NFR Project: 'The Plow That Broke the Plains' (1936)

 

NFR Project: ‘The Plow That Broke the Plains’

Dir: Pare Lorentz

Scr: Pare Lorentz

Pho: Leo Hurwitz, Ralph Steiner, Paul Strand, Paul Ivano

Ed: Pare Lorentz, Ralph Steiner

Premiere: 1936

28 min.

It was one of the most difficult film productions in history. When it was finished, nobody liked it. Now it’s known as one of America’s most influential documentary films.

When the Great Depression occurred, one of the many agencies the Roosevelt administration established was the Resettlement Administration, which aided farmers impoverished by the Dust Bowl. They thought it would be informative and helpful to make a short documentary film about the Dust Bowl – its causes, its effects, and efforts to remediate it.

To make this film, they tapped a young writer and critic, Pare Lorentz. He had zero film experience but, undaunted, pressed forward with a budget of $6,000. Using no actors and filming on location, Lorentz and three cameramen, Leo Hurwitz, Ralph Steiner, and Paul Strand, took footage of the devastation wrought by the drought. They traveled from Montana to Texas, gathering images of barren fields, dust-swamped houses and barns, and skeletal farm animals.

Lorentz’s inexperience and lack of communication skills frustrated the cameramen, who were noticeably much more leftist than the film’s creator. They created their own script, which indicted capitalism. Lorentz fired them, and picked up the last of the film’s footage himself.

The film went over budget. There was no money to pay for post-production work, so Lorentz took it upon himself to finish the film with no compensation. He paid for processes and equipment out of his own pocket. He wrote voiceover narration and had it recorded. He commissioned a score for the film from the noted American composer Virgil Thomson. The reason Thomson was chosen over 11 other candidates? He agreed to do the work for $500.

When the score was recorded, Lorentz made the musicians stop at midnight, as he didn’t have the money to pay them overtime. The players, charmingly, finished the session for free.

Lorentz was critically lauded for the work, but many dismissed the film as mere government propaganda – which the film is. It seeks to evoke an emotional reaction, and proposes a course of action for the viewer to take. Hollywood refused to show it in theaters. Many objected to Lorentz’s bleak estimation of the situation. Residents and politicians form the Great Plains lobbied against it. Finally, in 1939, the film was withdrawn from distribution, not to be seen again until 1961.

The film is a model of persuasive filmmaking. In 28 minutes, it presents a history of the settling and development of the Great Plains, outlines the causes for the loss of arable farmland (overdevelopment and technological advances being the primary culprits), and lists government programs that aimed to mitigate the damage done to the people and the land.

It’s a memorable film. The images are simple and powerful, beautifully photographed. Thomson’s score remains his best-known work. The film fulfilled its purpose – it documented a major historical event, provided analysis of its causes, and gave hope to viewers that government action could help those who needed help most.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor.