Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0008
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Chapter 7 shows how Cecil B. DeMille’s reputation declined from a high-water mark of the late 1960s to being reviled as a director and individual from about 1985 due to the impact of the coverage of ...
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Chapter 7 shows how Cecil B. DeMille’s reputation declined from a high-water mark of the late 1960s to being reviled as a director and individual from about 1985 due to the impact of the coverage of the meeting. It addresses the first of one of the central myths emerging from the accounts of the meeting: that DeMille named people to HUAC and Joseph McCarthy. From a review of documents at the DeMille archives and HUAC papers, it is clear that DeMille never testified to the committee and refused on two occasions to do so. He did have an indirect relationship with the committee through the FBI, to whom he gave information on suspected Communists. Due in part to these myths, along with claims of anti-Semitism, DeMille’s cinematic reputation was dismissed for many years, even though the factual basis for the image was weak. The chapter demonstrates how his reputation revived from the late 1980s, as his supporters developed a new and competing image of a cinematic pioneer. It concludes that DeMille now has two images, which are competing for attention among film historians and critics.Less
Chapter 7 shows how Cecil B. DeMille’s reputation declined from a high-water mark of the late 1960s to being reviled as a director and individual from about 1985 due to the impact of the coverage of the meeting. It addresses the first of one of the central myths emerging from the accounts of the meeting: that DeMille named people to HUAC and Joseph McCarthy. From a review of documents at the DeMille archives and HUAC papers, it is clear that DeMille never testified to the committee and refused on two occasions to do so. He did have an indirect relationship with the committee through the FBI, to whom he gave information on suspected Communists. Due in part to these myths, along with claims of anti-Semitism, DeMille’s cinematic reputation was dismissed for many years, even though the factual basis for the image was weak. The chapter demonstrates how his reputation revived from the late 1980s, as his supporters developed a new and competing image of a cinematic pioneer. It concludes that DeMille now has two images, which are competing for attention among film historians and critics.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0004
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Chapter 3 looks at the SDG meeting in detail, using sources such as the meeting transcript to provide a thorough account. DeMille capitulated from the beginning and accepted that Mankiewicz was ...
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Chapter 3 looks at the SDG meeting in detail, using sources such as the meeting transcript to provide a thorough account. DeMille capitulated from the beginning and accepted that Mankiewicz was victorious. Early in the meeting, he seconded motions for the recall ballots to be destroyed. No debate existed between DeMille’s supporters and others, as DeMille simply had no support. The meeting was essentially a sustained attack on DeMille for his actions in recalling Mankiewicz. George Stevens’s attack on DeMille created a demand that DeMille be removed from office. With demands for DeMille’s resignation at their height, John Ford defended DeMille, and his speech stopped the drive to have DeMille resign. Even with Ford’s intervention, the meeting continued to demand the board’s removal. Ford initially defended the board then reluctantly admitted that events had spun out of control and it had to go.Less
Chapter 3 looks at the SDG meeting in detail, using sources such as the meeting transcript to provide a thorough account. DeMille capitulated from the beginning and accepted that Mankiewicz was victorious. Early in the meeting, he seconded motions for the recall ballots to be destroyed. No debate existed between DeMille’s supporters and others, as DeMille simply had no support. The meeting was essentially a sustained attack on DeMille for his actions in recalling Mankiewicz. George Stevens’s attack on DeMille created a demand that DeMille be removed from office. With demands for DeMille’s resignation at their height, John Ford defended DeMille, and his speech stopped the drive to have DeMille resign. Even with Ford’s intervention, the meeting continued to demand the board’s removal. Ford initially defended the board then reluctantly admitted that events had spun out of control and it had to go.
Richard Barrios
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377347
- eISBN:
- 9780199864577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377347.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Led by the smash hit of Fox's Sunny Side Up, starring Janet Gaynor, original musicals fared well in the early sound era. Such originals as Marianne tended to be more cinematic than the stage ...
