Our Daily Bread (1934)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

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:

Referenced in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Oh! Susanna

Down on the Farm

King Vidor's "The Crowd" (1928) ended hopefully: James Murray and Eleanor Boardman (then playing John and Mary Sims) conquered the industrialized, impersonal City, with a new job and child replacing previous losses. But, the Sims' luck is, according to this film, cut short by the Great Depression. Tom Keene and Karen Morley (now playing John and Mary Sims) are sans job and money. With nothing to lose, the couple moves out to farm some country land owned by Ms. Morley's uncle. Mr. Keene organizes the locals into a communal society; but, nature and a woman threaten the Sims' success.

Although the lead characters resemble their namesakes from director Vidor's "The Crowd"; their tale, proclaimed as "Inspired by Headlines of Today", is derived from a "Reader's Digest" story. The characters do not share factual similarities with the original John and Mary Sims; for example, no reference is made to their children.

Vidor directed, and Keene acted, the "John" role inappropriately. Several of the supporting players are also unsuitable. Morley's Garbo-like "Mary" is a bright spot among the performances, though. Barbara Pepper answers "Garbo" with a Harlow-like "Sally". It's the closest you'll get to having Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow in the same film. However, the attempted "city girl" temptation of Keene, by Ms. Pepper, is not convincing. Interestingly, Pepper returned to country life in the 1960s, as the wife of "Fred Ziffel", on TV's "Green Acres".

The irrigating ending is unexpectedly exhilarating.

******* Our Daily Bread (1934) King Vidor ~ Karen Morley, Tom Keene, Barbara Pepper