The spanish earth guión mecanografiado que manejó joris ivens
1. o
Cv.
^
K
P!
E
l M'
i H l r-
maw;B
I l
t» tr
«F
l
fpr s
i
ww
e»
2. Conmentary "THE SPANISH EARTH !
*•»* - - ..j* . 4^ • . :. - j*
This Spanlsh earth is dry and hard, and the f ace s of
the men who work on that earth are hard and dry from the
sun.
wThls worthless letid with water will yleld mach"/
"Por fifty years wefve wanted to irrigate but they
"held us back"
"Now we will bring water to it to raise food ft> r the
"defense of Madrid."
The village of Puenteduena, where f Ifteen htindred
people live and work the land for the common good.
It's gs od bread, stamped with the tinion label. But
there is only enough for the village. Irrigating the V&CKX
ijöcatx waste land of the village will give ten time s as nruch
grain, as well as potatoes, wine and onions for Madrid.
The village is on the Tago river and the main highroad
that is the life line between Valencia andMadrid. All food
for Madrid oomes on this road. To win the war, the rebel
troops must cut this road.
They plai t o irrigate the dry fields.
They @D to tracé the ditches.
This is the true face of men go ing into action.
It is alittle different from any other face you will ever see.
Men cannot act before the canBra in the presence of death.
The villagers in Puenteduana hear this noice and say:
"our gans" .
The frontline curve s North to Madrid.
These were the doors of houses Uiat are anpty now.
Those who survived tbe bombardment bring than to reinforce
the new trenches.
Wbsn you are fighting to defend your country war as it
A
3. laste becomssLan almost jacapmal life. You eat and drink and
sleep arü read the papers.
The loudspeaker of tiie people's army. It bas a raige of
two kilometers.
Whai these men starts d for the line s three months
ago , many of tiiem held a riffle for tiie first time/. Some
dl d not eren know how to re-^oad. Now they are instructing
tiie new reciuits how to ftfee dowi and re-assorable a rlffla.
Thls is the salient driven int o Madrid itself , when
the enemy too k University City aft er repeated count eratta cks.
They are still in the Casa de Velazquez, the gogs palace on
the left wi th tbs two pointed towers, end in the ruined cli-nical
hospita!.
The bearded man is comnander Marti nez de Aragon. Bef ore
the war hè was a lawyer. He was a brave and skillful com-mander
aid he'dled in i3ae attack on the Casa del Campo on the
day we filmed the bat tle the re.
The Rebels try to reliefe tiie Clinic.
Julian, a boy from the village, writes home: "Papa, I
will be the re in three day s. Teil our mother".
The troop s are called together. The company is assembled
to elect representatives to attend the big meeting for cele-brating
the uniting of all militi a-regiments into the new
brigades odf the People's Army.
The clenched fis t of R-epublican Spain.
Enrique Li ster, a stone mason from al ie ia. In six
mon-üis of fighttng hè rose from a slmple soldier to the
oorrmand of a division. He is one of the most brilliant young
soldier s of the ixepublican Army.
4. Carlos, one c£ ttoe-first-oomnanders of the Pifth Regiment.
He talks of the Army of the people . How they are fighting
for spanish denocracy and for the government they themselves
have chosen. Fighting togertlter we shall win a new streng
Spain.
José Diaz. He used to work twelve hours a day as a type-setter
before hè became a member of the Spanish Parliament.
Gust av Regier. One of the fine writers of Germany who
came to Spain to fight for his ideals. He was gravely vroun-ded
in June. Regier praises the unity of the people's Army.
The defaise of ^adrid will ranind men always of their
loyalty and courage.
The most fanous womai is Spain today is ppeaking. They
cal l her Ha Passi onaria. She is no t a romantic beauty, nor any
Oarmen. She is the v.df e og a poor mine r in Asturias. But all
the character if the new spoiish woman is in her vojce. She
speaks of the new nationof Spain. It is a nation disciplined
and brave . It is a new nation forged in the discipline of its
soMiers and ttie en du ring b ra v ery of its womoi.
The loudspealer speaks to the Rebels.
Living in tiie cellars of the rulned building are tiie
enemy. They are MOors and Civil Guards. They are brave troops
or they would not have held out after their position/ was
hopeless. But they are professional soldiers fighting agains t
a people in aims. Trying to impose the will of the military
on the will of the people , aid the people hate "Üiern, for,
without tiieir tenacity and the constant aid of Italy and
Geimany, ttie Spanisla revolt would have ended six weeks after
i t began.
