You can see why John Garfield rocketed to stardom just from watching this film: he has a tough but charismatic demeanor and is a natural born actor. He plays an embittered, cynical and distrustful youth, who is released from prison at the start, being told he was wrongly convicted when the real culprit was caught and confessed. He vows that he will never again trust authorities. He lands in a state work farm because of vagrancy and meets Priscilla Lane, the stepdaughter of the yard boss (Stanley Ridges) and they fall in love. But they are caught in an embrace by Ridges, who slaps Lane, incensing Garfield enough to hit Ridges, who dies of a heart attack due to his poor health caused by alcoholism. They flee and feel safe over the border but are almost penniless, so they take advantage of a promotion at a movie theater and get married on stage free of charge with lots of bonuses, despite it being a humiliating experience for both. Then they hear Ridges' death is considered a murder and they are wanted fugitives. Lane wants to turn themselves in, but Garfield will have none of that, and she sticks by him. Eluding police, they are given a job by kindly diner owner, Henry Armetta, who even helps them escape when Lane is caught and Garfield breaks her out of jail. This was an exciting nail-biting sequence. Garfield then lucks out when he is at the right place at the right time: he photographs details of a bank robbery in progress and gets a job as photographer with a newspaper. Because of these sensational photos and the fame it was sure to bring, Garfield was again threatened with being exposed as the wanted fugititve. This film is worth seeing for Garfield's performance, but Henry Armetta and Alan Hale are both excellent, and there's an enjoyable Max Steiner score. For those who are interested in credit abberations, Victor Kilian and Frank Jaquet are both in the onscreen cast credits but were edited out of the film. I've seen this happen occasionally for one performer in movies of the 1930's, but this is the only time I can remember it occurred for two.
24 Reviews
While it's a bit preachy, it's also very effective and well worth seeing.
planktonrules11 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The film begins with John Garfield in prison. It turns out, however, after serving a year and a half, the REAL culprit confesses and Garfield is released. Considering everything, it's very understandable that he's bitter.
Oddly, the authorities appeared to have done NOTHING to help Garfield after his release. Now he's a hobo riding the rails. And, when he and a couple teens (Billy Halop and Bobby Jordan) are picked up for vagrancy, they are sent to a work farm! Talk about adding insult to injury! The farm has a sadistic drunk as a foreman and he makes life tough for Garfield. Along the way, he meets up with the drunk's step-daughter (Priscilla Lane) and they fall in love. Later, when her drunk father attacks Garfield, John defends himself and strikes the old guy--and the man dies. In desperation, the pair fun from the farm and eventually get married. Along the way, they meet up with a lot of people who inexplicably like the couple and treat them with kindness. And, in the end, when Garfield is caught and tried for the killing, these people come from all over the country to speak on his behalf.
Although I'll admit that the film is preachy (especially during the defense's closing arguments), it is highly effective and entertaining. There are also a lot of excellent performances that all make it well worth seeing. An excellent film--the sort of Depression-era crime drama and social commentary that Warner Brothers did best.
Oddly, the authorities appeared to have done NOTHING to help Garfield after his release. Now he's a hobo riding the rails. And, when he and a couple teens (Billy Halop and Bobby Jordan) are picked up for vagrancy, they are sent to a work farm! Talk about adding insult to injury! The farm has a sadistic drunk as a foreman and he makes life tough for Garfield. Along the way, he meets up with the drunk's step-daughter (Priscilla Lane) and they fall in love. Later, when her drunk father attacks Garfield, John defends himself and strikes the old guy--and the man dies. In desperation, the pair fun from the farm and eventually get married. Along the way, they meet up with a lot of people who inexplicably like the couple and treat them with kindness. And, in the end, when Garfield is caught and tried for the killing, these people come from all over the country to speak on his behalf.
Although I'll admit that the film is preachy (especially during the defense's closing arguments), it is highly effective and entertaining. There are also a lot of excellent performances that all make it well worth seeing. An excellent film--the sort of Depression-era crime drama and social commentary that Warner Brothers did best.
Stands the Test of Time
LeonLouisRicci21 September 2012
Optimism and hope versus cynicism and despair. Depression era tale of a wrongly accused ex-con taking on a society that never seems to give a guy an even break. Although he is given quite a few, fate intervenes and knocks him off his feet.
Broke and running (once again) from a crime he did not commit, this time he has a companion (guardian angel) that understands him and guides, then forces, the troubled soul on a path of belonging to a world that can offer peace and a place to hang their hats.
A very good, if typical, movie that during the depression was a fitting try at uplifting the downtrodden. An idealistic, progressive endeavor from a studio that could deliver a message and a Star that epitomized method acting before there was method acting.
Although at times a bit over written and assuming it is a time capsule that stands the test.
Broke and running (once again) from a crime he did not commit, this time he has a companion (guardian angel) that understands him and guides, then forces, the troubled soul on a path of belonging to a world that can offer peace and a place to hang their hats.
A very good, if typical, movie that during the depression was a fitting try at uplifting the downtrodden. An idealistic, progressive endeavor from a studio that could deliver a message and a Star that epitomized method acting before there was method acting.
Although at times a bit over written and assuming it is a time capsule that stands the test.
Vintage Garfield in fast-moving suspense flick
aromatic-28 October 2001
Garfield is excellent as falsely-accused Joe Bell escaping to try to prove his innocence. Priscilla Lane is excellent in a character type she repeated three years later, virtually word-for-word, in Saboteur with Robert Cummings. But, this film stands on its own merits, even without the Hitchcockian camera angles or the Statue of Liberty. It is soulful, well-scripted, and tense.
I highly recommend it.
I highly recommend it.
