IMDb > Dust Be My Destiny (1939)

Dust Be My Destiny (1939) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   183 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 31% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Lewis Seiler
Writers:
Jerome Odlum (novel)
Robert Rossen (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Dust Be My Destiny on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 September 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
Embittered after serving time for a burglary he did not commit, Joe Bell is soon back in jail, on a prison farm... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
I could not see anything interesting in this film. more (8 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
John Garfield ... Joe Bell
Priscilla Lane ... Mabel Alden
Alan Hale ... Michael 'Mike' Leonard
Frank McHugh ... Caruthers
Billy Halop ... Hank Glenn
Bobby Jordan ... Jimmy Glenn
Charley Grapewin ... Pop, a Brakeman
Henry Armetta ... Nick Spelucci
Stanley Ridges ... Charles 'Charlie' Garreth
John Litel ... Prosecutor
Moroni Olsen ... Slim Jones, Joe's Defense Attorney
Victor Kilian ... Doc Saunders
Frank Jaquet ... Ab Connors
Ferike Boros ... Delicatessen Proprietress
Marc Lawrence ... Venetti
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
88 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:G | Finland:K-16
Company:
Warner Bros. Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The original ending of the film called for Joe and Mabel to be shot to death, but the commercial failure of You Only Live Once (1937), which had a tragic ending, compelled the Warner Bros. studio heads to demand a happy ending. When writer Robert Rossen refused to write the new ending, Seton I. Miller was brought in to write it. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The John Garfield Story (2003) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Dust Be My Destiny more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
2 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
I could not see anything interesting in this film., 4 October 2000
3/10
Author: (elif@rongen.nl) from Amsterdam, Netherlands

This film did not go well with me at all, despite my expectations based on the name of J. Garfield. This is the first film I see with him, and I couldn't tell at all why he should be so well-known; no good-looks, no charisma, no powerful acting. However I read somewhere that Garfield himself didn't like the part and eventually broke his contract with the WB because he was being typecast. That might explain some things. And I agree that the small character roles are nice, but I find the dialogues too forcefully funny, so in the end not funny at all. The plot goes on and on, each time following the same lines of Joe Bell mistrusting people, proven wrong, getting his hopes high, then disappointed because he can not settle being searched by the police. And so many setting changes are really too much for such a studio film; from the prison to the camp, to the on-stage wedding [the worst bit], Nick's diner, trains, other towns, etc. Finally, the social theme of the film is being underlined to the point of redundancy, without ever elaborating on it an inch further.

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