Thsi batallion go es on leave and Julian viio is with than
5. ha s threejl days Igave $o the.village*
The Duke of Alva's Palaoe is destroyed by rebel bombard-ment*
Treasures of Spanish art are carefully salvaged by
government militia-men»
Madrid by lts position is a natural fortress, and each
day the people make its defense more and more impregnable»
You stand in line all day to buy food for supper, Some-times
the food runs out before you reaoh the door* Sometimes
a shell falls near the line and at home they wait and walt and
no one brings back anything for supper.
ïnable to enter the town, the enemy try to destroy it*
This is a man who haé nothing to do wit h f$£ war. A book-keeper
on his way to his of f 10 e at eight o* doek in the mor-ning
» 80 now they tak e the bookkeeper away but not t o his of-fice
or to his home*
/ The government urges all oivilians to evaouate Madrid»
But where will we go T
Where can we live?
What can we do for a living^
I wonft go* I'm too old.
But we must keep the children off the street exoept when
there is need to stand in line*
,.!-.•.— ""•V"™"*" y Reoruiting is speedéd up by the bombardment* Every useless
killing angers the people* Men from all businesses, profession,
and trades enlist in the Republioan Army.
Meanwhile in Valencia the President.
Julian catohes a ride on an empty truck and comea home
sooner than hè expected/
«ulian toiu. the yillage boys In the evening when
6. oome back from the f ie ld s*
In Madrid a future shockbataillon of bullfighters, foot-ballplayers
and athletes is drilling*
They say the old goodbyes that sound the same in any language.
She says she'11 wait* He says that hè*11 come back. He knows
she «11 wait* Who knows for what the way the shelling is. Hobody
kows if hè come s back* Take care of the kid, hè says* I will,
she says and knows she can't* They bofrh know that when they •»?
move you out in trucks it's to a battle,
Death come s eaoh morning to these people of the town, sent
from the hills two miles away.
The smell of death is aorid high-explosive
smoke and bl^sted granite.
: Why do they stay T They stay beoause this is frheir city*
: These are their homes* Here is their work» This .is their fight.
> The fight to be allowed to live as human beings*
Boys look for bits of shell-fragments as they onoe gatheiA
hailstones* 3o the nest shell finds them, The German artillery
has increased their allowance per battery today,
Before death came when you were old and sicfc* But now it
comes to all this villags» High in the sky £* shining silver
it comes to all who have no plaoe to run no place to hide*
Three Junkersplanes did thig*
The government persuitplabes shot one Junkefis down»
I can't read German either*
These dead came from another vi
7. Commentator i"fhese dead came from another country .*
"They signed to work In Ethiopia , the prisoners
said." 11 We toofc no statements from the dead but all the
letters we read were very sad."
n Tïieöltallans lost more killed, wounded , and
missing in this single battle of Brihuega than
in all the Ethiopian waar, "
[_8ho t s of troop s gather ing, for the counter attack'—J
Commentator H T hè Rebels attack the Madrid -Valencia road
again » The have crossed the Jarama river and try
to ttike the Arganda bridge* "
N f
Troops are rushed from the Horth to the counter-attack."
jShots of irrigation work7[
Commentator: "The viïlage works to bring the water.*
pore battle shots . '^roops moving up. Troops come out of trucks)
Commentator. "n They arrive at the Valencia road. "
9 The infantry in the assault where cameras need
much luck to go. The slow , heavy -laden ,mdramatic
movement forw^rd. The men in echelon in columns of
six . In the ultimate loneliness of what is known
as contact» where each man knows there is only him-self
and five other men, and before him all the
great unknown. M
(Batt
-*_
[Battle shots immediately after men run across railway yard»
Commentator: " This is the moment that all the rest of war pre-pares
for »when six men go forward into death to
walk across a stretch of land and by their presence
on it prove this earth is ours. B
8. l S of trucks on ro-o aad^dj
Commentator: " The counter attack has been successful . The road
is f ree» Six men were f ive, Then Four were ÜXBX
three, but these three stayed , dug in and held the
ground. Along with all the other fours and threes
and twos that started out as six's, The bridge is
____ ours.
[Shot os trucks pas s ing j
Commentator "The road is flaveajf
j •'rrigation shots}
Commentator:"The water come s to bring more food *
* The road can carry it «"
j Shots off boy shootingj
CommentatorJ M The^Men who never fought before, who were not tr
trained in arms , who only wanted work and food ,
fight