As the Earth Turns
Brief Synopsis
A young couple face the hardships of farm life in Maine.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Alfred Green
Director
Jean Muir
Jen [Shaw]
Donald Woods
Stan [Janowski]
Russell Hardie
Editor [Shaw]
Emily Lowry
Margaret
Arthur Hohl
George [Shaw]
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Classic Hollywood
Release Date
Apr
14,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel As the Earth Turns by Gladys Hasty Carroll (New York, 1933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 13m
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
During a severe Maine winter, the Polish-American Janowski family moves to a farm near the farms of Mark Shaw and his brother George. Mark, a hard working farmer, is used to aiding his lazy brother when things go badly, much to the disgust of his second wife Cora and her daughter Doris. Doris hates farm life, so she is disappointed when Mark gives George a cow that Cora had planned to sell to earn money to send her to secretarial school in the city. Jen, Mark's daughter from his first marriage, tries to comfort Doris, who responds bitterly. When Ollie Shaw, Jen's brother, returns from college, he makes friends with Stan Janowski, who has always wanted to be a farmer even though he is a talented violinist. When Stan and Jen finally meet, they realize they share a love of farming. Not everyone is as happy on the farm as Jen, however. Mil, George's wife, is tired of their poverty and hard work and confesses she is planning to leave her husband. Doris unsuccessfully tries to force Ollie to quit school and marry her. After Stan's tailor father collapses from exhaustion, the Janowski family, with the exception of Stan, returns to the city. Mil learns she is pregnant and decides to stay with her husband. Stan asks Jen to marry him, but she wants to be sure he really loves farming and is not staying just because he loves her. Having failed to marry Ollie, Doris flirts with Stan, convincing him to take her to the Halloween dance, and while they are there, Stan's house is hit by lightning and burns to the ground. Stan must return to the city to earn the money to start again, and Doris asks him to take her with him. She tells Jen they are planning to marry, but Jen learns otherwise from Stan's letters. The following spring, Stan returns to the farm and Jen finally agrees to marry him.
Director
Alfred Green
Director
Cast
Jean Muir
Jen [Shaw]
Donald Woods
Stan [Janowski]
Russell Hardie
Editor [Shaw]
Emily Lowry
Margaret
Arthur Hohl
George [Shaw]
Dorothy Peterson
Mil [Shaw]
David Landau
Mark [Shaw]
Clara Blandick
Cora [Shaw]
William Janney
Ollie [Shaw]
Dorothy Appleby
Doris [Shaw]
Sarah Padden
Mrs. Janowski
Egon Brecher
Mr. Janowski
David Durand
Manuel
Wally Albright
John
George Billings
Junior
Marilyn Knowlden
Esther
Jevere Gibbons
Betty
Gloria Fisher
Louisa
Joyce Kay
Sister
Cora Sue Collins
Marie
Dorothy Gray
Bunny
Harry C. Bradley
Elder
Lloyd Neal
Mail carrier
John H. Elliott
Country doctor
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Classic Hollywood
Release Date
Apr
14,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel As the Earth Turns by Gladys Hasty Carroll (New York, 1933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 13m
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
As The Earth Turns -
From the first shot of a horse-drawn wagon in the middle of a blizzard, director Alfred E. Green establishes that this is film is about life at its hardest. Adapted from Gladys Hasty Carroll's best-selling debut novel, the picture traces a year in a farming community in Maine. A Polish American family, the Jankowskis, buys a farm near a longtime farmer Mark Shaw (David Landau). Before long, the newcomers' son, Stan (Donald Woods), is in love with Shaw's daughter Jen (Jean Muir). The relationship is complicated by the area's harsh conditions, Shaw's complaining second wife (Clara Blandick, best known as Auntie Em in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz) and her flirtatious, selfish daughter, Doris (Dorothy Appleby). When the Jankowskis lose their farm, Doris sees it as a chance to make it to the big city, so she sets out to steal Stan from her stepsister. Green showcases the realities of farming through four seasons while the script eschews Carroll's more subtle approach to focus on Doris' conniving, which turns her into a predecessor of such soap opera vixens as Erica Kane and Alexis Carrington. The film did poorly at the box office but with the revival of interest in Carroll's novels about Maine life, this picture is ripe for rediscovery.
As The Earth Turns -
From the first shot of a horse-drawn wagon in the middle of a blizzard, director Alfred E. Green establishes that this is film is about life at its hardest. Adapted from Gladys Hasty Carroll's best-selling debut novel, the picture traces a year in a farming community in Maine. A Polish American family, the Jankowskis, buys a farm near a longtime farmer Mark Shaw (David Landau). Before long, the newcomers' son, Stan (Donald Woods), is in love with Shaw's daughter Jen (Jean Muir). The relationship is complicated by the area's harsh conditions, Shaw's complaining second wife (Clara Blandick, best known as Auntie Em in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz) and her flirtatious, selfish daughter, Doris (Dorothy Appleby). When the Jankowskis lose their farm, Doris sees it as a chance to make it to the big city, so she sets out to steal Stan from her stepsister. Green showcases the realities of farming through four seasons while the script eschews Carroll's more subtle approach to focus on Doris' conniving, which turns her into a predecessor of such soap opera vixens as Erica Kane and Alexis Carrington. The film did poorly at the box office but with the revival of interest in Carroll's novels about Maine life, this picture is ripe for rediscovery.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to Film Daily, the rights to the Gladys Hasty Carroll novel were purchased for $25,000. Daily Variety reported that the film's world premiere was scheduled to be held in Bangor, ME.
