Their Slippage Is Showing
By the end of 1941 when he entered the Navy, Ford was at the peak of his profession. The production sheets indicate 43 days of principal photography, and it was completed by December, 1939. It cost under a half million dollars. Considering today’s hundred million dollar flops and 20 million-dollar superstars, you can see just how far the motion picture industry has regressed. "The Grapes of Wrath" tells the story of a family of Oklahoma farmers who trek to California after the disastrous Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. The film was personally produced by Darryl Zanuck and photographed by Gregg Toland, who would go on to film Orson Welles’ classic "Citizen Kane."
A Culver City Flavor
Longtime resident Freddie Machado told me that the opening
scene — where Fonda walks down a road and stops at a roadside cafe to hitch a ride from a truck driver — was filmed at National and Sawtelle boulevards. A group of schoolchildren from Culver
City were bussed over to watch them film. Looking at that scene, one can see how the terrain has changed dramatically. The farm house seen in the distance was torn down and the steep hill running north and south was created for the Santa Monica Airport. One observer wryly observed that the sons and daughters of the Okies who had fled the Dust Bowl would come and pour cement over some of the best farmland in the world.
Sacred Ground
I was over in a small rustic section of Mar Vista for a pre-production meeting when Lorenda Phillips, my executive producer, pointed to an old wooden farm house surrounded by trees. "That house was used in ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ she said in a voice that suggested we were on hallowed ground. On Sunday, Sept. 17, we will conclude our second Backlot Film Festival with an interview with Henry Fonda that was produced by the Screen Actors’ Guild Conservatory. It is being donated for the Screen Actors’ Guild Foundation.
A Sui Generis Interview
The 90-minute interview was produced by Edward Ashley, John
Kerr (who, in a rush of modesty, declined producer’s credit) Don Nagle and me. The interview was conducted by Charlton Heston. I am extremely proud of the piece of history we preserved. The 90-minute video never has been seen by the general public. In a letter to Edward Ashley in 1981, Peter Fay, head librarian for the Library of Congress, wrote: "This is an excellent example of oral history, because it contains so much information, some of it not available from other sources as an interview suitable for broadcasting. It also is immensely entertaining since both Heston and Fonda avoid losing viewers’ interest by being too specific."
Postscript
See you at the movies.
