Tobacco Road (1941)

Hillbilly family life in 1941 rural Georgia.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Erskine Caldwell (based on the novel by), Jack Kirkland (stage play)

Stars:

Charley Grapewin, Gene Tierney, Marjorie Rambeau

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charley Grapewin	...	Jeeter
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Sister Bessie
Gene Tierney	...	Ellie May
William Tracy	...	Dude Lester
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Ada Lester
Dana Andrews	...	Captain Tim
Slim Summerville	...	Peabody
Ward Bond	...	Lov
Grant Mitchell	...	George Payne
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Grandma
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:

plantation | trees | jalopy | flat tire | spare tire | 

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Taglines:

At Last... It's on the Screen!

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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:

El camino del tabaco

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

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

Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews get barely 5 minutes of screen time each. Gene gets just half a dozen lines to speak

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Goofs

When the new car is tipped over, after being driven on dirt roads and through mud, the underside is spotless.

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Quotes

Clerk: Look here, son, what do you mean to marry a woman that old? You ought marry a girl your own age.
Sister Bessie: You're trying talk him out of it and I'll start a service right here now.
Dude Lester: Dunno, Sister Bessie there, she sweet-talked me into it.
Clerk: How's that boy gonna support you?
Sister Bessie: The Lord will provide.
Clerk: I'm afraid that ain't gonna be soon, because he ain't gonna get married through this office!

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Connections

Spoofed in Tabasco Road (1957)

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Soundtracks

Dixie's Land
(1860) (uncredited)
Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett (1860)
Variations played as background music often

User Reviews

A rarely televised classic that should be on VHS or DVD!

I really enjoyed reading Erskine Caldwell's TOBACCO ROAD, and I was certainly glad when American Movie Classics finally offered the rarely televised film "Tobacco Road" for several months. I don't understand why this classic by famed director John Ford has never been available on VHS or DVD.

The film is based on the long-running Broadway stage production of "Tobacco Road" which was based on Caldwell's book, but still the essence of the book is mostly there, in my opinion. (I've read that Erskine Caldwell liked the stage production but not the film version of his famous novel, however.)

With perhaps a bit more satire, but less bawdiness and tragedy than the book, the film depicts the plight of the dirt-poor Lester family around the time of the Great Depression. Jeeter Lester's father and grandfather before him had prospered on the once rich Georgia farmland, but the land became fallow, leaving the family to scrape for food (like raw turnips) and with little hope of escaping "the poor farm."

Despite the appearances of Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Ward Bond, Charles Grapewin (as Jeeter Lester) is the star of "Tobacco Road." As many times as I've enjoyed watching "Tobacco Road," I'd still like to see a remake, even a televised mini-series, that more closely follows the original storyline and presents the characters as they truly are: grotesque, risque, and pathetic.