The Plow that Broke the Plains

The Plow that Broke the Plains - FDR Presidential Library 1936 - Video 352 - From the Wikipedia. he Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) is a short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl. It was written and directed by Pare Lorentz. Lorentz worked on the film with composer Virgil Thomson, who shared Lorentz' enthusiasm for folk music and incorporated many folk melodies, along with other popular and religious music, into the soundtrack. The film was narrated by the American baritone Thomas Hardie Chalmers. The film was sponsored by the United States government (Resettlement Administration) to raise awareness about the New Deal and was intended to cost ,000 or less; it eventually cost over 9,000 and Lorentz, turning in many receipts written on various scraps of paper, had many of his reimbursements denied and paid for much of the film himself.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• fdr.gov
• public.resource.org

[PETERLINNAH]

I, too, just finished reading "The Worst Hard Time." Reading that book and watching this movie should be standard curriculum in every High School in America.

[MarionLefty]

Thanks for posting this. I just finished reading Timothy Egan's "The Worst Hard Time" and I was eager to view this documentary. The visual power of this brief

film really underscores the overwhelming challenges of that era.

[Wolfboy183]

the good old days... when cows were fed grass and not corn and didn't produce today's dangerous amounts of e coli

[chiparoo222]

Thank YOU __ WONDERFUL historical program ! ! !

[lordthorpez]

"...we had cleared the Indian..."

[MrBloodhand]

it's so sad 

[KARENK72886]

Thanks ever so much. It's just the video that I needed! thanks!