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Summary:

Inspired by the 1938 report of the La Follette Civil Liberties Committee's investigation into the repression of labor organizing, Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand's biting and beautiful Native Land (1942, though largely shot between '37 and '39) combines documentary footage with staged reenactments to depict the struggle of trade unions against corporations, their spies and contractors. Legendary singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson narrates the film through words and song, lending the work a sense of powerful gravitas. In part a progressive response to the patriotic newsreel series The March of Time, Hurwitz and Strand (alongside their documentary filmmaking collective, Frontier Films) divided the majority of the film into four parts, all based on real events: the murders of a union farmer in Michigan and a labor organizer in Cleveland; the shooting down of two Southern sharecroppers (one black, one white) by deputies; a brutal Ku Klux Klan rally in which members tar and feather progressive political candidates; and the Republic Steel Massacre of 1937. Interwoven with these sequences are dramatizations of the workings of labor union spies, as well as slice-of-life montages meant to illustrate the themes of liberty, freedom, and industrial modernization.

Contributors:

Hurwitz, Leo T., 1909-1991 , director, producer

Strand, Paul, 1890-1976 , director, producer

Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976 , narrator

Frontier Films (New York, N.Y.) , production company, presenter, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/prn, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/pre

Flicker Alley (Firm) , distributor, http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/dst

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

In English.

Subjects:

Labor unions — United States — History — 20th century

Human rights — United States — History — 20th century

Civil rights — United States — History — 20th century

Democracy — United States — History — 20th century

1900-1999

Human rights

Civil rights

Democracy

Labor unions

United States

Genres:

Feature films

Documentary-style films

Fiction films

Documentary films

Historical films

Online media

Internet videos

History

Performers:

Paul Robeson, narrator ; commentary by David Wolff.
Cast: Fred Johnson, Mary George, John Rennick, Amelia Romano, Housely Stevens, Louis Grant, James Hanney, Howard DaSylva, Art Smith.

General Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed December 11, 2017).
Streaming media.
Restricted to the University of North Texas System.
Won 1942 National Board of Review, Best Documentary

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 video file (89 mins.))

Digital Characteristics:

video file

Call Numbers:

Online Video

OCLC Numbers:

1022750172

Other Control Numbers:

3564069 (source: VaAlASP)
[Unknown Type]: ASP3564069/avon