Native Land (1942) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1942 · 89 mins · English

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Directed by

Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand

Starring

Howard Da Silva, Robert Strauss, Fred Johnson, John Marley, Art Smith, Houseley Stevenson

By the outset of World War II, Paul Robeson left his lucrative mainstream career to pursue socially progressive film and stage work. He provides narration and songs for Paul Strand and Leo Hurwitz’s political semi‑documentary Native Land, a beautifully shot film exposing violations of American civil liberties and urging action for exploited workers. The rarely‑screened film marks Robeson’s shift to leftist documentaries, defining the final chapter of his controversial career.