''The Broken Earth'' is an American film written and directed by

Roman Freulich Roman Freulich (1898–1974) was a photographer in the United States known for his movie stills and glamour shots. He immigrated from Poland. In 1939 he directed the film '' The Broken Earth'' starring Clarence Muse. The California Digital Library ...

in 1939. The 11-minute

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

stars

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

as a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

and widower who plows his farm and tries to care for a sick son, pleading and praying for divine intervention. 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. The film is extant. Muse owned a ranch that was used as a filmmaking location. The

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

Libraries have the film in their collection The film was screened in 2007 and discussed by

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

professor Thomas Cripps.

References

1939 films 1939 short films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films {{1930s-US-film-stub