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Led by the smash hit of Fox's Sunny Side Up, starring Janet Gaynor, original musicals fared well in the early sound era. Such originals as Marianne tended to be more cinematic than the stage adaptations, although routine could also be the order of the day in such uninspired pieces as Honey and Tanned Legs. The most distinctive entries came near the end of the era: Fox's Just Imagine, a science-fiction musical comedy set in the future of 1930, and MGM's Madam Satan, a combination sex farce, operetta, and disaster epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille.Less
Led by the smash hit of Fox's Sunny Side Up, starring Janet Gaynor, original musicals fared well in the early sound era. Such originals as Marianne tended to be more cinematic than the stage adaptations, although routine could also be the order of the day in such uninspired pieces as Honey and Tanned Legs. The most distinctive entries came near the end of the era: Fox's Just Imagine, a science-fiction musical comedy set in the future of 1930, and MGM's Madam Satan, a combination sex farce, operetta, and disaster epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0005
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The aftermath of the SDG meeting saw the introduction of the loyalty oath that had been sought by DeMille. Mankiewicz and the SDG board introduced the measure, and it was ratified by directors. The ...
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The aftermath of the SDG meeting saw the introduction of the loyalty oath that had been sought by DeMille. Mankiewicz and the SDG board introduced the measure, and it was ratified by directors. The loyalty oath stayed in place for sixteen years until it was removed by the U.S. Supreme Court. After the meeting, Ford successfully attempted to heal the rift between DeMille and the Guild over the next three years.Less
The aftermath of the SDG meeting saw the introduction of the loyalty oath that had been sought by DeMille. Mankiewicz and the SDG board introduced the measure, and it was ratified by directors. The loyalty oath stayed in place for sixteen years until it was removed by the U.S. Supreme Court. After the meeting, Ford successfully attempted to heal the rift between DeMille and the Guild over the next three years.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
From the 1960s through the 1980s Joseph L. Mankiewicz participated in several interviews and documentaries to provide evidence to bolster his own version of events, which helped rebuild his ...
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From the 1960s through the 1980s Joseph L. Mankiewicz participated in several interviews and documentaries to provide evidence to bolster his own version of events, which helped rebuild his reputation, darken DeMille’s, and celebrate Ford’s. The story about DeMille mocking Jewish directors through the way he portrayed their accents is a fabrication that appears to be based on the actions of Senator Gerald Nye in 1940 at an America First isolationist rally. The book explores how an unrelated incident became part of the narrative for the SDG meeting.Less
From the 1960s through the 1980s Joseph L. Mankiewicz participated in several interviews and documentaries to provide evidence to bolster his own version of events, which helped rebuild his reputation, darken DeMille’s, and celebrate Ford’s. The story about DeMille mocking Jewish directors through the way he portrayed their accents is a fabrication that appears to be based on the actions of Senator Gerald Nye in 1940 at an America First isolationist rally. The book explores how an unrelated incident became part of the narrative for the SDG meeting.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0002
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The opening chapter deals with the political background of the loyalty oaths in Hollywood. The focus then shifts to the internal politics of the Screen Directors Guild and its initial response to the ...
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The opening chapter deals with the political background of the loyalty oaths in Hollywood. The focus then shifts to the internal politics of the Screen Directors Guild and its initial response to the HUAC investigations. The SDG board protested against the initial HUAC investigation in 1947, leading to a great deal of political tension between conservatives and liberals. This initiated Sam Wood and Cecil B. DeMille’s coup against liberal directors in 1947 to take control of the Guild, which was cemented by the conservatives gaining control of the board in the following elections.Less
The opening chapter deals with the political background of the loyalty oaths in Hollywood. The focus then shifts to the internal politics of the Screen Directors Guild and its initial response to the HUAC investigations. The SDG board protested against the initial HUAC investigation in 1947, leading to a great deal of political tension between conservatives and liberals. This initiated Sam Wood and Cecil B. DeMille’s coup against liberal directors in 1947 to take control of the Guild, which was cemented by the conservatives gaining control of the board in the following elections.
