The Movie Journal

  The Grapes of Wrath (1940) John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath is one of the best American films ever produced. Based off the literary sensation written by John Steinbeck only a year before the film’s release, it tells a story about depression and poverty. It is a very simple, but well-told story with memorable characters and performances. More than eighty years later, the film remains socially prevalent today as it was back in 1940. Ford does an incredible job making his audience care about the plight of these poor folks- something that many people had to endure during the Great Depression. For the duration of the two-hour running time, I was at the edge of my seat deep within my feelings. The film is not built on shocking dramatics, but rather a story that is still striking because of how deep it is based on reality. This reality is shocking enough. On top of the actual story, Gregg Toland’s black-and-white cinematography is super effective. Of course, that is how film were seen ba...

The Philadelphia Story (1940) Prior to the release of The Philadelphia Story, Katherine Hepburn had a string of failures (including the classic 1938 screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby) that labeled Hepburn as box office poison. In order to get rid of the career-ruining label, she decided to get to work on her own film. In 1939, she was starring in a very popular Broadway show from Philip Barry. She convinced MGM to buy the rights with her having control on everyone who was brought into the cast and crew. She chose George Cukor to direct this film whom she worked with before and David Odgen Stewart who was a friend of Barry’s and had experience turning plays into movies. For the cast, she chose Cary Grant and James Stewart as her main co-stars. She worked with Grant previously three times (including the aforementioned Bringing Up Baby). Taking control of the production was a very smart business move for Hepburn. In addition to this romantic farce being the fifth highest b...