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The Grapes of Wrath
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Date  Helpful Rating 1 out of 3 users found this helpful  Era of ChangePosted: 2/26/2003A review of The Grapes of Wrath by lowellv70 Ford's stark visualization of the bleak Steinbeck tale concerning an Oklahoma family's struggle to migrate from the ";Dust Bowl";. After serving sentence for a righteous anger, Tom Joad returns home to Oklahoma to find that his farm as well as the neighbors' has fallen victim to a fit of Mother Nature later termed the 'Dust Bowl'. The landowners no longer find sharecropping an expedient revenue when the ground will not produce forcing the eviction of an entire caste of working class who, at the best time of the season were only just getting by. The vision is to the West coast where rumors of the coming harvest spread like wildfire. But landowners are no different in the callous quotient, and use the influx of Okie refugees to pay meager wages under a closet tyranny. If America was the land of the FREE, this certainly represented a time when true freedom was only for those who could AFFORD it. The consensus of some film historians holds that this was Henry Fonda's career greatest performance. Again, this author has other ideas. Although much merit must duly be credited here, it is my humble opinion that 'Young Mr. Lincoln' was a far greatrer stretch and better coallesced story; for Fonda as well as John Ford. My 'career high' kudos go to the amazing John Carradine. In his role of ";Casey, The Preacher";, I literally had to look twice before I recognized him. Charley Grapewin as the distraught Grandfather is also an extremely memorable portrait. I'm sure my opinions are also influenced by the Steinbeck style of struggle, poverty and a conspicuous absence in his tales of happier endings. Was this review helpful? Sign In 1-1 of 1 Per Page | ||
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