Our Daily Bread (1934)

Synopsis: Another example of King Vidor's preference for the simple virtues of rural life, this film's advocacy of collectivism might seem to give the theme a political twist, although it was attacked by... Another example of King Vidor's preference for the simple virtues of rural life, this film's advocacy of collectivism might seem to give the theme a political twist, although it was attacked by elements of both the left and the right. Set during the Great Depression, OUR DAILY BREAD stars Tom Keene and Karen Morley as John and Mary Sims, a couple who decides to leave the city to work a plot of land given them by Mary's uncle. In due time they're joined by a number of other people marginalized by the depression until they eventually find themselves with a working cooperative farm. When John expresses a willingness to give over the control he's been exercising to the other co-op members--except for one dissenting voice--they affirm his leadership. Predictably, problems begin to present themselves. The co-op is unable to get a bank loan and must struggle along on so little that even the stalwart John becomes despondent--so much so that he temporarily takes off with Sally (Barbara Pepper), a woman who has been energetically pursuing him. A film made outside studio control with a cast of mostly nonprofessionals, OUR DAILY BREAD remains a fascinating document of the time. Particularly notable is the concluding sequence that features the rhythmic, Eisensteinian editing of the digging of an emergency irrigation ditch. [More]

Starring: Karen Morley, Tom Keene, John Qualen, Barbara Pepper

Starring: Karen Morley, Tom Keene, John Qualen, Barbara Pepper, Addison Richards, Billy Engle, Henry Hall, Lynton Brent

Director: King Vidor

Director: King Vidor
Producer: King Vidor
Screenwriter: King Vidor, Elizabeth Hill, Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Composer: Alfred Newman

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