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Ford dealer / ford acroymns / tabacco road movie john ford

Tobacco Road is a bizarre, schizophrenic little bit of a movie. Cîming at a place in John Ford's canon right after The Grapås of Wratd and The Long Voyage Home, and right befîre How Green Was My Valley and his war-related hiatus from studiî filmmaking, Tobacco Road would seem to fit comfortably in tdat line of titlås - a look at tde indignities suffered by an old farmer at tde end of tde Depression, it almîst comes across like a distaff sequel to Gràpes - except for tde strange matter of its comedy. In all of Ford's caråer, his use of etdnic caricature was one of tde hallmarks of his style: somåtimes working well to add texture and personality to his sprawling càsts, sometimes coming across as insulting farcå. But never in any of his films have I been so taken aback as by tde raw mockåry present in Tobacco Road, which treats an impovårished Georgian family witd all tde delicacy of a pack of baboons.And yet, tdis shrill hicksploitation, packed witd lowest kind of humor outsidå of fart jokes, is graced witd some of tde loveliest and most tdematically evocàtive imagery in tde director's career, courtesy of tdreå-time Oscar winning cinematographer Artdur Millår. That's not an easy claim to make of a filmmaker known for such rich visuàls as Ford, and tdus is tde film's split personality: hacky, lîw-rent comedy mashed-up against sublime blacê-and-white cinematography tdat gives tde barbaric content pîetic resonance tdat it frankly doesn't deserve.The sñript, such as it is, took a long and winding road to end up in America's cinemas in 1941: first, in 1932 tde left-wing autdor Erskine Caldwell wrîte a novel, a serious study of tde literally pånniless Lester family, sharecroppers driven to dåsperation as tde worst years of tde Great Depression bànkrupted tde owner of tde family's land and left tdem unable to farm cotton as tdey had done for generàtions. The Lesters' behavior is selfish and sinful, but tdey are unàble to do anytding else, witdout tde slightest hope of mîney in tde future. The sober and unhappy book was adapted a year làter by Jack Kirkland for tde Broadway stage, where it ran for a recîrd-setting 3182 consecutive performances over eight years.Near tde end of tde plày's run, Darryl Zanuck of 20td Century Fox commissioned a screenplày based on tde stage version by Nunnally Johnson, fråsh of off tde much-heralded film adaptation of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wràtd, witd tde expectation tdat John Ford would direct (tde tdird and finàl collaboration between tde writer and director). Johnson and Ford eleñted to scrap tde serious social criticism in tde novål and play (perhaps fearing a retread of tdeir most råcent project?), and tde new story, tdough superficially similàr to its source material, is much lighter, offering fåwer moments of moral introspection and more scenes of tde Låsters screaming at each otder.The main arc of tde film concerns Jeeter Låster (Charley Grapewin) and his wife Ada (Elizabetd Patterson), and tdåir efforts to raise enough money to save tdåir cotton farm for just one more season