Original subtitles

July, 1953.

Wheat, the bread of our people, has ripened.

Thanks and respect to our working peasantry,

the warriors of a bountiful wheat harvest.

HARVEST IN OROSHÁZA

PHOTOGRAPHY:

MUSIC:

EDITING: PRODUCTION MANAGER:

COLORING WORK:

PRODUCED BY The Hungarian News And Documentary Film Factory

DIRECTED BY MIKLÓS JANCSÓ

The red flag is raised on the Orosháza Dózsa's watchtower,

thereby signaling the beginning of the harvest.

Members of the Dózsa supply 3000 tons of cereals,

providing bread to nearly 10,000 of the country's workers.

Orosháza in the pulsating moments of harvest preparations.

Combine harvesters, the heavy artillery of the harvest battle

are ready to be deployed.

János Pastyán, the best combine driver,

is heading to the brigade accommodations.

At the center of the harvest battle, at the brigade accommodations.

Here, they have to prepare for the uninterrupted

transportation of 100s of wagons of cereals.

Each piece of equipment, person, team and machine

must be in position for the beginning of the harvest.

Mihály Horváth, chairman of the Dózsa, is a mindful farmer.

No machine goes unchecked.

Brigade chief Gyula Szemci

is helped by his son, a lieutenant on furlough.

Members surround the combine affectionately as it arrives at the site.

Their handshakes compel comrade Pastyán to great deeds.

The two old friends meet again.

Two years earlier, both had been driving tractors.

The day before harvest begins, the expected yield is estimated.

This wheat field promises

2 tons by acre.

The 9 acres of József Szalai, a former middle peasant,

had never had such a yield.

It's the fantastic result of joint efforts.

Joint efforts made the golden ears heavier.

Reapers didn't have much to do this year.

The bulk of the 1500 acres of cereal fields were harvested by machines.

The horse-drawn reaper-balers

cut as much in a day

as scythes would in a week.

But this isn't enough for this year's harvest.

Machinery workers improved the performance

of the reaper with an ingenious innovation.

They put together a bale-collecting cart

so the machine wouldn't strew bales everywhere.

With her colleagues, Éva Szemenyei was careful

to make sure that no ear is lost.

Dózsa pioneers proudly display their harvest

to brigade chief Polecska.

When the sun is at its zenith,

a huge field of wheat is already organized in crosses

in the fields of Orosháza.

For lunch, workers no longer eat out of their satchels.

The cooperative's kitchen provides a hot, tasty meal

to each worker.

Meanwhile, the youngest generation

is having a hearty snack at the seasonal daycare.

The harvested cereals are in danger.

Each minute of delay threatens an irreplaceable loss.

Comrade Pastyán is faced with an ordeal.

Some say that machines cannot harvest leaning wheat.

And yet he attempts the impossible.

But the wheat remains wet.

The machine twists the wheat, but does not reap it.

The cutter bar must be lowered.

Another failure.

Were the naysayers right?

But János Pastyán won't give up.

He fits his machine with ear lifters.

They finally succeed.

Albeit more slowly and carefully,

the harvester nicely reaps the leaning wheat,

delivering 70 reapers from grueling work.

Tractors follow in the combine's wake on the stubble.

The field is like a large factory.

The drivers are guided via radio from a control post.

Hello? This is chairman Horváth.

I request a yield report.

This is driver Pastyán.

We have threshed 18 tons, I'll carry on in gear 6.

In gear 6, he pushes his machine to go even faster,

threshing over 30 tons of wheat on this day,

ranking among the best combine drivers in the country.

Chairman Horváth and party secretary Juhász

roam the 4000 acres of land from dawn till dusk.

A mindful farmer doesn't just oversee the speed of machinery.

The amount of wheat threshed mirrors the driver's performance.

Pastyán's machine reaps the wheat nicely and threshes it cleanly.

Let's see the straw. How many grains are there left in it?

Comrade Horváth can be satisfied with the result.

Pastyán's machine operates with minimal grain losses.

This is driver Martuc.

We are moving to a new field.

I promise we won't be left behind by János Pastyán.

As the harvest goes on, things speed up.

As they move forward, no wheat is left standing.

Following the feverish pace of this superb performance,

the wheat is transported loose to make transportation quicker

and so the machines don't stop for a second.

The processing area's workers had to process

nearly 100 wagons of wheat on this day.

Threshing was no easier.

During the first days, the Petőfi brigade threshed over 60 tons of cereals.

Comrade Szalai reporting on July 23, 1953.

50 fully loaded carts are ready to leave.

This is a holiday in Orosháza,

even though it's not marked in red in the calendar.

The Dózsa sends its first cereals

to the homeland and to its proletarian brothers and sisters.

The workers of the cooperative have held their own in the battle.

Their great deeds have contributed to the government program,

laying the foundations of a rapid increase in the standard of living.

The day of the handover, festivities took place in Orosháza.

As a token of its loyalty to the homeland and the party,

the cooperative Dózsa hands a wheat wreath

to the local party committee.

COOPERATIVES FOR SOCIALIST AGRICULTURE

This long, meandering line of carts is transporting wheat to the members' homes.

Comrade Pastyán didn't grapple with the leaning wheat for nothing.

As a just reward, he gets to load up on cereals.

At the Szalais' home, 3 carts drop off 3 tons of cereals.

The family is overjoyed.

This first year of joint efforts

has already yielded more than work as a lone farmer.

Members help each other bring the wheat home.

Comrade Szalai brings Mr. Szakodi his share, 4 tons.

After carrying the bags, a toast feels good.

"Szalai, my neighbor, let's make sure

there is even more wheat next year."

The wheat sowed with so much care, watched with a fearful eye,

and for which

the whole cooperative worked so hard is turned into bread.

Take a big bite out of it, Lacika.

There will be more than enough for you and everyone else.

THE END