I thought I WAS a memeber!   Yes, the line is indeed form Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"; something about "I've seen many men go down that road with LAND in their HEADS" (I may have misquoted; but the link to RB seemed appropriate; indeed, I think the 1930s film is the first to have a "pre-credits sequence", when George and Lenny are running for to leap aboard a train, hobo-like, and the boxcar has the Burns lines chalked upon it (and, I think, the focus zooms in until only the "Of M & M" title is left.