Exile from Hollywood: 65 years later

Charlie Chaplin, Clifford Odets, and Paul Robeson: these are a few of the hundreds of names that were the casualties of one of the darkest periods in film history, The Hollywood Blacklist. From 1947 to the early 1960s, actors, writers, and directors were prosecuted in a witch-hunt orchestrated by the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Senator Joseph McCarthy in an attempt to weed out the threat of Communism in post-war America. Those who were associated to unions, or groups that had Communist philosophies, were subpoenaed by the HUAC and forced to name names of fellow entertainers. Those who did name names held on to their careers in Hollywood, such as Elia Kazan and Ronald Reagan, but at the cost of their dignity in the eyes of many who stood up against the Blacklist. For those who didn’t reveal names of their fellow friends and associates were either arrested, prevented from working in Hollywood, or committed suicide.                                                                                                         

This year marks the 65^th anniversary of the Blacklist, which is highlighted in the November 30^th edition of The Hollywood Reporter. THR has devoted the issue to the survivors and family members of the Blacklist, by revealing their time in exile from the American film industry; some never entered the gates of film studios again, while others have managed to rise again in Hollywood. Sean Penn writes about his father, Leo Penn, and how his acting/directing career rose as quickly as it fell when he was blacklisted. Kirk Douglas risked his own career by producing and starring in Spartacus, which was penned by Blacklisted screenwriter and author, Dalton Trumbo. Throughout the 1950s, Lee Grant was exiled from the film and television industry until she starred in Peyton’s Place, co-starred opposite Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night, and won an Academy Award in 1975 for her performance in Hal Ashby’s film, Shampoo.                                                                                                                                                                                               
Up until his death in 2003, Elia Kazan remained synonymous for being the director who gave up the names of his fellow actors and directors rather than as the filmmaker behind On the Waterfront and East of Eden. When Kazan received the Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1999, half the audience applauded while the other half sat in protest over the Academy’s decision to reward him after naming names.  65 years on, shades of the Hollywood Blacklist lingers over the country; from the finger-pointing of conservative pundits and their views on Hollywood liberals, to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failing to apologize and admit their role during a period that has tarnished the lives of many based on the assumption that Communism would plague America through the medium of film.      

Skyfall

Neil Young penned the infamous question, “is it better to burn out than to fade away?”  When you ask that question regarding film franchises, answers vary (The Batman films? No. Superman films? Yes. Star Wars? Yes). In the case of the James Bond films, which have been around for fifty years, they age like good scotch; the latest 007 film, Skyfall, leaves you intoxicated with a story as explosive as the gauntlet of bombs and bullets Bond runs through. With Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) behind the camera, he manages to resurrect the 007 series after Mark Forster’s failed attempt four years earlier, Quantum of Solace.

                                                                                              

After a list of active NATO secret agents is leaked online and a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters, James Bond (Daniel Craig) tries to find the mastermind behind the attacks. Bond’s search leads him to Silva (Javier Bardem), a sadistic and flamboyant renegade agent. Meanwhile, M’s (Judi Dench) trust comes into question as she is under scrutiny by the British Government for the failed attempt of securing the identities of the NATO agents.  Can Bond keep England safe from the hands of Silva, or has he lost his luster?

Daniel Craig fails to disappoint as Bond as he casts aside the high-tech weapons with the standard pistol and radio at his disposal. Judi Dench is at her best as M, as she carries the role she has played for almost twenty years with dignity and grace when faced with public scrutiny and fear for her life. Javier Bardem is as equally vicious and charismatic in this film as he was in No Country For Old Men five years earlier; in particular, when he decides to play William Tell with a glass of scotch. Rounding up the stellar cast is Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and a sawed off shotgun-toting Albert Finney.

Mendes steps aside from the canon of dramatic films he is well-known for and raises the bar with a sleek and seductive film that finds the balance between the suspense and drama, which is similar to how he blended the violence and emotional fragility of his protagonists in Road to Perdition. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is bold and expansive as his previous work with the Coen Brothers. Thomas Newman’s score emphasizes every punch and bullet flying through the air with such intensity as the strings and horns peel throughout the film. Plus, the opening song performed by Adele foreshadows the soul and beauty that unfolds throughout the next two hours and twenty minutes.

Fifty years on, James Bond remains an icon in cinema. Despite a few flawed 007 films from the past, Skyfall will live on as a stunning achievement celebrating Ian Fleming’s stellar vision of espionage that manages to shake and stir generations of Bond-aficionados.                      

Four out of Four Stars