The Broken Earth is an American film written and directed by Roman Freulich in 1939[dubiousdiscuss]. The 11-minute short film stars Clarence Muse as a sharecropper and widower who plows his farm and tries to care for a sick son, pleading and praying for divine intervention.[1] The film includes a soundtrack of negro spirituals.

Freulich was a photographer who immigrated from Poland. He shot movie stills and glamour shots, along with shooting the film with dramatic angels.[2] The film is extant.[3]

Muse owned a ranch that was used as a filmmaking location.[4]

The Southern Methodist University Libraries have the film in their collection[5] The film was screened in 2007 and discussed by Morgan State University professor Thomas Cripps.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Black Cast Films | UC Berkeley Library". www.lib.berkeley.edu.
  2. ^ "MoMA Commemorates the Great Migration in Film :: IRAAA". iraaa.museum.hamptonu.edu.
  3. ^ a b Kaltenbach, Chris (16 February 2007). "Drumming up interest in 'Zebra Kids'". baltimoresun.com.
  4. ^ "The Black Experience from L.A. Auteurs" (PDF). Curated by Donna Mungen. 1994.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ "Film Titles and Descriptions – SMU". www.smu.edu.