Wild Harvest

Kuumaa kiihkoa / Hetsande lidelse. US (c) 1961 Hollywood Artists Productions. D: Jerry A. Baerwitz. Based on the novel by Stephen Longstreet (1960). DP: Gordon Avil - b&w - 1,85:1. M: Bert Shefter, Paul Sawtell. Narrator: Walter Winchell. Starring Dolores Faith, Arlynn Greer, Kathleen Freeman, Susan Kelly. 78 min. A vintage 35mm print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 27 Feb 2009. Introduced by Jack Stevenson. - I watched the start. This is a rare case of a film with strong social comment. The subject: the migrant workers of California, harvesting grapes. It is also about the sexual exploitation of the female workers by the male bosses. Belongs thematically with Grapes of Wrath. There is grim, vital, sexual energy in this film. Some actors are clumsy, but vitality compensates. It is nice to see Kathleen Freeman, the Jerry Lewis / Frank Tashlin / John Landis regular in a serious role.