Week Sixty-Seven
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"Our Daily Bread" 1934 Tommy (Left) |
MOVIE NAME: OUR DAILY BREAD
STUDIO: VIKING PRODUCTIONS, INC.
DIRECTOR: KING VIDOR
DATE: 1934
TYPE: SOCIAL DRAMA
CAST:
KAREN MORLEY as Mary Sims, TOM KEENE as John Sims , BARBARA PEPPER as Sally , ADDISON RICHARDS as Louie , JOHN QUALEN as Chris Larsen , LLOYD INGRAHAM as Uncle Anthony, SIDNEY BRACEY as Rent Collector , HENRY HALL AS Carpenter , NELLY V. NICHOLS as Cohen's wife , TOMMY BUPP, as child
SOURCE: A F I, Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940
AKA: The Miracle of Life, Hell's Crossroads
STORY: Overwhelmed by bill collectors Mary and John eagerly accept a proposal of Mary's Uncle Anthony to move from the city to his farm. Soon after the New Yorkers arrive at the ramshackled farm, they realize that they aren't equipped to restore barren land. When Chris Larsen, a dispossessed farmer and family find themselves with a flat tire on the Sim's roadside, John suggests, that, in exchange for his farming skills, he and his family stay on the farm and share the farms output. John has an idea that other unemployed skilled workers could benefit from the farm effort. He puts signs along the road asking for ten men with trades. He gets dozens of skilled and unskilled applicants, all begging for a chance to work. John takes them all. They elect him the "Boss." They plant and grow corn and a baby is born to the "Jewish" family. The collective joy is tempered when they learn that the land is being auctioned to cover mortgage debts. At the auction, potential buyers are intimidated into silence by the group and the sheriff is forced to sell the land for $1.85 to a member of the collective. Sally, a tough talking platinum blonde shows up at the farm during a rainstorm, and Mary asks her to stay. She begins flirting with John and is warned by Louie to lay off. When a food shortage nears a crisis point, Louie shows a poster identifying himself as a fugitive. He suggests turning himself in for the $500 reward. Sally poses as Mary in town and collects the money. When she returns to the farm, John arranges for the group lawyer to plead Louie's case. Soon, however, the corn is plagued by draught, and a crop failure is imminent. John falls into despair and self-doubt and unable to resist her seductive pull, sneaks away with Sally. John sees Louie's disapproving face and dumps Sally and returns to the collective with an idea. After seeing a stream, John is inspired to dig a trench to divert water to save the corn. After two days of back-breaking work the trench is complete and the crop is saved. A reunited John and Mary embrace.
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