John Garfield in a familiar role but a well made yarn.
alexanderdavies-9938228 August 2017
The reputation of John Garfield has suffered somewhat on account of his being accused of Communism by that bigoted lunatic Joseph McCarthy. It changes nothing in that John Garfield was a fine actor, one of the best of his generation. He was an actor who could modify his style of that from the theatre, so that he could be natural and convincing on screen. "Warner Bros" didn't really appreciate the value of such a talent and the films Garfield was forced to do, were not worthy of him at all. However, "Dust Be My Destiny" is a very watchable movie. Even though Garfield is playing the kind of character he was stuck with for a while, he is nevertheless very good. For years, he was always cast as those people who found themselves on the wrong side of the law, usually down to bad luck rather than being criminally inclined. In this film, Garfield is a man on the run with a young lady by his side. Her drunken stepfather is dead due to an accident and Garfield has been innocently implicated. He and his girlfriend take to the countryside, barely staying one step ahead of the authorities. They hop onto freight trains, hitchhike along the highway. It is a tense yarn where you don't know what is going to happen next and I found the experience exciting. Frank McHugh is totally wasted in a cameo appearance as a rather insistent wedding photographer but Alan Hale does well as a newspaper editor who takes the wanted youngsters under his wing. Two of the Dead End Kids make an appearance but they are written out quite early on. Very enjoyable.
From now on Joe Bell runs the other way
sol121812 April 2006
****SPOILERS**** John Garfield's electrifying yet touching performance as fugitive from he law Joe Bell lifts this very convoluted and predictable movie about a man with a chip on his shoulder to where it gets to you no matter how corny and dated it is.
Sent up the river for 16 months for a crime he didn't commit Joe Bell is released when the real criminal was arrested for another crime and confessed to the one that Joe was convicted off. Bitter at society for the raw deal it gave him Joe spends the rest of the movie getting into trouble, from being arrested as a vagrant to being on the run for a murder, with a number of total strangers coming to his aid. The strangers help the confused and quick-tempered young man out despite jeopardizing their own safety and freedom in doing it.
First there's the old railroad break-man Pop, Charlie Grapewin, who let Joe and two of his hobo friends the Glenn brothers Hank & Jimmy, Bill Holap & Bobby Jordan, stay in a box-cart when he should have had them arrested. Later Joe hungry and desperate needing, together with his newlywed wife Mable (Priscilla Lane),a bite to eat meets kindly grocery store owner, Ferike Boros. Ferike offers Joe food for free seeing that the young man didn't have a dime on him. This act of kindness has the both guilt-ridden and embarrassed Joe walks out of the store, forgetting about his plans to rob it. and not take up Freike's offer for a free meal.
On the run and always a step ahead of the police Joe and Mable, who's step-father Charlie Garreth(Stanley Ridge) was the boss of the work farm whom Joe accidentally killed, end up in a small town where Joe finally lands a job that can make him a productive citizen. Joe becomes a photojournalist when he accidentally snapped a number of photos of a bank robbery that later resulted in the capture of the robbers.
Being a local hero Joe is very apprehensive to have his photo taken. His boss newspaper editor Mike Leonard, Alan Hale, hearing Joe out about his past misfortunes with the law takes the credit himself for the photos, to keep Joe from having his face plastered all over the papers. This has Mike end up almost being kidnapped by the hoods who robbed the bank. Joe seeing that Mike is about to be kidnapped and possibly murdered runs to his aid and not only saves his life but ends up getting all the unwanted publicity that he tried to avoid.
Not all that predictable of an ending "Dust be my Destiny" has all the people who helped Joe throughout the movie come to his defense. This leads the jury to find Joe innocent of the murder of Charlie Garreth due to extenuating circumstances. The bitter young man in the end learned that the world, and the deck of cards it dealt him, wasn't against him and having a persecution complex would only makes things more difficult not easy for the combative Joe Bell.
Made in 1939 "Dust be my Destiny" is not as corny and dated as you would have at first thought. John Garfield as well as Priscilla Lane's performances don't come across looking phony at all and. Their attempt to live honest and decent lives in spite of being on the lamb shows that, at least with John Garfield's Joe Bell, whatever miscarriage of justice that they were victim of it didn't drive the two to forsake the law and choose a life of crime.
Sent up the river for 16 months for a crime he didn't commit Joe Bell is released when the real criminal was arrested for another crime and confessed to the one that Joe was convicted off. Bitter at society for the raw deal it gave him Joe spends the rest of the movie getting into trouble, from being arrested as a vagrant to being on the run for a murder, with a number of total strangers coming to his aid. The strangers help the confused and quick-tempered young man out despite jeopardizing their own safety and freedom in doing it.
First there's the old railroad break-man Pop, Charlie Grapewin, who let Joe and two of his hobo friends the Glenn brothers Hank & Jimmy, Bill Holap & Bobby Jordan, stay in a box-cart when he should have had them arrested. Later Joe hungry and desperate needing, together with his newlywed wife Mable (Priscilla Lane),a bite to eat meets kindly grocery store owner, Ferike Boros. Ferike offers Joe food for free seeing that the young man didn't have a dime on him. This act of kindness has the both guilt-ridden and embarrassed Joe walks out of the store, forgetting about his plans to rob it. and not take up Freike's offer for a free meal.
On the run and always a step ahead of the police Joe and Mable, who's step-father Charlie Garreth(Stanley Ridge) was the boss of the work farm whom Joe accidentally killed, end up in a small town where Joe finally lands a job that can make him a productive citizen. Joe becomes a photojournalist when he accidentally snapped a number of photos of a bank robbery that later resulted in the capture of the robbers.
Being a local hero Joe is very apprehensive to have his photo taken. His boss newspaper editor Mike Leonard, Alan Hale, hearing Joe out about his past misfortunes with the law takes the credit himself for the photos, to keep Joe from having his face plastered all over the papers. This has Mike end up almost being kidnapped by the hoods who robbed the bank. Joe seeing that Mike is about to be kidnapped and possibly murdered runs to his aid and not only saves his life but ends up getting all the unwanted publicity that he tried to avoid.
