The Great Depression In The Film Cinderella Man

The Great Depression was a time in American history where economic difficulties affected almost every person. It could turn the “best of the best” into just another beggar on the street. It is difficult for a movie to portray the true struggles of people who lives during that time. Although Cinderella Man is a fictional account of the life of Ray Braddock, it is an accurate portrayal of the problems faced by many Americans during the Great Depression. The struggles of daily life during the depression, references to problems later addressed by the New Deal, and social issues brought on by the Great Depression are all realistically described in this movie.

James Braddock, the main character of the film, is a boxer from New York City, where

the movie takes place. He became a professional boxer in 1926. He had success fighting many famous boxers of the time and even fought for the heavyweight championship. In 1929 he broke his hand and was unable to box. After the stock market crash, Braddock lost his money, business and home. Cinderella Man, the name of the film, is also the nickname that was given to Braddock after he is able to make a successful boxing comeback.
Hard times for many people started on October 29, 1929, also known as Black Tuesday. The stock market crashed and more than $10 billion in market value of stocks was lost in five hours. Soon the United States and the entire world found itself in the greatest economic disaster in modern history, and what would eventually be called The Great Depression. The crash of the stock market caused a ripple effect that damaged all parts of the economy. Confidence in the banking and financial areas of the economy dropped. Large and small businesses laid off workers or closed. Around 26,000 failed and companies began laying people off to keep up with the extremely harsh outside economy.
Cinderella Man is a historical movie about champion boxer James Braddock who gets hit hard by the Great Depression. He was a very successful boxer during much of the 1920’s. Before the Great depression, he puts his money in a bank, invested his money in some businesses and even a taxi service, because in his mind and probably everybody thought, before the Great Depression was there was no possible way it could get as bad as it did. James lost all the money he had in these investments in the businesses, and there was no way after the crash that he could get that money back, so James and his family went from living a lavish lifestyle to having to beg for money just in order to survive another day.
By 1933, the GDP fell 33%, and there were two million homeless people in the United States.

Foreclosure was a big problem during the Great Depression. People who were not working could not pay their mortgage and then were evicted from their homes.

Many people looked to the federal government for assistance, but, especially before the government set up assistance programs, when the government failed to provide assistance many people “the shantytowns that cropped up across the nation, primarily on the outskirts of major cities, became known as Hoovervilles” (Lears 2). Hoovervilles were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. “Most shanties, however, were distinctly less glamorous: Cardboard-box homes did not last long, and most dwellings were in a constant state of being rebuilt” (Lears 2).

Life in the Hoovervilles varied. Some Hoovervilles were big and some were small, they were most commonly placed in big cities like New York or Washington D.C. More often than not Hoovervilles were operated in an unorderly

fashion.
This problem is portrayed very well in Cinderella Man. At the beginning of the movie, Braddock and his family are living in a nice house in middle class neighborhood. Within a few years they have lost their home and are living in a tiny basement apartment in New York City. The apartment was so small that the kids all had to sleep in the living room by the window. Braddock struggles to pay the rent and pay for heating during the winter. Also in the middle of the movie Braddock has to go find his friend in a Hooverville. The scenes in the movie that shows the Hoovervilles really get the point across of how dirty, chaotic, and sad it was to live in the Hoovervilles.
The struggles of daily life during the Great Depression were such a big problem for so many people. Besides the issue of homelessness, most people during the Great Depression were laid off because of the terrible economic crash. The unemployment rate was through the roof. “[B]y 1933, when the Great Depression reached its nadir, some 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed” (Lears 1). By 1933, the average income had dropped to 40 percent, from $2300 in 1929 to $1500 in just four years. With all of this loss of money came the loss of jobs, homes, and, for lots of families in the U.S., hunger.
There were so many people starving in New York that the “[w]est African country of Cameroon sent $3.77 in relief” (Heather 3). The hunger was so bad that 20 people died of hunger in 1931 and over 100 people died of hunger in 1934. The movie addresses the issue of hunger. Braddock’s son steals a stick of baloney because he knows that their family isn’t doing well and that they would need all the food they could get. In one scene, Braddock’s wife Mae struggles to divide what food they have amongst the entire family. James Braddock only eats one piece of baloney although he needs his strength before a long day of work at the shipyards, and he could have eaten more but, like most fathers during the Great Depression chose to eat less so their children wouldn’t feel as hungry. There were no food stamps available. These scenes really embody the life lots of people had to live during the Great Depression.
Soon after the crash, there were a series of what came to be known as bank runs, where people started rushing to the banks across the country to try and get their money out before it was lost. What most people didn’t know is that the banks don’t keep everyone’s money stored away in a vault. After the stock market crash, When everybody rushed to the banks, they soon found out that the banks ran out of money. Eventually almost 4,000 banks closed. In one scene in the movie, Braddock is explaining to a friend that he lost his savings when a bank closed. He had to just accept it and try to move on. This was a problem that, sadly, was one that many families during the Depression had to deal with.
The movie also shows that most families do not access to financial help from the government until several years into the Great Depression.

Braddock has to go to old friends and beg for money. He is trying to find a way to pay his rent, pay for the heat and be able to bring his family back together after his children have to go to live with their grandparents. Many families were divided if parents could not support their children. Later in the movie, although ashamed, he waits in line with many others to receive relief in the form of cash from a government agency. As part of the New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt’s plan to bring the government gave direct relief to citizens that were struggling. “In May of 1933, Congress created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, to make grants to local agencies that aided those impoverished by the Depression” (Foner 867). Struggling New Yorkers are given cash payments to help them get through the hard times.

Although times were hard, many people relied on local communities and churches to help them survive the Great Depression. The neighbors in the movie are supportive of each other; they all have the same financial struggles and they all have the same goals, to be able to work and take care of their families. The Catholic Church is an important part of the community in Cinderella Man. The church has birthday parties for children at the church and the priest helps the family of a man that is killed in a Hooverville. Neighbors gather in

the church to pray for Braddock to win an important fight at the end of the movie.
Many movies have been made about the Great Depression, but few are able to encompass how difficult it was for people during the times. Braddock’s “Cinderella” story of redemption gives an accurate portrayal of life during the Depression, including the struggles to find a job, support a family and find hope during very difficult times. Braddock’s story shows how the success of an average person could inspire a country to persevere.