‘Grapes’ Memories

Darryl Hickman was all of 8 years old when he played Winfield Joad in “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Ford’s 1940 classic based on John Steinbeck’s novel about the Depression-era migration of “Okie” farmers from the dust bowls of Oklahoma to California.

Even then, Hickman knew “Grapes of Wrath” was something special. “Mr. Steinbeck was on the set and I got to meet him,” says Hickman. “He was treated with such respect.”

When he wasn’t in class or shooting a scene, Hickman would go to the set to observe Ford directing the film’s stars, Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell.

“The set was always very quiet when they were working,” Hickman recalls. “I remember standing and watching Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell shoot some of those wonderful scenes they had together. I remember standing behind the camera in the dark, in the quiet and just knew this was about something important.”

On Saturday, Hickman and the two other surviving cast members of the film, Dorris Bowdon Johnson and Shirley Mills, will appear at the Alex Film Society’s screening of “Grapes of Wrath” at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Movie historian Leonard Maltin hosts the event, which takes place at 2 and 8 p.m.

Ford won his second Oscar for directing this powerful, stark drama of the Joad family, who travel in a ramshackle old truck from Oklahoma to the “promised land” in California. Fonda gives one of his best performances as Tom Joad, the stoic, earnest ex-con who joins his family on their epic journey. Darwell received a supporting actress Oscar for her poignant turn as the matriarch, Ma Joad. The cast also features Charley Grapewin and John Carradine. Nunnally Johnson penned the acclaimed adaptation of Steinbeck’s tough, controversial novel, and Gregg Toland supplied the exquisite black-and-white, documentary-style cinematography.

“Grapes of Wrath” was published in March 1939 and hit No. 1 on the bestseller list in May, remaining there for months. Shortly after publication, 20th Century Fox bought the film rights for $70,000.

A lot of the book’s critics wanted producer Darryl F. Zanuck to shelve the entire project. The novel had been declared obscene and even subversive and was banned in several places. The Agricultural Council of California and the Associated Farmers of California even conducted a campaign against the filming.

Zanuck was very secretive about the production, which was primarily shot on the Fox lot. “The first script I received didn’t say ‘Grapes of Wrath,’ ” says Mills, who played Winfield’s older sister, Ruth. “It said ‘Highway 66’ because there was so much controversy about it.

“The other states [that the Okies] went through--Texas, New Mexico and Arizona--they had their own problems. They didn’t want those people hanging around. They wanted them to get in and get out. Then there were the union problems in California with the pickers.”

Zanuck hurried to get the film version into theaters within a year of the book’s publication.

“When he was at Warner Bros., Zanuck was very used to taking advantage of the opportunities of timeliness and not letting it marinate,” says historian and author Rudy Behlmer. “It was a courageous film to make.”

“We had a wonderful script to work with,” says Bowdon, who played the pregnant Rosasharn Joad Rivers. Shortly after the film’s release, Bowdon married screenwriter Johnson.

“I was so proud of my husband’s script,” says Bowdon, 86. “I was doubly pleased when I heard John Steinbeck say to him ‘That’s the best script I have ever read.’ ”

Hickman learned a lot about his craft from Fonda, Darwell, Ford and “even a strange man like John Carradine.” (Carradine played the rather mad Rev. Jim Casey.) “He was very interesting and provocative for me as a kid,” Hickman says.

Mills, who was 12 during production, recalls Ford gathering the cast together once a week “to remind us that the Joads--that family--were no bums or hobos. They were God-fearing, decent people who were victims of circumstance. The other thing that he impressed upon us so much was that they were a family. It was the family that held all of those families together who came out of those terrible circumstances.”

Both Hickman and Mills have nothing but praise for director Ford, who had a reputation of being a tough taskmaster. “John Ford had a reputation for being the most difficult man for some people,” says Hickman. “He was so good to the two kids, Shirley and me. He always had tea on the set at 4 p.m. every day. They would have cookies and Mr. Ford would go get the best cookies and bring them to the school room. He would bring Shirley and me the good cookies.”

“Grapes of Wrath” marked Bowdon’s third film with Ford. “On the first one [“Drums Along the Mohawk”], I was his pet and he helped me with scenes. The next one [“Young Mr. Lincoln”], he could be an awful horror.”

Ford drove Bowdon to tears during one sequence on “Grapes of Wrath” involving her good friend Darwell.

“It was the scene at the dance when the Joads were in a rather decent place and people were being nice to them,” Bowdon recalls. “Jane leaned over to me and said, ‘I’m scared to death. I am a fat old lady and I can’t dance and I have to remember my lines and talk while I am dancing with Hank and I am going to mess up.’ ”

Bowdon kept reassuring the veteran actress. “When she danced, I was as tense as she was,” says Bowdon. “She got all of her lines out on time. It was very effective.”

When the scene was over, Bowdon began to clap for Darwell. Suddenly, John Ford screamed through his microphone, “ ‘Who did that?’ It was a paralyzing scream. I raised my hand, and he began to tear into me very painfully. Fortunately, the scene was shot at the end of the day. I ran to my dressing room as fast as I could. I was weeping. I never felt such a fool.”

The following Monday on the set, Bowdon saw Ford approaching her. “He walked over and caught me under the chin and said, ‘You have been crying. I’m sorry I did it.’ I couldn’t believe John Ford was apologizing to me. He had realized too late I wasn’t [clapping] as a stage gesture. I was doing it for Jane Darwell.”

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* “The Grapes of Wrath” screens Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Admission is $8.50 for evening show; $7 for matinee; and $6 for Alex Film Society members. For information, call (818) 754-8250.