Salt of the Earth (1954)
“The film they tried to bury.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
Made outside the studio system by blacklisted talent, Salt of the Earth dramatizes a real 1951 New Mexico mine strike with a largely non-professional cast of actual miners and their families. It was among the first American films to advance an explicitly feminist viewpoint. The production was harassed at every turn yet became a landmark of independent and labor cinema.
Cast
About the Director
Herbert J. Biberman — Herbert J. Biberman, one of the Hollywood Ten, directed under extraordinary pressure, with his lead actress Rosaura Revueltas deported before filming finished. He cast real miners to ground the film in documentary authenticity.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Salt of the Earth is in the US public domain because its copyright was not renewed in 1982, the 28th year after its 1954 release. Independently produced by IPC (not a major studio), the lapse left it freely usable; it was added to the National Film Registry in 1992.
Behind the Scenes
Producer Paul Jarrico, writer Michael Wilson, and director Biberman were all blacklisted, making this one of the first fully independent features of the era. Its production was opposed by the industry, unions, and the federal government.
Did You Know?
- Lead actress Rosaura Revueltas was deported to Mexico during production; remaining scenes were shot there and smuggled into the edit.
- The film was effectively suppressed in the US for years, screening in only a handful of theaters.
- The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1992.
Reception & Legacy
Boycotted and barely released in 1954, the film was long unseen in America but championed abroad and later embraced as a classic of political and feminist cinema. It is now taught in universities and screened at labor events.
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