A Masterful Film That Lives Up to Its Reputation

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2011)

Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
**** (out of 4)
I'm sure many could take a political angle when discussing John Steinbeck's novel, which was the bases for this film, which today is considered one of the greatest pictures ever made but I think trying to label it left-wing or right-wing would really kill the deeper meanings in the film. The story is quite simple as a poor family from Oklahoma are kicked off their land and they decide to travel West where they think plenty of work will await them. The family heads off for a better life but soon they're hit with one heartbreak after another. Having watched this for the first time in over twenty-years, what really struck me was the simple message of the story and the rather simple tones that director Ford used to get those messages across. This certainly isn't a film that preaches to you but at the same time it's impossible not to deeply feel what it's saying as the film perfectly shows everything that's great about America and what's bad about it. There are so many classic. landmark moments in this film that many others simply get overlooked or are never really discussed at all. One such scene happens early on when the family, slowly breaking apart, enter a diner wanting ten-cents worth of bread but the rather snotty waitress tells them all that's available is fifteen-cents. What follows is certainly very touching and shows what good can come out of people. Of course, there's also the ugly side mainly dealing with, as Tom Joad puts it, millions of acres of land and thousands of farmers going hungry. Ford clearly wanted to make people feel as close to these characters as possible and I think one major reason he succeeds is because of the documentary feel he creates. The natural lighting was the perfect choice because it really makes you feel the dirt that is on all these characters, it makes you feel the baking sun and it makes you feel as if you're along for this sad journey. This journey from Oklahoma to California is filmed in such a way that you can't help but feel for the people going through it but it also gives you this strange feeling that you can follow your dreams no matter how unlikely they are to come true. Many stated that this film is about dreams that go unfulfilled while others see the ending as an incredibly positive thing to give one hope for going forward. I think my feelings are somewhere in between but there's no question the final speech by Tom Joad deserves its place in history.
Henry Fonda plays Tom Joad and that "simple man" quality of the actor was certainly very much needed here and there's no question that it was born here. While Fonda turned in many good to very good performances before this film, it's clear that this here is where he really took off and this simple man part is something he would go onto play countless times in his career. Just that laid back approach to the way he walked and talked really took this character off the book pages and made him a film icon. Fonda certainly gets much of the spotlight but the supporting players are all just as impressive. Jane Darwell is perfect as the strong mother, Charley Grapewin as Grandpa, Russell Simpson as Pa Joad and John Qualen as Muley. Eddie Quillan, Frank Sully, Frank Darien, Darryl Hickman, Ward Bond and Joe Sawyer also appear. Then there's John Carradine who turns in one of the finest performances that any actor gave in any film from this era. It's always rather shocking to see how many terrific performances he gave early in his career before turning to "C" and "Z" pictures towards the end of his life. It's also rather sad that he wasn't given better film parts because his role as Casy.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH was considered for many decades to be the greatest American movie but then the praise for CITIZEN KANE came around and while the Ford film has fallen over the past few decades it's certainly a film that still touches many. I don't think there's anyway to deny the true power as it's almost what one would call the perfect film. Everything on a technical level is top-notch and you're certainly not going to find many more movies with such terrific performances by an entire cast. Some might try to tear it apart for some political reasons but that would really be a shame and it would only show the flaws of said viewer and not the film itself.