A confluence of talents all contributing some of their finest work makes The Grapes of Wrath one of the greatest epics in American cinema: the novel by John Steinbeck, the direction of John Ford, the acting of Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, and John Carradine, and the black-and-white mastery of cinematographer Gregg Toland. The Depression drives Tom Joad (Fonda) and his family from the Dust Bowl to California in search of work and dignity. Ford’s version of Steinbeck’s novel was a tough pill for Hollywood in 1940, and one that Steinbeck himself claimed was more devastating than the book. The film received seven Academy Award nominations, winning for Ford's direction and Darwell's supporting performance as Ma Joad.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | The Ox-Bow Incident
Henry Fonda for President Screenwriter Lamar Trotti adapts Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s novel for the screen and distills the scene of a lynching from his script for Young Mr. Lincoln into a 75-minute thriller, and once again Henry Fonda is the man standing between the mob and murder.
Film Screenings | The Lady Eve (35mm)
Henry Fonda for President Aboard a cruise ship leaving the Amazon, woman-shy snake expert Charles Pike (Henry Fonda) finds himself the chosen prey of a father-daughter card shark team. Everything is driven astray however, when the daughter, Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), falls head-over-heels in love with the sucker.
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Henry Fonda for President
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12 Films on Screen In a land where actors can become presidents, we can imagine an America led by Fonda, reflecting his ancestors’ immigration to North America and his own work ethic, as represented by the films he made