Our Daily Bread (1934 film)
Our Daily Bread | |
---|---|
Alfred Newman | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $125,000 (estimate) |
Our Daily Bread is a 1934 American
Plot
A couple, down on their luck during the Great Depression, move to a farm to try to make a go of living off the land. They have no idea what to do at first, but soon find other downtrodden people to help them. Soon they have a collective of people, some from the big city, who work together on a farm. A severe drought is killing the crops. The people then dig a ditch by hand, almost two miles long, to divert water from a creek to irrigate the crops.
Production
Vidor tried to interest
Cast
- Karen Morley as Mary Sims
- Tom Keene as John Sims
- Barbara Pepper as Sally
- Addison Richards as Louie Fuente
- John Qualen as Chris Larsen
- Lloyd Ingraham as Uncle Anthony
- Sidney Bracey as Rent Collector
- Henry Hall as Frank
- Nellie V. Nichols as Mrs. Cohen
- Frank Minor as Plumber
- Bud Rae as Stonemason
- Harry Brown as Little Man
Reception and legacy
Our Daily Bread was a box-office disappointment.[1] Vidor, who produced the film with his own money, said he "just about broke even."[2]
The New York Times called the film "a social document of amazing vitality and emotional impact."[2][3]
In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4] In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to Vidor's career.[5]
Soundtrack
- Sidney Bracey – "Just Because You're You"
- The farmers – "You're in the Army Now"
- Musicians at the farm – "Camptown Races" (music by Stephen Foster)
- Tom Keene – "Oh! Susanna" with modified lyrics (music and lyrics by Stephen Foster)
References
- ^ Churchill, Douglas W. The Year in Hollywood: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era; The New York Times December 30, 1934: X5. Retrieved December 16, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ a b Our Daily Bread (1934) [1] Turner Classic Movies
- ^ Sennwald, Andre [2] The New York Times Oct. 3, 1934
- ^ Mike Barnes (December 16, 2015). "'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun,' 'Shawshank' Enter National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "Berlinale 2020: Retrospective "King Vidor"". Berlinale. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
External links
- Our Daily Bread at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Our Daily Bread is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Our Daily Bread at IMDb
- Our Daily Bread at AllMovie
- Our Daily Bread at the TCM Movie Database