In this magnificent adaptation of John Steinbeck's Depression-era novel, Henry Fonda plays the farmer who leads his family from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the promised land of California. The scene in which their home is bulldozed is heart-rending and their fate as migrant workers has lasting power. But the film also has some weaknesses, notably a corny religious symbolism in place of Steinbeck's raw politics. When studio boss Darryl F Zanuck was persuading Steinbeck to endorse a happy ending, Zanuck was called away to deal with an even more urgent matter. "The Grapes of Wrath," said Steinbeck, "is unimportant compared to Shirley Temple's tooth." It's beautifully photographed by Gregg Toland, but the Oscars went to director John Ford and Jane Darwell, who's unforgettable as Ma Joad.

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.