Bound for Glory (1976)

I wanted to see this because I like 1930's era folk music, and I share a birthday with the man this movie's about. Bound for Glory stars David Carradine in what is probably his strongest, serious dramatic performance, as folk music pioneer Woody Guthrie. While the movies 2 1/2 hours long, it is not an exhaustive bio-pic, instead it tells the story of maybe two years in Guthrie's life, in which he rises from out of work Texas sign-painter, to some prominence on California radio, and then chucks away opportunities for big money and a national CBS radio show in order to stay 'close to the folks'.

'The folks' for which Guthrie develops an arguably obsessive fondness are the poor, down on there luck people of depression era America. Guthrie starts pre-disposed in there favor, being one of them in a small, dying, Texas farm community. Unable to find steady work to support his family Guthrie sets off hitchhiking and box car riding to California, which according to gossip has jobs a plenty. Of course when he gets there, as anyone familiar with The Grapes of Wrath knows, there ain't much work for country folk, and what there pays penny's a day and is backbreaking hard.

When union organizing folk musician Ozark Bule (Ronny Cox) stops by to preach labour and entertain the folks at a work camp where Guthrie is staying with a young Randy Quaid and his family, our protagonist ends up in a fist fight with hierd thugs and must flee with Bule for safety. Ozark takes a liking with Guthrie's guitar plucking, and eventually he lines up a regular radio gig for Guthrie so he can send for his family in Texas. Of course first Guthrie has an affair with a rich widow (Gail Strickland), but because 'she has so much, while so many have so little' it doesn't work out. Plus Guthrie does love his wife Melinda Dillon, but he's so darn full of wander-lust and love for 'the folks' that he walks out on his radio job to go and entertain poor labours in there own environment. After a while of doing this, his wife leaves him, takes the kids and moves back to Texas, so then Guthrie turns down some very lucrative singing offers to head back out on the rails and entertain his beloved 'folks'.

It really took about a half hour for this movie to get going, during its first thirty minutes or so Guthrie just sort of bumbs around the dying town where he and his family lives, but then he finally decides to leaves and its another thirty minutes before he makes it to California. Much of the film is episodic, just little pieces about the poor people Guthrie meets, the 'real' plot as such doesn't truly begin until Woody meets Ozark at that California labour camp. Through much of the movie Woody's a rather zen figure, he just floats along where ever circumstance takes him and is always nice to everyone (save maybe his frustrated wife). It isn't until his innate sense of justice gets aroused that Woody shows off his righteous indignation, and his stubborn streak proves it will always get in the way of any peace he might find with his family. This happens around the same time Woody starts to get successful, and you understand why he can be so frustrating to those around him, he's self righteous, but in kind of an oddly noble way.

This movie, directed by Hal Ashby, is very much of that uber-slow, atmospheric, reflective school best epitomized by the work of Mark Rydell. It took me, a lover of slow film, quite a while to get into it, but it's an honest and strong work, and Carradine does a surprisingly good job of carrying the piece, with the aid of some rather low key supporting players. I don't think I really loved it, but by the end I was feeling quite satisfied, and despite the difficulties of its languid pace and highly strung leading character, this movie actually felt quite warm. Grade: B