Our Daily Bread (1934)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

King Vidor (story)
Elizabeth Hill (scenario)
(more)

Release Date:

2 October 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

KING VIDOR'S EPIC of a MILLION HEARTS! (original poster)

Plot:

A group of down-on-their-luck workers combine their abilities to make a Gallafentian-style commune... and bread!

Plot Keywords:

Drought | Farming | Politician | Professor | Marriage

Cast

Karen Morley	...	Mary Sims
Tom Keene	...	John Sims
Barbara Pepper	...	Sally
Addison Richards	...	Louie Fuente
John Qualen	...	Chris Larsen
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Uncle Anthony
Sidney Bracey	...	Rent Collector
Henry Hall	...	Frank - the Carpenter
Nellie V. Nichols	...	Mrs. Cohen
Frank Minor	...	Plumber
Bud Ray	...	Stonemason (as Bud Rae)
Harry Brown	...	Little Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
C.E. Anderson	...	Schultz - the Butcher (uncredited)
Earl Askam	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Lionel Backus	...	Barber (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
Jack Baldwin	...	Motorcyclist (uncredited)
Marion Ballou	...	Old Lady (uncredited)
Harry Bernard	...	Chief (uncredited)
Harold Berquist	...	Father (uncredited)
Bonita	...	Mother (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Professor (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Bully (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy (uncredited)
Henry Burroughs	...	Politician (uncredited)
Cy Clegg	...	Lawyer (uncredited)
Billy Engle	...	Abie Cohen (uncredited)
Florence Enright	...	Gossiping Woman #2 (uncredited)
Alma Ferns	...	Mrs. Hilda Larsen (uncredited)
Clarence Geldart	...	Community Member (uncredited)
Harris Gordon	...	Cigar Salesman (uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	Community Woman in Cottage (uncredited)
Harrison Greene	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Frank Hammond	...	Undertaker (uncredited)
Doris Kemper	...	Gossiping Woman #1 (uncredited)
Sidney Miller	...	Cohen's Son (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Powerhouse Employee (uncredited)
Hal Price	...	Threatened Bidder at Auction (uncredited)
Bob Reeves	...	George Hannibal (uncredited)
Alex Schumberg	...	Violinist (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Italian Shoemaker (uncredited)
Ray Spiker	...	Ex-Convict (uncredited)
King Vidor	...	Farmer Yelling 'Let It Go!' (uncredited)

Directed by
King Vidor

Writing credits
King Vidor		(story)
Elizabeth Hill		(scenario)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		(dialogue) (as Joseph Mankiewicz)

Produced by
King Vidor	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alfred Newman		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert H. Planck		(photographed by) (as Robert Planck)

Film Editing by
Lloyd Nosler

Casting by
Ray Hanson		(uncredited)

Production Management
Vernon Keays	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ralph Slosser	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Vinton Vernon	....	sound recordist
Russell Hanson	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Madison S. Lacy	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Reggie Lanning	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Lloyd Brierly	....	technical director (uncredited)
Mortimer Offner	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Otho Wilhite	....	advisor: agriculture (uncredited)

Production Companies

• King W. Vidor Productions (as Viking Productions Inc.)

Distributors

• United Artists (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1940) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1951) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Hollywood Home Theatre (1980) (USA) (video) (Betamax)
• Grapevine Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (video)

Also Known As:

"Hell's Crossroads" - USA (reissue title)
"El pan nuestro de cada día" - Spain
"Jokapäiväinen leipämme" - Finland
"Nasz chleb powszedni" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Nostro pane quotidiano" - Italy
"Notre pain quotidien" - France (dubbed version)
"O Pão Nosso de Cada Dia" - Portugal
"Ton arton imon ton epiousion" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Unser täglich Brot" - Austria (alternative title)
"Unser tägliches Brot" - Germany
"Vort daglige brød" - Denmark
"Welt ohne Geld" - Austria

Runtime:

80 min | USA:90 min (premiere) | 74 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #59) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

King W. Vidor Productions

Trivia:

After the film's premiere at the "Century of Progress" exhibition in Chicago, Illinois, the film was cut by more than 10 minutes for its national release. Many of the cast from the original showing are missing in the prints available today.

Quotes:

John Sims:Don't worry Mary. I know things are hard now but we'll make it in the end.
Mary Sims:But how, John? Who's going to save us?
John Sims:Not who, Mary, what. The bread will save us, the bread.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're in the Army Now

Flawed but spirited

Desperate people set in desperate Great Depression times try to eke out a living on an abandoned farm. Rousing for its "back to the land" pioneering spirit of people from all walks of life forced to help each other start a new life (or starve). The film preaches self-reliance (away from expecting government assistance), yet encourages people to help each other (in a somewhat Socialistic sense), so there are mixed messages here. There seems to be an undercurrent not to trust the various forms of government either.

Parts of this film are greater than the whole, with uneven performances and some hackneyed "girl tries to steal husband" scenes that make you want to fast-forward... Director King Vidor managed to get "OK" performances out of some of the lesser (amateur?) performers (some of which never made another film).

I've seen this film dozens of times for its most interesting scenes, tops of which include the famous ditch digging scene at the films end.

Unlike Grapes of Wrath, Our Daily Bread is overall optimistic that the individual can rise above dire straits to triumph through "work, work without stopping." Unfortunately, this film has enough flaws in story and acting to keep it from anywhere near the masterpiece status Grapes of Wrath has achieved.