BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Michael Morrison Cynics may, and will, find a lot to dislike; conversely, idealists will find a lot to like.Another commenter said "Our Daily Bread" gets a lot of interpretations, and that is very definitely correct.The one I like is this: People in voluntary co-operation, working together toward a common goal, in this case, survival, can accomplish a lot, especially if there is some intelligence used in both finding the goal and finding the means toward it.Unfortunately a lot of luck is needed, too, and the people here got a bit of it at the start.Also needed is a very high threshold of frustration, and patience, and a reluctance to place blame.Father Flanagan, most famous for Boys Town, started his mission of helping financially deprived people by acquiring an abandoned hotel in Omaha. He opened it to anyone in need who would also provide some ability or effort toward restoring the building.It's an idea whose time might be here again, as we are in either a depression or a very severe recession, and thousands of people are losing their homes.The John Sims character in "Our Daily Bread" begins with a similar, if not identical, premise, and disparate, but desperate, people pitch in with their skills and talents or perhaps just their desperate desire.The commenter who said the women had little to do should re-watch "Our Daily Bread" and pay closer attention to the last scene, which someone else called, rightly, "exhilarating." Exhilarating: That's the word for "Our Daily Bread," a must-see.

MartinHafer OUR DAILY BREAD is an interesting curio--a historical oddity--but nothing more. I was really surprised when I saw that it currently has a very respectable IMDb score of 7.1 despite being a rather silly and difficult to watch film.The film begins with a poor couple who are living in the city. Unfortunately, he's out of work and without much drive and they are about to lose their apartment. So they move to the country to try to make a go of it on a dilapidated old farm (which you ASSUME they owned but it turns out they didn't). Once there, they realize the going will be very tough, as they know nothing about farming and the place is in pretty bad shape. Then, luckily, a real farmer and his family just happen to have their car breakdown outside the property and they decide to pool their resources and work together. Realizing the power of multiple hands to run the farm, they decide to invite practically anyone to come there and form a collective society--sort of a small utopia.From a historical viewpoint, this is a very interesting film because it shows the desperation of the Depression--something rarely seen in films of the era. In fact, despite a huge number of people out of work, Hollywood often featured films about rich folks and exotic places--not out of work homeless people. Aside from the later and much more famous film, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, this is one of the few films to really deal with poverty and a sense of disgust with the American capitalistic system. In fact, the film has very strong enlightened socialist/communist themes running throughout. Considering people were hungry, these sentiments are understandable--but also very strange when seen by many viewers today.Now had this film been well made, then it would have had more than just a historical oddity. However, unfortunately, the film is occasionally very silly--both for it's wide-eyed idealism (some hope is great, but this was like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland putting on a Broadway quality show in their uncle's barn) and some really silly plot elements. The worst plot element involved a very slutty and cheap looking "dame" who arrives on the farm. While she seems nothing like any of the collective workers and is totally uncommitted to doing ANYTHING positive (looking like a gangster's moll twenty years and 50 pounds past her prime), she is welcomed in and proceeds to naturally destroy everything. This was silly and impossible to believe--and she seemed like a plot device and not a real person. Why would the farmer leave his lovely wife for such an unpleasant person?! It would be like Michael Douglas dropping Catherine Zeta-Jones for Phyllis Diller!! While this is a bad movie, I still do recommend it for the curious as well as history and economics teachers. It is fascinating and gives a side to American life few today would realize existed--a life of poverty and desperation.By the way, I am NOT against doing films about poverty or collectives. After all, one of my very favorite Italian films was MIRACLE IN MILAN--a truly wonderful film. My problem with OUR DAILY BREAD was with the awful and heavy-handed writing. Despite being a noble effort, it was just bad.

HallmarkMovieBuff This Depression-era film attempts to depict how working together can overcome hard times, but leading man Tom Keene's gee-whiz performance, and the needless subplot which has Barbara Pepper's Sally attempting to distract him from his mission, tend to derail the effort.Karen Morley is the star here. Her fine performance as Mary (weren't most good girls in movies of this era named "Mary"?), the faithful and enduring wife, keeps both the mission and the movie on track with her constancy and support.Also notable are John Qualen in his oft-portrayed "Swedish farmer" role, and Addison Richards as the shady character who becomes the commune's enforcer, but who makes a sacrifice for the common good.As one of the features of the film involves following a large field of corn from seedlings to stalks, one can but wonder how Hollywood got Nature to cooperate in the production by providing the right conditions at the proper times to advance the story toward the climax.Despite the flaws in acting and script, one has to admit that the ending is thrilling as the men work together and literally throw down their bodies to save the day. Still, if you want to watch a really good film on a similar subject, go see "The Good Earth," made three years later.

GlennBeckFan It is easy to be a cynic especially in today's society. I am part of the first generation to mature without a sense of community. Common values, common goals, as demonstrated by this film, are greater than almost any circumstances. This is not socialism rather it is community. Socialism takes by force, community gives by goodness. Some may accuse the storyline as being simplistic, however, if you talk to people who lived through the Great Depression you will often hear stories like this one: neighbors helping neighbors. Movies like "Our Daily Bread" perfectly capture the Spirit of America. I am grateful such testaments exist because they can inspire future generations and citizens yet born.