Not all that predictable of an ending "Dust be my Destiny" has all the people who helped Joe throughout the movie come to his defense. This leads the jury to find Joe innocent of the murder of Charlie Garreth due to extenuating circumstances. The bitter young man in the end learned that the world, and the deck of cards it dealt him, wasn't against him and having a persecution complex would only makes things more difficult not easy for the combative Joe Bell.
Made in 1939 "Dust be my Destiny" is not as corny and dated as you would have at first thought. John Garfield as well as Priscilla Lane's performances don't come across looking phony at all and. Their attempt to live honest and decent lives in spite of being on the lamb shows that, at least with John Garfield's Joe Bell, whatever miscarriage of justice that they were victim of it didn't drive the two to forsake the law and choose a life of crime.
not good but not bad
kyle_furr2 April 2004
A routine John Garfield film that Garfield really didn't even want to do. It starts out with Garfield serving thirteen months in jail for a crime he didn't commit and as soon as he's back on the streets, he gets on a train with two of the dead end kids and winds up getting in a fight with Ward Bond, who is hiding out from the cops. The cops arrest all of them and Bond says Garfield helped him when he committed the crime and he's sent up again for a crime he didn't commit. He's given 90 days on a work farm and he and warden take a disliking for each other immediately. That's when he meets the warden's daughter and there is a lot more plot to the movie but you can find that out for yourself.
Garfield and Lane on the run
blanche-220 October 2021
John Garfield stars in "Dust Be My Destiny" from 1939, also starring Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale, Billy Halop, Frank McHugh, Henry Armetta, and John Litel.
Garfield is Joe Bell, who is released from prison when someone else finally confesses to the robbery he was accused of engineering. Riding the rails, he's arrested again and sentenced to a prison farm for 90 days. There he meets 19-year-old Mabel (Lane), and they fall in love.
Mabel's stepfather is a drunk with a bad heart. He catches Joe and Mabel in a clinch; they run. He chases them, has a heart attack, and collapses, dead. Joe is sure it's no use telling the truth - he's going to be accused anyway. He has to go on the run again, this time with a determined Mabel.
Along the way, Joe and Mabel marry. They meet some decent people, and they actually start to settle down. However, another incident makes Joe want to run again, and this time, Mabel has had it with the authorities looking for them.
Good movie, with Garfield and Lane an attractive couple. This was not an unusual role for Garfield, as he often played tough, bitter guys in need of a break. He is very effective. Good performances along the way by Alan Hale and Henry Armetta.
Garfield is Joe Bell, who is released from prison when someone else finally confesses to the robbery he was accused of engineering. Riding the rails, he's arrested again and sentenced to a prison farm for 90 days. There he meets 19-year-old Mabel (Lane), and they fall in love.
Mabel's stepfather is a drunk with a bad heart. He catches Joe and Mabel in a clinch; they run. He chases them, has a heart attack, and collapses, dead. Joe is sure it's no use telling the truth - he's going to be accused anyway. He has to go on the run again, this time with a determined Mabel.
Along the way, Joe and Mabel marry. They meet some decent people, and they actually start to settle down. However, another incident makes Joe want to run again, and this time, Mabel has had it with the authorities looking for them.
Good movie, with Garfield and Lane an attractive couple. This was not an unusual role for Garfield, as he often played tough, bitter guys in need of a break. He is very effective. Good performances along the way by Alan Hale and Henry Armetta.
A Handful Of Dust
writers_reign22 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
It's difficult to believe that this collection of tired clichés and cardboard characters was written by Robert Rossen but there you go. Having signed Julie Garfield from the Group Theatre Warners thrust him into one tough-guy-who-never-had-a-chance vehicle after another after it paid off handsomely in his debut Four Daughters. Not one to balk at hedging their bets the freres Warner teamed him once again with Priscilla Lane in this slice of hokum rather than slice of life opus. If Howard Hawks had a knack for coming in at the tail-end of a genre and making the definitive example (see: Only Angels Have Wings) Lewis Seiler just came in at the tail-end of a genre and added nothing. Garfield gets out of stir at the beginning only to be informed by the warden that he had been wrongfully convicted; he then gets a series of bad breaks punctuated by false hopes until it all ends in smiles. Along the way he is helped by several people who behave unrealistically, somehow acquires a camera whilst not having change of a match and ... well that's about as credible as it gets. Always nice to see Garfield and Lane but don't raise your hopes.
For fans of the leads this is great
jjnxn-112 June 2012
John Garfield and Priscilla Lane always made a good team and this is one of their best pictures. Being a Warners film the subject of a young couple in love and on the run is given the gritty treatment that suits the story and the pair do very well in conveying the hardships faced. The wedding scene is particularly well played by both. As with most of the studios films at the time it looks at the problem through the lens of current events and society's ills. Not a timeless classic like Priscilla's Saboteur or Garfield's The Postman Always Rings Twice but a solid film with excellent work by the stars as well as the supporting cast.
what's a black and white film without alan hale?
ksf-225 May 2023
John garfield is bell, who served time for a crime he didn't even do. And he's bitter. But when he hops a train to get out of town, he ends up back on a prison farm. And hits it off with the guard's daughter. When dad starts trouble, they take off. Now they are in deep, and must fight to get it all straightened out. Small roles for alan hale, frank mchugh and chester clute. It's pretty good! A little of everything in this pre-war-united-states thriller. A little over the top, but it could happen. Some similarities to "postman always rings twice", which garfield would make in 1946. This film co-stars priscilla lane, better known as the girlfriend in "arsenic and old lace". Directed by lew seller. Story by jerome odlum. He had several of his books made into film. Died young at 48. Garfield died young at age 39. When he made this he was pretty new to hollywood. Hale also died young at 59. Cursed cast.
