Salt of the Earth (1954 film)
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''Salt of the Earth'' is a 1954 American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by
Herbert J. Biberman Herbert J. Biberman (March 4, 1900 – June 30, 1971) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was one of the Hollywood Ten and directed '' Salt of the Earth'' (1954), a film barely released in the United States, about a zinc miners' st ...
, and produced by
Paul Jarrico Paul Jarrico (January 12, 1915 – October 28, 1997) was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism. Biography Early years Paul Jarrico was born in Los ...
. All had been
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
by the
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
establishment due to their alleged involvement in
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politics. The drama film is one of the first pictures to advance the
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
social and political point of view. Its plot centers on a long and difficult strike, based on the 1951 strike against the
Empire Zinc Company The Empire Zinc Company was a subsidiary of the New Jersey Zinc Company. It originally held claims in the Gilman Mining district in Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the W ...
in Grant County, New Mexico. In the film, the company is identified as "Delaware Zinc", and the setting is "Zinctown, New Mexico". The film shows how the miners, the company, and the police react during the strike. In neorealist style, the producers and director used actual miners and their families as actors in the film.


Plot

Esperanza Quintero (
Rosaura Revueltas Rosaura Revueltas Sánchez (August 6, 1910 – April 30, 1996) was a Mexican actress of screen and stage, and a dancer, author and teacher. Early life Rosaura Revueltas was born in Lerdo, Durango, Mexico to the famously artistic Revueltas famil ...
) is a
miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
's wife in Zinc Town, New Mexico, a community which is essentially run and owned by Delaware Zinc Inc. Esperanza is thirty-five years old, pregnant with her third child and emotionally dominated by her husband, Ramon Quintero (Juan Chacón). We know from her concern about her onomásticos or día de mi/su santo or Name Day that it is the 12th November as that is the onomásticos of persons named Esperanza. The majority of the miners are Mexican-Americans and want decent working conditions equal to those of white, or " Anglo" miners. The unionized workers go on strike, but the company refuses to negotiate and the impasse continues for months. Esperanza gives birth and, simultaneously, Ramon is beaten by police and jailed on bogus
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
charges following an altercation with a union worker who betrayed his fellows. When Ramon is released, Esperanza tells him that he's no good to her in jail. He counters that if the strike succeeds they will not only get better conditions right now but also win hope for their children's futures. The company presents a Taft-Hartley Act injunction to the union, meaning any miners who picket will be arrested. Taking advantage of a loophole, the wives picket in their husbands' places. Some men dislike this, seeing it as improper and dangerous. Esperanza is forbidden to picket by Ramon at first, but she eventually joins the line while carrying her baby. The sheriff, by company orders, arrests the leading women of the strike. Esperanza is among those taken to jail. When she returns home, Ramon tells her the strike is hopeless, as the company will easily outlast the miners. She insists that the union is stronger than ever and asks Ramon why he can't accept her as an equal in their marriage. Both angry, they sleep separately that night. The next day the company
evict Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgage ...
s the Quintero family from their house. The union men and women arrive to protest the eviction. Ramon tells Esperanza that they can all fight together. The mass of workers and their families proves successful in saving the Quinteros' home. The company admits defeat and plans to negotiate. Esperanza believes that the community has won something no company can ever take away and it will be inherited by her children.


Cast

Professional actors *
Rosaura Revueltas Rosaura Revueltas Sánchez (August 6, 1910 – April 30, 1996) was a Mexican actress of screen and stage, and a dancer, author and teacher. Early life Rosaura Revueltas was born in Lerdo, Durango, Mexico to the famously artistic Revueltas famil ...
as Esperanza Quintero * Will Geer as Sheriff * David Bauer as Barton (as David Wolfe) * Mervin Williams as Hartwell * David Sarvis as Alexander Non-professional actors * Juan Chacón as Ramon Quintero * Henrietta Williams as Teresa Vidal * Ernesto Velázquez as Charley Vidal * Ángela Sánchez as Consuelo Ruiz * Joe T. Morales as Sal Ruiz * Clorinda Alderette as Luz Morales * Charles Coleman as Antonio Morales * Virginia Jencks as Ruth Barnes *
Clinton Jencks Clinton Jencks (March 1, 1918 – December 15, 2005) was an American lifelong activist in labor and social justice causes, most famous for union organizing among New Mexico's miners, acting in the 1954 film '' Salt of the Earth'' (where he portra ...
as Frank Barnes * Víctor Torres as Sebasatian Prieto * E.A. Rockwell as Vance * William Rockwell as Kimbrough * Floyd Bostick as Jenkins * and other members of Mine-Mill Local 890


