In Dustbowl Oklahoma, the Joad family is forced off their land by foreclosure and seeks a new start in California with thousands of other migratory laborers only to find misery in the form of scarce, bottom of the barrel labor, crowded and impoverished camp sights, police intimidation, union suppression, disease, and death. John Ford's film version of John Steinbeck's epic populist novel is marked by Greg Toland's exceptional, unsullied cinematography, an iconic Henry Fonda performance, fine supporting work from Jane Darwell and John Carradine, and a tendency to sermonize.
*** 1/2 out of ****