A Great Little Picture w/ The Great John Garfield at his best!
jhumlong21 February 2002
Poor Joe Bell, the typical anti-establishment loser stereotype role that John Garfield made famous. With the beautiful Priscilla Lane as he girl and the fabuous Warner contract players including the great Allan Hale Sr, the film although predictable, is still a classic of the torn, raw emotions of young love and fighting for vindication against being wrongfully accused of a crime he didn't commit. I have always liked Garfield, especially during the 1948 Senate whitchunt for communists. Garfield wouldn't talk and was blacklisted. This same attitude personified his conviction for the roles he played in most of his films except Humerques. The film contains a haunting melody that is sung on a phonograph record " Dust Be My Destiny" It really sets the theme for the emmotions of both Garfield and Lane that if they can't get a break in their life they might as well be dead! The melody for the tune plays throughout the picture and is aranged and directed by the great Max Steiner. The next time it plays on TCM, do yourself a favor and watch it with a friend!!
On the lam
AAdaSC11 March 2024
John Garfield (Joe) is released from prison after being found innocent and now has a chip on his shoulder thanks to the penal system finding him guilty in the first place. He goes looking for work but gets caught jumping trains and his insolent manner does not help with his sentencing. He's back inside a corrective institution, this time a jail/work farm where he comes across Priscilla Lane (Mabel). Together, they make a break and try to live under the radar whilst being hunted for murder.
This film is a series of episodes which keep you watching until we get to a court case at the film's end which descends into sentimental claptrap and shoves Moroni Olson into the picture as a defense lawyer who is atrocious in his part. His monotone delivery is so off that his name becomes a true description (just drop the "i" from his first name) of his acting ability. It's a shame they had to change the original ending which would have left us with a better film. As it is, smiles all round.
There is a segment in which Garfield and Lane get fed up with each other along a road and decide to split up, even though they are newly married. The way the scene is filmed is tense and fraught with the realism of a relationship that will hook you into the sequence and have you rooting for them to stay together. Then a hitch-hiker stops to give Lane a lift. The behaviours and emotions during this sequence are spot on for anyone who has ever had a row and doesn't really want things to go the way they are going.
A few soppy moments (why does Ferike Boros always turn up as a sickeningly kind older lady - aaarrggh!) but an engaging film to watch.
This film is a series of episodes which keep you watching until we get to a court case at the film's end which descends into sentimental claptrap and shoves Moroni Olson into the picture as a defense lawyer who is atrocious in his part. His monotone delivery is so off that his name becomes a true description (just drop the "i" from his first name) of his acting ability. It's a shame they had to change the original ending which would have left us with a better film. As it is, smiles all round.
There is a segment in which Garfield and Lane get fed up with each other along a road and decide to split up, even though they are newly married. The way the scene is filmed is tense and fraught with the realism of a relationship that will hook you into the sequence and have you rooting for them to stay together. Then a hitch-hiker stops to give Lane a lift. The behaviours and emotions during this sequence are spot on for anyone who has ever had a row and doesn't really want things to go the way they are going.
A few soppy moments (why does Ferike Boros always turn up as a sickeningly kind older lady - aaarrggh!) but an engaging film to watch.
They Still Made Me a Criminal
wes-connors17 May 2011
After serving time for a crime he didn't commit, rowdy and rebellious John Garfield (as Joe Bell) is released from prison early. But, it wasn't for good behavior; the real burglar was caught in a hold-up. With no resources, Mr. Garfield hooks up with "Dead End" kid Billy Halop (as Hank Glenn) and his fifteen-year-old brother Bobby Jordan (as Jimmy). On the east coast, the three ride the rails as tramps, but get in trouble with the law; they receive brief sentences on the county work farm.
Assigned to milk cows, Garfield meets pretty Priscilla Lane from "Four Daughters" (1938) in the barn. She is the step-child of drunken foreman Stanley Ridges (as Charlie Garreth). Due to a bad heart, Mr. Ridges kicks the bucket during a fight with Garfield, after the former finds the latter lounging by the hay with Ms. Lane. Naturally, the authorities mistakenly believe Garfield committed murder. He and Lane go on the run. Good Samaritans help the hungry couple, but the law closes in...
This social consciousness drama is episodic to a fault, with some confusing transitions. The first occurs when Garfield is suddenly seen with two of the "Dead End Kids" from "They Made Me a Criminal" (1939). Obviously, the studio meant to evoke earlier films. Helpful Alan Hale (as Mike Leonard) and the Warner Bros. cast and crew go through the familiar motions. Everyone does their job well enough, but it just doesn't rise to the level of the studio's better work in the genre.
***** Dust Be My Destiny (9/16/39) Lewis Seiler ~ John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale, Billy Halop
Assigned to milk cows, Garfield meets pretty Priscilla Lane from "Four Daughters" (1938) in the barn. She is the step-child of drunken foreman Stanley Ridges (as Charlie Garreth). Due to a bad heart, Mr. Ridges kicks the bucket during a fight with Garfield, after the former finds the latter lounging by the hay with Ms. Lane. Naturally, the authorities mistakenly believe Garfield committed murder. He and Lane go on the run. Good Samaritans help the hungry couple, but the law closes in...
This social consciousness drama is episodic to a fault, with some confusing transitions. The first occurs when Garfield is suddenly seen with two of the "Dead End Kids" from "They Made Me a Criminal" (1939). Obviously, the studio meant to evoke earlier films. Helpful Alan Hale (as Mike Leonard) and the Warner Bros. cast and crew go through the familiar motions. Everyone does their job well enough, but it just doesn't rise to the level of the studio's better work in the genre.
