“In Dubious Battle” (** out of four) was a lugubrious adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel about a farmer (Nat Wolff) who becomes embroiled with a labor activist (James Franco who also directed) in the strikes against farm owners in the 1930’s. Franco’s loving tribute to union activists and American farm workers unfortunately never builds with momentum or story and ends up fizzling. Film is well-acted and handsomely shot but story and characters lack fire which would have made this really satisfying. Compare this to John Sayles’ 1987 masterwork “Matewan” which covered similar ground.