Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The Grapes of Wrath 1940 jumbo lobby card image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director John Ford and Twentieth Century-Fox delivered The Grapes of Wrath to movie theaters in 1940. Henry Fonda stars as Tom Joad, with Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin and Dorris Bowdon as his fellow Okies.

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by American writer John Steinbeck (1902-1968). Published by The Viking Press in 1939, the controversial book proved to be a huge success, winning its author both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.

“It is a very long novel [619 pages], the longest that Steinbeck has ever written, and yet it reads as if it had been composed in a flash, ripped off the typewriter and delivered to the public as an ultimatum,” reported P.M. Jack in The New York Times (4/16/39).

“It is Steinbeck’s best novel, i.e., his toughest and tenderest, his roughest written and most mellifluous, his most realistic and, in its ending, his most melodramatic, his angriest and most idyllic,” observed Time magazine (4/17/39).

Darryl F. Zanuck Buys Grapes of Wrath Movie Rights

Darryl F. Zanuck, head of production at Twentieth Century-Fox Pictures, wasted little time in snapping up the movie rights to The Grapes of Wrath. After Louis B. Mayer of MGM had turned down The Grapes of Wrath, calling it “Red propaganda,” Zanuck had quickly moved in, paying a then staggering $100,000 for the film rights in the spring of 1939. As part of the deal, Zanuck inserted a clause into Steinbeck’s contract, promising that the ensuing picture would “fairly and reasonably retain the main action and social intent of said literary property.”

Zanuck immediately tapped Nunnally Johnson to write the screenplay and John Ford to direct. Ford, however, was exhausted, having made three films in a row without a break. When offered the chance to direct Steinbeck’s novel,  Ford, who was still at work in Utah making Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), responded by letter, telling Zanuck that he was definitely interested but needed a month off before beginning a new project.

Zanuck wisely acquiesced to Ford’s request, knowing that the celebrated “Pappy” was the only man for the job, given his feel for America and his emotional connection with the common people. Thus, the start of production was postponed until September 15, 1939.

Henry Fonda Heads Grapes of Wrath Cast

Henry Fonda heads the cast as Tom Joad. Fonda had read Nunnally Johnson’s script and was burning to play the lead role, but had to meet with Darryl F. Zanuck first. It was a prospect which didn’t delight Fonda, who viewed the studio boss as “a narrow bastard with only two interests in life, making movies and satisfying” his sex life. After bluffing that both Tyrone Power and Don Ameche were being considered for the part, Zanuck forced Fonda to sign a seven-year contract with Fox, something the actor later regretted.

Other players in the cast include Jane Darwell (Ma Joad), John Carradine (Casy), Charley Grapewin (Grampa Joad), Dorris Bowdon (Rosasharn Rivers), Russell Simpson (Pa Joad), O.Z. Whitehead (Al), John Qualen (Muley Graves), Eddie Quillan (Connie Rivers), Zeffie Tilbury (Granma Joad), Frank Sully (Noah), Frank Darien (Uncle John), Darryl Hickman (Winfield), Shirley Mills (Ruth Joad), Grant Mitchell (Caretaker), Ward Bond (Policeman), Frank Faylen (Tim) and Kitty McHugh (Mae).

The Grapes of Wrath lobby card image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

The Grapes of Wrath Filmed in California

Budgeted at $750,000, The Grapes of Wrath was filmed in a scant 43 days. Much of the movie was shot in California’s lush San Fernando Valley, with locations in Arizona and New Mexico also used. A second unit was dispatched to Oklahoma in order to film the ravages of the Dust Bowl for background scenery.

Art director Richard Day suggested to John Ford that they imitate the haunting work of artist Thomas Hart Benton in the production. Day later presented Ford with some sketches, which won the director’s approval. Ford also borrowed cinematographer Gregg Toland from MGM for $50,000. Toland and Ford went over Day’s art and agreed to adopt a stark, documentary style punctuated by shadowy figures and bleak stick people bent against a savage wind.

In all, the economical Ford shot only 40,000 feet of film. Another director, in comparison, might have shot upwards of 100,000.

The Grapes of Wrath: The Okies Head West on U.S. Route 66

The Grapes of Wrath opens with Tom Joad walking down a desolate road near Oklahoma City. He stops at a diner called the Cross Roads, hitches a ride with a trucker and confesses that he just spent the last four years in the penitentiary for the crime of murder.

