7 Best Movies About The Infamous Hollywood Blacklist Ranked
7 Best Movies About The Infamous Hollywood Blacklist, Ranked
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Hounded at every turn by a fiercely anti-communist government, these 7 films depict the real-life struggles of blacklisted writers and directors.
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The communist blacklist hit America hard during the red scare of the 1940s and 50s. Infamously, Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) started a witch-hunt, investigating suspected communists within the United States and ruining lives in the process.
The House Committee on Un-American Activities stole the nation’s headlines by attacking the creative community of Hollywood through a campaign of censorship and fear. Actors, writers, and directors were called before the committee as a suspect or as a friendly witness to “name names” and inform on their friends, or their lives would be destroyed, too. There have been several great movies made about this dark period in Hollywood history that capture the unfortunate hysteria of the times.
7 Chaplin
Chaplin is the sprawling biopic of legendary actor/director Charlie Chaplin, brought to life by Robert Downey, Jr. The film chronicles his life from childhood to his success in Hollywood and later his exile from it, as well as all the scandals that engulfed his career.
A section of the film is devoted to the scrutiny Chaplin received from HUAC about his alleged communist sympathies, with many considering him detrimental to America. Eventually, these controversies lead to Chaplin being banned from the country. Reviews were mixed, but many agreed that Downey, Jr. gave an incredible performance as Chaplin, and he ultimately received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for it.
6 Good Night, And Good Luck
Good Night, And Good Luck spotlights when Senator Joe McCarthy’s smear campaign set its sights on the media. David Strathairn stars as real-life legendary broadcaster, Edward R. Murrow, who decides to use his television news show to fight back at McCarthy’s communist witchhunt in America by exposing his lies. However, by doing so, Murrow and his team put their own careers at stake.
Directed by George Clooney and featuring a cast that includes Jeff Daniels and Robert Downey, Jr., Good Night and Good luck is a straightforward and impeccably directed black-and-white masterpiece that explores the responsibility of media.
5 The Way We Were
The Way We Were is a romantic drama set against the backdrop of the communist witchhunt. Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford star as Katie and Hubbell, two lovers who happen to be diametrically opposed politically. When Hubbell tries to find success as a Hollywood screenwriter, his reputation is damaged by outspoken Katie.
Considered to be one of the most romantic movies of all time, The Way We Were is perhaps best known for the title song performed by Streisand that accompanied it. The film’s reviews were mixed, however, many praised it for being a great tearjerker that also successfully balanced a great political story.
4 The Majestic
In The Majestic, Jim Carrey plays a blacklisted screenwriter, Peter, who gets amnesia following a car accident and is rescued by a town who mistakes him for a long-lost soldier thought to be dead. Initially, Peter goes along with his new life until his memories return. At the same time, HUAC calls Peter to testify about his supposed communist sympathies.
Director Frank Darabont crafts a film reminiscent of Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, with Carrey bringing Jimmy Stewart-esque sensibilities to the part. While many critics felt the film’s sentimentality was forced, others enjoyed its defense of American values and freedom.
3 The Front
One of the rare films starring Woody Allen not to be written or directed by him, The Front concerns a cashier, Howard (Allen), who acts as a “front” for screenwriters who can’t sell their scripts due to them being on the blacklist. Howard submits the scripts under his name and takes a percentage. However, he sees the injustice going on and decides to do something about it.
The Front is a darkly funny yet tragic look at a horrible time in history. Many of the film’s events came from real blacklisted writers and performers’ true experiences. Several cast and crew members, including the film’s screenwriter, were blacklisted in real life, which is notated in the film’s end credits.
2 Guilty By Suspicion
Inspired by many experiences of blacklisted directors and producers, Guilty By Suspicion stars Robert DeNiro as David Merrill, a blacklisted movie director who must inform on his friends or risk never making movies again. The film depicts the horrors the blacklist created like imprisonment, loss of work and friends, and more.
Despite excellent performances from the cast, which include Annette Bening and George Wendt, Guilty by Suspicion has largely been forgotten. However, it remains a powerful film about a dark and shameful period in Hollywood history that will hopefully never come again.
1 Trumbo
Perhaps the most famous victim of the Hollywood blacklist was legendary screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo, the screenwriter of Spartacus and Roman Holiday, went to jail for 11 months for refusing to answer the HUAC committee’s questions about his alleged communist involvement. When released, Trumbo struggled for many years to get work after being blacklisted, and the film chronicles his journey to get back on top and finally have a movie credited to him again.
Bryan Cranston portrays Trumbo as the larger-than-life and witty figure that he was, ultimately earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance. Trumbo is a tragic, funny, and endlessly entertaining behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood politics, the blacklist, and its aftermath.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/hollywood-blacklist-best-movies-ranked/
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