William D. Romanowski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195387841
- eISBN:
- 9780199950188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387841.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter begins with Will H. Hays, an eminent Presbyterian layman and powerful leader in the national Republican Party, becoming the first president of the Motion Picture Producers and ...
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This chapter begins with Will H. Hays, an eminent Presbyterian layman and powerful leader in the national Republican Party, becoming the first president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) in 1922. It traces Hays’s efforts to position the Protestant establishment, via the Federal Council of Churches and women’s organizations, as a bulwark against legalized censorship. Hays expected in turn that this alliance would increase his power over film producers and also placate his critics. Favoring industry self-regulation and averse to legalized censorship, the Federal Council of Churches cooperated with the Hays organization in mutually beneficial endeavors that culminated in the production of Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings in 1927.Less
This chapter begins with Will H. Hays, an eminent Presbyterian layman and powerful leader in the national Republican Party, becoming the first president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) in 1922. It traces Hays’s efforts to position the Protestant establishment, via the Federal Council of Churches and women’s organizations, as a bulwark against legalized censorship. Hays expected in turn that this alliance would increase his power over film producers and also placate his critics. Favoring industry self-regulation and averse to legalized censorship, the Federal Council of Churches cooperated with the Hays organization in mutually beneficial endeavors that culminated in the production of Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings in 1927.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The SDG meeting of October 22, 1950, is a famous event in Hollywood history for all the wrong reasons. It is legendary because Cecil B. DeMille, John Ford, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, along with many ...
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The SDG meeting of October 22, 1950, is a famous event in Hollywood history for all the wrong reasons. It is legendary because Cecil B. DeMille, John Ford, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, along with many other celebrated directors, played prominent roles. Even small anecdotes from the meeting, such as Ford declaring, “My name is John Ford. I make westerns,” have entered Hollywood folklore. The meeting was convened to discuss the forced recall of Mankiewicz as SDG president by its conservative board headed by DeMille. The catalyst for the recall was a debate about a loyalty oath for Guild members, which was also linked to a union-sanctioned blacklist. Mankiewicz apparently protested to the media about the way the SDG’s board was operating—in particular, its use of an open and signed ballot to push through the measure. In response to the attempted recall by DeMille and other conservatives, Mankiewicz and his supporters took legal action and called a general meeting to discuss the issue. Several hundred directors packed into the Beverley Hills Hotel on October 22, 1950, to do just that.Less
The SDG meeting of October 22, 1950, is a famous event in Hollywood history for all the wrong reasons. It is legendary because Cecil B. DeMille, John Ford, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, along with many other celebrated directors, played prominent roles. Even small anecdotes from the meeting, such as Ford declaring, “My name is John Ford. I make westerns,” have entered Hollywood folklore. The meeting was convened to discuss the forced recall of Mankiewicz as SDG president by its conservative board headed by DeMille. The catalyst for the recall was a debate about a loyalty oath for Guild members, which was also linked to a union-sanctioned blacklist. Mankiewicz apparently protested to the media about the way the SDG’s board was operating—in particular, its use of an open and signed ballot to push through the measure. In response to the attempted recall by DeMille and other conservatives, Mankiewicz and his supporters took legal action and called a general meeting to discuss the issue. Several hundred directors packed into the Beverley Hills Hotel on October 22, 1950, to do just that.
Ethan Mordden
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190651794
- eISBN:
- 9780190860929
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190651794.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, History, Western
This chapter explores the background and production history behind Cecil B. DeMille’s adaptation of Watkins’ play. Chicago was a story that Hollywood had wanted to film, and it particularly attracted ...
