The Suppression of Salt of the Earth: How Hollywood, Big Labor, and Politicians Blacklisted a Movie in the American Cold War - Softcover

Lorence, James J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826320287 ISBN 13: 9780826320285

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 1999

Synopsis

This impassioned history tells a story of censorship and politics during the early Cold War. The author recounts the 1950 Empire Zinc Strike in Bayard, New Mexico, the making of the extraordinary motion picture Salt of the Earth by Local 890 of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, and the film's suppression by Hollywood, federal and state governments, and organized labor. This disturbing episode reflects the intense fear that gripped America during the Cold War and reveals the unsavory side of the rapprochement between organized labor and big business in the 1950s. In the face of intense political opposition, blackballed union activists, blacklisted Hollywood artists and writers, and Local 890 united to write a script, raise money, hire actors and crews, and make and distribute the film. Rediscovered in the 1970s, Salt of the Earth is a revealing celluloid document of socially conscious unionism that sought to break down racial barriers, bridge class divisions, and emphasize the role of women. Lorence has interviewed participants in the strike and film such as Clinton Jencks and Paul Jarrico and has consulted private and public archives to reconstruct the story of this extraordinary documentary and the coordinated efforts to suppress it.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Examines the conception, production, distribution, and suppression of the pioneering labor-feminist film made during the virulently anti-communist era of the Cold War.

About the Author:

James J. Lorence is professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin, Marathon County.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0826320287
• ISBN 13: 9780826320285
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 295