There are classic movies that for one reason or another I've avoided seeing. This is one of them. I guess I never felt ready to see a movie with a reputation for being a sort of downer. But last night I got around to watch this classic John Ford movie, based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer winning novel.
I'm glad I did. This is an extremely powerful movie about a family who loses their home in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and, like thousands, decided to go to California in search of a better life. The whole cast in this movie is excellent. There are moments when we feel we are watching a documentary of that period. Everyone is so real. Henry Fonda has never been better. The photography by Gregg Toland is truly amazing. Every shot could have been an award winning photograph.
I loved this movie. Especially those moments in which people showed their best side in spite of the awful circumstances around them. Yes, life was miserable. But there were always people ready to lend a helping hand.
By the way, this movie would make an excellent double feature with Ford's 1942 masterpiece "How Green Was My Valley".
Catch this movie on DVD or on TCM.
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