Released in 1976, The Front was one of the first serious–and non-allegorical–attempts by Hollywood to explicitly examine the effects of McCarthyism on its own people. Most of the major creatives involved, including the writer, director and several actors, were themselves victims of the blacklist and are identified as such in the credits. The star, Woody Allen, was not on the list but had an upfront and personal view as a staff writer for Sid Caeser’s TV show at the time.
The story has Allen, a cashier at a Manhattan diner and failed bookie named Howard Prince, approached by childhood pal who’s been put on the list and not able to get work. The pal wants to put Prince’s name on his scripts and have Prince pretend to be a new writer; when the scheme works three more writers join in and produce scripts for Prince. Since these are good writers, the scripts are big hits and Prince attracts the attention of the men who crave the pleasure of crushing others.
Meanwhile, comedian Hecky Brown (portrayed by blacklist victim Zero Mostel) is victimed by the House Unamerican Committee and despite all attempts to cooperate, all protestations that the closest he came to flirting with Communism, were attempts to get in the pants of a comely female activist, cannot clear his name. So Brown is dropped from his role as host of Prince’s show and cannot find work anywhere. No one who could hire him is willing to cross these powerful bullies. Finally, Brown solves his despair by leaving a hotel room via the window.
Only days after Brown’s death Prince is called to appear before the committee himself. Completely apolitical, the faux-writer cannot conceive of how he could come to harm; thinking the Congressmen and their lawyers idiots, he convinces himself that fooling them without really cooperating will be a breeze. Fooling his own inner mensch, though, is not as simple.
As a movie, The Front is a decent drama, a small movie but one with a clear message. The important characters are given depth, the plot and dialog avoids cliches by focusing on the toll of the events, and the acting is strong. Which is not surprising given the time Walter Bernstein had to develop the script and the quality of the actors, especially Mostel as the sad.
The McCarthy era and the Blacklist were a part of American history of which we should be ashamed, but perhaps the source of the problem is something too deeply ingrained in human nature to be changed so quickly. Only a few years after the American public seemed to learn their lesson, Vietnam came along and many Americans were pointing fingers across the divide and calling opponents unamerican.
The ideological divide is still present in America today as an examination of popular blogs will show. Too many times since 9/11 I’ve heard or read people state that one must either support President Bush and his administation’s policies or one is unpatriotic. No one can oppose the war in Iraq, for instance, because our armed forces are on the ground there and opposition would give succor to our enemies. Such statements are sad, very sad, and to my mind completely miss the point of what American freedom means. This is a very timely movie.
Recommended
BillSaysThis 