The Good Earth
US (1937): Drama
Excellent, painstaking adaptation of Pearl S. Buck's 1931 tome about a Chinese peasant family whose rise to wealth nearly destroys them, save for the saintly O-Lan (Luise Rainer). Paul Muni plays Wang Lung; Walter Connolly is the Uncle; and Keye Luke is the Elder Son. The special effects and the cinematography are wonderful, and Rainer won the second of her consecutive Oscars for Best Actress.
For its day, The Good Earth was a huge production that involved a cast of literally thousands; a 500-acre set; and some 18 tons of costumes, furnishings, buildings and animals imported from China; the film cost a then-phenomenal $3 million.This was Irving G. Thalberg's last production and is dedicated to his memory. (amctv.com)
5 nominations, 2 Awards
· Best Actress 1937: Luise Rainer
· Best Cinematography 1937: Karl Freund
· Best Picture 1937: Irving G. Thalberg, producer (MGM) w. Albert Lewin
· Directing 1937: Sidney Franklin
· Film Editing 1937: Basil Wrangell