Salt of the Earth (1954)

Director:

Herbert J. Biberman

Writer:

Michael Wilson (by)

Release Date:

14 March 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Banned! The film the US government didn't want you to see!

Plot:

Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers...

Plot Keywords:

Strike | Feminism | New Mexico | Mexican American | Dignity

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Will Geer	...	Sheriff
David Wolfe	...	Barton
Mervin Williams	...	Hartwell
David Sarvis	...	Alexander
Rosaura Revueltas	...	Esperanza Quintero
E.A. Rockwell	...	Vance
William Rockwell	...	Kimbrough
Juan Chacón	...	Ramon Quintero (as Juan Chacon)
Henrietta Williams	...	Teresa Vidal
Ángela Sánchez	...	Consuelo Ruiz (as Angela Sanchez)
Clorinda Alderette	...	Luz Morales
Virginia Jencks	...	Ruth Barnes
Clinton Jencks	...	Frank Barnes
Joe T. Morales	...	Sal Ruiz
Ernesto Velázquez	...	Charley Vidal (as Ernest Velasquez)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:13 | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bayard, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Independent Production Company (IPC)

Trivia:

This movie was the only blacklisted film ever in American film history. It was blacklisted during the 1950s during the height of the Cold War scare.

Quotes:

Esperanza Quintero: [opening narration] How shall I begin my story that has no beginning? My name is Esperanza, Esperanza Quintero. I am a miner's wife. This is our home. The house is not ours. But the flowers... the flowers are ours. This is my village. When I was a child, it was called San Marcos...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brush with Life: The Art of Being Edward Biberman (2007)

Soundtrack:

We Shall Not be Moved

Movies these days don't kick up as much dust as this one.

I had never worked a day of construction until the Summer of 2001. I applied, got hired, and immediately recieved rank of apprentice under the dumbest white guy I'd ever met. While I'm trying to learn maps and numbers, all the minorities were grouped together for the grunt work. I didn't know it, but it seems that there is a war between the whites and the Mexicans on most construction sites, and apparently the port-a-johns are used as the venue for slanderous discussion. Salt of the Earth is almost fifty years old. It illustrates inequality between whites & Chicanos, male & female, and rich & poor. Is it possible that fifty years later nothing has changed? We've achieved nothing as a human race. Sadly, this lack of achievement is what allows this film to have great meaning to modern-day viewers like myself. I've got a tag line for this movie: "Don't fight 'til the end. Fight to win."