The Good Earth (1937) Directors: Sidney Franklin, Victor Fleming (uncredited), Gustav Machety (uncredited)
“O-Lan, the earth has forgotten us…”
★★★☆☆
This film version of The Good Earth is based on a theatrical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning 1931 novel of the same name by Pearl S. Buck (she later also won the Nobel Prize). I have been slowly reading my way through all the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels, click here to read my reflections on The Good Earth. There are several tragedies connected to the making of this film, not least of which includes the untimely death of legendary MGM producer Irving Thalberg before the film’s release, but also the suicide of George Hill following a car crash and a struggle with alcoholism –he was originally slated to direct the film. And lastly, be forewarned this film features yet another unfortunate instance of “yellow face” in the history of early Hollywood.
Paul Muni stars in The Good Earth as Wang Lung. Muni was also celebrated in 1937 for his Oscar-winning performance in The Story of Louis Pasteur, as well as the Best Picture-winning film, The Life of Emile Zola. Wang Lung is a poor farmer in Northern China who gets married to a slave named O-Lan (Luise Rainer won Best Actress for her performance) and, thanks to his business acumen, once he begins turning a profit from his wheat sales, he purchases more land. He buys land from a once great, now declining, house in the village (the same house from which Wang had acquired O-Lan). However, soon a drought strikes causes massive turmoil for poor Chinese farmers. Nearly everyone starves so Wang takes his whole family to a prosperous Southern city, before returning to build his farming empire. As time passes, Wang has many children but he grows tired of O-Lan and he falls in love with a concubine named Lotus, whom he purchases and moves onto his land. This whole part of the story is present, albeit somewhat glossed over the in the film to keep up appearances that Wang Lung is an innocent and noble Chinese farmer. However, his children bring him great troubles. One day, he catches his son with Lotus and Wang realizes that his son has never had to work the land, so beats his scholarly son and sends him away.
At the end of the film, just like in the book, O-Lan grows ill and dies shortly after witnessing the wedding of one of her sons. The film has met with some minor controversy in recent years as Paul Muni played Wang Lung in “yellow face.” Although his intent in playing the character was not to belittle Chinese or Asian people. If anything, it was intended to be more of a celebration of poor Chinese farmers, an often overlooked group of people in Chinese national history. Still, I cannot defend Hollywood’s decision to portray white actors in highly exaggerated racialized roles as non-white characters. The famous producer, Louis B. Mayer’s golden boy at MGM –Irving Thalberg– initially sought to hire all Chinese actors for the film but he was forced to concede that American audiences were not ready to relate to such a film. When asked why he didn’t hire Anna May Wong, Thlberg is said to have replied, “I am in the business of making illusions.” Though, in truth, Wong apparently declined the role in protest over the controversial caricature of Chinese people in the film. Thalberg died several months before the release of the film –the credits list this picture as one of his last great achievements.
The Good Earth is a decent epic film, though not one I would soon recommend. The pacing is sluggish and nothing of particular interest happens –the movie was actually shot on a 500-acre farm in the San Fernando Valley (Porter Ranch, California). It stays relatively close to the plot of the famous novel, or at least as close as one might expect from a Hollywood movie in the ’30s, but The Good Earth is mostly dry and uninteresting. The second half of the movie, in particular, seems to drag on and on, only to arrive nowhere. Unfortunately Paul Muni’s performance is somewhat forgettable, as well.
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Credits:
- Directed by: Sidney Franklin, Victor Fleming (uncredited), Gustav Machatý (uncredited)
- Screenplay by: Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West
- Based on: The Good Earth, a 1931 novel by Pearl S. Buck which was adapted for the stage by Owen Davis and Donald Davis
- Produced by: Irving Thalberg, Albert Lewin (associate producer)
- Starring:
- Paul Muni…..Wang
- Luise Rainer…..O-Lan
- Cinematography: Karl Freund, A.S.C.
- Edited by: Basil Wrangell
- Music by: Herbert Stothart, Edward Ward (uncredited)
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Distributed by: Loew’s, Inc.
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