SALT OF THE EARTH

 "SALT OF THE EARTH"   (1954) 

MY THOUGHTS: This is a very interesting and well-done film. It is also an important one. The film was called 'subversive' and blacklisted because the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers sponsored it and many blacklisted Hollywood professionals helped produce it. The union had been expelled from the CIO in 1950, over the alleged domination of its leadership by communists. It is doubtful that any other American movie inspired such official harassment and outright intimidation as “Salt of the Earth.”

SYNOPSIS: "At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home."

STARRING: Juan Chacon, Mervin Williams, Henrietta Williams, Virginia Jencks, Rosaura Revueltas and Frank Talevera.

SCREENPLAY: Michael Wilson

DIRECTOR: Herbert J. Biberman

AWARDS & OTHER HONORS:

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: "Best Actress": Rosaura Revueltas

Crystal Globe Award: "Best Picture": Herbert J. Biberman

Academie du Cinema de Paris: "International Grand Prize - 1955."

In 1992, it was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry at The Library of Congress.

The film was also preserved by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The film found a new life in the 1960s and gradually reached larger audiences through union halls, women's associations, and film schools.

The 50th anniversary of the film saw a number of commemorative conferences held across the United States.

The "Salt of the Earth Labor College" located in Tucson, Arizona is named after the film. The pro-labor institution (not a college per se) holds various lectures and forums related to unionism and economic justice. The film is screened on a frequent basis.