Tom meets up with Casy, a former preacher who has “lost the spirit.” He then journeys to the old homestead, now deserted, learning that the family is staying at Uncle John’s. They’re planning to head west to California, as the Oklahoma dust storms have devastated the area.

The Shawnee Land and Cattle Company owns most of the land, and wants the tenant “dusters” off their property. The law pays a visit to the Joad place, informing them that they have until tomorrow to evacuate the premises. At dawn, the Joads load up their dilapidated truck and depart for California.

The long, dusty trek to the Golden State proves to be a perilous one. Following U.S. 66, the Joads encounter their first calamity when Grampa Joad becomes ill and dies of a stroke. The Joads later make a hazardous crossing through the desert, eventually spying the lush, green valleys of California.

The Joads quickly become disillusioned with their new home. Migrant jobs are scarce, prices are high and labor strife rampant. Tom eventually runs afoul of the law, killing a guard who in turn had beaten Preacher Casy to death. Now on the lam, Tom decides to leave the family and head out on his own.

The Grapes of Wrath Opens in New York City

The Grapes of Wrath premiered at New York City’s Rivoli on January 24, 1940. The first day’s attendance was tallied at 12,917 patrons, with that figure actually increasing on the second and third day. For weeks, it was reported, long lines of moviegoers snaked around the Rivoli, resulting in traffic problems so severe that New York’s Finest ordered the theater to open its inner turnstiles in order to better accommodate the large crowds.

“The Grapes of Wrath is just about as good as any picture has a right to be; if it were any better, we just wouldn’t believe our eyes,” crowed Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times (1/25/40).

“Bitter, authentic, honest, it marches straight to its tragic end with a reality that suggests a superb newsreel, with a courage that merits a badge of honor for the U.S. movie industry,” reported Life magazine (1/22/40).

Film Analysis: John Ford Produces a Film Classic

The Great Depression is one of the most fascinating periods in American history. And for movie fans, no picture  paints a more vivid, bleak portrait of that era than John Ford’s 1940 classic The Grapes of Wrath.

Shot in stark black and white, The Grapes of Wrath is a message movie, largely staying the course of Steinbeck’s novel and delving into the plight of the displaced Okies and their migration to California. The imagery is oftentimes disturbing, picturing the desolate, windswept prairies and the Joads in their broken-down truck fleeing the ravages of the Dust Bowl.

Henry Fonda delivers the performance of a lifetime as Tom Joad. His most memorable scene comes at the end, where he gives his emotional farewell. “I’ll be around in the dark. I’ll be everywhere, wherever you can look. Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there…”

The supporting cast is excellent, as is Alfred Newman’s music score which is dominated by the accordion. Certain added sound effects also enhance the production, such as the singing of crickets when John Carradine  convenes a meeting in a swampy area.

Eddie Quillan, Dorris Bowdon, John Carradine, Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath, image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

The Grapes of Wrath Academy Award Nominations, Notes, DVD

• Seven Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Fonda), Best Director (Ford, won), Best Supporting Actress (Darwell, won), Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound.
• Although James Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar that year for The Philadelphia Story, he stated before the ceremonies that he felt his close friend Henry Fonda should win, that he in fact had cast his ballot for Fonda.
• Tom Joad states that he had killed a man at a dance hall when both of them were drunk. The victim had stabbed Tom with a knife and he had retaliated, striking the man dead with a shovel. Tom had gotten seven years in prison, but was released in four.
• The family bury William James Joad (Grampa Joad) themselves, leaving a note explaining that they couldn’t afford an undertaker.
• At a truck stop, Pa Joad is allowed to buy a loaf of day-old bread for ten cents.
• “Red River Valley” is played on the accordion by Danny Borzage at a Saturday night camp dance.
• Wages at the Keene Ranch near Pixley: five cents a box for picked peaches – with no bruised fruit allowed in the final count.
• The Joad truck Oklahoma license plate number: EL 204.
• The Grapes of Wrath radio version was staged on NBC University Theater of the Air, January 9, 1949, starring Jane Darwell and Wally Maher.
• Tom Collins, who ran migrant worker camps for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s, served as a technical adviser.
• John Steinbeck was delighted with the film adaptation of Grapes, marveling at Henry Fonda’s dynamic performance.
• On DVD: The Grapes of Wrath (Twentieth Century-Fox, 2004).

“They can’t wipe us out; they can’t lick us. We’ll go on forever, Pa, ’cause we’re the people,” a stubborn Ma Joad declares.

The Grapes of Wrath, an American classic…