Tobacco Road (1941)

Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of hillbilly stereotypes live in a rural backwater where their ancestors were once wealthy planters. Their slapstick existence is threatened by a ... See full summary »

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Erskine Caldwell (novel), Jack Kirkland (play),

Stars:

Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charley Grapewin	...	Jeeter Lester
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Sister Bessie Rice
Gene Tierney	...	Ellie May Lester
William Tracy	...	Dude Lester
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Ada Lester
Dana Andrews	...	Capt. Tim Harmon
Slim Summerville	...	Henry Peabody
Ward Bond	...	Lov Bensey
Grant Mitchell	...	George Payne
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Grandma Lester
Russell Simpson	...	Chief of Police
Spencer Charters	...	County Clerk
Irving Bacon	...	Teller
Harry Tyler	...	Auto Dealer
Charles Halton	...	Mayor

Storyline

Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of hillbilly stereotypes live in a rural backwater where their ancestors were once wealthy planters. Their slapstick existence is threatened by a bank's plans to take over the land for more profitable farming; subplots involve the affairs and marriages of son Dude and daughter Ellie May.

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Plot Keywords:

hillbilly | marriage | banker | georgia | poor farm | 

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Taglines:

AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF SENSATIONAL STAGE SUCCESS...IT'S ON THE SCREEN AT LAST! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

La route au tabac

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The early-1941 Ford Super De Luxe Convertible Club Coupe, driven by Harvey Parry, survived its ordeal. During filming it had been crashed into a 100-year-old sycamore tree, then backed out of the debris and driven fast to jump over a 20-foot stream (with the aid of a ramp), and thereafter smashed through several fences, sideswiped a two-ton truck (forcing the truck off the road), rammed through a tool shed (cut from final release), jumped a curb, splintered a park bench, rammed a station wagon, ran into two other trees and skidded until finally overturning. Following this, the car was set right by the crew and driven back to the studio by Parry. A studio employee, Arthur Webb, purchased the badly-damaged convertible from 20th Century-Fox and, with his brother Don, commenced to repair it with hundreds of hours of personal labor and $125 in new parts from a Beverly Hills dealership.

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Goofs

When Dude angrily pushes Jeter out of the way from his new car, the hood is up. When he drives away, the hood is down.

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Quotes

Lov Bensey: I ain't tradin' turnips with nobody.

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Connections

Referenced in Green Acres: Arnold, Boy Hero (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Brighten the Corner Where You Are"
Music by Charles H. Gabriel
Lyrics by Ina Duley Ogden
Sung a cappella by Marjorie Rambeau
Reprised by her and William Tracy

User Reviews

A Dated Dud

A family of backwood idiots in South Carolina are evicted from their property by the bank, and do very little to help themselves. Soon the moronic son is married to the local religious zealot and they buy a car and drive around reeking havoc, crashing into almost everything and abusing the car like it's a toy. The patriarch of the family wants to get a loan from the bank so he can plant some crops again, but he's too lazy and shiftless to actually do anything. There's a bunch of weird slapstick and overacting that could put post-Scarface Pacino to shame, mixed with awful maudlin scenes of desperation.

This kind of film is typical of that era in American history, where rich, 'enlightened' people gathered to laugh at those less fortunate, be it blacks, Latinos or hicks, in movies filled with stereotypes and cruelty. It's a dated dud that is better off forgotten.