American society may not be at the awful Great Depression crossroads represented in “The Grapes of Wrath” — not yet, anyway. But the classic 1940 film offers some vivid scenes to help show your older children what people are worried about when they say we’re in a deep recession.
“The Grapes of Wrath” may be another case where it’s a challenge to get the kids to sit still for a relatively long black- and-white movie. It’s clearly from the old school of filmmaking, emphasizing character and acting over frills.
So there are a few moments I’d point you to: Early, when Tom Joad hitchhikes home from parole and finds his Oklahoma family packed up and ready to flee the Dust Bowl. A penniless tenant farmer argues with a landlord about who to blame for his family’s eviction, and then a bulldozer shows up. The man driving the bulldozer says he’s just trying to feed his own family, for $3 a day in wages, and then he lowers the blade and plows through. He doesn’t even take a second pass — the pitiful farm shack falls over and the bulldozer crushes on toward the next foreclosed farm.
Later, when the Joads are on the bitter road to California, they stop at a cafe. They ask to buy 10 cents’ worth of bread, and the decent cafe owner gives them the whole loaf. Then the kids ask for candy, and with just a few heartbreaking gestures, the waitress makes them a gift. “That wasn’t two for a penny candy,” a truck driver says. “That was one for five cents.”
“What’s it to you?” the waitress says, playing tough.
The truck driver leaves a huge tip. Gruffly waving off her protests, he says, “What’s it to you?”
Telling vignettes like these make John Ford’s direction of the John Steinbeck novel a continual treat. If the kids walk away, keep watching for your own sake.
“The Grapes of Wrath”
Rated: Not rated in the modern system; comparable to a mild PG film.
Best suited for: Children 11 or older, anyone interested in the realities of the 1930s.
