Wang Lung (Paul Muni) is a peasant farmer in China. He is very pleased when the local gentry offer him a former kitchen slave, O-Lan (Louise Rainer), to be his wife. With her help, he navigates the harvest, managing to improve his station and buy his own land, until famine strikes and the family is forced to move south for work. Still, Wang Lung stands beside his principle that the land will provide for them. Thanks to O-Lan's good fortune and ruthless practicality, they are able to return and prosper, eventually buying the Great House and setting Wang Lung up as a lord, himself. But wealth changes a man and Wang Lung begins to yearn for softer, prettier things like Lotus (Tilly Losch), an entertainer at a tea house.
This movie has become known only for the use of yellowface. Which is valid. Muni was Austro-Hungarian, Rainer was German, and Losch was Austrian. There is some...creative...makeup use to make them look Chinese, but they are very much not. Apparently, producer Irving Thalberg wanted to use an all-Asian cast but ultimately chickened out because he didn't think American audiences would go for it. There are a number of prominent Asian actors in the film, including Keye Luke, who would go on to become famous as Kato in The Green Hornet serials, just not in the main roles.
Okay. That being said, this is somehow waaaaaay less racist than Gone with the Wind or Cimarron. It's a huge, historical epic that spans a period of major upheaval in China and it's handled shockingly gently. O-Lan is basically the Ideal Patriarchal Wife, patient, supportive, obedient, and self-sacrificing even while her husband is being kind of an idiot. Rainer won Best Actress for her portrayal, which she shouldn't have. Mostly, she just stares vacantly into the middle distance while reciting the most mournful dialogue you've ever heard. Muni is doing The Most Acting and didn't get nominated for jack. It also won for Best Cinematography, deservedly.
I never read the book so I can't tell you if it's a good adaptation, but it was better than I thought it would be. I thought it was in the public domain but it is apparently not. You can rent it or stream through your favorite VPN-friendly site.
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