In the depths of the Great Depression, the US Government produced a series of films about the pressing problems facing the nation - drought, flood, poverty and slums. Starting with a minuscule initial budget of $6,000, Lorentz, a young film critic from New York who had never made a motion picture, was hired to head the project. The first fruit of his labour, The Plow That Broke The Plains, was a moving and dramatic account of the Dust Bowl which met with immediate public and critical acclaim.