The adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbecks Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of dirt-poor Dust Bowl migrants by 4-time Oscar-winning director John Ford starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, who opens the movie returning to his Oklahoma home after serving jail time for manslaughter. En route, Tom meets family friend Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher who warns Tom that dust storms, crop failures, and new agricultural methods have financially decimated the once prosperous Oklahoma farmland. Upon returning to his family farm, Tom is greeted by his mother (Oscar-winner Jane Darwell), who tells him that the family is packing up for the promised land of California. Warned that they shouldnt expect a warm welcome in California--theyve already seen the caravan of dispirited farmers, heading back home after striking out at finding work--the Joads push on all the same. Their first stop is a wretched migrant camp, full of starving children and surrounded by armed guards. Further down the road, the Joads drive into an idyllic government camp, with clean lodging, indoor plumbing, and a self-governing clientele. When Tom ultimately bids goodbye to his mother, who asks him where hell go, he delivers the films most famous speech: Ill be all around...Wherever theres a fight so hungry people can eat...Whenever theres a cop beating a guy, Ill be there...And when the people are eatin the stuff they raise and livin in the houses they build. Ill be there too. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide