The Grapes of Wrath

In celebrated filmmaker John Ford’s Oscar-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel, an Oklahoma family joins the westward migration to California as they face the challenges of life during the Great Depression.  Following a prison term he served for manslaughter, Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry.  With little work potential on the horizon of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, the entire family packs up and heads for the promised land of California.  But the arduous trip and harsh living conditions they encounter offer little hope, and family unity proves as daunting a challenge as any other they face.    Nominated for 7 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), and winner of 2 Oscars – for Best Director (John Ford), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Darwell) – The Grapes of Wrath is a timeless tale of family bonds and the realities of life on the economic margins. (Dir. by John Ford, 1940, USA, 129 mins., Not Rated)