Viva Zapata!

Another old movie, had never seen this before. Was attracted for many reasons.
Released in 1952 and directed by Elia Kazan this is a story about the Emiliano Zapata, a leader of the peasant revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos. Zapata was also the founder of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo.  Zapata was also an ally of the more famous Pancho Villa.  The screen play is based on the work of John Steinbeck.
The movie plot is meant to follow this historic life.  Emiliano Zapata was had come from a well to do family whose lands had been confiscated. In an effort to gain recompense, he went to Mexico City to complain that their land has been taken, leaving them only in the unusable rocky hills. Zapata expressed dissatisfaction to the President.  He then rescues a prisoner being dragged by the police and by this becomes an outlaw. Encouraged by the adviser Fernando Aguirre, he leads the revolutionaries to victory. Emiliano Zapata becomes involved in the new government which is not unlike the previous.  Zapata again strikes out with his rebels for agrarian freedom.  In this struggle and Zapata is eventually ambushed and dies on April 10, 1919.
The Viva Zapata! cast is excellent:

• Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata, only the best actor ever.
• Jean Peters as Josefa Zapata, a good looking woman in her time
• Anthony Quinn as Eufemio Zapata, won the Oscar for Best Supporting in this movie.
• Joseph Wiseman as Fernando Aguirre, this dude has always creeped me out but posted an impressive array of television and movie work before his death in 2009, including playing the evil protagonist in Dr. No.

The director as already stated is the acclaimed Elia Kazan, whose work includes a couple of my other favorites.

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, from the great novel, 1945
• A Streetcar Named desire, also with Brando, 1951
• On the Waterfront, also with Brando, 1954
• East of Eden, based on another Steinbeck work, 1955

This was good stuff, I am curious as to why it is not on television stations like TCM.