Tobacco Road (film)

Tobacco Road is a 1941 film directed by John Ford starring Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney, William Tracy Dana Andrews and Ward Bond. It was based on the novel of the same name by Erskine Caldwell, but the plot was rewritten for the film.

Initially, Henry Hull was sought from MetroGoldwynMayer to reprise the main role previously portrayed on Broadway. However, in October 1940 he was revealed to be only in consideration, along with Walter Brennan and Henry Fonda.Much to the immense satisfaction of the studio, John Ford was signed on as the director as early as March 1940. On production, he commented in a December 1940 interview We have no dirt in the picture. Weve eliminated the horrible details and what weve got left is a nice dramatic story. Its a tearjerker, with some comedy relief. What were aiming at is to have the customers sympathize with our people and not feel disgusted. The decision was most likely a result of a November 1940 warning that many religious folk throughout the nation may be offended by the religious aspects. ........

Source: Wikipedia