Native Land

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User Ratings: 85

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Rotten: 0

Average Rating: 3.3/5

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Movie Info

The exigencies of the first Hollywood "Red Scare", fomented by the Martin Dies committee, prompted the US Senate Civil Liberties Committee to produce Native Land, a 1942 paean to the Four Freedoms. Narrated by Paul Robeson, the film employs a cast of familiar if not stellar character actors in a story of how certain enemies within the US have done their best to suppress their fellow citizens' rights to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and freedom from want. The villains are the usual run of fat-cat capitalists, bigoted "patriots" and strikebreakers, while the heroes and heroines are farmers, sharecroppers, union leaders, minorities and the like. The screenplay leans towards the dogmatic at times, but the actors are sincere and the rousing musical score by Marc Blitztein (and old hand at this sort of agit-prop entertainment) is first-rate. Not suprisingly, many of the contributors to Native Land--Art Smith, Howard Da Silva et. al.-ended up being blacklisted during the Communist "Witch Hunt" of the 1950s.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Drama, Special Interest
Directed By:

Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand, Leo T. Hurwitz
Written By:

Ben Maddow
In Theaters:

May 11, 1942 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Mar 30, 1994
Runtime:

80 minutes
Studio:

Frontier Pictures

Cast

Fred Johnson
as The Farmer

Mary George
as The Farmer's Wife

John Rennick
as Hill's Son

Howard Da Silva
as Jim

Amelia Romano
as Slavey

Louis Grant
as Sharecropper

James Hanney
as Union President

Art Smith
as Vice President

Richard Bishop
as Spy Executive

Tom Pedi
as Member

Bert Conway
as Member

Charles Jordan
as Contact Man

Vaughn King
as Wife of President

Robert Strauss
as Grocer

Dolores Cornell
as Little Girl

John Marlieb
as Thug

Tom Connors
as Joseph Shoemaker

Harry Wilson
as Poulnot

Charles Webber
as Minister

Virginia Stevens
as Widow

Clancy Cooper
as Speaker

Paul Robeson
as Narrator

Houseley Stevenson Sr.
as Sharecropper

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Critic Reviews for Native Land

All Critics (3) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (0) | DVD (2)

Manifestly, this is one of the most powerful and disturbing documentary films ever made, and certainly it will provoke much thought and controversy.

Mar 25, 2006 | Full Review…

Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic
If you subscribe, as I do, to the notion that the most "dated" films are often the ones that have the most to teach us about their respective periods, you shouldn't miss this singular work.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
Based on US Senate Civil Liberties Commission records and other public documents, this is American propaganda at its finest.

Sep 19, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide

View All Critic Reviews (3)

Audience Reviews for Native Land

"Native Land" is a rousing call to action, featuring dramatized vignettes of true stories of those who risked everything to fight for their right to freedom of speech in organizing labor against big business during the Great Depression. Of special interest is the fact that the movie does not stop there, as it is also for an integrated brotherhood, open to all, while also warning about the dangers of the terrorist Ku Klux Klan. As you can see, "Native Land" is a movie that is well ahead of its time that goes beyond the accomplished way it is filmed with more than its fair share of suspenseful scenes. And as much as things have changed for the better in the decades since this movie was made, it is still relevant today as unions can still be important in this day and age where most of the workers are unorganized and issues like a working wage and health care remain paramount. Plus, Paul Robeson narrates and sings. How cool is that!

Walter M.

Super Reviewer

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