one of the two or three best films that Ford and/or Fonda ever made in their illustrious careers

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2009)

I once had the opportunity to read John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath" but regrettably turned it down in favor of another novel that I was not so enthralled by. But now looking back a few hours ago on experiencing the famous film adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath", I'm finding myself very eager to look upon the original text that inspired such an enthralling, potent, and strong movie.
"The Grapes of Wrath" was directed by John Ford and stars Henry Fonda and this one of the two or three best films either of them ever made in their careers. Fonda stars as Tom Joad, an Oklahoma farmer recently released from prison during the dawn of the Great Depression. Fonda returns to his family, only to discover that they've been forced off their homes and now their only glimmer of hope for survival seems to be to head to California. But when they arrive, they arrive only to discover that things in California are just as back as they were in Oklahoma, if not worse.
It has been eight decades since the crash of the stock market in 1929 and being locked in a global recession at this point in time, "The Grapes of Wrath" is a surprisingly potent little movie to look upon. Not to say that it wasn't always moving and powerful, but it's just that now, the strength of the movie is excelled and pulsed into the nerves of the American people.
Henry Fonda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in this movie (and ironically enough lost to his best friend, Jimmy Stewart for "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), an event that made Jimmy feel a little guilty afterward) and it would be forty-one years before Fonda was ever nominated for Best Actor again, when he finally won for "On Golden Pond" in 1981. And while any performance by an actor as multifaceted and terrific as Henry Fonda is a classic in its own right, his portrayal of Tom Joad is hands-down the cemented image of the struggling American, a performance that is rivaled in this allegorical category really only by Orson Welles in "Citizen Kane." And these two performances really are the balance of what every human being wants. Welles's Charles Foster Kane has all the money and fame a man could want, but he would sacrifice it all to have a family as strong and close as Tom Joad's. And Joad watches his family crumble around him, envying men who can prosper and live happily.
Now, that's just the allegory, but that's not all that makes "The Grapes of Wrath" a great movie. Nunnally Johnson's screenplay is arguably one of the best ever written, as it encompasses these characters and realistically recreates the Great Depression era so well to make it seem as though it were real captures images of that terrible chapter in the world's history. The movie also features a strong supporting cast including Jane Darwell, who won the Oscar for Best Actress. The cinematography is dusty, yet gorgeous at the same time and this too adheres to the psychological effect on the audience. And of course, as with any film, the director is due enormous credit. I'm not sure which film I would consider John Ford's definitive best, but this or "The Searchers" would be the two primary contenders.
And yet, even though the movie does portray a Depression as terrible and family-wrecking, it does end on an optimistic, if not entirely victorious note for the Joad family and this is best, not finishing the story. Just giving the audience the right tone to assume and then using their imaginations and curiosity to wonder how to fill up the rest. This is a powerful, significant element of this powerful, significant film.