The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Pare Lorentz

Writer:

Pare Lorentz (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Short | Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

Dust Bowl | Farming | Farmer | Grass | WWI

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Thomas Chalmers

...

Narrator (voice)

Runtime:

25 min | Argentina:28 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Argentina:Unrated

Company:

Resettlement Administration

Trivia:

Three of the four cameramen (all but Paul Ivano) who worked on this film were fired by director/writer Pare Lorentz. Basically, they considered him too verbally script-oriented and not sufficiently visually oriented. One of these cameramen was Paul Strand, who went on to become one of America's most honored still photographers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Donald Brittain: Filmmaker (1995)

Soundtrack:

Mademoiselle From Armentieres

A visual historic treasure.

If you're looking for shallow entertainment at the expense of others, waste your wasted time somewhere else. If you're seeking a musically enhanced visual portal into the tragedy that was the great dust bowl, you'll not be disappointed. I don't mean to slight the very apt narration, it is important and adds emphasis at key points. But the true genius of the piece comes through in the stark, black and white imagery riding on the emotional stream of the well selected and edited musical score. Digging into the history of this documentary, i found that the project was funded by us, the US taxpayer, because Hollywood rejected it at every level. When it finally debuted in theaters across the country, it competed well against Hollywood's best at the time. Proving once again, it's not the sponsor of the art who makes it great or successful, it is the artist (in this case artists) who make it great and successful.