The Killing Floor

Black migration from the Deep South at the time of World War I, as seen through the eyes of Frank Custer (Leake), a sharecropper who comes to the 'Promised Land' of Chicago, to sweep animal remains from the floor of the slaughterhouse. Finding himself caught up in an emerging trade union movement, he attempts to convince his fellow black workers that the struggle for decent working conditions must transcend traditional racial antagonisms. Director Duke's work is like a large wooden spoon filled with gristle, blood, black and trade union history; it's kind of hard to swallow all at once. Still, it does portray an often neglected aspect of American history, while offering a less than loving glimpse at what really goes into the all-American cheeseburger.