Salt of the Earth (1954)

Mexican workers at a Zinc mine call a general strike. It is only through the solidarity of the workers, and importantly the indomitable resolve of their wives, mothers and daughters, that they eventually triumph.

Director:

Herbert J. Biberman

Writer:

Michael Wilson (by)

Stars:

Juan Chacón, Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Geer	...	Sheriff
David Wolfe	...	Barton
David Sarvis	...	Alexander
Mervin Williams	...	Hartwell
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
Ernest Velasquez	...	Charley Vidal (as Ernest Velasquez)

Storyline

Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers, who struck to attain wage parity with Anglo workers in other mines and to be treated with dignity by the bosses. In the end, the greatest victory for the workers and their families is the realization that prejudice and poor treatment are conditions that are not always imposed by outside forces.

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Plot Keywords:

zinc mine | strike | new mexico | solidarity | scab | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 March 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

La sal de la tierra

Filming Locations:

Bayard, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Productions, The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

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Goofs

CC on the TCM broadcast misidentifies a music snippet as "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," but it is actually "John Brown's Body" [aka "Battle Hymn of the Republic"].

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Quotes

Esperanza Quintero: Whose neck shall I stand on to make me feel superior, and what will I have out of it? I don't want anything lower than I am. I am low enough already. I want to rise and to push everything up with me as I go.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: our scene is NEW MEXICO LAND OF THE FREE AMERICANS WHO INSPIRED THIS FILM

HOME OF THE BRAVE AMERICANS WHO PLAYED MOST OF ITS ROLES.

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Connections

Referenced in A Crime to Fit the Punishment (1982)

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Soundtracks

We Shall Not be Moved
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by the women on the picket line

User Reviews

Holds up surprisingly well

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).