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This chapter explores the background and production history behind Cecil B. DeMille’s adaptation of Watkins’ play. Chicago was a story that Hollywood had wanted to film, and it particularly attracted Cecil B. DeMille, because he liked to amuse his public by mating wicked doings with farce: exactly as Chicago did. However, DeMille did not share Watkins’ didactic fervor. Rather she used Chicago as a Breughelesque hellscape where, just outside the courtroom windows, the population raged with lawbreaking fever. What DeMille saw in the play was something so latent Watkins herself had not used it: the tale of a troubled marriage. In other words: of a decent and loving guy married to a sociopath.Less
This chapter explores the background and production history behind Cecil B. DeMille’s adaptation of Watkins’ play. Chicago was a story that Hollywood had wanted to film, and it particularly attracted Cecil B. DeMille, because he liked to amuse his public by mating wicked doings with farce: exactly as Chicago did. However, DeMille did not share Watkins’ didactic fervor. Rather she used Chicago as a Breughelesque hellscape where, just outside the courtroom windows, the population raged with lawbreaking fever. What DeMille saw in the play was something so latent Watkins herself had not used it: the tale of a troubled marriage. In other words: of a decent and loving guy married to a sociopath.
J.E. Smyth
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813124063
- eISBN:
- 9780813134765
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813124063.003.0005
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter examines the trend in historical filmmaking in the U.S during the period from 1938 to 1941. This period represents a return of the film industry to epic America. Some of the most notable ...
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This chapter examines the trend in historical filmmaking in the U.S during the period from 1938 to 1941. This period represents a return of the film industry to epic America. Some of the most notable films produced and released during this period include Stagecoach, directed by John and written by Dudley Nichols, Jesse James, directed by Henry King and written by Nunnaly Johnson and Union Pacific, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.Less
This chapter examines the trend in historical filmmaking in the U.S during the period from 1938 to 1941. This period represents a return of the film industry to epic America. Some of the most notable films produced and released during this period include Stagecoach, directed by John and written by Dudley Nichols, Jesse James, directed by Henry King and written by Nunnaly Johnson and Union Pacific, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Chapter 2 examines the background to the loyalty oath dispute. Once in power, the conservatives moved to introduce the loyalty oath for all SDG members. It examines the successful introduction of the ...
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Chapter 2 examines the background to the loyalty oath dispute. Once in power, the conservatives moved to introduce the loyalty oath for all SDG members. It examines the successful introduction of the loyalty oath and then the opposition by some quarters to the oath within the SDG. The divisions with the Guild eventually caused the conservatives to recall Mankiewicz, who began a countercampaign to save his position.Less
Chapter 2 examines the background to the loyalty oath dispute. Once in power, the conservatives moved to introduce the loyalty oath for all SDG members. It examines the successful introduction of the loyalty oath and then the opposition by some quarters to the oath within the SDG. The divisions with the Guild eventually caused the conservatives to recall Mankiewicz, who began a countercampaign to save his position.
Tom Mankiewicz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813136059
- eISBN:
- 9780813141169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813136059.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter revolves around Mankiewicz growing up in Los Angeles. He writes about the successes and failures of his family - mother's psychological problems, dad's infidelities, brother's resentment ...
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This chapter revolves around Mankiewicz growing up in Los Angeles. He writes about the successes and failures of his family - mother's psychological problems, dad's infidelities, brother's resentment toward father and brother. Dad Joe has a great career going but not without problems like the battle at the Director's Guild over the Hollywood witchhunt - making directors sign an allegiance to their country. Joe disapproves of this and battles Cecil B. DeMille.Less
This chapter revolves around Mankiewicz growing up in Los Angeles. He writes about the successes and failures of his family - mother's psychological problems, dad's infidelities, brother's resentment toward father and brother. Dad Joe has a great career going but not without problems like the battle at the Director's Guild over the Hollywood witchhunt - making directors sign an allegiance to their country. Joe disapproves of this and battles Cecil B. DeMille.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0007
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The central myth developed about the SDG meeting was that John Ford stood up to DeMille and stopped his drive to recall Mankiewicz and introduce the loyalty oath. However, Ford’s role before, during, ...
