Review of Tobacco Road (1941) by Daniel K — 15 Aug 2008

Holy s^*t! Gene Tierney practically burns a hole in the screen on her opening. Itâ??s a pretty ridiculous performance and scene. Itâ??s practically the only scene she has in the entire film though. This is definitely not a part of America I am familiar with.

If there are actually people like this, I certainly hope I never meet them. For instance, Dude is not my idea of a stable person. Admittedly, there is a twinkle of something admirable in some of the other characters.

The film obviously reminds me of Grapes of Wrath, but is certainly inferior. I was just thinking prior to seeing this film that I couldnâ??t recall seeing a Ford comedy, but this pretty much fits the bill.

There is an abundance of hilarity to be had, although often it has a bit more than a twinge of grief. Thereâ??s nothing wrong with Fordâ??s direction, but I simply wasnâ??t terribly interested in the story, place, or people.

Ford does manage to arouse a sense of empathy for the plight of the old man and his wife and inspire one in the end though. It made me miss my dog as well.