Highly rare vintage 8x10-inch sepia-tone portrait, boldly signed and inscribed in violet fountain pen in in the 1930s. A heavy crease down the left side of the image, edge wear and a small tear to the left margin; otherwise, in fine condition for its age. With his grim, beady-eyed, sharp-nosed, weather-beaten looks, great character actor Russell Simpson added charm and rustic authenticity to countless silents and early talkies.  Long associated with John Ford, he was unforgettable as Pa Joad, opposite Jane Darwell, in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), and was also exceptional in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Tobacco Road (1941), They Were Expendable (1945), My Darling Clementine (1946), The Sun Shines Bright (1953), and The Horse Soldiers (1959). His better known credits with other directors include The Power and the Glory (1933), Ever Since Eve (1934), Way Down East (1935), The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936), San Francisco (1936), Ramona (1936), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Brigham Young (1940), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Meet Me at the Fair (1953), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Oklahoma! (1955).

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