Salt of the Earth (1954)
1954 · Feature film · 94 min · dir. Herbert J. Biberman
At last, an honest movie about American working people
- Drama
- History
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.
Synopsis from TMDb
Details
- Director
- Herbert J. Biberman
- Writer
- Michael Wilson
- Composer
- Sol Kaplan
- Cinematography
- Stanley Meredith
- Studio
- Independent Production Company (IPC)
- Released
- 1954-03-14
- Running time
- 94 minutes
Cast & crew
Herbert J. Biberman Director
Rosaura Revueltas
Juan Chacón
Will Geer
David Bauer- Mervin Williams
- David Sarvis
- Clinton Jencks
- Virginia Jencks
Reviews on the Internet Archive
very independent film · netsexmuseum · 2026-06-09
written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, produced by Paul Jarrico. all three men were blacklisted in the '50s red scare. an independent film made outside of the Hollywood studio system.
