The Spanish Earth (1937)

A documentary showing the struggle of the Spanish Republican government against a rebellion by ultra-right-wing forces led by Gen. Francisco Franco and backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Director:

Joris Ivens

Writers:

John Dos Passos (English narration), Ernest Hemingway (English narration),

Stars:

Manuel Azaña, José Díaz, Dolores Ibárruri

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Manuel Azaña	...	Himself (President of Spain)
José Díaz	...	Himself (Parliamentarian)
Dolores Ibárruri	...	Herself (as La Pasionaria)
Enrique Lister	...	Himself (Republican Army)
Commander Martinez de Aragón	...	Himself (Republican Army)
Gustav Regler	...	Himself (German writer)
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (English version) (later replaced by Ernest Hemingway) (voice)

Storyline

This documentary tells of the struggles during the Spanish Civil War. It deals with the war at different levels: from the political level, at the ground military level focusing on battles in Madrid and the road from Madrid to Valencia, and at the support level. With the latter, a key project was building an irrigation system for an agricultural field near Fuentedueña so that food could be grown to feed the soldiers.

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Plot Keywords:

germany | italy | francisco franco | air raid | irrigation | 

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish German

Release Date:

20 August 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

This Spanish Earth

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Contemporary Historians Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production company, Contemporary Historians, was formed by a group of American writers and intellectuals, including Ernest Hemingway, Lillian Hellman, Archibald Macleish, John Dos Passos and Dorothy Parker.

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Connections

Featured in Allemaal film: Zoeken naar de werkelijkheid (2007)

User Reviews

Propagandia

During the time this documentary was made, Hollywood was rife with Communists. For some reason there were scores of Hollywood types who thought that Socialism was the way to go despite all evidence to the contrary. The production company that made this documentary was made up of a whos-who of Communist sympathizers, Jos Dos Passos, Lillian Hellman, etc. As a result this documentary is completely slanted to one side, the side of the Republicans, which were supplied and supported by the Soviet Union. There is absolutely no attempt to be even handed in the presentation, Republicans=Good, Nationalists-Bad. If you decide to view this documentary go into it with the forewarning that none of what you are seeing is in any way even handed.