An Oklahoma family flees the Dust Bowl for a supposedly better life as migrant fruit pickers in California.
Forced from their farm by dust and economic hardship, the Joad family embarks on an arduous migration to California. The recently paroled Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) joins his family, anchored by the resilient matriarch Ma Joad (Jane Darwell), for the journey west. Along the way, they encounter thousands of other displaced families and discover that the promised land is a place of exploitation and oppression. As the family is worn down by misfortune, Tom’s sense of social justice is ignited, putting him in conflict with the authorities and forcing him to become a fugitive.
John Ford’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a landmark of American social cinema. The film presents the plight of Depression-era farmers with a profound compassion, documenting their dignity in the face of systemic cruelty. Its visual language mirrors the unadorned, powerful photography of Dorothea Lange, creating a gallery of dignified suffering. The production’s power rests on its performances; Jane Darwell won an Academy Award for her work as the family’s unwavering backbone, while Henry Fonda gives one of his definitive portrayals as Tom Joad, a man who refuses to be broken. The film’s challenging subject matter prompted its original publicity to warn that children would not be admitted.
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox / 129 minutes / 1940
Director: John Ford
Screenplay: Nunnally Johnson
Main Cast: Henry Fonda (Tom Joad), Jane Darwell (Ma Joad), John Carradine (Casy), Charley Grapewin (Grandpa Joad), Dorris Bowdon (Rosasharn), Russell Simpson (Pa Joad), O.Z. Whitehead (Al Joad), John Qualen (Muley Graves)