***** Dust Be My Destiny (9/16/39) Lewis Seiler ~ John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale, Billy Halop
Second-Rate Garfield Flick
dougdoepke19 October 2012
The first 15-minutes is good gritty Depression era drama, as Joe (Garfield) and other footloose unemployed try to hitch a train ride to nowhere. Caught by county cops, they're sent to a harsh work camp where there's at least work, a bed, and something to eat, but nothing else. Garfield and company make this segment tough and realistic, a real taste of life at Depression's bottom.
But then the romantic side takes over as Joe and Mabel (Lane) get into an off-and-on again relationship, complicated by Joe's accidental killing of Mabel's cruel stepfather. Thus the storyline swings over to the familiar young-lovers-on-the-run narrative. That might be okay, except Lane plays her part like she's swallowed a load of sweet-faced sugar, while making soft and nice is not Garfield's special appeal. There's also a ton of likable common folk that demonstrate America's fundamental decency; while, writer Rossen makes a timely populist appeal in the courtroom for the value of every person. Given the nastiness of the times, the idea, at least, was a good one.
I just wish Warner's had assigned one of their top directors to the project. A Walsh or Curtiz might have blended the disparate elements more effectively than the workman-like Seiler. As things stand, it's a second-rate Garfield flick.
But then the romantic side takes over as Joe and Mabel (Lane) get into an off-and-on again relationship, complicated by Joe's accidental killing of Mabel's cruel stepfather. Thus the storyline swings over to the familiar young-lovers-on-the-run narrative. That might be okay, except Lane plays her part like she's swallowed a load of sweet-faced sugar, while making soft and nice is not Garfield's special appeal. There's also a ton of likable common folk that demonstrate America's fundamental decency; while, writer Rossen makes a timely populist appeal in the courtroom for the value of every person. Given the nastiness of the times, the idea, at least, was a good one.
I just wish Warner's had assigned one of their top directors to the project. A Walsh or Curtiz might have blended the disparate elements more effectively than the workman-like Seiler. As things stand, it's a second-rate Garfield flick.
GIVE JUSTICE A CHANCE...!
masonfisk30 May 2021
John Garfield stars in this 1939 film. Garfield is a con who finds out his term has been commuted due to the fact he's been found innocent of the charges that put him there. Garfield says no one listened to him when he plead his innocence & this resentment follows him everywhere as he tries to make a go of things but no sooner does he catch a break from a railroad worker for being a stowaway on a train, he gets into some fisticuffs w/new travelers in his car, one played by Ward Bond, & is caught & put to work to parcel out his charges. On the work farm, he meets the kindly stepdaughter, played by Priscilla Lane, of the supervisor but when they're caught by him in a lovers' embrace, Garfield struggles w/him leaving him dead. Fearing he'll go back to jail (he doesn't know yet the stepfather had a heart condition), Garfield & Lane hit the road running across the country (where they get married) constantly ahead of the law. After nearly getting caught in one town in particular where they're working at a diner, Lane is captured by the cops & Garfield breaks her out of jail w/the help of the kindly diner owner, played by Henry Armetta. In the next place of berth, they're at they're lowest w/Garfield desperate enough to hock a camera he has but when a bank robbery occurs across from the pawn shop he's surreptitious enough to grab some candid photos landing him a job at a newspaper run by Alan Hale, Sr. Fearing he'll be caught again (Hale tells Garfield his pics will go national so he'll need a face to match the spread for credit), he confides w/Hale his situation who takes credit which gets the attention of some goons, one played by perennial heavy Marc Lawrence, who strong arm Hale into a car prompting Garfield to get involved & save the day which of course gets him pinched setting up the final stretch where he's put on trial for the murder he thinks he's committed. Will Garfield finally get a fair shake & live happily ever after w/Lane? Written by Robert Rosen (The Hustler/All the King's Men), this tale presents the everyman as a striver hoping to make good in an unfair world not some leech looking for a handout but because of the way society has always shoveled the downtrodden to the side, Garfield, rightfully so, suspects he won't get a fair shake but through the love of a good woman (who truth be told gives him a healthy does of reality when she turns him in rather than see him forever on the run) his belief system gets the bucket of cold water it deserves.
rebel John Garfield
SnoopyStyle31 May 2023
Joe Bell (John Garfield) is released after 16 months in prison when the real culprit confesses. He vows never to help anyone again which resulted in his imprisonment. He gets into a fight with another hobo while riding the rails. He and his two young friends are sent to a work farm. He falls for Mabel Alden (Priscilla Lane) which angers her abusive stepfather Charles Garreth who happens to run the farm. He's a rebel with plenty of cause.
John Garfield is a good rebel. It's a little odd that he's hanging around with a couple of young teens on the train. The story can be episodic in its flow. I really like the pairing of Garfield and Lane. It's an interesting underdog journey.
John Garfield is a good rebel. It's a little odd that he's hanging around with a couple of young teens on the train. The story can be episodic in its flow. I really like the pairing of Garfield and Lane. It's an interesting underdog journey.
"We're not human beings anymore, we're like wild animals!"
davidcarniglia17 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A sure-fire premise: a wrongly accused (a couple of times) drifter/convict runs off with the work farm foreman's daughter. John Garfield and Priscilla Lane, as Joe and Mabel, hit the road when stepfather Charlie (Stanley Ridges), drunk and on the verge of a heart attack, croaks while trying to give Joe what-for when he catches them cuddling. Neither a convincing film noir nor a straight romantic drama, Dust has a little too much from the film genre dust bin.
For one thing, Joe meets up with some Dead End Kid guys after he's released from custody the first time; it's a tiny subplot which is contrived to get him in trouble again so that he can meet Mabel. After he and Mabel split from the work farm, they end up in a '30s version of a reality show marriage ceremony (complete with movie theater crowd of hecklers/spectators). Along with a wisecracking cop, this stuff seems to be from another movie. Just as the bandits-in-the-boxcar earlier. At least they're in love.
