Country Debuts: Iowa Time Machine September 28, 1984

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On September 28, 1984, the movie “Country” debuted in theaters. Shot on location in Dunkerton and Readlyn, Iowa, the film follows the trials and tribulations of a rural family during Iowa's 1980s Farm Crisis.

William D. Wittliff wrote the film, which starred real-life couple Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. Richard Pearce directed the film. Jessica Lange, who served as actress and producer, conceived the idea for Country, citing a desire to make a contemporary version of The Grapes of Wrath based on her discussions with several midwestern farmers and several newspaper articles chronicling the struggles farmers faced in the 1980s.

Then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan stated in his personal diary that this film "was a blatant propaganda message against our agri programs.” Some members of the U.S. Congress took the film so seriously that they brought Jessica Lange before a congressional panel to testify as an expert on living on family farms.

In addition to the Congressional summons, Lange also garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination. #Iowa #OTD #History #Film #Movies