| True, things don't bode well for the Joad clan as they embark on their cross country odyssey from their dust bowl depleted tennant farms to bounteous Californee but the focuses on challenge rather than hardship.
 John Ford foreshadows the dangers that lie ahead as soon as the truck is loaded. The rickety old jalopy is so over-burdened that the fender barely clears the patched rear tire. Despite this and the Joads' limited resources, they have a hundred bucks and change for twelve people to get to California from Oklahoma, the family good-naturedly invites the former preacher Jim Casey (John Carradine) to come along. It's a good move. They're going to need him and from the look of him, he only adds fifty-two pounds.
At the edge of the desert, they fuel up for the run.
Attendant: You people got a lot of nerve...crossing the desert in a jalopy like this.
Pa: You been across?
Attendant: Sure, plenty but never in no wreck like that.
Tom: If we break down, maybe somebody'll give us a hand.
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