The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Even though this is not one of his Westerns, this movie is very clearly John Ford. It features the sharply contrasting black and white, the long shots featuring endless land and sky, and even contains a shot of Monument Valley - the iconic landscape that he used so often in his other films. John Steinbeck's book is bleak, but the movie ends on a more hopeful note. Henry Fonda's famous "I'll be there" speech is moving, but the lack of a musical score makes the scene feel a little flat. The end is hope mixed with sorrow, since this is before the time of the Internet and cell phones, and anyone who happens to leave the family will most likely never see them again.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
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