The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 06, 1976, Page Page 9, Image 9
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
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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:
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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.
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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^
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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