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Poster for The Good Earth

The Good Earth

China… Land of unrest… Tomorrow they may starve!

1937 · 2h 19m · PASSED Drama, History, Romance
Directed by Sidney Franklin

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Overview

China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
94%
Tomatometer
Fresh

No harmful false note is struck.

Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh

Once again Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has enriched the screen with a superb translation of a literary classic.

Frank S. Nugent, New York Times
Rotten

Critical opinion has not been kind, but studio excavators may find much to admire.

Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
Fresh

It's a typically lumbering, cautious, overblown Thalberg project, saved by Rainer's genuinely moving, Oscar-winning portrayal of Chinese peasantry, and by an immensely spectacular storm of locusts.

Time Out

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