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The central myth developed about the SDG meeting was that John Ford stood up to DeMille and stopped his drive to recall Mankiewicz and introduce the loyalty oath. However, Ford’s role before, during, and after the meeting shows that he was basically a conciliator trying to reduce and minimize political friction between DeMille and other sections of the SDG. Beginning with Peter Bogdanovich’s interview of Mankiewicz in 1967, where he embellished and exaggerated Ford’s role, an increasingly flattering version of these events has developed. This has fed into a huge literature that has extolled Ford’s role at the meeting. The constructed incident now strongly influences thinking about Ford’s politics, and this view has influenced film criticism. The chapter also discusses how there was an initially cautious, or sometimes hostile, response to Ford’s cinema by liberal critics partly due to Ford’s conservatism and his support for Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.Less
The central myth developed about the SDG meeting was that John Ford stood up to DeMille and stopped his drive to recall Mankiewicz and introduce the loyalty oath. However, Ford’s role before, during, and after the meeting shows that he was basically a conciliator trying to reduce and minimize political friction between DeMille and other sections of the SDG. Beginning with Peter Bogdanovich’s interview of Mankiewicz in 1967, where he embellished and exaggerated Ford’s role, an increasingly flattering version of these events has developed. This has fed into a huge literature that has extolled Ford’s role at the meeting. The constructed incident now strongly influences thinking about Ford’s politics, and this view has influenced film criticism. The chapter also discusses how there was an initially cautious, or sometimes hostile, response to Ford’s cinema by liberal critics partly due to Ford’s conservatism and his support for Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.
Brian Taves
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813134222
- eISBN:
- 9780813135939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813134222.003.0019
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Upon Thomas Ince's death on November 19, 1924, the studio shut down only briefly, to ensure that employees would not suffer from being thrown out of work. However, by the end of November, eighty-five ...
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Upon Thomas Ince's death on November 19, 1924, the studio shut down only briefly, to ensure that employees would not suffer from being thrown out of work. However, by the end of November, eighty-five employees had been laid off. No new movies were started, but several were still shooting or in the editing phase, and contracts required their delivery. Ince's wife, Elinor, quickly took an active part in the company's direction. In January 1925, Cecil B. DeMille resigned as director general of the Famous Players–Lasky Corp. He announced the formation of Cinema Corporation of America, a $10 million concern, in association with PDC, where he was vice president in charge of production. DeMille immediately needed a studio property, allowing the Ince headquarters in Culver City to be sold to him on favorable terms, for $500,000, with a $50,000 cash down payment, renaming it the Cecil B. DeMille studios.Less
Upon Thomas Ince's death on November 19, 1924, the studio shut down only briefly, to ensure that employees would not suffer from being thrown out of work. However, by the end of November, eighty-five employees had been laid off. No new movies were started, but several were still shooting or in the editing phase, and contracts required their delivery. Ince's wife, Elinor, quickly took an active part in the company's direction. In January 1925, Cecil B. DeMille resigned as director general of the Famous Players–Lasky Corp. He announced the formation of Cinema Corporation of America, a $10 million concern, in association with PDC, where he was vice president in charge of production. DeMille immediately needed a studio property, allowing the Ince headquarters in Culver City to be sold to him on favorable terms, for $500,000, with a $50,000 cash down payment, renaming it the Cecil B. DeMille studios.
Michael Christoforidis
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780195384567
- eISBN:
- 9780190883508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195384567.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Opera, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 9 explains that Carmen proved an ideal vehicle for the new technologies of the twentieth century, embraced by the new recording artists whose prestige was borrowed from the operatic world. ...
