Native Land
- Studio
- Frontier Films
- Animation studio
- Ted Eshbaugh Studios
- Distributor
- Frontier Films
Synopsis
By the start of World War II, Paul Robeson had given up his lucrative mainstream work to participate in more socially progressive film and stage productions. Robeson committed his support to Paul Strand and Leo Hurwitz's political semidocumentary "Native Land." With Robeson's narration and songs, this beautifully shot and edited film exposes violations of Americans' civil liberties and is a call to action for exploited workers around the country. Scarcely shown since its debut, "Native Land" represents Robeson's shift from narrative cinema to the leftist documentaries that would define the final chapter of his controversial film career.
Characters
(Live Action): Fred Hill (Farmer), Hill's Wife, Hill's Son, Maid, White Sharecropper, Black Sharecropper, Mack (Union President), Jim (Stool Pigeon), Harry Carlyle, Spy Executive, Harry (Man Helping Nurse), Member, Contact Man, Mary (Wife of Union President), Frank Mason (Grocer), Little Girl with Balloon, Thug With Crowbar, Minister, Joseph Shoemaker, Eugene Poulnot, Whitey's Widow, Whitey's Eulogist
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand
- Associate Directors
- Alfred Saxe, William Watts
Producing
- Producer
- Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand
Writing
- Writer
- David Wolff Ben Maddow, Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand
Voices
- Voice
- Paul Robeson (Narrator, Vocalist)
- Live Action
- Fred Johnson (Fred Hill [Farmer]), Mary George (Hill's Wife), John Rennick (Hill's Son), Amelia Romano (Maid), Housely Stevens (White Sharecropper), Louis Grant (Black Sharecropper), James Hanney (Mack [Union President]), Howard DaSylva Howard Da Silva (Jim [Stool Pigeon]), Art Smith (Harry Carlyle), Richard Bishop (Spy Executive), Tom Pedi (Harry [Man Helping Nurse]), Bert Conway (Member), Charles Jordan (Contact Man), Vaughn King (Mary [Wife of Union President]), Robert Strauss (Frank Mason [Grocer]), Dolores Cornell (Little Girl with Balloon), John Marlieb John Marley (Thug With Crowbar), Rev. Charles Webber (Minister), Tom Connors Jr (Joseph Shoemaker), Harry Wilson (Eugene Poulnot), Virginia Stevens (Whitey's Widow), Clancy Cooper (Whitey's Eulogist), Charles Johnson
Music
- Music
- Marc Blitzstein
- Orchestra Conductor
- Lehman Engel
Editing
- Editor
- Leo Hurwitz, Lionel Berman, Bob Stebbins
Crew
- Cinematography
- Paul Strand
- Sound Editors
- Robert Stebbins, Ralph Aseev
- Production Manager
- George Jacobson
- Stills
- Times Wide World
- Production Assistants
- Julia Milch, Ruth Miller
Companies and other credits
- Stills: International News
Production notes
Live action with animation.
Robert Strauss's feature film debut.
Robert Strauss's feature film debut.