Salt of the Earth (1954 film)

Salt of the Earth
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Herbert J. Biberman
Screenplay by	Michael Wilson
Produced by	Paul Jarrico
Starring	Rosaura Revueltas Will Geer David Wolfe Mervin Williams David Sarvis Ernesto Velázquez Juan Chacón Henrietta Williams
Cinematography	Stanley Meredith Leonard Stark
Edited by	Joan Laird Ed Spiegel
Music by	Sol Kaplan
Distributed by	Independent Productions
Release date	March 14, 1954 (1954-03-14) (New York City)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Spanish
Budget	$250,000

Salt of the Earth is a 1954 American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics.^[1]

The drama film is one of the first pictures to advance the feminist 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 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.^[2] In 1992, the film was added to the National Film Registry.