The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | |
| Director(s) | John Ford |
| Producer(s) | Nunnally Johnson (associate), Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Top Genres | Drama, Film Adaptation |
| Top Topics | Book-Based, Poverty, Great Depression |
Featured Cast:
The Grapes of Wrath Overview:
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) was a Drama - Black-and-white Film directed by John Ford and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Nunnally Johnson.
The film was based on the novel of the same name written by John Steinbeck published in 1939.
SYNOPSIS
Ford directs what many consider to be Fonda's greatest role. Based on Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel, the story follows an Oklahoma family's escape from the Dustbowl to join the migration to California's fruit harvest. Fonda shines as Tom Joad, a poor farmer who refuses to be beaten down by misfortune and oppression, and Darwell is moving as the loving backbone of the Joad family. An unusually compassionate and socially conscious film, it's like a series of Dorothea Lange photos from the Depression, full of suffering and dignity.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.The Grapes of Wrath was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.
Academy Awards 1940 --- Ceremony Number 13 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actor | Henry Fonda | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Jane Darwell | Won |
| Best Director | John Ford | Won |
| Best Film Editing | Robert Simpson | Nominated |
| Best Picture | 20th Century-Fox | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Nunnally Johnson | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – Updated
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 7, 2015 From 4 Star FilmsThe Grapes of Wrath is in special company with a number of literary adaptations where film and source material are both so highly regarded and cultural significant. A few other names spring to mind such as Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, and To Kill a Mockingbird. However, even more so... Read full article
Review: The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 7, 2015 From 4 Star FilmsThe Grapes of Wrath is in special company with a number of literary adaptations where film and source material are both so highly regarded and cultural significant. A few other names spring to mind such as Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, and To Kill a Mockingbird. However, even more so... Read full article
Review: The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 7, 2015 From 4 Star FilmsThe Grapes of Wrath is in special company with a number of literary adaptations where film and source material are both so highly regarded and culturally significant. A few other names spring to mind such as Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, and To Kill a Mockingbird. However, even more ... Read full article
The Joad's Journey in The Grapes of Wrath
By Amanda Garrett on Oct 19, 2015 From Old Hollywood FilmsToday, I'm writing about the Joad's journey from Oklahoma to California in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). This production still shows Dorris Bowdon (left), Jane Darwell, and Henry Fonda packed into the front seat of the family's Hudson Super Six Sedan. This article is part of the Classic Movie Blog ... Read full article
The Grapes of Wrath (1940, John Ford)
By Andrew Wickliffe on Jun 26, 2015 From The Stop ButtonThe Grapes of Wrath starts in a darkened neverland. Director Ford and cinematographer Gregg Toland create a realer than real Oklahoma for protagonist Henry Fonda to journey across. The locations and sets aren’t as important as how Fonda (and the audience) experience it. It’s actually rat... Read full article
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Quotes from
Grandma Joad: Phbbtt!
[the family is leaving the farm, heading for California]
Al Joad: Ain't you gonna look back, Ma? Give the ol' place a last look?
Ma Joad: We're going' to California, ain't we? All right then let's go to California.
Al Joad: That don't sound like you, Ma. You never was like that before.
Ma Joad: I never had my house pushed over before. Never had my family stuck out on the road. Never had to lose everything I had in life.
Casy: Maybe there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue, they's just what people does. Some things folks do is nice and some ain't so nice, and that's all any man's got a right to say.
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Facts about
Producer Darryl F. Zanuck knew that Henry Fonda was desperate for the part of Tom Joad, so he let it be known that he was going to offer the part to Tyrone Power. Fonda pleaded with Zanuck for the part, and in order to get it Zanuck talked him into signing an eight-picture deal with 20th Century-Fox.
Banned in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin in 1940 because of its showing that even the poorest Americans could afford a car.
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