Main Cast: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly, Tilly Losch, Charles Grapewin
Release Year: 1937
Country: US
Run Time: 140 minutes
Plot
Based on Donald Davis and Owen Davis' stage-adaptation of Pearl S. Buck's sprawling novel, Sidney Franklin's The Good Earth is the story of a Chinese farming couple whose lives are torn apart by poverty, greed, and nature. Paul Muni stars as Wang Lung a hardworking, but poor, farmer who weds freed-slave O-Lan (Luise Rainer). They struggle to build a life together, but after finally finding success, a plague of locusts descends upon their land, bringing a true test of the couple's perseverance. For her performance, Luise Rainer won the second of back-to-back Best Actress Oscars, while cinematographer Karl Freund took home an Academy Award for his photography work. The Good Earth was the final film production of Irving Thalberg, who died before the film was completed. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
An epic tale of love, duty, greed, and revolution, MGM's The Good Earth was an artistic and commercial success. It was the last film of legendary producer Irving Thalberg, and the only one to carry his name. The story's scope, following the fall and rise of a peasant family in pre-revolutionary China, was matched by a large scale production (costing an at-the-time astounding 3 million dollars) that included (literally) a cast of thousands, a 500-acre set, thousands of pieces of costume, equipment, and tools, and even buildings imported from China. The massive production, directed first by Victor Fleming, then by Sidney Franklin, includes a couple of classic scenes of epic grandeur: the mob rebellion scene in which the Imperial Palace is sacked, and the locust scene, a marvelous technical achievement in its own right. Despite the grand scale, the human drama is never dwarfed. Stars Paul Muni and Luise Rainer, as the hardworking farmer and his long-suffering wife, offer sincere performances. Although neither was of Chinese descent, both found the right notes for these parts. Rainer won her second consecutive Academy Award, and soon thereafter dropped from sight in a prolonged feud with Hollywood executives. Cinematographer Karl Freund, famous for his work in German Expressionist films of the 1920s, took home an Oscar as well, and the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
Jessie Ralph - Cuckoo; Keye Luke - Elder Son; Suzanna Kim - Little Fool; Harold Huber - Cousin; Olaf Hytten - Grain Merchant; William Law - Gateman; Maly Wong - Little Bridee; Philip Ahn - Captain; Caroline Chew - Dancer; Chester Gan - Singer in Tea House; Roland Got - Younger Son; Ching Wah Lee - Ching; Lotus Liu - Lotus; Richard Loo - Farmer; Charles B. Middleton - Banker; Miki Morita - House Guest of Wang; Peach Seller; Sammee Tong - Chinaman; Soo Yong - Old Mistress Aunt
Farmer Wang Lung (Paul Muni) marries O-Lan (Luise Rainer), a lowly servant at the Great House, the residence of the most powerful family in their village. O-Lan proves to be an excellent wife, hard working and uncomplaining. Wang Lung prospers. He buys more land, and O-Lan gives birth to two sons and a daughter. Meanwhile, the Great House begins to decline.
All is well until a drought and the resulting famine drive the family to the brink. Desperate, Wang Lung considers the advice of his pessimistic, worthless uncle (Walter Connolly) to sell his land for food, but O-Lan opposes it. Instead, they travel south to a city in search of work. The family survives by begging and stealing. When a revolutionary gives a speech to try to drum up support for the army approaching despite rain in the north, Wang Lung and O-Lan realize the drought is over. They long to return to their farm, but they have no money for an ox, seed, and food.
The city changes hands and O-Lan joins a mob looting a mansion. However, she is knocked down and trampled upon. When she comes to, she finds a bag of jewels overlooked in the confusion. This windfall allows the family to go home and prosper once more. O-Lan asks only to keep two pearls for herself.
Years pass. Wang Lung's sons grow up into educated young men, and he has grown so wealthy that he purchases the Great House. Then, Wang Lung becomes besotted with Lotus (Tilly Losch), a pretty, young dancer at the local tea house, and makes her his second wife. He begins to find fault with the worn-out O-Lan and gives her pearls to Lotus.
When Wang Lung discovers that Lotus has seduced Younger Son (Roland Lui), he orders his son to leave. Then a swarm of locusts threatens the entire village. Using a strategy devised by Elder Son (Keye Luke), everyone unites to try to save the crops. Just when all seems lost, the wind shifts direction, taking the danger away. The near-disaster brings Wang Lung back to his senses. He reconciles with Younger Son. On the latter's wedding day, Wang Lung returns the pearls to O-Lan before she dies, exhausted by a hard life.
Irving Thalberg envisioned casting only Chinese actors for the movie, but gave up the idea because of the general disapproval and racism of Hollywood at the time. Anna May Wong had been touted for the role of O-Lan. However, because Paul Muni was of European descent, the Hays Code anti-miscegenation rules meant his character's wife had to be played by a white woman. Many of the characters were played by Western actors made to look Asian with aid of new make-up techniques developed by Jack Dawn that were first used in this movie.
Because the Second Sino-Japanese War was in progress, the Chinese government threatened not to approve the movie if any Japanese actors were cast.
Thalberg died before the movie was completed. The film credits stated that this was his "last great achievement".
.jpg)