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Chapter 9 explains that Carmen proved an ideal vehicle for the new technologies of the twentieth century, embraced by the new recording artists whose prestige was borrowed from the operatic world. The young American opera star Geraldine Farrar, building on the legacies of Emma Calvé and Maria Gay, enjoyed an unprecedented and unmistakably modern celebrity as Carmen, born of her ability to exploit the confluence of operatic performance, recordings, and the silent film industry. In this context, the Metropolitan Opera’s attempt to stage a genuine Spanish opera in the guise of Enrique Granados’s Goyescas was undermined by comparison with the vibrant New York traditions of Carmen in the winter of 1915–16, when the fashion for all things Spanish was so intense that Carl Van Vechten dubbed it “the Spanish blaze.”Less
Chapter 9 explains that Carmen proved an ideal vehicle for the new technologies of the twentieth century, embraced by the new recording artists whose prestige was borrowed from the operatic world. The young American opera star Geraldine Farrar, building on the legacies of Emma Calvé and Maria Gay, enjoyed an unprecedented and unmistakably modern celebrity as Carmen, born of her ability to exploit the confluence of operatic performance, recordings, and the silent film industry. In this context, the Metropolitan Opera’s attempt to stage a genuine Spanish opera in the guise of Enrique Granados’s Goyescas was undermined by comparison with the vibrant New York traditions of Carmen in the winter of 1915–16, when the fashion for all things Spanish was so intense that Carl Van Vechten dubbed it “the Spanish blaze.”
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The Screen Directors Guild (SDG) meeting of October 22, 1950, was convened to discuss the recall (dismissal) of the director Joseph L. Mankiewicz as Guild president by a conservative group headed by ...
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The Screen Directors Guild (SDG) meeting of October 22, 1950, was convened to discuss the recall (dismissal) of the director Joseph L. Mankiewicz as Guild president by a conservative group headed by Cecil B. DeMille. The recall was an attempt by this group to stamp out a series of member protests about introducing a mandatory anti-Communist loyalty oath through an open and signed ballot. The loyalty oath was partly designed to introduce a union-sanctioned blacklist at the Guild. These issues divided the allegiances of the Guild and its board and were related to the political tensions extending from the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigation into Communism in the American film industry in 1947. The SDG meeting of 1950 is one of the most famous meetings in Hollywood history. It has been written about and referenced in many books on film history and criticism and described as one of the great symbolic events in Hollywood political history. While the coverage has been extensive, it has also been misinterpreted and misunderstood. Indeed, what passes for history is actually a wildly inaccurate account based on partisan sources. This book is a revisionist history of the meeting and the loyalty oath issue.Less
The Screen Directors Guild (SDG) meeting of October 22, 1950, was convened to discuss the recall (dismissal) of the director Joseph L. Mankiewicz as Guild president by a conservative group headed by Cecil B. DeMille. The recall was an attempt by this group to stamp out a series of member protests about introducing a mandatory anti-Communist loyalty oath through an open and signed ballot. The loyalty oath was partly designed to introduce a union-sanctioned blacklist at the Guild. These issues divided the allegiances of the Guild and its board and were related to the political tensions extending from the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigation into Communism in the American film industry in 1947. The SDG meeting of 1950 is one of the most famous meetings in Hollywood history. It has been written about and referenced in many books on film history and criticism and described as one of the great symbolic events in Hollywood political history. While the coverage has been extensive, it has also been misinterpreted and misunderstood. Indeed, what passes for history is actually a wildly inaccurate account based on partisan sources. This book is a revisionist history of the meeting and the loyalty oath issue.
Jennifer Fleeger
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199936892
- eISBN:
- 9780199389971
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199936892.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Popular, History, American
Making their screen debuts little more than a decade apart, Geraldine Farrar and Marion Talley, both singers with the Metropolitan Opera Company, reveal the degree to which changes in the cinematic ...
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Making their screen debuts little more than a decade apart, Geraldine Farrar and Marion Talley, both singers with the Metropolitan Opera Company, reveal the degree to which changes in the cinematic representation of the opera diva can be traced to larger cultural and technological shifts in the reproduction of music. Farrar’s earnings on her silent films were enormous, thanks not only to her devoted fan following, but also to the way that her film image relied on signifiers of her opera roles. Marion Talley‘s first film, a short for Warners’ new sound-on-disc system, the Vitaphone, flopped. Although it seems unbelievable that a silent screen diva would be more popular than an audible opera singer, the shift from live to recorded sound in film exhibition unraveled the requirements for representing singing women.Less
Making their screen debuts little more than a decade apart, Geraldine Farrar and Marion Talley, both singers with the Metropolitan Opera Company, reveal the degree to which changes in the cinematic representation of the opera diva can be traced to larger cultural and technological shifts in the reproduction of music. Farrar’s earnings on her silent films were enormous, thanks not only to her devoted fan following, but also to the way that her film image relied on signifiers of her opera roles. Marion Talley‘s first film, a short for Warners’ new sound-on-disc system, the Vitaphone, flopped. Although it seems unbelievable that a silent screen diva would be more popular than an audible opera singer, the shift from live to recorded sound in film exhibition unraveled the requirements for representing singing women.
