#1. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Storyline: The Joad clan, introduced to the world in John Steinbeck's iconic novel, is looking for a better life in California. After their drought-ridden farm is seized by the bank, the family -- led by just-paroled son Tom -- loads up a truck and heads West. On the road, beset by hardships, the Joads meet dozens of other families making the same trek and holding onto the same dream. Once in California, however, the Joads soon realize that the promised land isn't quite what they hoped.

Plot Keywords: ex-convict, sharecropper, priest, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, bleak ...

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#2. Mudbound (2017)

Storyline: In the aftermath of WWII, somewhere in the muddy Mississippi Delta, two families--one black, the Jacksons, and the other white, the McAllans--are forced to share the same patch of land, keeping a frail race-based peace with each other. However, as they both struggle with hardship and dire poverty, the long-awaited return of two war veterans--Ronsel, the Jacksons' eldest son, and Jamie, Henry McAllan's younger brother--will unexpectedly nurture a budding friendship that transcends prejudice and race. But, in the end, against a backdrop of fevered Mississippi sunsets and vitriolic racism, life can be hard when the law of the land is still segregation and hatred. And then, no one can be safe.—Nick Riganas

Plot Keywords: mother, farmer, child, brother-in-law, soldier, sharecropper, emotional ...

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#3. Men of Honor (2000)

Storyline: The story ultimately revolves around two "men of honor"; their relationship, their individual and joint failures and triumphs. Carl Brashear is determined to be the first African American Navy Diver in a time where racism is rife. Leslie Sunday is his embittered trainer, determined to see him fail. Fate, challenges and circumstances eventually draw these two men together in a tale of turbulence and ultimately triumph.

Plot Keywords: diver, naval officer, sharecropper, trainer, amputee, racist, inspiring ...

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#4. Native Land (1942)

Storyline: Paul Robeson narrates a mix of dramatizations and archival footage about the bill of rights being under attack during the 1930s by union busting corporations, their spies and contractors. In dramatizations, we see a Michigan farmer beaten for speaking up at a meeting, a union man murdered in an apartment in Cleveland, two sharecroppers near Fort Smith Arkansas shot by men deputized by the local sheriff, a spy stealing the names of union members, and a dead Chicago union man eulogized. In archival footage we witness police and goons beating lawfully assembled union organizers, and we see men at work and union families at play. The narration celebrates patriotism and democracy.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: farmer, union organizer, klansman, sharecropper, grocer, brutal, inspiring ...

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#5. Finian's Rainbow (1968)

Storyline: Of Glocca Morra, Ireland, Finian McLongeran, who has his own unique belief system of Irish legends, uproots himself and his adult daughter, Sharon McLonergan, and heads for the mythical land of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, USA where he believes he will become rich. One of those beliefs is that burying a crock of gold in Rainbow Valley will make it multiply, due to the power of rainbows and the Valley's close proximity to Fort Knox. Finian considers that he "borrowed" the crock of gold he has from the leprechauns of Glocca Morra, which he plans to return once he makes his fortune. Little does he know that in taking the gold, the leprechauns can no longer make wishes come true and are slowly turning mortal. One of those leprechauns, Og, has come to retrieve the crock of gold to save himself and his fellow leprechauns. Finian and Sharon's arrival in Rainbow Valley coincides with the return of the Valley's prodigal son, Woody Mahoney, who has come to repay back taxes before his land is auctioned off. Woody's sister, Susan Mahoney, is referred to by most Susan the Silent, as she has never spoken and communicates primarily through dance. In helping the Mahoneys repay those taxes, Finian only asks for a small parcel of that land for him and Sharon, and mostly for a place to bury the crock of gold. With the rest of the land, Woody and his friend, Howard, a research botanist, plan to revolutionize the tobacco industry by growing the first ever mentholated tobacco plants, which is a little more difficult to accomplish than they initially believe. Much like Finian, Woody plans on getting rich the easy way, in Woody's case off the hard work of Howard. Regardless of Sharon's dislike of what Woody is doing by being what she considers a schemer, the two fall in love. Finian's assistance of Woody in keeping the land irks bigoted Senator Billboard Rawkins, who has been trying to buy up as much land in the Valley as possible. Complications ensue for all involved because of the crock of gold, even though most have not seen it or even know it exists for real.—Huggo

Plot Keywords: irishman, daughter, leprechaun, politician, sharecropper, mute person, charming ...

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#6. A Gathering of Old Men (1987)

Storyline: Following the death of a racist white farmer, suspicions fly about the murderer's identity. Soon, elderly black man Mathu (Louis Gossett Jr.), a local sharecropper, is pegged as the prime suspect. Concerned about the threat of a lynch mob, Mathu's kind boss, Candy Marshall (Holly Hunter), gathers his friends and co-workers together to protect him. When all Mathu's fellow old men confess to the crime, it makes the investigation by Sheriff Mapes (Richard Widmark) that much trickier.

Plot Keywords: sheriff, sharecropper, elderly man, boss, friend, suspect, endearing ...

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