The Grapes of Wrath
US (1940): Drama
John Ford directs what many consider to be Henry Fonda's greatest role. Based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel, the story follows an Oklahoma family's escape from the Dustbowl to join the migration to California's fruit harvest. Fonda shines as Tom Joad, a poor farmer who refuses to be beaten down by misfortune and oppression, and Jane Darwell is moving as the loving backbone of the Joad family. An unusually compassionate and socially conscious film, it's like a series of Dorothea Lange photos from the Depression, full of suffering and dignity. The supporting cast includes John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorris Bowdon, Russell Simpson, O.Z. Whitehead, John Qualen, Eddie Quillan, Zeffie Tilbury, Frank Sully, Frank Darien, Darryl Hickman and Shirley Mills. Selected as a National Film Registry Outstanding Film. (amctv.com)
7 nominations, 2 Awards
· Best Supporting Actress 1940: Jane Darwell
· Best Directing 1940: John Ford
· Best Picture 1940: Darryl F. Zanuck, producer (20th Century-Fox) w. Nunnally Johnson
· Actor 1940: Henry Fonda
· Writing (Screenplay) 1940: Nunnally Johnson
· Film Editing 1940: Robert E. Simpson
· Sound Recording 1940: E. H. Hansen