Our Daily Bread
Director: King Vidor
Year Released: 1934
Rating: 1.5
Man and wife leave poverty in the city to become farmers in this Depression-era film; eventually, they get the idea to bring along other people to assist them, and together, some sort of Socialist commune is established. Clearly a shot at the woes of capitalism, this was supposedly influential when first released. However, on further viewing, it is little more than a B-movie with a textbook understanding of political theory and Communism/Socialism (man returns to "primitive" life, dividing land; monetary system is divided equally) - the acting is horrendous and made all the worse by the script by Joseph Mankiewicz (future Oscar winner) and some atrocious dialogue. The "easy" girl (city = tainted) that tries to lure away the main character from the ("pure") farm is an obvious plot mechanism. Enthusiasm over anything "outdoors" reaches an all-time high - I have never seen people so wound up over running water before.
