English: Ernest Hemingway with Soviet and German intellectuals Ilya Ehrenburg and Gustav Regler, working on the propaganda film The Spanish Earth, Spain, 1937. Ernest Hemingway's role on the Spanish Civil War started in 1937, when he reached a deal with the North American Newspaper Alliance to cover the war while filming The Spanish Earth, a propaganda film in favour of the Republicans. In Madrid, Hemingway wrote his only play, The Fifth Column, while the capital was being bombarded by Fascist planes. After a short rest, he returned to the front twice, even covering the Battle of the Ebro, where he was one of the last journalists to cross the river during the massive Republican retreat.