The Grapes of Wrath Goes Dour To Properly Explore The Brutal Plight of the Joad Family

Though apparently softened down from its John Steinbeck penned source material (particularly in terms of its ending), The Grapes of Wrath carries with it a startlingly grim tone that, much like In a Lonely Place, doesn't feel like the kind of thing you might find in a movie made under the Hayes Code era of American filmmaking. This was an era where tidy morality and an upholding of a narrowly defined status quo were emphasized greatly, so it's shocking to see a movie like The Grapes of Wrath tell a tale this committed to a dour aesthetic as well as make villains out of law enforcement individuals with nary a good cop in sight to establish some kind of #NotAllCops message to appease Hayes Code censors.

12 Angry Men Review (Classic Write-Up)

Now That We're Men

Sometimes, movies need a grand scope to tell their stories, but other times, there's certain plotlines that only need a room, 12 individuals and a court case that's far more complex than it seems to really get it rolling. As you might have guessed, those are the elements at the center of 12 Angry Men, a 1957 release from director Sidney Lumet that utilizes straightforward storytelling entities to create complexity and a captivating atmosphere.