SALT OF THE EARTH - Salt of the Earth is a 1954 American film created by three Hollywood creatives. Michael Wilson, Herbert Biberman, and Paul Jarrico were all blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Salt of the Earth was one of the first fully independent films made outside of the Hollywood studio system. Its plot centers on the 1951 miners’ strike in New Mexico. Shot in a style influenced by Italian Neorealism and making atmospheric use of New Mexico's landscapes, Salt of the Earth employed mostly local miners and their families as actors. The name of the film is an allusion to the phrase "salt of the earth", used by Jesus in the Serman on the Mount.