The Good Earth (1937)

The story of a farmer in China: a story of humility and bravery. His father gives Wang Lung a freed slave as wife. By diligence and frugality the two manage to enlarge their property. But ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Talbot Jennings (screen play), Tess Slesinger (screen play),

Stars:

Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Muni	...	Wang
Luise Rainer	...	O-Lan
Walter Connolly	...	Uncle
Tilly Losch	...	Lotus
Charley Grapewin	...	Old Father
Jessie Ralph	...	Cuckoo
Soo Yong	...	Aunt
Keye Luke	...	Elder Son
Roland Lui	...	Younger Son
Suzanna Kim	...	Little Fool
Ching Wah Lee	...	Ching
Harold Huber	...	Cousin
Olaf Hytten	...	Liu - Grain Merchant
William Law	...	Gateman
Mary Wong	...	Little Bride

Storyline

The story of a farmer in China: a story of humility and bravery. His father gives Wang Lung a freed slave as wife. By diligence and frugality the two manage to enlarge their property. But then a famine forces them to leave their land and live in the town. However it turns out to be a blessing in disguise for them...

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Plot Keywords:

famine | farmer | money | slave | city | 

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Taglines:

China . . . . Land of unrest . . . tomorrow they may Starve !

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die gute Erde

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Hays Office - which supervised every Hollywood script at the time - insisted on rewrites to remove contentious subject matter. In all, they demanded more than 20 rewrites.

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Goofs

During one scene, Wang Lung beats his son for being with his second wife. As the son crawls away, it is obvious he was protected by wearing a thick pad on his back.

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Quotes

O-Lan: When I go back in that house, it will be with my son in my arms. I'll have a red coat on him... and red flower trousers... and a hat with a gilded Buddha and tiger-faced shoes, and I'll go into the kitchen where I spent my days as a slave and into the great hall where the old mistress sits with her pipe, and I'll show myself and my son to all of them.
O-Lan: [Smiles, contented] Hmm.
Wang Lung: Well... Now, I... I haven't heard you speak so many words since you came to this house.

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Crazy Credits

The type-style used appears to be lettering hammered into brass. Even the style of the letters seems to be from china or Asia. Note the style on "N" and "O".

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Angel (1943)

User Reviews

Good Stuff, Perhaps A Re-Make Some Day?

This is a bit long (2 hours, 20 minutes) but it had a a lot of the famous Pearl Buck novel in it. In other words, a lot of ground to cover.

It was soap-operish at times but had some visually dramatic moments, too, capped off by a locust attack at the end of the film. That was astounding to view. Considering this film is about 70 years old, the special-effects crew on this film did a spectacular job.

Paul Muni and Luise Rainer were award-winning actors in their day and they don't disappoint here, both giving powerful performances. The only problem is credibility as all the Asians are played by Caucasions and some of them, like Walter Connolly, just don't look real. I'd like to see a re-make of this movie with all-Asian actors, not for PC reasons but to simply make the story look and sound more credible.