The Grapes of Wrath
Directed by John Ford
1940 - United States - 129 min

Summary:
John Ford's remarkable film version of John Steinbeck's classic novel. Jane Darwell won a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Ma Joad, the matriarch of the struggling migrant farmer family. Following a prison term he served for manslaughter, Tom Joad returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry. With little work potential on the horizon of the Oklahoma dust bowls, the entire family packs up and heads for the promised land - California. But the arduous trip and harsh living conditions they encounter offer little hope, and family unity proves as daunting a challenge as any other they face.

THE MONEY BITCH
By Carol Ann Bond

The Money Bitch, all decked out in scorn,
Came with her emerald stockings, this morn,
To put frost on my child's head,
Mold on my bread,
A corpse in my bed.
The Money Bitch, all plump and tart,
With her pointed shoes danced on my heart.
The Money Bitch loves to laugh
At all my tears glowing under glass.
The Money Bitch, a wry, wicked lass,
Likes to crush the times of plenty,
Impoverish the many,
And leave us just a penny. A penny buys not a slice of bread,
Nor a needle in which to thread,
The tatters of this rhythmic life,
A cauldron full of strife.
Soft, evil lips love to smile,
At pale, human flesh, all the while,
Taking it all away. Taking it all away.
Through the dark night, and the bright, yellow day.
The Money Bitch will spread 'em
But it's the apex of Bedlam.
Where the poor people dwell,
Scarcely in heaven, always in hell.
Scarcely in heaven, always in hell.

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