atlasmb
"Our Daily Bread" is a depression era film about some who suffered but banded together to survive on a communal farm. The effort is led by John Sims who needs the exhortations of his wife, Mary, to keep his spirits up and his mind in the game.The group faces numerous setbacks and trials, but they always manage to persevere. It's a solid portrayal of a communal effort, where every man is his neighbor's brother and some "sacrifice" for the benefit of the many.In the midst of this community arrives Sally, a platinum blonde who fits in like chewing gum on the bottom of a shoe. She provides color, and agitation to the order of the farm. John seems to like her outlook on life.The acting is mostly good, and the plot is dramatic, if somewhat predictable. Other reviewers have cited the ending as the best part of the movie. I disagree, because the ending is so unrealistic (for many reasons) as to take the viewer out of the film. But I understand the intent. A reviewer commented that it reminded him of the "Hey, gang, let's put on a show" device and I was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, this "show" is more fairy tale than drama.
rsgwynn1
I like it that one reviewer likened this to a Rooney/Garland musical, for it really is, even including the big "production number" for a finale! I showed it to my American lit class today as part of our discussion of naturalism. I could have picked other, better films, but this fit neatly into the 75 min. period. Anyway, it got some applause at the end! There are obviously Soviet-style overtones, especially in the photography and editing of the final sequence, but the film is also explicitly Christian and pro-private ownership (John retains the deed to the farm). What saddens me is that the "survivalists" of today are mainly concerned with their own bug-out-dug-outs and stashing them with goods for their immediate families but no one else.Despite its naiveté and occasional bad acting (Tom Keene?) it remains an entertaining period film and instructive as well. John Qualen. He was so great in so many movies, including The Grapes of Wrath!
Neil Doyle
TOM KEENE and KAREN MORLEY are the lesser-known stars of this Depression-era classic, a poor man's "Grapes of Wrath", about a young farming couple who use ingenuity to overcome a drought that threatens to ruin their crops.Tom Keene was a B-actor who did mostly westerns and does a sincere, earnest job of playing the kind of "everyman" role that Henry Fonda and Joel McCrea usually played in these sort of films. While he has a limited range, he makes an appealing hero, a man who fires others with his ambitious idea to build a gully for the water to reach the crops that are badly in need of water. It's this sequence, with the men following orders and digging the ditches that make a pathway for the water, that really makes the film special.Otherwise, it's a rather drab exercise in showing the downtrodden lives of farming people during the Great Depression of the '30s.KAREN MORLEY is lovely as the loyal woman who stands by her man and JOHN QUALEN does an effective job as a frustrated farmer. Some striking scenes for the last half-hour, but a bit heavy going before that.
GlennBeckFan
It is easy to be a cynic especially in today's society. I am part of the first generation to mature without a sense of community. Common values, common goals, as demonstrated by this film, are greater than almost any circumstances. This is not socialism rather it is community. Socialism takes by force, community gives by goodness. Some may accuse the storyline as being simplistic, however, if you talk to people who lived through the Great Depression you will often hear stories like this one: neighbors helping neighbors. Movies like "Our Daily Bread" perfectly capture the Spirit of America. I am grateful such testaments exist because they can inspire future generations and citizens yet born.
AD