But the radio broadcast makes clear that Joe's wanted for Charlie's murder. Wouldn't an autopsy show that he died all on his own? Anyway, the consequence is that we get their rather hectic hitching, railroad bumming, on the lam existence. Which quickly leads to them getting disgusted with each other, and splitting up. She gets a ride from a trucker; well...at the very last second she has second thoughts and they go back to each other. They make it to a diner. But, with no money, Joe has to try a ruse. Doesn't work--but the guy let's them do a bit of work. Then he gives them jobs.
More light slice-of-life stuff, ala The Postman Always Rings Twice: we get the stereotyped Greek restaurant owner, Nick (Henry Arietta). Apparently his type has to be gregarious. So he gives a guy a break. But the respite doesn't last long; cops come looking for Joe, and almost nab him. They get Mabel. Posing as a news photographer, he talks his way into her cell. Another too-slick bit of plot. Well, it's cunningly played. Joe spirits Mabel away whole locking the jailer up. Nick provides the getaway ride to the station. Unlike The Postman-Ringing- Twice Nick, this one doesn't come between the young folks, he just tootles away.
But Mabel wants to Joe to give himself up "we can't go on like this!" So, why'd she marry him? Plot mystery No. 3 or 4. Sure enough, he has to pull a heist to keep them afloat; she (again) threatens to leave him. A deli is his mark. The clerk somehow reads him perfectly: she offers to give him food. He's so taken aback that he returns to their hotel empty handed. He's got to pawn stuff. Another miracle/coincidence: he witnesses a bank robbery. Still having his camera, he gets a photo of the robbers. It's worth a lot to the local paper; he not only gets credit as a good citizen, he gets a job with the paper.
With a healthy bonus. But, there's a catch: "they print my picture, I'm sunk!" Once again they've found a mentor/savior, Mike (Alan Hale), his boss, takes up for them. He finds a way to keep Joe's secret (how is for us to figure out). Another win win: the mob that was behind the bank heist offers Mike a ton of money for the photo negatives. Joe manages to climb aboard when the hoods take Mike for a ride. He gets shot, but recovers quickly. Now he's as good as bagged the culprits; still, his mug is bound to appear in the papers now.
For the third (last?) Mabel threatens to leave him. Finally the cops are wise to him--he's nabbed for Charlie's 'murder'. All of Joe's buddies and helpers testify for him. Still, all of their good will seems to amount to nothing. Joe goes on a rant about how the system's rigged, etc. He's right insofar as his case is concerned; but like a lot of the lines here, it's a bit too contrived. Just like his attorney's feel good speech. Well, the the tear-jerker bit for Mabel takes the cake. Verdict: not guilty. We knew that. I guess no one else thought so until all the nice words. The end.
This could've been a lot better. Had there not been so many coincidences (the major one, of course, the bank job), miles of Hallmark card dialogue, and a confusing tone, Dust might've been an interesting early noir/romantic drama. Even Lane's fine performance is undercut by her character's dithering. Garfield, rather unexpressive anyway, is too flinty and unappealing. It's almost as though his Joe wants to be a wronged man. The supporting cast is quite good; but, as said, they're cheerleading as though Joe is a teenager, not as someone who needs to show maturity.
Good enough, but just that.
For one thing, Joe meets up with some Dead End Kid guys after he's released from custody the first time; it's a tiny subplot which is contrived to get him in trouble again so that he can meet Mabel. After he and Mabel split from the work farm, they end up in a '30s version of a reality show marriage ceremony (complete with movie theater crowd of hecklers/spectators). Along with a wisecracking cop, this stuff seems to be from another movie. Just as the bandits-in-the-boxcar earlier. At least they're in love.
But the radio broadcast makes clear that Joe's wanted for Charlie's murder. Wouldn't an autopsy show that he died all on his own? Anyway, the consequence is that we get their rather hectic hitching, railroad bumming, on the lam existence. Which quickly leads to them getting disgusted with each other, and splitting up. She gets a ride from a trucker; well...at the very last second she has second thoughts and they go back to each other. They make it to a diner. But, with no money, Joe has to try a ruse. Doesn't work--but the guy let's them do a bit of work. Then he gives them jobs.
More light slice-of-life stuff, ala The Postman Always Rings Twice: we get the stereotyped Greek restaurant owner, Nick (Henry Arietta). Apparently his type has to be gregarious. So he gives a guy a break. But the respite doesn't last long; cops come looking for Joe, and almost nab him. They get Mabel. Posing as a news photographer, he talks his way into her cell. Another too-slick bit of plot. Well, it's cunningly played. Joe spirits Mabel away whole locking the jailer up. Nick provides the getaway ride to the station. Unlike The Postman-Ringing- Twice Nick, this one doesn't come between the young folks, he just tootles away.
But Mabel wants to Joe to give himself up "we can't go on like this!" So, why'd she marry him? Plot mystery No. 3 or 4. Sure enough, he has to pull a heist to keep them afloat; she (again) threatens to leave him. A deli is his mark. The clerk somehow reads him perfectly: she offers to give him food. He's so taken aback that he returns to their hotel empty handed. He's got to pawn stuff. Another miracle/coincidence: he witnesses a bank robbery. Still having his camera, he gets a photo of the robbers. It's worth a lot to the local paper; he not only gets credit as a good citizen, he gets a job with the paper.
With a healthy bonus. But, there's a catch: "they print my picture, I'm sunk!" Once again they've found a mentor/savior, Mike (Alan Hale), his boss, takes up for them. He finds a way to keep Joe's secret (how is for us to figure out). Another win win: the mob that was behind the bank heist offers Mike a ton of money for the photo negatives. Joe manages to climb aboard when the hoods take Mike for a ride. He gets shot, but recovers quickly. Now he's as good as bagged the culprits; still, his mug is bound to appear in the papers now.
