Native Land

Plot

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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Although Native Land is propaganda, which ultimately mitigates its effectiveness as drama, it's still a powerful film. Based on actual incidents reported at hearings held by the U.S. Senate Civil Liberties Committee, Native makes the case that powerful corporate interests have worked to physically harm many working Americans and have actively violated the sanctity of the Bill of Rights. This is a premise that will not sit well with some people, and the heavyhanded, if sincere, manner in which the argument is presented will likely turn them off (while only adding to the impact for those inclined to agree with the premise). The film is highly effective in its individual pieces, but dramatically the parts are greater than the whole, and Native emerges as a film that has greater value for its historical significance than for its cinematic strengths. That said, the cinematography is quite fine, with Paul Strand creating some indelible images, the editing is spectacular, and Marc Blitzstein's score is quite impressive. Paul Robeson's glorious voice is put to grand use as the narrator (and in a couple of songs), and the cast is uniformly good -- very natural and believable as ordinary working class stiffs. Whatever one thinks of its politics, Native does serve as a reminder of a time when patriotism had a broader and more inclusive meaning. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Fred Johnson - The Farmer
• Mary George - The Farmer's Wife
• Amelia Romano - Slavey

Howard Da Silva - Stool Pigeon; Art Smith - Vice President; Richard Bishop - Spy Executive; Tom Pedi - Member; Bert Conway - Member; Charles Jordan - Contact Man; Robert Strauss - Grocer; Tom Connors - Joseph Shoemaker; Harry Wilson - Poulnot; Virginia Stevens - Widow; Clancy Cooper - Speaker; Paul Robeson - Narrator; Houseley Stevenson, Sr. - Sharecropper

Credit

Paul Strand - Director, Leo T. Hurwitz - Director, Leo T. Hurwitz - Editor, Paul Strand - Cinematographer, Paul Strand - Producer, Leo T. Hurwitz - Producer, Ben Maddow - Screenwriter

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