The Green Pastures (1936)

Directors:

Marc Connelly
William Keighley

Writers:

Roark Bradford (novel) and
Marc Connelly (play)
(more)

Release Date:

27 January 1937 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

God, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are described supposedly using the perspective of rural...

Plot Keywords:

God | African American | Color In Title | Religion | Pulitzer Prize Source

Cast

Rex Ingram	...	Adam / De Lawd / Hezdrel
Oscar Polk	...	Gabriel
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson	...	Noah (as Eddie Anderson)
Frank H. Wilson	...	Moses / Sexton (as Frank Wilson)
George Reed	...	Mr. Deshee / Aaron
Abraham Gleaves	...	Archangel
Myrtle Anderson	...	Eve
Al Stokes	...	Cain
Edna Mae Harris	...	Zeba (as Harris, Edna M.)
James Fuller	...	Cain the Sixth
George Randol	...	High Priest
Ida Forsyne	...	Mrs. Noah
Ray Martin	...	Shem
Charles Andrews	...	Flatfoot / Gambler (as Chas. Andrews)
Dudley Dickerson	...	Ham
Jimmy Burress	...	Japheth
Billy Cumby	...	Abraham / King of Babylon / Head Magician (as William Cumby)
Ivory Williams	...	Jacob
David Bethea	...	Aaron
Ernest Whitman	...	Pharaoh
Reginald Fenderson	...	Joshua
Slim Thompson	...	Master of Ceremonies / Man on Ground
Clinton Rosemond	...	Prophet
Hall Johnson Choir	...	Vocal Ensemble
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Alexander	...	Dancer #1 (uncredited)
Willie Best	...	Henry, the Angel (uncredited)
Dorothy Bishop	...	Mrs. Japheth (uncredited)
William Broadus	...	Mr. Randall (uncredited)
Ben Carter	...	Gambler (uncredited)
Lillian Davis	...	Viney Prohack (uncredited)
Amanda Drayton	...	Mrs. Randall (uncredited)
Jesse Graves	...	General (uncredited)
Minnie Gray	...	Mrs. Ham (uncredited)
Bessie Guy	...	Mrs. Shem (uncredited)
Jester Hairston	...	Member of Hall Johnson Choir (uncredited)
Philip Hurlic	...	Carlisle Randall (uncredited)
Johnny Lee	...	Angel (uncredited)
Bessie Lyle	...	Mrs. Prohack (uncredited)
Etta McDaniel	...	Heckler at the Ark (uncredited)
Mantan Moreland	...	Angel Removing Hat (uncredited)
Charlotte Sneed	...	Carlotta Prohack (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Zubo (uncredited)
Duke Upshaw	...	Abel / Dancer #2 (uncredited)
Rosena Weston	...	Zipporah (uncredited)

Directed by
Marc Connelly
William Keighley

Writing credits
Roark Bradford		(novel "Ol'Man Adam and His Chillun'")
Marc Connelly		play
Marc Connelly		screenplay
Sheridan Gibney		uncredited

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	supervising producer
Jack L. Warner	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr

Film Editing by
George Amy

Art Direction by
Stanley Fleischer
Allen Saalburg

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sherry Shourds	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Nathan Levinson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fred Jackman	....	special photographic effects

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hall Johnson	....	conductor: Hal Johnson choir
Hall Johnson	....	music arranger: choral arrangements
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. First National Films (1938) (Austria) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures  copyright holder (as The Vitaphone Corporation)
• Hall Johnson Choir  choral music performed by
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1936) | Finland:K-16 (1945)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway stage production won the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on Feb. 26, 1930 at the Mansfield Theatre in New York and ran for 640 performances. Juanita Hall, who later played "Bloody Mary" in both the stage and film versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic South Pacific (1958), appeared in the original 1930 stage production of "The Green Pastures".

Goofs:

Continuity: One of Noah's son's is shown riding a "zebra" in the scene showing the loading of the animals onto the ark. However, it obviously is a donkey or mule made to look like a zebra. Also, while he is riding the zebra, two other zebras are shown being loaded.

Quotes:

Gabriel: Gangway for the lord god, Jehovah!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brazil (1985)

Great for its time

Excellent screenplay, music, singing and acting. The subject matter was difficult, but the screenwriter and actors pulled it off. An excellent film, minus the stereotypes, which were a necessary evil in the 1930s. A film well worth the risk by a major studio.