John Steinbeck's tragic dust bowl epic
receives
a powerful screen adaptation that many regard as John Ford's greatest
film. It's both a riveting and haunting work of cinematic art, as
well as a better history lesson on the Great Depression than any
textbook could provide. Henry Fonda delivers one of the great
performances in film history, crawling inside Tom Joad's skin and
projecting the character from the soul outward. Neither as
allegorical nor as relentlessly depressing as Steinbeck's novel, THE
GRAPES OF WRATH is nevertheless one of the few film adaptations of
classic literature that doesn't disappoint fans of the book. - JL
If you can find a more "American"
movie than John Steinbeck's greatest novel directed by John Ford and
starring Henry Fonda, I'd like to know about it. Although it takes some
liberty with the book - Steinbeck's final paragraph was absolutely
unfilmable in 1940 - THE GRAPES OF WRATH is still one of the premiere
film adaptations of a classic novel, on a par with Hal Roach's glorious
OF MICE AND MEN of the previous year. - JB