Our Daily Bread (1934)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

King Vidor (story)
Elizabeth Hill (scenario)

Release Date:

2 October 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

KING VIDOR'S EPIC of a MILLION HEARTS! (original poster)

Plot:

A group of down-on-their-luck workers combine their abilities to make a Gallafentian-style commune... and bread!

Plot Keywords:

Farming | Drought | Dust | Hard Labor | Socialism

Cast

Karen Morley	...	Mary Sims
Tom Keene	...	John Sims
Barbara Pepper	...	Sally
Addison Richards	...	Louie Fuente
John Qualen	...	Chris Larsen
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Uncle Anthony
Sidney Bracey	...	Rent Collector
Henry Hall	...	Frank - the Carpenter
Nellie V. Nichols	...	Mrs. Cohen
Frank Minor	...	Plumber
Bud Ray	...	Stonemason (as Bud Rae)
Harry Brown	...	Little Man

Also Known As:

Hell's Crossroads (USA) (reissue title)
The Miracle of Life (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:90 min (premiere) | 74 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #59) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

King W. Vidor Productions

Trivia:

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940 credits C.E. Anderson in the role of "blacksmith"; actually he plays the butcher who trades John a scrawny chicken for his ukulele.

Quotes:

John Sims: Don't worry Mary. I know things are hard now but we'll make it in the end.
Mary Sims: But how, John? Who's going to save us?
John Sims: Not who, Mary, what. The bread will save us, the bread.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Great Depression" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Just Because You're You

Flawed but spirited

Desperate people set in desperate Great Depression times try to eke out a living on an abandoned farm. Rousing for its "back to the land" pioneering spirit of people from all walks of life forced to help each other start a new life (or starve). The film preaches self-reliance (away from expecting government assistance), yet encourages people to help each other (in a somewhat Socialistic sense), so there are mixed messages here. There seems to be an undercurrent not to trust the various forms of government either.

Parts of this film are greater than the whole, with uneven performances and some hackneyed "girl tries to steal husband" scenes that make you want to fast-forward... Director King Vidor managed to get "OK" performances out of some of the lesser (amateur?) performers (some of which never made another film).

I've seen this film dozens of times for its most interesting scenes, tops of which include the famous ditch digging scene at the films end.

Unlike Grapes of Wrath, Our Daily Bread is overall optimistic that the individual can rise above dire straits to triumph through "work, work without stopping." Unfortunately, this film has enough flaws in story and acting to keep it from anywhere near the masterpiece status Grapes of Wrath has achieved.