I am ashamed to say I had never heard of this movie until last week, when I finally read Danny Peary's terrific book, "Alternate Oscars." I was stunned to see that for 1954, Peary picked a movie I had never heard of ahead of the winner, "On the Waterfront." I ordered a copy from Amazon and finally was able to sit down and watch it tonight. I had read many of the comments posted here, and of course some of them talked about the "communist" propaganda in this movie.
It may have been radical for the '50s to stand up for the rights of laborers, Chicanos and women, but if it was anything, it was a little ahead of its time. All this movie is about is Mexican-American working men asking to be treated the same as Anglos, and women asking to have a voice in their families' lives.
When you realize this movie was made on a shoestring, almost completely with blacklisted people, the accomplishment is truly stunning.
As much as anything that made this movie ahead of its time, it's the feminist subplot that made this movie radical.
I'm not surprised it was banned during the McCarthy era. Its banning says far more about what was wrong with America at that time than anything about the movie itself.
Rosuara Revueltas gives an amazing performance as the miner's wife. She was deported to Mexico for starring in this film and not only did she never make another movie in the U.S., she didn't act again in Mexico until 1976.
It may have been radical for the '50s to stand up for the rights of laborers, Chicanos and women, but if it was anything, it was a little ahead of its time. All this movie is about is Mexican-American working men asking to be treated the same as Anglos, and women asking to have a voice in their families' lives.
When you realize this movie was made on a shoestring, almost completely with blacklisted people, the accomplishment is truly stunning.
As much as anything that made this movie ahead of its time, it's the feminist subplot that made this movie radical.
I'm not surprised it was banned during the McCarthy era. Its banning says far more about what was wrong with America at that time than anything about the movie itself.
Rosuara Revueltas gives an amazing performance as the miner's wife. She was deported to Mexico for starring in this film and not only did she never make another movie in the U.S., she didn't act again in Mexico until 1976.