Tobacco Road (1941)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Erskine Caldwell (novel)
Jack Kirkland (play)

Release Date:

7 March 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Produced by the men who gave you..."GRAPES OF WRATH"

Plot:

Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of hillbilly stereotypes live in a rural backwater where their ancestors were once wealthy planters...

Plot Keywords:

Hillbilly | Marriage | Banker | Great Depression | Religion

Cast

Charley Grapewin	...	Jeeter Lester
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Sister Bessie Rice
Gene Tierney	...	Ellie May Lester
William Tracy	...	Dude Lester
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Ada Lester
Dana Andrews	...	Capt. Tim Harmon
Slim Summerville	...	Henry Peabody
Ward Bond	...	Lov Bensey
Grant Mitchell	...	George Payne (banker)
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Grandma Lester
Russell Simpson	...	Chief of Police
Spencer Charters	...	County Clerk
Irving Bacon	...	Bank teller
Harry Tyler	...	Auto dealer
Charles Halton	...	Mayor

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6979)

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Broadway play by Jack Kirkland based on Erskine Caldwell's novel opened 4 December 1933 and set a record for longevity on Broadway when it closed on 31 May 1941 after 3,281 performances. It was revived on Broadway twice in the next two years, bring its total running time there to nearly ten years (1933-1943). Opened at the Theatre Masque and then moved to the 48th Street Theatre followed by the Forrest Theatre for the original production. The play was revived in 1942, 1943 and 1950.

Goofs:

Continuity: The morning following a torrential rain storm, dirt roads are absolutely dry.

Quotes:

Jeeter Lester: Why, Ada here never... never spoke a word to me for the first ten years we was married. Heh! Them was the happiest ten years of my life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

Soundtrack:

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Annoying and Boring

In Georgia, near to the Savannah River, the lazy and crook hillbilly Jeeter Lester (Charley Grapewin) lives in the Tobacco Road with his wife Ada (Elizabeth Patterson), his son Dude (William Tracy) and his single daughter Ellie May (Gene Tierney) in a very poor condition. When the bank decides to take over his land, the banker George Payne (Grant Mitchell) is convinced by his friend Capt. Tim Harmon (Dana Andrews) to lease the land to Jeeter for US$ 100.00 per year. Jeeter plots a means to loan the amount from the widow Sister Bessie Rice (Marjorie Rambeau) that has just received U$ 800.00 from the life insurance company. However, Bessie decides to get married with Dude and uses the money to buy a brand new car for Dude. Jeeter plots a means to sell her car while he tries to marry Ellie May with his son-in-law Lov Bensey (Ward Bond) that was left by his wife.

"Tobacco Road" is absolutely overrated with a boring story that is not funny and annoying characters. Dude honking the horn of the car is irritating; Jeeter is a small time crook and thief that steals his own family and it is impossible to feel any empathy or sympathy for such hillbilly. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Caminhos Ásperos" ("Rough Ways")