# The Land

1942, 43 minutes Documentary showing the poor state that American agriculture had fallen into during the Great Depression. Flaherty made this documentary about the dire consequences of 100 years of over-production of cotton just as the USA was entering World War2, & it wasn't shown then, because it might give the enemy a propaganda advantage. In fact the musical score, which fills the entire 45 minutes of the film is as striking as the poetic imagery of the dust bowl, the indigent farmers, the extreme poverty of a family living & reproducing in a shack and the mass migration to California where so few would find work. The upbeat ending, where wonderful threshing machines swiftly harvest the land, has the irony that still more labourers would be out of work. The only pity is that Flaherty, at heart a silent film director, wouldn't let his subjects speak Director: Robert J. Flaherty Writers: Frances H. Flaherty (collaborating writer), Robert J. Flaherty, 2 more credits » Stars: Robert J. Flaherty |

- Kind: Film
- Year: 1942
- By: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Adjustment Administration United States Film Service
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/TheLand_201505)
- Licence or status: [Public Domain Mark 1.0](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/) (as the archive states it)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/TheLand_201505?play=1)