Production

The film was called 'subversive' and blacklisted because the
International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (IUMMSW) was a labor union representing miners and workers in related occupations in the United States and Canada. The union played an important role in the protection of workers and in d ...
sponsored it and many blacklisted Hollywood professionals helped produce it. The union had been expelled from the
CIO CIO may refer to: Organizations * Central Imagery Office, a predecessor of the American National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Central Intelligence Office, the national intelligence agency of the former Republic of Vietnam * Central Intellige ...
in 1950, over the alleged domination of its leadership by
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s. Director Herbert Biberman was one of the Hollywood screenwriters and directors who refused to answer the
House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
in 1947 on questions of affiliation to the
Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
. The '' Hollywood Ten'' were cited and convicted for
contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...
and jailed. Biberman was imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institution at Texarkana for six months. After his release he directed this film. Other participants who made the film and were blacklisted by the Hollywood studios include: Paul Jarrico, Will Geer, Rosaura Revueltas, and Michael Wilson. The producers cast only five professional actors. The rest were locals from Grant County, New Mexico, or members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 890, many of whom were part of the strike that inspired the plot. Juan Chacón, for example, was in real life a union local president. In the film he plays the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
, who has trouble dealing with women as equals. The director was reluctant to cast him at first, thinking he was too "gentle", but both Revueltas and the director's sister-in-law, Sonja Dahl Biberman, wife of Biberman's brother
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, urged him to cast Chacón as Ramon. The film was denounced by the United States House of Representatives for its communist sympathies, and the FBI investigated the film's financing. The
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
called for a nationwide
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
of the film. After its opening night in New York City, the film languished for 10 years because all but 12 theaters in the country refused to screen it. By one journalist's account: "During the course of production in New Mexico in 1953, the trade press denounced it as a subversive plot,
anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
vigilantes fired rifle shots at the set, the film's leading lady Rosaura Revueltas was deported to Mexico, and from time to time a small airplane buzzed noisily overhead ... The film, edited in secret, was stored for safekeeping in an anonymous wooden shack in Los Angeles."


Reception


Critical response

With McCarthyism in full force at the time of release, the Hollywood establishment did not embrace the film. Pauline Kael, who reviewed the film for ''
Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' in 1954, panned it as a simplistic left-wing "morality play" and said it was "as clear a piece of Communist
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
as we have had in many years." Bosley Crowther, film critic for '' The New York Times'', reviewed the picture favorably, both for its screenplay and direction, writing: "In the light of this agitated history, it is somewhat surprising to find that ''Salt of the Earth'' is, in substance, simply a strong pro-labor film with a particularly sympathetic interest in the Mexican-Americans with whom it deals....But the real dramatic crux of the picture is the stern and bitter conflict within the membership of the union. It is the issue of whether the women shall have equality of expression and of strike participation with the men. And it is along this line of contention that Michael Wilson's tautly muscled script develops considerable personal drama, raw emotion and power." Crowther called the film "a calculated social document". Michael Wilson, who worked under a ''nom de plume'' for some years afterwards, later won an Academy Award for the screenplay of '' Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957). The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on eleven reviews.


Accolades

*
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...
: Best Actress: Rosaura Revueltas;
Crystal Globe A Crystal Globe is a trophy given to the winners of various international competitions: In media * Crystal Globe (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), for films * Globe de Cristal Awards, for art and culture In sport Given to the season st ...
Award for Best Picture, Herbert J. Biberman, received '' Ex aequo'' also by '' True Friends''.
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
(Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia; 1954. * Academie du Cinema de Paris: International Grand Prize; 1955. * In 1992, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." * The film is preserved by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.


Later history

The film found an audience in both Western and Eastern Europe in the few years after its American release. The story of the film's suppression, as well as the events it depicted, inspired an
underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...
audience of unionists, leftists, feminists, Mexican-Americans, and
film historians A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
. The film found a new life in the 1960s and gradually reached larger audiences through union halls, women's associations, and
film schools A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ...
. The 50th anniversary of the film saw a number of commemorative conferences held across the United States. Around 1993, Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguistics professor and political commentator Noam Chomsky praised the film because of the way people were portrayed doing the real work of unions. According to Chomsky: " e real work is being done by people who are not known, that's always been true in every popular movement in history...I don't know how you get that across in a film. Actually, come to think of it, there are some films that have done it. I mean, I don't see a lot of visual stuff, so I'm not the best commentator, but I thought ''Salt of the Earth'' really did it. It was a long time ago, but at the time I thought that it was one of the really great movies—and of course it was killed, I think it was almost never shown." 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.


