Salt of the Earth was written, directed, and produced by three men who were blacklisted by Hollywood because of their supposed involvement in Communist politics. Michael Wilson, Herbert J. Biberman, and Paul Jarrico still managed to make a thoughtful, independent film without the help of Hollywood. Creating a movie in 2025 with a feminist viewpoint and telling the true story of a strike by Mexican-American miners would create an uproar and battles across social media in today’s world, but they did it in 1954.

The movie opens with this:

“Our scene is New Mexico

Land of the free Americans who inspired this film

Home of the brave Americans who played most of its roles”

. . .

The company owns everything so they use the law to evict Ramon and Esperanza and seize all their belongings. But the community had something to say about that. Esperanza gets the last word.

“Then I knew we had won something that they could never take away. Something I could leave to my children, and they, the salt of the Earth will inherit it.”

Salt of the Earth is available with subscription on MGM+, Prime, Sling and Fubo TV. Free on YouTube. Free with ads on Tubi, Plex and Pluto TV.

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