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That was 'Lov' Ward Bond who had the bag of turnips, he and the father Jeeter were the best characters. I'm not opposed to the idea of lampooning the 'hillbillies', I loved the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, but the guy who played the son, Dude was so over the top, he gave me a headache.
I read about the original play and it was cutting edge and not a comedy at all. I don't know why John Ford thought this would be good material for a comedy?
The Play:
This is from a review of the play at the time:
I read that Fox studio head Darly F Zanuck and John Ford both expected the film to be as important as Ford's other film The Grapes of Wrath....I'd say Tobacco Road was the greatest idea for a film that was squandered. I wish it hadn't been a madcap comedy, but taken a more serious tone.
I am totally glad I watched it though, as it's very different. I wish it had been nominated, I bet it would have been the most topical nom in the Hof.
I read about the original play and it was cutting edge and not a comedy at all. I don't know why John Ford thought this would be good material for a comedy?
The Play:
In desolate farm country in Georgia, the profitable tobacco crop has given way to cotton plantations, but poor planting practices have depleted the soil. The Lester family were once sharecroppers, but are now poverty-stricken and unable to cope with the bleak life they face. Jeeter Lester, the patriarch, lives in squalor with his wife Ada, their two children, 16-year-old Dude and 18-year-old Ellie May, and his mother. Ada is suffering from pellagra and Ellie May has a harelip, Jeeter and Dude are thin and emaciated, and the family wears tattered clothing.
Sister Bessie Rice, a stout preacher of about forty, decides to marry Dude, who agrees when she promises to buy him a car. When Capt. Tim Harmon tells the family that the house and property are owned by the bank, Jeeter is given a chance to earn money so that they may keep living there, but he refuses.
The youngest daughter Pearl tries to escape from her much older husband Lov Bensey, but Ada is run over by Dude's car as she attempts to help Pearl. As Ada lies dying, Pearl escapes and runs away; Jeeter sends Ellie May to Lov instead.
Sister Bessie Rice, a stout preacher of about forty, decides to marry Dude, who agrees when she promises to buy him a car. When Capt. Tim Harmon tells the family that the house and property are owned by the bank, Jeeter is given a chance to earn money so that they may keep living there, but he refuses.
The youngest daughter Pearl tries to escape from her much older husband Lov Bensey, but Ada is run over by Dude's car as she attempts to help Pearl. As Ada lies dying, Pearl escapes and runs away; Jeeter sends Ellie May to Lov instead.
Brooks Atkinson wrote: "The theatre has never sheltered a fouler or more degenerate parcel of folks than the hardscrabble family of Lester...It is the blunt truth of the characters he is describing, and it leaves a malevolent glow of poetry... As Jeeter Lester, Henry Hull gives the performance of his career. Plays as clumsy and rudderless as 'Tobacco Road' seldom include so many scattered items that leave such a vivid impression."
The play was banned in major cities such as Chicago and Detroit for being sensational and immoral.
I am totally glad I watched it though, as it's very different. I wish it had been nominated, I bet it would have been the most topical nom in the Hof.
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good idea