"GRAPES OF WRATH."

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 217, 12 September 1940, Page 13

"GRAPES OF WRATH."

POWERFUL FILM FOR CIVIC. Much has been heard for and againet John Steinbeck's best seller, "Grapeie o£ Wrath," and' critics have also been eloquent on the subject of the film vereion of the same work,' which will commence a season at the Civic Theatre tomorrow. Writers on both sides of the fence have called it daring, significant and controversial,. three words which are not commonly applied to motion pictures, but are quite as pertinent to thia production as to the book from which it is derived, for the film ie eaid to be an extremely literal and very nearly complete transscription of the Steinbeck work. According to Advance reports, however, there ! eeemß to be little doubt that the film I production ie .most successful screen entertainment. The story is of the misfortunes of an Oklahoma farming family, who decide to travel to California and who meet with nothing but poverty and despair. Their despair leads finally to crime, flight, and, stopping short of the book, the story ends with only "Ma Joad" brave and courageous enough to spealc the final keynote line, "We are the people." Naturally enough, it is a melancholy subject, but its entertainment value cannot be denied. Henry Fonda as "Tom Joad" and Jane Darwell ae "Ma" are seen in leading roles, while John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorie Bowden, and Rueeell Simmon are names near the top of a large and impressive cast. John Ford directed the mm, which was produced by 20th CenturyFox.