The Grapes of Wrath - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Grapes of Wrath or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Grapes of Wrath

[frederick]

Darryl F. Zanuck was heavily involved in all aspects of the production, as he saw it as a personal project. In fact, so meticulous and carefully thought-through was his editing of Nunnally Johnson's screenplay that Johnson himself praised Zanuck for his attention to detail.

[kylie]

Slightly more than halfway through the film, when the Joads pull over to fix a tire, Ma sits on the front fender while Tom crawls under the car. You can just barely hear him say, "Ma, get the hell off (the fender)," which would have been against language codes for films in the era.

[beth]

John Ford's chief source of irritation was his inability to embarrass or upset John Carradine. According to Dorris Bowdon, Carradine had a huge ego, considered himself a great actor, and was impervious to whatever Ford threw at him, although their antagonism often produced perfect moments of performance and character.

[cassandra]

With the death of Shirley Mills (Ruthie) on March 31, 2010, Darryl Hickman (Winfield) is the last surviving cast member of the film.

[christina]

Darryl F. Zanuck's interest in sound reportedly led him to send a sufficiently loaded replica of the Joad truck to Oklahoma to record the grinding and shifting of gears. Sound effects editor Robert Parrish insists the audio footage was never used, and that Zanuck, thinking it was his requested sound of the truck that he heard in the rough cut, approved the soundtrack and never knew the difference.

[willard]

The joke that the truck driver at the diner is telling gets cut off (told to "cheese it") and is never finished. John Steinbeck has the full version in the book: Little kid comes in late ta school. Teacher says, "Why ya late?" Kid says, "Had a take a heifer down-get 'er bred." Teacher says, "Couldn't your ol' man do it?" Kid says, "Sure he could, but not as good as the bull."

[sophie]

John Ford banned all makeup and perfume from the set on the grounds that it was not in keeping with the tone of the picture.

[carl]

James Stewart was originally set to play Al, with Walter Brennan as Pa Joad.

[leo]

In the crucial scene between Tom and Ma, Henry Fonda had to strike a match whose light would illuminate Jane Darwell's sleeping face. Gregg Toland rigged a tiny light in Fonda's palm to achieve the effect.

[gerald]

Dorris Bowdon (Rosasharn) was married to screenwriter Nunnally Johnson.