Actors and Roles: John Carradine (Jim Casy); Jane Darwell (Ma Joad ); Henry Fonda (Tom Joad); Henry Fonda (Tom Joad); Dorris Bowden (Rosasharn); Frank Darien (uncle John); Charley Grapewin (Grandpa); John Qualen (Muley Graves); Russell Simpson (Pa Joad); Frank Sully (Noah); O.Z. Whitehead (Al)
- Book / Story Film Based On: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The 1940 American movie The Grapes of Wrath is almost a perfect combination of superlative talents. It is a film made by one of America’s greatest directors, starring one of America’s greatest actors, and based on one of the greatest (if not the greatest) novels written by one of America’s greatest authors. John Steinbeck created an acknowledged masterpiece in his book, The Grapes of Wrath, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for 1939 and was singled out by the selection committee when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
The novel so powerfully chronicled the agonies of Americans caught in the Dust Bowl that Darryl F. Zanuck, head of Twentieth Century Fox, supposedly made it his personal crusade to document that economic tragedy in film. It is a sweeping story of the Joad family from Oklahoma trying to survive the Great Depression as migrant laborers in California, and it features what is arguably the finest performance in Henry Fonda’s illustrious career.
Plot
At the opening, Tom Joad is hitchhiking his way back to his parents’ Oklahoma farm after serving four years in prison for manslaughter. He joins up with an ex-preacher, Jim Casy, who baptized Joad but has since "lost the spirit." Together they go to the Joad property, but it was "tractored" away—bulldozed down by the deed holder, like every other nearby farm.
Tom reunites with his large family on a still-occupied farm, and they pack everything they own into a dilapidated old car that will have to serve as a moving van. All twelve Joads set out for California at sunrise, along with Casy. The long drive on Route 66 is a trial. Elderly Grandpa dies along the way. Tom Joad writes the circumstances of the old man’s death on a page from the family Bible and puts it on the body before they bury it. He does this to prevent a homicide investigation in case the body is found.
They stay in a roadside camp on the way where they meet a man who is on the return trip from California. He laughs at their fantasies about a better life in the "promised land." When they arrive at the first camp for migrant workers, they discover they are part of an exodus of wretched, hungry, desperate people. Studying the gaunt faces, Joad notes that it "sure don’t look none too prosperous."
The Joads flee the camp after an encounter with an "agitator," and move on to another camp at the Keene Ranch. They are able to work in the fields, but the prices for food in the company store are outrageously high. No other store is within miles, and thuggish guards control movement within the ranch.
When they learn that another group of migrant workers are striking, Joad investigates. At a secret nighttime meeting in the woods, Casy is killed by one of the camp guards, and Joad kills the guard. In the melee Joad’s cheek is wounded, making him easily identifiable. His family hides him, and they manage to leave the Keene Ranch unmolested.
They drive on, but their broken-down old car overheats at the top of a hill. They see lights in the distance, and they coast down the hill. They arrive at an entirely different type of camp, one run by the federal Department of Agriculture. It is clean and well run, with indoor toilets and hot-water showers—both complete novelties to the Joad children.
Tom Joad has completed his transition from boozer to union organizer, and with his consciousness raised, he wants to work for better conditions for the downtrodden he has met throughout their journey. His last lines are so well delivered that they have become culturally iconic:
- I’ll be all around in the dark. I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad. I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready, and when the people are eatin’ the stuff they raise and livin’ in the houses they build, I’ll be there, too.
Significance
The story is that Zanuck was so concerned that The Grapes of Wrath would be accused of Communist sympathies that he sent an investigator to Oklahoma to gain some insights into the backdrop of the film. When Zanuck discovered that the plight of the "Okies" was every bit as bad or worse than Steinbeck’s book suggested, he forged ahead without another worry.
The director, Ford, was politically far to the right of Steinbeck, but he delivered a timeless film, both achingly beautiful and so filled with deep human sympathy for the desperate souls who struggled through the Dust Bowl that the result is almost apolitical. Audiences simply want to relieve the misery of the common people who are savagely buffeted by economic forces they cannot control.
It opened to widespread critical acclaim, and it won Oscars for Ford as Best Director and Jane Darwell as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Ma Joad. It was nominated for five more Oscars: Best Actor, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound Recording, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The National Board of Review named it the Best Picture of 1940, and the New York Film Critics also named it the Best Picture of 1940 and named Ford the Best Director of the year.
Praise for the film has not diminished greatly over the years. In 1989 it was among the first twenty-five films to be preserved in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. It ranks twenty-first on the American Film Institute’s list of "100 Years . . . 100 Movies," and Tom Joad is twelfth on the AFI’s "100 Years . . . 100 Heroes and Villains." Supposedly, Steinbeck himself said Fonda’s performance made him "believe my own words."
Awards and nominations
Won
- Academy Award (1940) Best Director: John Ford
- Academy Award (1940) Best Supporting Actress: Jane Darwell
Nominated
- Academy Award (1940) Best Film Editing ()
- Academy Award (1940) Best Sound Recording ()
- Academy Award (1940) Best Picture
- Academy Award (1940) Best Actor: Henry Fonda, Henry Fonda
- Academy Award (1940) Best Screenplay (Adapted): Nunnally Johnsonl
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