Editing The Good Earth (film) (section)

==Reception==
Contemporary reviews were positive.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} [[Frank Nugent|Frank S. Nugent]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the film as "a superb translation of a literary classic ... one of the finest things Hollywood has done this season or any other. While it has taken some liberties with the novel's text, it has taken none with its quality or spirit."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173FE464BC4B53DFB466838C629EDE |title=Movie Review – The Good Earth |last=Nugent |first=Frank S. |author-link=Frank  Nugent |date=February 3, 1937 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 31, 2015 }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' declared it "a remarkable screen production" and called Muni's performance "splendid", but questioned whether the subject matter would make for good box office.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 10, 1937 |title=Film Reviews |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |location=New York |publisher=Variety, Inc. |page=14 }}</ref> ''[[Film Daily]]'' raved, "A 'must see' picture, possessing absorbing drama, passionate sincerity and brilliant performance."<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 3, 1937 |title=Reviews of the New Films |journal=[[Film Daily]] |location=New York |publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. |page=9 }}</ref> [[John Mosher (writer)|John Mosher]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' called it "a vast and rich film."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 6, 1937 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |location=New York |publisher=F-R Publishing Corp. |page=59 }}</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' described it as "a highly artistic piece of work," and while not exactly an entertaining picture, "those who see it will undoubtedly be awed by its magnificence."<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 13, 1937 |title=The Good Earth |journal=[[Harrison's Reports]] |location=New York |publisher=Harrison's Reports, Inc. |page=3 }}</ref>

Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'' in the UK, [[Graham Greene]] gave the film a mixed good review, characterizing the first half of the film as "simple and direct and true", but complaining that the second half displays "a little less than life" and that the last hour was permeated by "banality and ennui". Discussing the actors, Greene praised Rainer for a "beautiful performance" that "carries the film", and criticized Muni's performance as exaggerated and "not of the same quality" as Rainer's.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= April 2, 1937|title= The Good Earth/Dark Journey|journal= [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book |editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell |editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url=https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree|url-access= registration|publisher= Oxford University Press|pages= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/140 140]–141|isbn=0-19-281286-6}})</ref>