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Tobacco Road

  • 1941
  • Approved
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
Tobacco Road (1941)
ComedyDrama

Hillbilly family farm life in 1941 rural Georgia.Hillbilly family farm life in 1941 rural Georgia.Hillbilly family farm life in 1941 rural Georgia.

  • Director
    • John Ford
  • Writers
    • Nunnally Johnson
    • Jack Kirkland
    • Erskine Caldwell
  • Stars
    • Charley Grapewin
    • Gene Tierney
    • Marjorie Rambeau
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    2.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • Nunnally Johnson
      • Jack Kirkland
      • Erskine Caldwell
    • Stars
      • Charley Grapewin
      • Gene Tierney
      • Marjorie Rambeau
    • 46User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos70

    Ward Bond and Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney, Ward Bond, and Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney and Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney, Ward Bond, and Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney and Charley Grapewin in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Elizabeth Patterson, Marjorie Rambeau, Slim Summerville, and William Tracy in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Gene Tierney, Ward Bond, Charley Grapewin, and Zeffie Tilbury in Tobacco Road (1941)
    Marjorie Rambeau and William Tracy in Tobacco Road (1941)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Charley Grapewin
    Charley Grapewin
    • Jeeter
    Gene Tierney
    Gene Tierney
    • Ellie May
    Marjorie Rambeau
    Marjorie Rambeau
    • Sister Bessie
    William Tracy
    William Tracy
    • Dude Lester
    Elizabeth Patterson
    Elizabeth Patterson
    • Ada Lester
    Dana Andrews
    Dana Andrews
    • Captain Tim
    Slim Summerville
    Slim Summerville
    • Peabody
    Ward Bond
    Ward Bond
    • Lov
    Grant Mitchell
    Grant Mitchell
    • George Payne
    Zeffie Tilbury
    Zeffie Tilbury
    • Grandma
    Russell Simpson
    Russell Simpson
    • Chief of Police
    Spencer Charters
    Spencer Charters
    • County Clerk
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Teller
    Harry Tyler
    Harry Tyler
    • Auto Dealer
    Charles Halton
    Charles Halton
    • Mayor
    George Chandler
    George Chandler
    • Clerk
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Payne's Secretary
    • (uncredited)
    Erville Alderson
    Erville Alderson
    • Driver of Car Almost Hit by Dude Lester
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Ford
    • Writers
      • Nunnally Johnson
      • Jack Kirkland
      • Erskine Caldwell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Walter Brennan turned down the lead role because he disapproved of the character's laziness.
    • Goofs
      When the new car is tipped over, after being driven on dirt roads and through mud, the underside is spotless.
    • Quotes

      Lov: I want a young wife. I ain't gonna take no twenty-three year old woman for a wife, have everybody laughin' at me.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening and some of the closing credits are presented written in real sand.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Lady Is Willing (1942)
    • Soundtracks
      Dixie's Land
      (uncredited)

      Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett

      [Variations often played as background music]

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A Pretty Bizarre Film
    Tobacco Road (1941)

    ** 1/2 (out of 4)

    I take pride in watching bizarre movies from every country and every decade but I never figured that's what I'd be viewing when I sat down to watch this John Ford film that seems to have been forgotten over the years. The movie, based on the famous novel and long-running play, centers on Jeeter Lester (Charley Grapewin) and his family, poor Georgia farmers who are about to get kicked off their land unless they can round up $100 to stay for a year. That's pretty much all there is to know story wise, although the screenplay does take the film into different directions as the family is faced with the possibility of losing everything they love. If people got wide-eyed about the way Ford showed Indians then they're probably going to have their heads rolling off at this look at a redneck family. I was really, really caught off guard by how incredibly bizarre and strange this movie was. I think part of this is due to the comedy never working and for some strange reason this gives the film a rather bizarre atmosphere because you're watching this strange stuff yet nothing really laughing. The humor is rather strange because there's an older man (ward Bond) not wanting to marry an "old woman" of 23-years because he likes his 13-year-old current wife. We have humor about one of the Lester sons (William Tracy) who is so crazy and out of control that you can't help but think he's retarded and the film tries to get laughs off of this. We have the young Lester daughter (Gene Tierney) lusting after the older man with a lot of sexual innuendo. This redneck family is just so weird that you can't help but be slightly put off by them and the fact that the film is trying for laughs just makes some of it even stranger. The one major saving grace is the performance by Grapewin who really is marvelous here. His old-time redneck is spot on with the dialogue delivery and body movements that there's no doubt the character will ever leave your mind once you've seen it. Supporting players like Elizabeth Patterson and Dana Andrews come off pretty well but the same can't be said for Tierney who really looks bad here. She just isn't right for the role and she comes off looking like she's really struggling to do something with it. Ford's direction isn't all that bad but there's a reason this film isn't really that well-known or talked about when people discuss his work.
    helpful•15
    5
    • Michael_Elliott
    • Mar 12, 2010

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 7, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Duvanski put
    • Filming locations
      • Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA(poor farm sequence)
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,900,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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