University of South Carolina Libraries
The Front "The writers and directors could possibly inject small doses of Communist ideology into innocent looking scripts, and perhaps the actors might be capable of giving an innocuous line a sinister twist but the producers controlled the finished pictures, and there was just no way that the Seven Dwarfs could be Reds under Snow White's bed unless Walt Disney wanted them there." Because of these investigations, the blacklist was developed. The blacklist, as Whitman defines it, was "a roster of actors, producers, technicians and writers who were fired and could not find work in their profession on the cfmi inHf V? o tlimi I giuuuuo uiui iiicj wcic IIIIIVCVJ, III the past or present, with a variety of Communist causes. The blacklist covered not only those who were denounced before the HUAC, but also those who were objects of private suspicions. Before the effects of the blacklist subsided in the sixties, anyone applying for a job was checked against it." "The Front" is a description of several blacklisted Hollywood ^ filmmakers' fight against a hostile ^ po^ra|^en^^^n^nt^ Producer: ifcA <^x5jjj^^j* 2>- jB^^fl| I *.u:: 91 F,>v ; v:;:>::;.;:;r;T^PP^^H^^^^f;: %KR THIS ^S3v5*C^SSCS5S?iiS5'5S55'i3i?l5 [Uta^a-'EMiKii * I! TO TALK WITH SC iCARES (z IV * FREE PREGNANCY * PROBLEM PREGN/ ? I nni/ffcrcKK ;* ABORTION REFER! ; BIRTH CONTROL ft V.D. TESTING :* REFERRAL TO SOC i * a A SA^enuca * OUR CONTACTS A 779 ;! OR CALL TO 1 -800-9 > From Page 8 director Martin Ritt ("Hud", "Sounder", and "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold") was blacklisted from 1951-1957; Walter Bersntein, who wrote "The Front's" original screenplay, was blacklisted from 1951-1958; Zero Mostel and Herschel Bernardi, who both star in the film, were blacklisted from 1959-iQfifi :mH 1953-1961, respectively. THESK MEN ARE criticizing a political system that disregarded their constitutional rights of free political expression, opinions, even the beliefs of Communism. The writers that Allen fronts are all Communist sympathizers. But, Pnmmnnic^ VU11111IUI1IOI. A (11 IV 1IIUII1UCI MI1|J 111 the 1950's was not illegal, and so, according to the filmmakers, American communists were unjustly crucified by the U.S. Government and the public. ' 'TVin Prnnt" pnnlH haxm Koon o * ??v/ m. a. V VVUIV4 IIUYV WWII U far more successful commentary on American injustice if the screenplay wasn't so emotionally biased. Ritt and his associates seem to believe that only by presenting a one-sided view of blacklisting can their criticisms be ^ success*"u^ ' \Vh ?.v3 . SPACE CONTRIBUTED BY THE PUBLISHED g mt Sewtcet. fte. MAEONEWHO | MM* J? t TESTING incy counseling al tal family planning < ial Service . medical facilities .RE CONFIDENTIAL 1355 LL FREE IN S.C. >22-9750 ' NOTCH RD. this emotional viewpoint is ironic and hypocritical. McCarthyism was an anti-communist witch-hunt that thrived on the public's hysteria. Guilt by implication was justification enough to repress critics of America's political institutions. It was an era without logic. Thp nrnrinpprc malro nn iffntnr>( r "v ""v.l.pl to provide an objective, sophisticated story that deals fairly with both sides of the blacklisting question. Woody Allen is completely : 4 4.1 1 _ - r t t 1 uusictsi in me ruie 01 nowara Prince. Allen plays the same character he has played throughout his career, that of a confused person who reacts to forces he can't understand. Prince has difficulty making a living with his petty job as a small-time bookie. When he is thrust into an environment that requires sophisticattion and intellect, he is awkward and ridiculous. Ritt uses Allen to depict how a nobody, who hasn't the slightest interest in blacklisting, can become completely engrossed in the issue, to the point that he becomes one of its crusaders. I Florida's Answer t< | PET CANDLE comes | plete set of operatir \i train your PET CA | stand, light up, and ? Available in Small, Medi | PET CANDLE jjj 110 Giralda Ave.. Coral Gc i r: Small 51.00 plus 5C if Medium $2.00 p/ws 75 f~I Large $3.00 p/us 95 '0 Name $ Address ? Iy major works modern FERDI IROl GALL ; gg Roon | Russei ; H Tuesdcr ; HI 10a.m. ; Fine Arts C !? H Russell House i ALLEN'S PERFORMANCE is .vitxuy uucunvnujiiig. rrom me beginning, the idea that a moron ike Prince is one of Hollywood's most gifted writers is ridiculous, ^ven for a front. Prince doesn't mow the first thing about writing, and he doesn't even read the scripts he is supposed to have written. The plot lacks credibility. Ritt ' -vould have been wiser to have ^ jsed a dramatic actor, such as b Justin Hoffman or Robert Red- d ord, to play Prince bccause both Dossess the sophistication that is p leeded to make the role and the tl novie believable. The one highlight of the film is the performance of multi-talented Zero Mostel as Hecky Brown, a rvrvni ilar folntricinn nnmin pv/puiui IV/IW IOIUU V_/i 11 1V- Willi lliu political sophistication of a threeyear-old. Mostel vividly depicts a blacklisting victim who was unjustifiably ruined. Through Mostel's moving performance, we regrettably view the degeneration of a man whose only goal in life was to entertain, and when that naa oeen sirippea irom mm, ne committed suicide. ?JL \ JJLJf _JLII J W ) the Pet Rock. 1 J ' to you with com- a ig instructions to | NDLE to sit up, | | flw u y' ? p jm, and Large Sizes. |B W St ? G w at bles, Florida 33134 w c postage 8. handling 8 y< c postage & handling u ^ yl ^ j t postage & handling jfi jj $ w GO o by early arid B J master 11 f NAND 1 I EM I; ERIES 15 i203 I 1 ' House H r=?k ?* /, uec. / ommittee University Union JH ! :<>nald Reagan (above) and iary Cooper (below) were ao actors who testified efore the House committee uring the McCarthy era. The Front" depicts the lights of actors affected in ic period. G abler' ^eeins onight rom News Releases The final play of the fall ;mester, Henry Ibsen's "Hedda abler," will begin at 8:15 tonight Drayton Hall. "Hedda Gabler," the story of a xing woman who accepts a dull carriage because it is socially L'ceptable, has been called "one of je most flawless plays ever ritten," by critics. The play's director, James atteison, said Hedda is a i_ i ... 4 :ui.. nemmeu m woman, icrrriuiy oncerned with the social mores of le period." She marries someone ho is considered socially aceptable but who is very wrong for er. USC's Hedda is played by Kathleen Kstes, a I'SC theatre tudent. Other members of the cast iclude John Marion. George 'esman; Robert Hungerford, udge Brack; Keith Gaylord, ]ilert Loveborg; Paula Gail Benson, Berta ; Ruth Sehultz, Julia nd Rebecca Koon. Thea. Nancy Myers McCauley lesigned the set and John Olbrych 5 the lighting director. Lyn Carroll designed the ostumes, with technical direction rom Elbin Cleveland. The box office is open for eservations from noon to 5 p.m. laily and one hour before curtain :ime. FREE iAiifk r/Mm/xn I. . T? i i iuufjui i vi i ly Brazier Burger with Cheese or Fish Sandwich with Cheese with purchase of French Fries & Medium Soft Drink "?llarr.? 1 *1 VUUU w i s u KJ/^v Doc. 31 only at 1366 Rosewood Dr. S^^tions