The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)

Director:

Pare Lorentz

Writer:

Pare Lorentz

Stars:

Thomas Chalmers, Bam White

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Thomas Chalmers	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bam White	...	Farmer

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

natural disaster | draught | wheat | voice over narration | agriculture | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Pflug

Company Credits

Production Co:

Resettlement Administration

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Connections

Referenced in Donald Brittain: Filmmaker (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Reveille"
Traditional
Played as part of the score when WWI breaks out

User Reviews

Impressive, emotionally moving film

This film is a companion film to The River, also directed by Pare Lorentz. It is beautifully filmed and has a wonderful score. The topic is soil erosion and the resulting dust bowl conditions during the U.S. depression. This film would be a marvelous choice to show young students who are studying the environment or who are studying U.S. history. It is available from several sources. My video came from Kino Video and also contained The River, a film on a resettlement camp and a film on rural electrification. All were excellent. There is another film Lorentz was involved with called The City. I have seen stills from the movie but have not been able to find a source for it.