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Surviving the Dust Bowl

Surviving the Dust Bowl (1998)

9 | 02 Mar 1998 | Documentary

In 1931 the rains stopped and the "black blizzards" began. Powerful dust storms carrying millions of tons of stinging, blinding black dirt swept across the Southern Plains — the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, western Kansas, and the eastern portions of Colorado and New Mexico. Topsoil that had taken a thousand years per inch to build suddenly blew away in only minutes. One journalist traveling through the devastated region dubbed it the "Dust Bowl." This American Experience film presents the remarkable story of the determined people who clung to their homes and way of life, enduring drought, dust, disease — even death — for nearly a decade. Less well-known than those who sought refuge in California, typified by the Joad family in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," the Dust Bowlers who stayed overcame an almost unbelievable series of calamities and disasters.

Featured Crew

Molly Jacobs Associate Producer
Susan Bellows Producer
Susan Mottau Coordinating Producer
Mark Samels Executive Producer
David Steward Editor
Maria Nicolo Associate Producer
Glenn Fukushima Post-Production Manager
Russell Steward Motion Capture Artist
Chana Gazit Director
Michael Haines Sound Recordist

Surviving the Dust Bowl (1998) Cast & Crew

Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber
Narrator (voice)
Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Lawrence Svobida (voice)

Surviving the Dust Bowl (1998) Images

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