For the third (last?) Mabel threatens to leave him. Finally the cops are wise to him--he's nabbed for Charlie's 'murder'. All of Joe's buddies and helpers testify for him. Still, all of their good will seems to amount to nothing. Joe goes on a rant about how the system's rigged, etc. He's right insofar as his case is concerned; but like a lot of the lines here, it's a bit too contrived. Just like his attorney's feel good speech. Well, the the tear-jerker bit for Mabel takes the cake. Verdict: not guilty. We knew that. I guess no one else thought so until all the nice words. The end.
This could've been a lot better. Had there not been so many coincidences (the major one, of course, the bank job), miles of Hallmark card dialogue, and a confusing tone, Dust might've been an interesting early noir/romantic drama. Even Lane's fine performance is undercut by her character's dithering. Garfield, rather unexpressive anyway, is too flinty and unappealing. It's almost as though his Joe wants to be a wronged man. The supporting cast is quite good; but, as said, they're cheerleading as though Joe is a teenager, not as someone who needs to show maturity.
Good enough, but just that.
John Garfield and Priscilla Lane
Randy_D19 March 2003
Down on his luck John Garfield finally sees his fortunes improve, and I do mean improve, when he teams up with Priscilla Lane. But the bad luck returns and the two end up on the lam for what turns out to be a pretty good movie.
A few scenes shot on location spice things up a bit and there are some very nice supporting performances as well.
The lead actors, John Garfield and the beautiful Priscilla Lane, work well together, as evidenced in their previous work on Four Daughters and Daughters Courageous.
A few scenes shot on location spice things up a bit and there are some very nice supporting performances as well.
The lead actors, John Garfield and the beautiful Priscilla Lane, work well together, as evidenced in their previous work on Four Daughters and Daughters Courageous.
Contemporary movie audiences emerged from showings of . . .
oscaralbert20 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
. . . DUST BE MY DESTINY muttering, "Why is the Warner Bros. movie title writer such a 'Gloomy Gus'?" After all, they'd just watched a "happy ending," as implausible and discordant from their own observations of Real Life America it no doubt appeared. In hindsight, it's easy Today to point out that these early viewers were totally in the dark about ALL the key details behind DUST BE MY DESTINY. Back then, the movie censors secretly outlawed any film revealing the fact that the American "Legal System" was (and still is) 99% devoted to "working" for the benefit of Fat Cat One Per Center Wealth Hoarders, with "the Law" laughing off the Rights of We True Blue Loyal Patriotic Normal Average 99 Per Center Silent Majority Progressive Union Label Citizens as so much "Dust in the Wind." Perhaps more to the point, how could 1930s film buffs know that the always eponymous Warner Bros. were using DUST BE MY DESTINY to warn courageous movie hero "Joe Bell" that government "Black Ops" thugs soon would slay him during a Real Life ACTUAL Witch Hunt as he is about to bring down the entire perfidious Pachyderm Party with his Congressional Testimony? The government's "Free Press" may have told the public that this Good Joe suffered a fatal "heart attack" (a similar claim would soon be made about another Progressive youngster, "Robin Hood Flynn"), a demise eerily similar to that of the character "Charlie Garnett" at the center of DUST BE MY DESTINY. Oh, the bitter irony of it all!!
Give the guy a break
bkoganbing19 September 2012
John Garfield took his Mickey Borden character from Four Daughters and used it again for Dust Be My Destiny. Teamed again with Priscilla Lane, Garfield is cast once again as a character seemingly cursed by the fates and by people who just won't give him a break.
When we first meet Garfield he's in familiar prison garb and being brought into the warden's office where warden John Hamilton informs him he's now free. It seems as though the robbery he was charged with was committed by another who confessed it on his deathbed. Serving almost two years for something he didn't do is bound to give anyone a bad attitude. It's that which carries him throughout this film.
Picked up for vagrancy even though he helped capture a pair of fleeing criminals he gets sentenced to a work farm where he meets Priscilla Lane who is the stepdaughter of a drunken sadistic foreman. The two run after Garfield accidentally kills the stepfather who had a heart condition and was drunk and aggressive.
After that the film is a series of vignettes where Garfield and Lane marry and hit the road as fugitives. Along the way they meet all kinds of folks who actually do give him breaks though Garfield is blind to see it.
Warner Brothers put a whole lot of familiar faces from their stock company in the cast. At times Garfield does get a bit over the top and melodramatic with his anguish, but no more so than this occasionally over the top and melodramatic film calls for.
Dust Be My Destiny is a film set firmly in Depression Era America and it's truly dated. Still fans of Garfield will be satisfied.
When we first meet Garfield he's in familiar prison garb and being brought into the warden's office where warden John Hamilton informs him he's now free. It seems as though the robbery he was charged with was committed by another who confessed it on his deathbed. Serving almost two years for something he didn't do is bound to give anyone a bad attitude. It's that which carries him throughout this film.
Picked up for vagrancy even though he helped capture a pair of fleeing criminals he gets sentenced to a work farm where he meets Priscilla Lane who is the stepdaughter of a drunken sadistic foreman. The two run after Garfield accidentally kills the stepfather who had a heart condition and was drunk and aggressive.
After that the film is a series of vignettes where Garfield and Lane marry and hit the road as fugitives. Along the way they meet all kinds of folks who actually do give him breaks though Garfield is blind to see it.
Warner Brothers put a whole lot of familiar faces from their stock company in the cast. At times Garfield does get a bit over the top and melodramatic with his anguish, but no more so than this occasionally over the top and melodramatic film calls for.
Dust Be My Destiny is a film set firmly in Depression Era America and it's truly dated. Still fans of Garfield will be satisfied.
