The movie In Dubious Battle is based on a 1936 novel by John Steinbeck and is based mostly on events that happened in 1933 during the labor strikes in California. In the story, it is the height of the Depression and hundreds of apple pickers in the fictional Torgas Valley orchard are earning $1 per day for their work. They want $3 per day and decide to strike when the boss offers them only $1.20 per day.
The workers were promised $3 per day but when they arrived at the orchard, Bolton tells them their pay will be only $1. This is what starts everything off and eventually affects roughly 900 workers that were hired to pick apples on Bolton’s orchards. Led by three of the workers, the men all decide to fight for their rights and get the pay that was promised to them before they arrived.
Two of the workers – Mac and Jim – form a “union” and set out to organize the rest of the workers so they can strike. They choose a respected worker named London to rally the forces and begin the strike. London originally says “no” to the request, but when Mac heroically delivers his grandson, London changes his mind and decides to be the men’s leader.
Bolton is the man who owns the orchards, and he is just as determined to keep the workers’ pay low as they are to get the raise they deserve and earn more money. During the months that follow, violence ensues and some of the workers are injured. Joy gets shot, Al is beaten, and some English Pointers owned by a man named Anderson all die in a fire.
There are even bombs that are shown sailing through windows. A lot of what happens during the movie is recognizable and was the start of today’s workers’ rights and even a minimum wage. Though the movie received less-than-favorable reviews by a lot of critics, it did fairly well at the box office and ends with the assumption that fighting for workers’ rights continues to be an ongoing battle.
Here are some of the major and minor characters in In Dubious Battle:
James Franco (Mac McLeod)
Mac is the worker who decides to fight for better working conditions and better pay. He is relentless and determined in his efforts to get the workers’ pay raised from $1 per day to $3 per day. The first person he “recruits” is Jim Nolan, whom he takes under his wing and mentors so that he always has someone on his side.
Mac is an interesting character because it is slightly implied that he may be a Communist, but he is bound and determined to do right by the workers and improve the lives of all of the apple pickers. This is a significant and very important role in the movie because his actions are what start the entire theme of the movie.
Nat Wolff (Jim Nolan)
Jim Nolan’s father was a labor organizer and always fought for workers’ rights, which ends up being his legacy. In the book, Jim’s political development is one of the main themes. Jim is mentored by Mac and the two of them enlist the help of London, who says “no” at first but eventually becomes one of the leaders of the group of strikers.
Jim’s father, Roy, died three years earlier, and his sister May disappeared at a young age. It seems that his work with the strike is in his blood, and while he feels like he has a lot to learn, he is all too eager to learn it as he forges a strong bond with Mac because they realize it’s going to take more than just the two of them to get the work done.
Vincent D’Onofrio (London)
London is a respected worker, which is why he eventually becomes one of the leaders in the movement. He is involved in a super-important scene in the movie, which is a negotiation scene between London and Bolton. When Bolton offers the workers $1.20 instead of the $3 per day that they want, London refuses the offer. Afterwards, Bolton threatens to call in the National Guard.
The reason why London changes his mind about helping Mac and Jim is because Mac strolls in a delivery room where London’s grandson is about to be born and helps deliver the baby. Filled with gratitude, London decides to become an official leader for the striking workers and is thereafter one of the most significant characters in the movie.
Robert Duvall (Chris Bolton)
Chris Bolton, called only Bolton throughout the movie, is the owner of Bolton Orchards where the apple pickers work. He is a seasoned boss man and is determined to keep the workers’ pay low, even though he considers what he’s paying them to be a decent wage. When he offers the workers $1.20 per day and London refuses, he threatens to call in the National Guard to disband them.
When the violence starts and workers start getting stabbed, beaten, and having fire bombs thrown through their windows, it is obvious that it is Bolton’s hired guns that are responsible for all of it. He is a stubborn and proud man who won’t give up easily or without a fight.
Selena Gomez (Lisa London)
Lisa London is London’s daughter-in-law, and she has a small but significant part in the movie. Mac McLeod ends up helping to deliver her baby while she’s in labor, which is the reason London changes his mind about helping Mac and Jim fight against the powers-that-be.
Ed Harris (Joy)
Ed Harris plays a man named Joy, who is considered a real radical and who has fought for workers’ rights for many years. When things heat up between the bosses and the workers, Joy ends up getting shot, presumably by one of Bolton’s thugs. It is a tense and disturbing scene in the movie; one of many, actually.
Sam Shepard (Mr. Anderson)
Mr. Anderson owns a small orchard near where the workers are currently employed. The workers live on the orchards owned by Bolton, and when they go on strike they have no place to go. While they’re on strike, they end up working for Mr. Anderson for free in exchange for being able to live at his orchards. Mr. Anderson is the father of Alfred Anderson, who owns a lunch wagon that provides food to the workers.
Mr. Anderson is also very proud of his dogs, and one of the things that happens during the film is a fire that kills all of his dogs, which causes him to be distraught. This is a pivotal scene that shows viewers just how far the establishment will go to not bow down to the workers’ demands.
Joel Marsh Garland (Alfred Anderson)
Alfred Anderson is Mr. Anderson’s son. He owns Al’s Lunch Wagon, where the workers get their meals every day. His dad’s orchard is where the workers live while the strike is going on, and they end up working there for free.
Some of the other characters that star in In Dubious Battle are: