The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

I haven't watched a movie in forever Time to fix that. This stars Henry Fonda who I have yet to see in a film.

Ever since I watched a special on the History Channel, or whatever channel it was, on the dustbowl, I've wanted to read that book (or watch the movie).

This movie tells the story of a Depression-era Oklahoman family who loses their farm and heads west to California looking for a job. This is one of relatively few Depression-era films that actually dealt with the Depression and it does a pretty good job at it. The plot is rather engaging although it is somewhat repetitive and predictable. Overall, it's still better than average.

The film stars Henry Fonda and he is great in this film. He's a plain-speaking idealist in the film and does a very good job. He was nominated for Best Actor but that award was wrongfully awarded to James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story which was given to him because he was not awarded the Academy Award for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington which was too controversial at the time. Unfortunately, that's the was the Academy works. The other actors in this film are pretty good as well especially Jane Darwell who plays Ma. She delivers a fairly memorable speech and the end and her portrayal won her Best Supporting Actress which seems well-deserved.

This film is based off a book and from what I understand the latter half of the film is not at all representative of the book. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it's probably worth noting. The film does leave a rather bleak portrayal of the plight of the characters during the era and should be applauded for that.

Overall, this film is a pretty good one. The ending seemed a little too cheerful for me which is not the case in the book and that's probably the film's biggest flaw. It's still very good and definitely worth a watch.

81/100
B-

UP NEXT: The Best Years of Our Lives.