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Salt of the Earth
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Salt of the Earth (1954) More at IMDbPro »

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Salt of the Earth (1954) -- Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers...

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   910 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 23% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Michael Biberman (writer)
Michael Wilson (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Salt of the Earth on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 March 1954 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Banned! The film the US government didn't want you to see! more
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... more | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins more
User Comments:
Holds up surprisingly well more

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 Velaquez)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
94 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Spanish
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
Bayard, New Mexico, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was made by blacklisted director Herbert J. Biberman, screenwriter Michael Wilson, producer Paul Jarrico and composer Sol Kaplan largely in retaliation to the fact that they had been blacklisted. They reasoned that since they weren't allowed to work in Hollywood, they might as well make a film as pro-Communist as possible to fit the crime of which they had been accused. more
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... more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Crime to Fit the Punishment (1982) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 36 people found the following comment useful:-
Holds up surprisingly well, 20 October 2003
Author: laursene from New York NY

Despite the crap the filmmakers had to endure to get this one done, it took its share of pans when it came out: A pious piece of agitprop full of too-good-to-be-true and too-bad-to-be-believed stick figures, etc etc. Today, it holds up well - first, its use of "real" locations and "real" people appears more valuable in a documentary sense the farther away we get from the time it was made. Second, the production values, especially the cinematography - the Blacklist claimed some of the more talented technicians in Hollywood, and Salt of the Earth benefits richly from their work.

Third, the themes remain quite relevant. When we see footage of, say Bolivian coca growers taking to the streets to overthrow their country's US-sponsored tycoon president, what's so surprising about a community of Mexican American workers standing in solidarity against an exploitative mining company? When we see Justice for Janitors bringing the owners of LA's office towers to the table (at least), what's so far-fetched about workers in Salt of the Earth grabbing a bit of justice for themselves? I could go on.

From the vantage point of 2003, Salt of the Earth looks like a refreshing change. Agitprop is news to a lot of people today - it can be powerful if done well, yet we're now all conditioned to think that any form of dramatic art that doesn't center obsessively on the isolated individual is false and/or sentimental. Is Salt of the Earth really more sentimental than On the Waterfront (made about the same time), in which a corruption struggle on the New Jersey docks serves merely as the scenery for Marlon Brando's emoting about his boxing career?? Come on!!

People who stand in solidarity really are powerful. Americans are taught not to think so, but it's when they stand up together, not separately, that they win the biggest victories (and I don't mean in uniform, either).

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Watch/Download Salt of the Earth for Free! mrreece5
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I was there when this movie was filmed baboquivri
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