Page One: “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940)

Screen play by Nunnally Johnson, novel by John Steinbeck

A trailer for the movie which focuses on the popularity of the book:

Fourteen lines in the opening paragraph of scene description. That would not cut it by today’s standards. By my count, there are five, maybe six individual camera shots. You could break it up into that many paragraphs, each no more than three lines each. The would cut it with today’s script readers and development executives.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

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