Rosaura Revueltas - Blacklistees

Blacklistees

Herbert J. Biberman was part of the Hollywood Ten blacklistees, and his wife, Gale Sondergaard's successful film career ended. Michael Wilson, the film writer, and Paul Jarrico, the producer, were also blacklisted. The Hollywood ten was a group of men who were blacklisted for allegedly/potentially being Communists, and who, because of this labeling, were unable to find work in Hollywood for many years. Revueltas suffered the wrath of the Red Scare. During the filming of Salt of the Earth Revueltas was arrested by immigration officials on an alleged passport violation and was forced to return to Mexico. It was after that exile she was labeled a Communist. The rest of Salt of the Earth had to be filmed using a double for Revueltas. She never worked on an American film again. Revueltas once said that "ince had no evidence to present of my 'subversive' character, I can only conclude that I was 'dangerous' because I had been playing a role that gave status and dignity to the character of a Mexican-American woman."

In Crowther's New York Times review of Salt of the Earth, he says, "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. True, it frankly implies that the mine operators have taken advantage of the Mexican-born or descended laborers, have forced a "speed up" in their mining techniques and given them less respectable homes than provided the so-called 'Anglo' laborers. It slaps at brutal police tactics in dealing with strikers and it gets in some rough, sarcastic digs at the attitude of 'the bosses' and the working of the Taft-Hartley Law."

Salt of the Earth was the only movie to ever be blacklisted during the "Communist Scare" of the 1950s (aka McCarthyism). It was selected however for the National Film Registry in 1992, thirty-eight years after its original release. In 1956, at the Académie du cinéma de Paris, Revueltas received the Best Actress award for her performance. She moved to Germany in 1957, and lived there until 1960, when she moved back to her native country. While in Germany, Revueltas worked with playwright Bertold Brecht in his theatre. After moving back to Mexico in 1960, Revueltas began taking acting classes and also began to write plays. It was not until 1976 that Revueltas made another film. Her first film since she was blacklisted was Mina, viento de libertad (Mina, Wind of Freedom). In that same year she also played Tía Licha in Lo Mejor de Teresa (The Best of Teresa). Her final film was made in 1977, entitled Balun Canan.