Anthony Slide
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231167086
- eISBN:
- 9780231538220
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231167086.003.0004
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
In these diary entries written between January and July 1935, Hollywood screenwriter Charles Brackett talks about Win or Lose, a script that he was working with Louise Long but was pulled out ...
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In these diary entries written between January and July 1935, Hollywood screenwriter Charles Brackett talks about Win or Lose, a script that he was working with Louise Long but was pulled out suddenly; his teamup with Frank Partos for the horror film Terror by Night; his meeting with Cecil B. DeMille in relation to the movie The Crusades; his wife Elizabeth's nervous breakdown; his decision to sell the house in which he was born in Saratoga Springs, New York; Marc Connelly's divorce from wife Madeline, who was rumored to have an affair with Marc's best friend, Bob Sherwood, whom she eventually married.Less
In these diary entries written between January and July 1935, Hollywood screenwriter Charles Brackett talks about Win or Lose, a script that he was working with Louise Long but was pulled out suddenly; his teamup with Frank Partos for the horror film Terror by Night; his meeting with Cecil B. DeMille in relation to the movie The Crusades; his wife Elizabeth's nervous breakdown; his decision to sell the house in which he was born in Saratoga Springs, New York; Marc Connelly's divorce from wife Madeline, who was rumored to have an affair with Marc's best friend, Bob Sherwood, whom she eventually married.
Kevin Brianton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813168920
- eISBN:
- 9780813169002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168920.003.0009
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Drawing together the strands present in the book, discussing how historians build on false ideas of previous ones, the conclusion calls for a more grounded approach to history.
Drawing together the strands present in the book, discussing how historians build on false ideas of previous ones, the conclusion calls for a more grounded approach to history.
Ethan Mordden
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190651794
- eISBN:
- 9780190860929
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190651794.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, History, Western
In 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago brought together a host of memes and myths, the gleefully subversive character of American musical comedy, the reckless glamor of the big-city newspaper, the mad ...
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In 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago brought together a host of memes and myths, the gleefully subversive character of American musical comedy, the reckless glamor of the big-city newspaper, the mad decade of the 1920s, the work of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon—two of the greatest talents in the musical’s history—and the Wild West gangsterville that was the city of Chicago itself. The tale of a young woman who murders her departing lover and then tricks the jury into letting her off, Chicago seemed too blunt and cynical at first. Everyone agreed it was show biz at its brilliant best, yet the public still preferred A Chorus Line, with its cast of innocents and sentimental feeling. Nevertheless, the 1996 Chicago revival is now the longest-running American musical in history, and the movie version won the Best Picture Oscar. As this text looks back at Chicago’s various moving parts, including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical, we see how the American theatre serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society.Less
In 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago brought together a host of memes and myths, the gleefully subversive character of American musical comedy, the reckless glamor of the big-city newspaper, the mad decade of the 1920s, the work of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon—two of the greatest talents in the musical’s history—and the Wild West gangsterville that was the city of Chicago itself. The tale of a young woman who murders her departing lover and then tricks the jury into letting her off, Chicago seemed too blunt and cynical at first. Everyone agreed it was show biz at its brilliant best, yet the public still preferred A Chorus Line, with its cast of innocents and sentimental feeling. Nevertheless, the 1996 Chicago revival is now the longest-running American musical in history, and the movie version won the Best Picture Oscar. As this text looks back at Chicago’s various moving parts, including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical, we see how the American theatre serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society.
