Our Daily Bread (1934)

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

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

King Vidor (the story), Elizabeth Hill (the scenario)

Stars:

Karen Morley, Tom Keene, John Qualen

1 win.

Cast

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

Storyline

John and Mary sims are city-dwellers hit hard by the financial fist of The Depression. Driven by bravery (and sheer desperation) they flee to the country and, with the help of other workers, set up a farming community - a socialist mini-society based upon the teachings of Edward Gallafent. The newborn community suffers many hardships - drought, vicious raccoons and the long arm of the law - but ultimately pull together to reach a bread-based Utopia.

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Plot Keywords:

romantic rivalry | femme fatale | black and white film | usa | united states | 

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Taglines:

We live! We love! We fight! We hate! What don't we do for - OUR DAILY BREAD

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hell's Crossroads

Filming Locations:

Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Viking Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 90 min (premiere) 74 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Quotes

Louie: [warning her about John] I don't know how long you're gonna be here or why, but that guy's married, so you lay off!
Sally: My gosh, ain't you anticipatory!

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Connections

Featured in Sosialismi (2014)

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Soundtracks

Gwine to Rune All Night (De Camptown Races)
(1850) (uncredited)
Music by Stephen Foster
Played by musicians at the farm and danced by many

User Reviews

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.