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HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:01 am
by Danny
It is with some reluctance that I mention this book: "HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS: Blacklisted Screenwriters, Agents Of Stalin, Allies Of Hitler". I don't attempt to get into the "politics" of this highly polemic subject, but rather the "history".
The copyright date is 2015, so it is fairly new to the market. For those who are familiar with American film history, this is a powerful indictment against Hollywood's screenwriters from the 1930's - 1950's. It rehashes all the turmoil in the film industry that culminated in the disastrous Hollywood Ten Blacklist. It was written with highly charged emotions of the subject of "Hollywood Communists" by Allan H. Ryskind, son of writer Morrie Ryskind, famous for his collaboration with The Marx Brothers films. The accusations come fast and furious by this author, so this may be a bit contentious for the gentle reader.
Although it tends to reopen wounds that are still not yet healed from the dark pages of Hollywood history, it is worth mentioning for those who are interested in the subject.
Danny
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:23 am
by boblipton
So, his own son admits he was collaborating with Marxists!
Bob
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 2:33 pm
by oldposterho
It's a free country. Or was.
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 7:12 pm
by David Pierce
Allan Ryskind was interviewed about the book on C-Span's book interview program, After Words. He speaks about his father's interest in conservative politics and presents a view of the Hollywood Ten and the blacklist which I had never heard before.
Allan Ryskind, son of Marx Brothers screenwriter Morris Ryskind, talked about his book, Hollywood Traitors: Blacklisted Screenwriters - Agents of Stalin, Allies of Hitler, about the Communist party in Hollywood in the 1930s. He spoke with Tucker Carlson, editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?323762-1/w ... an-ryskind" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
David Pierce
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:22 am
by missdupont
The vast majority of people blacklisted had merely supported Russia, our ally, during World War II, but of course, that made them a Communist. Others who were willing to lie or act dumb, like Lucille Ball, were able to reclaim their careers. Humphrey Bogart debased himself and abjectly apologized after merely going to Washington to support Freedom of Speech. Marsha Hunt never apologized and lost her career.
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:04 am
by entredeuxguerres
missdupont wrote:The vast majority of people blacklisted had merely supported Russia, our ally, during World War II, but of course, that made them a Communist...
Don't be foolish: their support for the Soviets was predicated not merely on Russia being a temporary "ally" against a common enemy, but on their sincere admiration for the Soviet
system; that celebrated "workers paradise," you know. (This, after such facts as the annihilation of the Kulak class in the '20s & '30s, Stalin's show-trials of the late '30s, the Gulags, and other atrocities, had become well known in the West; but of course, as Stalin's American stooges always liked to explain, "you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.") Many of the blacklisted of course, like that revered martyr Dalton Trumbo,
were card-carrying Communists.
Now, will you argue for the innocence of Alger Hiss?
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:08 am
by wich2
It is very hard to find any White Knights on either side during that horrid period.
The whole era WAS truly "Un-American," in the literal sense of the word. Because a democratic society is supposed to be about the free and open debate of ideas, and in this case, many on BOTH sides dealt rather in lies and obfuscation.
Read Prof. Ronald Radosh's enlightening COMMIES. The ex-fairhaired boy of the American Communist Party knows whereof he speaks.
-Craig
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:17 am
by Ray Faiola
Read Edward Dmytryk's book - he was one of the Hollywood Ten. And he pulls no punches about the bullies working on behalf of the Communists.
TENDER COMRADES
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:17 am
by JFK
Library Journal
The 50th anniversary of the 1947 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, which resulted in the infamous Hollywood blacklist, is the occasion for this landmark collection of interviews with more than 30 of the blacklisted filmmakers. While HUAC's activities are well known and documented, only recently have many victims of the blacklist stepped forward, most notably Walter Bernstein with his Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist (LJ 9/15/96). The sheer bulk of this book gives a sense of the enormous damage to the lives and careers of those blacklisted and the impact on filmmaking caused by losing this magnitude of talent. The interviews, expertly conducted by McGilligan (biographer of Fritz Lang and George Cukor) and Buhle (historian of the political Left), vividly reveal those who for so long have lurked in the shadows, silenced by their adversaries or, more often, allowed to perform, write, and direct under an alias. Formerly unacknowledged film credits are listed for each filmmaker. Highly recommended for academic libraries.
Re: HOLLYWOOD TRAITORS
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:29 pm
by entredeuxguerres
JFK wrote:
Library Journal
The 50th anniversary of the 1947 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, which resulted in the infamous Hollywood blacklist, is the occasion for this landmark collection of interviews with more than 30 of the blacklisted filmmakers. While HUAC's activities are well known and documented, only recently have many victims of the blacklist stepped forward, most notably Walter Bernstein with his Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist (LJ 9/15/96). The sheer bulk of this book gives a sense of the enormous damage to the lives and careers of those blacklisted and the impact on filmmaking caused by losing this magnitude of talent. The interviews, expertly conducted by McGilligan (biographer of Fritz Lang and George Cukor) and Buhle (historian of the political Left), vividly reveal those who for so long have lurked in the shadows, silenced by their adversaries or, more often, allowed to perform, write, and direct under an alias. Formerly unacknowledged film credits are listed for each filmmaker. Highly recommended for academic libraries.
"Lurked in the shadows"? What rank BS: for the last several decades these "martyrs for the Cause" have been
lionized by academia & the mainstream media.