Abstract
The upheaval triggered by Salt of the Earth may come as a surprise to the modern viewer. As the New York Times film critic of the time put it: "it is somewhat surprising to find that Salt of the Earth is, in substance, simply a strong pro-labor film with a particularly sympathetic interest in the Mexican-Americans with whom it deals." Of course, the hostility to the film comes largely from its socialist sympathies and its pro-labor depiction of the miners' strike in the context of the emerging Cold War and McCarthyism: the film had been written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman and produced by Paul Jarrico who had all been blacklisted in the beginning of the fifties. Projectionists were pressured not to show the film which could only be seen in twelve theatres in the Unites States. The House of Representatives itself criticized the film for its communist views and the film's financing was under the investigation of the FBI.