I could not see anything interesting in this film.
elif-44 October 2000
This film did not go well with me at all, despite my expectations based on the name of J. Garfield. This is the first film I see with him, and I couldn't tell at all why he should be so well-known; no good-looks, no charisma, no powerful acting. However I read somewhere that Garfield himself didn't like the part and eventually broke his contract with the WB because he was being typecast. That might explain some things. And I agree that the small character roles are nice, but I find the dialogues too forcefully funny, so in the end not funny at all. The plot goes on and on, each time following the same lines of Joe Bell mistrusting people, proven wrong, getting his hopes high, then disappointed because he can not settle being searched by the police. And so many setting changes are really too much for such a studio film; from the prison to the camp, to the on-stage wedding [the worst bit], Nick's diner, trains, other towns, etc. Finally, the social theme of the film is being underlined to the point of redundancy, without ever elaborating on it an inch further.
The usual mush and one sided!
jcjccaz2 May 2023
The depression was rough but for every guy like Joe there are a million or more that don't go around punching and old man numerous times because he had to. Many know that it is hard so you work many different jobs at different times. The kicker is, that for all of his belly aching and woe is me, that he got two jobs and one, if he stayed with it, (barring the murder part) might have been left the business by the owner that liked him very, very much. Movie people know they have power over the people, some people anyway, yet so few people get married by a priest. They get a secular marriage and have a "contract" with one another. I know that started a few hundred years before this goofy film. But things like that show people they don't need discipline and the like. Alan Hale, as usual, is very good and most of the "supporting" cast is good. A few mess ups by the crew, but that is expected for a "B" movie. Garfield is okay as is Lane, but they don't have "it" and because of that they need outstanding elements around them to try and shine. Elements like acting with Bogart or Barrymore, John and a great Script and James wong howe and Howard Hawks direction and then maybe a great movie, but they aren't worth that "greatness" around them, thus, you get a movie that is subpar and doesn't know where it wants to go.
Thanks God Bless!!
Thanks God Bless!!
Sentimental journey
jarrodmcdonald-113 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This was another chance for John Garfield and Priscilla to team up. They had previously been paired to great success in FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938) and DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS (1939), both tearjerkers with similar themes and nearly identical casts. The public liked seeing these two perform together on screen, so it was a no-brainer for the studio to cast them in another production.
This time we have the usual romantic melodrama, but the circumstances their characters face are a bit more grim. Probably inspired by Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937), about a young couple on the lam, DUST BE MY DESTINY is a tale about the hard knocks of life getting in the way of our lovers' happiness.
Garfield's character begins the movie just released from prison, and we see him roam from place to place hopping freight trains with a few dead end kids (Bobby Jordan & Billy Halop). He winds up in trouble again and is sent to a work farm, where he meets Miss Lane, who is the stepdaughter of the foreman.
They have a memorable first encounter while he's milking a cow in the barn. To the audience's udder delight, they quickly become smitten with each other even if Garfield is reluctant to be so vulnerable with her. He soon is allowed to take her on errands into town. But the "idyllic" courtship soon hits a snag.
When an argument leads to the foreman's death from a weak heart, Garfield fears he'll be blamed. He decides to go on the run again, and this time Lane will hit the open road with him. They are soon married and take a job working at an Italian diner owned by Henry Armetta. Armetta's role resembles the type of comic relief that would be handed to S. Z. Sakall in subsequent pictures at Warner Brothers.
When police catch up with them and Lane is arrested, things begin to seem hopeless. A short time later, Armetta helps Garfield break Lane out of a local jail. Again they hit the road, determined to start over somewhere else. But around every corner, they face recapture.
As you can see, the film's dramatic episodes are somewhat repetitive, but of course, these are variations on the story's overall theme of homelessness and injustice. Some of Robert Rossen's script lays it all on a bit too thick, but the heavier aspects of the picture are balanced out by the sincere work of the two lead stars.
Originally the script was meant for the duo to meet a deadly demise. But this milder version of Bonnie and Clyde would be given a reprieve, when the studio decided the film needed a happy ending to ensure favorable returns at the box office. So it all culminates in Garfield going on trial, Lane testifying on his behalf, and his being pardoned. Now they are able to start fresh without anything hanging over them.
This time we have the usual romantic melodrama, but the circumstances their characters face are a bit more grim. Probably inspired by Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937), about a young couple on the lam, DUST BE MY DESTINY is a tale about the hard knocks of life getting in the way of our lovers' happiness.
Garfield's character begins the movie just released from prison, and we see him roam from place to place hopping freight trains with a few dead end kids (Bobby Jordan & Billy Halop). He winds up in trouble again and is sent to a work farm, where he meets Miss Lane, who is the stepdaughter of the foreman.
They have a memorable first encounter while he's milking a cow in the barn. To the audience's udder delight, they quickly become smitten with each other even if Garfield is reluctant to be so vulnerable with her. He soon is allowed to take her on errands into town. But the "idyllic" courtship soon hits a snag.
When an argument leads to the foreman's death from a weak heart, Garfield fears he'll be blamed. He decides to go on the run again, and this time Lane will hit the open road with him. They are soon married and take a job working at an Italian diner owned by Henry Armetta. Armetta's role resembles the type of comic relief that would be handed to S. Z. Sakall in subsequent pictures at Warner Brothers.
When police catch up with them and Lane is arrested, things begin to seem hopeless. A short time later, Armetta helps Garfield break Lane out of a local jail. Again they hit the road, determined to start over somewhere else. But around every corner, they face recapture.
As you can see, the film's dramatic episodes are somewhat repetitive, but of course, these are variations on the story's overall theme of homelessness and injustice. Some of Robert Rossen's script lays it all on a bit too thick, but the heavier aspects of the picture are balanced out by the sincere work of the two lead stars.
Originally the script was meant for the duo to meet a deadly demise. But this milder version of Bonnie and Clyde would be given a reprieve, when the studio decided the film needed a happy ending to ensure favorable returns at the box office. So it all culminates in Garfield going on trial, Lane testifying on his behalf, and his being pardoned. Now they are able to start fresh without anything hanging over them.
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