The River (1938 film)
Encyclopedia
The River is a 1938 short documentary film
which shows the importance of the Mississippi River
to the United States
, and how farming and timber practices had caused topsoil to be swept down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico
, leading to catastrophic floods and impoverishing farmers. It ends by briefly describing how the Tennessee Valley Authority
project was beginning to reverse these problems.
It was written and directed by Pare Lorentz
and, like Lorentz's earlier documentary The Plow That Broke the Plains
, was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", going into the registry in 1990. The film won the "best documentary" category at the 1938 Venice International Film Festival.
Both films have notable scores by Virgil Thomson
that are still heard as concert suites. The film was narrated by the American baritone Thomas Hardie Chalmers
.
The two films were sponsored by the U.S. government and specifically the Resettlement Administration
(RA) to raise awareness about the New Deal
. The RA was folded into the Farm Security Administration
in 1937, so The River was officially an FSA production.
There is also a companion book, The River The text was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
in poetry in that year.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
which shows the importance of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and how farming and timber practices had caused topsoil to be swept down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, leading to catastrophic floods and impoverishing farmers. It ends by briefly describing how the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
project was beginning to reverse these problems.
It was written and directed by Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz was an American filmmaker known for his movies about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia, he was educated at Wesleyan College and West Virginia University. As a young film critic in New York and Hollywood, Lorentz spoke out against censorship in...
and, like Lorentz's earlier documentary The Plow That Broke the Plains
The Plow That Broke the Plains
The Plow That Broke the Plains is a short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl...
, was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", going into the registry in 1990. The film won the "best documentary" category at the 1938 Venice International Film Festival.
Both films have notable scores by Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
that are still heard as concert suites. The film was narrated by the American baritone Thomas Hardie Chalmers
Thomas Hardie Chalmers
Thomas Hardie Chalmers was an American opera singer, actor, and filmmaker.-Biography:Thomas Chalmers was born on October 20, 1884 in New York City, the son of Thomas Hardie and Sophia Amanda Chalmers...
.
The two films were sponsored by the U.S. government and specifically the Resettlement Administration
Resettlement Administration
The Resettlement Administration was a U.S. federal agency that, between April 1935 and December 1936, relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government....
(RA) to raise awareness about the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. The RA was folded into the Farm Security Administration
Farm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
in 1937, so The River was officially an FSA production.
There is also a companion book, The River The text was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in poetry in that year.
External links
(part 2) (missing part 3)- Pare Lorentz
- The River
- The River review
- The River, on You Tube posted by the FDR Presidential Library and Pare Lorentz center
- The River, on You Tube], a better copy, posted by PublicResourceOrg