The Grapes of Wrath

This John Ford/Henry Fonda classic is on TCM tonight. Enjoy!
Truly magnificent film. Touching, sad and inspirational. The Grapes of Wrath is almost 70 years old, but the emotions and message are as true today as when this film debuted. Based on the classic novel by John Steinbeck, this is the story of the Joad family during the Great Depression. They have lost the family farm in the dust bowl. This story follows the Joads as they move to California in an effort to find work. Upon arriving they find conditions to be little better then where they left. Prejudice, hunger and unbearable conditions pressure the Joads at every stop.

Henry Fonda, as Tom Joad, gives one of the performances of his life. He gives us a window into the soul of someone who has been kicked around by life. He represents all those Americans who lost so much during the Great Depression. Masterfully directed by John Ford. He deserved the Oscar that he won for Best Director. Wonderful touch in what could have been a maudlin story. He got the very best out of the cast, script and crew.

While Fonda was terrific, I feel the best portrayal in the film goes to Jane Darwell. She plays Ma Joad. While Tom Joad can go off and fight the good fight, Ma Joad must stay and care for her large, ragtag family. Darwell is outstanding and received the academy award for Best Supporting Actress. Her character holds the family together and her acting holds this picture together. First-rate!

Compelling, moving and as important today as in 1940. One of the greatest ever.

Filmed in 1940, directed by John Ford, written by Nunnally Johnson, starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine and Russell Simpson.


Some notes on the John Steinbeck novel upon which this film is based. The novel was banned in several states and most of California upon its release. The book was so controversial that the library in Steinbeck's hometown, Salinas, CA., did not stock it until the 1990s. The novel's ending was just too provocative to be allowed in the 1940 film. In the book Rose-of-Sharon's baby is stillborn and she offers her breast milk to a dying man. Strong imagery for today let alone 1940. Also, I consider this book to be the best novel ever written. One note about the movie. Stalin banned this film in the Soviet Union. He did not want anyone in Russia knowing that even very poor Americans had a car.

Panic in the Streets

This is one of the early examples of the medical/pandemic thriller. Think Soderberg's 'Contagion' done in a film noir look. Enjoy it on TCM this afternoon!


Before Elia Kazan directed 'East of Eden', 'On the Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar named Desire' he developed his dramatic chops with this bit of half medical thriller/half detective film noir. Richard Widmark plays Dr. Reed, a Doctor for the Public Health Service. A coroner in New Orleans finds something suspicious with a murder victim and calls in Reed to investigate. Reed believes this body is infected with pneumonic plague and that the city is under a major biological threat. Most of the brass for the city assume he is overly-dramatic, but the Mayor orders the police to help in every way possible. Paul Douglas portrays police captain Warren who has been given the task of solving the murder and containing the disease. Our two heroes have only 48 hours before the plague becomes contagious and spreads throughout the city. Thousands of lives are at stake.

Kazan understands the need for a story to move if we are to have drama. The conflict between Dr. Reed and Captain Warren is in the forefront of the film, but the underlying tension of the plague helps maintain an extremely crisp pace. I read a dozen other reviews of this movie and every single one of them used the word taut. Who am I to argue? Can the protagonists solve the murder and save the city? As viewers we know that the killer is local thug 'Blackie'. He is played, in his film debut, by one-armed push up master Jack Palance. His sidekick, the soft toady 'Fitch' is wonderfully acted by Zero Mostel. There are not a lot of films in which Mostel plays a criminal. It is refreshing casting. Both Palance and Mostel are terrific. Palance plays the evil heavy with aplomb while Mostel's whining lackey is spot-on.


Today, with the many threats facing our planet, the idea of a disease spreading "panic in the streets" is all too real. But before the debut of this film not much had been made of the possibility. Some of the science in this movie is less-than-perfect, but audiences were both entertained and disturbed by the film and its concepts. Writers Edna and Edward Anhalt, who wrote the story upon which this film is based, were awarded an Academy Award for their work in thrilling/terrifying the audience.

Panic in the Streets is a taut thriller. It is fast and most enjoyable.

Filmed in 1950, directed by Elia Kazan, written by Richard Murphy from the story by Edna and Edward Anhalt, starring Richard Widmark, Jack Palance, Barbara Bel Geddes, Paul Douglas and Zero Mostel. Towards the end of the film, Jack Palance's character climbs a boat rope in an effort to escape. He performed this stunt personally after two different professional stuntmen could not make it up the rope!