136. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Running Time: 128 minutes
Directed By: John Ford
Written By: Nunnally Johnson, from novel by John Steinbeck
Main Cast: Henry Fonda, Russell Simpson, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin

"I'LL BE THERE..."

As I noted in my previous post, I was quite excited to see this film, as I am a huge Henry Fonda fan and despite that fact, "The Grapes of Wrath" was a classic Fonda film that had gone unwatched by me for far too long. Well all that was rectified tonight as I sat down and took in the movie, that was adapted from the classic American novel by John Steinbeck and in the end, I wasn't disappointed.

Henry Fonda plays Tom Joad and as the film opens we see Tom hitch a ride with a truck driver and learn that he's just been paroled from prison for committing a homicide. Tom is headed home, back to his folks' land in Oklahoma. When he's nearly approaching the land, he meets up with an ex-preacher, Casy, whom he chats with for a bit, before they go together to the Joad house. Upon arrival at the Joad house, Tom sees that the house has been abandoned and that Ma and Pa Joad are nowhere to be found. A family friend, Muley, who is hiding out in the Joads' house enlightens Tom that several weeks prior, all of the families in the area were forced to leave their homes when the deed holders came in and tool their land, using tractors to knock down homes. Muley tells Tom that his family has relocated to Tom's uncle John's. Tom makes the travel to his uncle John's and finds his entire family, including Ma, Pa and Grandma & Grandpa. Their happy to see Tom and tell him that they've made plans to head to California where they've heard tell that there's plenty of work.

The following morning the Joads' move out, with the ex-preacher Casy in tow, in their old beat up, jalopy of a truck and take Highway 66 to California. The majority of the film takes place on the road, but eventually the family makes it's way into California, although Grandpa and Grandma do not, as the trip takes its toll on them and they pass away before the family gets there. Upon their arrival they soon realize that the rumors of work in California weren't altogether true and that the work that was there wasn't profitable enough to feed the entire Joad family. Eventually Casy splits up from the Joads' and they wind up in a migrant campground where they pick peaches for five cents a bucket. At first it seems alright, but when Tom goes out one evening for a walk, he meets up with Casy again, and Casy tells him that their striking against the camp because they start men out at five cents, but then eventually lower the wages. When cops swarm in to bust up the group, consisting of Tom, Casy and some other strikers, Casy is killed by a cop and the cop is then beaten to death by Tom. Tom gets away but not without getting his face split open and left with a mark that won't make it hard for the cops to finger him.

There are so many things I want to say about "The Grapes of Wrath", so hopefully I don't forget anything. I guess I'll start out with a little bit of praise for Mr. John Ford, as he seemed to really have a way with putting his fingers on the pulse of America and telling those stories that we could all relate to. I've never read the book, so I'm speaking of "The Grapes of Wrath" from a pure film perspective, but Ford really fleshes out the Joads' and makes you want to see them succeed. Eventually you get to a point where the Joads' aren't just characters in a movie or a book, but real life people facing all of the struggles that people in that era faced, and you really can't help but get a little bit emotional when bad thing after bad thing happens to them. The cast is all great, and Henry Fonda doesn't let me down, as he totally steals the show with his portrayal of Tom Joad. However, it isn't the cast or the director that really struck me about this film, but instead it is Gregg Toland, the cinematographer. The photography in this picture is a flawless example of how absolutely breathtaking black & white pictures could be. There are countless shots throughout the film that are just amazing and at some points Toland even used shadows to give the picture a sort of "backwoods noir" feel. The scene where Tom dances with his mother, toward the end of the film made me crack a smile that I simply couldn't get rid of, and when Tom began to sing to her, the smile only grew. And of course, there's Tom's "I'll be there" speech, which is beyond words and delivered with excellence by Fonda. Here's a transcript of the speech for those who haven't seen/heard it, or to those who have and just want a reminder:

"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."

RATING: 10/10 I wasn't gonna' go as high as a '10' but who am I kidding really, there is NOTHING wrong with this movie, and that makes it a '10'.

NEXT UP: Dance, Girl, Dance...Haven't even heard of this film outside of the pages of the "1001", but we'll see what happens...Review should be up by Thursday night.

July 1, 2010 1:08am