Zoot Suit Riots
2002, NR, 60 min.
Directed by Joseph Tovares, Narrated by Hector Elizondo, Voices by , Starring .

Director and producer (and UT alum) Tovares sheds light on Los Angeles’ infamous Zoot Suit Riots of 1942, in which the racial and social tensions among Anglos and Mexican-Americans ignited and built to widescale riots and internal community battles. The little-studied episode still has repercussions in the modern day. This documentary was produced for PBS’ The American Experience, where it will also air in February.

This article appears in 2001.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.