A lonely four way country road.

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2011)

Directed by: John Ford Screen play by: Nunnally Johnson Produced by: Nunnally Johnson Cinematography by: Gregg Toland Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorris Bowden The Grapes of Wrath
A lonely four way country road with sounds of birds chirping in the back ground, a man dressed in a suite walking north in the middle of the street which led to the parking lot of a restaurant. This was what opened up John Ford's black and white, seven award nominated film The Grapes of Wrath.
The Grapes of Wrath (1940), John Ford's greatest film also in black and white was about the Joad's family from Oklahoma, Colorado who were evicted from their dirt bowl ancestry land. They migrated to California in search of jobs and to find a better way of life. Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) played a major role as mother of the Joad's family in the film. Ma Joad is a strong willed mother who always encourages the others to be positive and strong=g. She was the backbone of the family. She kept the family together throughout the migration and through the roughest times.
It was a pleasure watching Ma Joad take care of her family and providing them with the love and support needed to motivate and comfort each family member even when they were dying. During their migration Ma Joad lost two of her family members. Ma Joad fulfills every expectation playing her part in the film.
Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) played his role exceptionally well as the black sheep in the family. Tom who just got out of jail for committing homicide was released early on parole. He was very excited to see his family only to be told that his family and his neighbors were evicted from their ancestral home. He soon found them and joined them on the trip to California. Although he was very short tempered, and on parole he tried not to get into trouble because his mother has begged him not to get into anymore trouble. Tom played his part amazingly well in this film.
The film settings in black and white along with natural and low key lighting made this film exceptional. Everything looked so real, I felt as if I was character in the film. It felt like everything was happening while I was watching it. It all seemed so natural with the sunlight during the day and the low source of light in the night. This was the best black and white film I have ever seen. All the shots that made up the scene of the camp grounds were excellent. The high angle camera shot that was taken of Tom hiding when they were looking at license plates at the camp grounds was a great shot. This showed me how vulnerable and hopeless Tom was after killing a cop after they killed Casey.
While migrating to California I noticed there were a lot of informational signs. Most of these signs would say welcome to Arizona or welcome to California. These signs gave only a part of the information, they would then say the speed limit is, but the speed limits were never shown in the film. This family knew there were no limits to what they could do.
The Danger sign posted on a tree at the end of the film reveals that they were coming out of harm's way and that everything was going to be alright. This film far exceeded my expectations. All the characters played their part very well.