'Un-American' Hollywood : Politics and Film in the Blacklist Era

The concept of "un-Americanism," so vital to the HUAC crusade of the 1940s and 1950s, was resoundingly revived in the emotional rhetoric that followed the September 11th terrorist attacks. Today's political and cultural climate makes it more crucial than ever to come to terms with the consequences of this earlier period of repression and with the contested claims of Americanism that it generated. "Un-American" Hollywood reopens the intense critical debate on the blacklist era and on the aesthetic and political work of the Hollywood Left. In a series of fresh case studies focusing on contexts of production and reception, the contributors offer exciting and original perspectives on the role of progressive politics within a capitalist media industry. Original essays scrutinize the work of individual practitioners, such as Robert Rossen, Joseph Losey, Jules Dassin, and Edward Dmytryk, and examine key films, including The Robe, Christ in Concrete, The House I Live In, The Lawless, The Naked City, The Prowler, Body and Soul, and FTA. 'un-american Hollywood' Debates The Blacklist Era And The Aesthetic And Political Work Of The Hollywood Left. Featuring Case Studies Focusing On Contexts Of Production And Reception, It Offers Perspectives On The Role Of Progressive Politics Within A Capitalist Media Industry. Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been A Christian? The Strange History Of The Robe As Political Allegory / Jeff Smith -- Un-american : Dmytryk, Rossellini, And Christ In Concrete / Erica Sheen -- A Living Part Of The Class Struggle : Diego Rivera's The Flower Carrier And The Hollywood Left / Frank Krutnik -- A Monarch For The Millions : Jewish Filmmakers, Social Commentary, And The Postwar Cycle Of Boxing Films / Peter Stanfield -- The Violent Poetry Of The Times : The Politics Of History In Daniel Mainwaring And Joseph Losey's The Lawless / Doug Dibbern -- Dark Passages : Jazz And Civil Liberty In The Postwar Crime Film / Sean Mccann -- Documentary Realism And The Postwar Left / Will Straw -- Cloaked In Compromise : Jules Dassin's Naked City / Rebecca Prime -- The Progressive Producer In The Studio System : Adrian Scott At Rko, 1943-1947 / Jennifer Langdon-teclaw -- The House I Live In : Albert Maltz And The Fight Against Anti-semitism / Art Simon -- Red Hollywood In Transition : The Case Of Robert Rossen / Brian Neve -- Swashbuckling, Sapphire, And Salt : Un-american Contributions To Tv Costume Adventure Series In The 1950s / Steve Neale -- Hollywood, The New Left, And Fta / Mark Shiel -- Red Hollywood / Thom Anderson. Edited By Frank Krutnik ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 279-336) And Index. The concept of un-Americanism, so vital to the HUAC crusade of the 1940s and 1950s, was resoundingly revived in the emotional rhetoric that followed the September 11th terrorist attacks. Todays political and cultural climate makes it more crucial than ever to come to terms with the consequences of this earlier period of repression and with the contested claims of Americanism that it generated. Un-American Hollywood reopens the intense critical debate on the blacklist era and on the aesthetic and political work of the Hollywood Left. In a series of fresh case studies focusing on contexts of production and reception, the contributors offer exciting and original perspectives on the role of progressive politics within a capitalist media industry. Original essays scrutinize the work of individual practitioners, such as Robert Rossen, Joseph Losey, Jules Dassin, and Edward Dmytryk, and examine key films, including The Robe, Christ in Concrete, The House I Live In, The Lawless, The Naked City, The Prowler, Body and Soul, and FTA .