Henry Browne, Farmer
About Henry Browne, Farmer
Canada Lee narrates a day on the farm of Henry Browne, 38, married, with three children. The family does the morning chores. Little Henry milks the cow they have just acquired. Browne has no tractor, only two mules, and he plants peanuts because a government man asked for oil for the war, along with cotton. On Saturday he hitches the mules to a carriage, drives the family past town, and goes to see his eldest son, a cadet in the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
Cast & crew
More about Henry Browne, Farmer
Roger Barlow directed. Canada Lee narrates. Gene Forrell wrote the music. The Library of Congress credits the Agricultural Adjustment Agency of the Department of Agriculture, 1942. Wikipedia also lists Republic Pictures as a production company and the War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry as distributor. The release date on the Wikipedia infobox is 15 November 1942.
Themes
Background
The short was made in 1942 to show a Black farmer's work, peanuts and cotton, as part of the war effort, and to show his son's training at Tuskegee.
Music
Gene Forrell composed the score. Canada Lee speaks the narration.
Preservation
The Library of Congress holds a digital viewing copy. The date is taken from edge code on the source and from the 1943 Oscar nominations.
Notes
- A circulating copy runs 10 minutes and 41 seconds. Wikipedia lists 9 minutes.
- The son is a cadet with the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the Tuskegee unit.
- The film opens on stock shots of soldiers, tanks, and war plants, then cuts to the farm.
- Browne tells the camera he is planting peanuts rather than his usual crop because the government asked for the oil.
- Wikidata lists the running time as 10 minutes.
Scenes
- Little Henry milks the family's first cow.
- The mule cart passes the market town and continues on to the airfield.
Also available
- Internet Archive (HenryBro1942)