Other releases

On July 27, 1999, a digitally restored print of the film was released in DVD by Organa through Geneon (Pioneer), and packaged with the documentary ''
The Hollywood Ten ''The Hollywood Ten'' is a 1950 American 16mm short documentary film. In the film, each member of the Hollywood Ten made a short speech denouncing McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting. The film was directed by John Berry. After being na ...
'', which reported on the ten filmmakers who were blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
(HUAC). This Special Edition with the Hollywood Ten film is still available through Organa at organa.com. In 2004, a budget edition DVD was released by
Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...
. A
laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
version was released by the
Voyager Company The Voyager Company was a pioneer in CD-ROM production in the 1980s and early 1990s. In partnership with Janus Films, the company published The Criterion Collection, a pioneering home video collection of classic and important contemporary films on ...
in 1987 (catalog # VP1005L). Because the film's copyright was not renewed in 1982, the film is now in the public domain.


Adaptations

The film has been adapted into a two-act opera called ''Esperanza'' (Hope). The labor movement in Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin–Madison opera professor
Karlos Moser Karlos Moser is Professor Emeritus at University of Wisconsin–Madison, and an independent music professional. Education Born in western Brazil of missionary parents, Karlos Moser received his musical training in Denver, Colorado under Antonia Bri ...
commissioned the production. The music was written by David Bishop and the
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by Carlos Morton. The opera premiered in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2000, to positive reviews. A documentary titled ''A Crime to Fit the Punishment'', about the making of the film, was released in 1982 and was directed by Barbara Moss and Stephen Mack. A drama film, based on the making of the film, was chronicled in ''
One of the Hollywood Ten ''One of the Hollywood Ten'' is a 2000 Spanish-British bio-picture. The film was written and directed by Karl Francis. The drama focuses on screenwriter/director Herbert Biberman and his efforts to make what would become the historic political ...
'' (2000). It was produced and directed by
Karl Francis Karl Francis (born 1 April 1942) is a Welsh film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, sto ...
, starred Jeff Goldblum and Greta Scacchi, and was released in European countries on September 29, 2000. A fictionalized account of the movie's production featured prominently in the Audible original podcast series, ''The Big Lie (2022)''. Based on source material written by Paul Jerrico, the production features voice performances from Jon Hamm, Kate Mara, Ana de la Reguera, Bradley Whitford, John Slattery, Giancarlo Esposito, and David Strathairn, and was written by
John Mankiewicz John Mankiewicz (born February 18, 1954) is an American television and film executive producer and screenwriter. He was co-executive producer for ''House of Cards'' and '' Bosch'', he co-created the television series ''The Street'' and has writte ...
and Jamie Napoli.


See also

* ''
The Hollywood Ten ''The Hollywood Ten'' is a 1950 American 16mm short documentary film. In the film, each member of the Hollywood Ten made a short speech denouncing McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting. The film was directed by John Berry. After being na ...
'', documentary film *
Jencks Act In the United States, the Jencks Act () provides that the prosecutor is required to produce a verbatim statement or report made by a government witness or prospective government witness (other than the defendant), but only after the witness has test ...
* ''
Jencks v. United States ''Jencks v. United States'', 353 U.S. 657 (1957), is a U.S. Supreme Court case. The court held that the government must produce documents relied upon by government witnesses in federal criminal procedures. The petitioner, Clinton Jencks appealed, ...
'' * Labor history *
The Ladies Auxiliary of the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers The Ladies' Auxiliaries (LA) of the International Union Mine Mill and Smelter Workers (IUMMSW) were women's organizations in the United States of America and Canada associated with local units of the IUMMSW. Women active in the Auxiliaries were ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * ''Salt of the Earth: The Story of a Film'', by Herbert J. Biberman. Harbor Electronic Publishing, New York (2nd edition, 2004): 1965. See
''Cineaste'' review of book

Scott Henkel and Vanessa Fonseca. "Fearless Speech and the Discourse of Civility in ''Salt of the Earth''." ''Chiricú'', vol. 1, no. 1, 2016, pp. 19–38


Further reading

* Caballero, Raymond. ''McCarthyism vs. Clinton Jencks''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.


External links

*
''Salt of the Earth'' at Metacritic
* * *
''Salt of the Earth''
segment at NPR
''Salt of the Earth''
article and references for research by Michael Selig *
''Salt of the Earth Recovery Project''
website recovering Salt of the Earth {{DEFAULTSORT:Salt Of The Earth 1954 films 1950s feminist films 1950s independent films 1950s political drama films American black-and-white films American independent films American political drama films Censored films Crystal Globe winners Film censorship in the United States Film controversies in the United States Films about the labor movement Films directed by Herbert Biberman Films scored by Sol Kaplan Films set in mining communities Films set in New Mexico Films shot in New Mexico Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer) History of labor relations in the United States McCarthyism Films about Mexican Americans Films about mining Social realism in film 1950s Spanish-language films United States National Film Registry films 1954 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films