Salt of the Earth. 1954. USA. Directed by Herbert Biberman. Screenplay by Michael Wilson. With Rosaura Revueltas, Juan Chacón, Will Geer, David Wolfe, David Sarvis, Mervin Williams. 35mm. In English, Spanish; English subtitles. 94 min.
During the Red Scare political persecution of the 1950s, director Herbert Biberman, producer Paul Jerrico, and screenwriter Michael Wilson were blacklisted in Hollywood for refusing to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee. After Biberman’s release from prison, they joined forces to create Salt of the Earth, one of the first independent productions outside of the studio system. Using professional and nonprofessional actors, the Neorealist, feminist, pro-labor film stages a strike of Mexican American miners over unequal wages and unsafe working conditions. Inspired by New Mexico’s 15-month-long Empire Zinc Strike, Salt of the Earth was denounced by Congress, investigated by the FBI, and scarcely shown in theaters before becoming a landmark of American independent cinema.