Hollywood liste rouge

I thought this film did a fine job of portraying the ugliness of the US government in the repressive McCarthy era. Goldblum is excellent in his depiction of the courage it took to stand up to this tyranny and I found it very inspirational. In particular his attempt to confront the panel during the hearings in Washington was very well handled and it made me deeply consider how I would hold up in similar circumstances. I also appreciated the tenderness and commitment the he and his wife showed to each other. A mature portrayal. I recommend it. 7 stars out of 10.

Movie buffs and DeNiro fans will recall "Guilty By Suspicion". A story of how the HUAC witch hunts of the 1950s ripped apart the lives of many of Hollywood's writing and directing talent. Newcomer Karl Francis's movie treads along similar lines, focusing in on blacklisted director Herbert Biberman's attempt to make "Salt of the Earth" with a cast of unknowns and a blacklisted crew. Without spoiling this movie for the unacquainted I will end this synopsis here......however.... This is a European film, partially backed by the Welsh Arts Council. With all the talent and longing for local film production in the UK, why would the Arts Council plough money into an old pair of panty-linen like this? An American story shot entirely in Spain with a cast mainly of unknown actors. Jeff Goldblum does well, as ever, as Biberman....but so what? Most of the dialogue is so thin and hackneyed you could smell the dampness. I would suggest that the BBC or the Arts Council of Great Britain in future put their money where they'll find an audience and possibly a return on their investment, which I am sorry to say will not be happening with this boring mis-directed edsel.

Unfortunately, any film chronicling a specific period in history that most Americans are only barely knowledgeable about is going to have to be somewhat pedantic. To encompass the varied complexities of those `Reds' in Hollywood would come off as a history lesson that would last longer than `The Wings of War'. So a made-for-cable film like this must brush its canvas with wide strokes. This film focuses not so much on the agenda of the HUAC -for that I recommend "Tail Gunner Joe" and "Citizen Cohn"-, but on a select few of the victims of their persecution. For the most part, this film succeeds in showing what it was that these people, and other leftists in this country believed in (and still believe in). There's a great line in this film by the owner of the land where the director Biberman wants to film. He says, `I'm a Jeffersonian American'. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote: "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others." That form of liberty and equality has been a fight by the Left in this country for every generation since this country's inception. There has always been and always will be tyrants (fascists) who will try to squash that, and other tyrants (communists) who will promise liberty and equality in order to get the people to embrace their brand of tyranny. No doubt, there were many communist dupes in this country. There certainly were communist spies lurking in this country, and Stalinist and Maoist communism were verifiable threats the world over. But in post-WWII America, tyranny was used against the people in order to fight the THREAT of tyranny against the people. The principles that this country claimed to be so frightened of losing were tossed out altogether. In the USSR, people who didn't name names were sent to Siberia or executed. In the USA, the penalties were much less severe, but the process of unveiling ‘dissidents' was the same. Plus, there was the very audacious fact that most of those brought up in front of the HUAC were in fact the `real' Americans; the Jeffersonian Americans who believed in democracy and the principles of liberty and equality.

`One of the Hollywood Ten' is a good introduction to those who wanted desperately to bring those principles to every American. They knew that a country that is oppressive and does not value equal rights for all is perfect bait for communism (as well as for fascism –the two are strikingly similar in practice). They also knew that if they didn't present the populace with the very real struggle that the millions of oppressed people in this country faced, those oppressed people might very well embrace the false liberty that communists promised. Everyone is aware of the fact that the silver screen (broadened today by TV) is a very powerful tool. But it cannot be manipulated to make people join another system of government if their own system government is sound. The left wing of Hollywood set to make it sound (something that people who opposed free speech, integration and decent housing and safe working environments did not want to see). Had the Hollywood Ten been able to continue their mission, perhaps the equalities and freedoms we enjoy today would have come sooner. And there would have been more great cinematic achievements like `Salt of the Earth'. I do think that `One of the Hollywood Ten' should have shown more of the conditions in this country that were so perfectly depicted in `Salt of the Earth' (such as racism, shameful poverty, and unsafe working conditions). But it does at least give us a valued glimpse of the hearts and minds of those who retained this country's greatness in its darkest hour.

I recently saw One of the Hollywood Ten at a screener. I think Jeff Goldblum does an exceedingly good job as Herbert Biberman as were some of the supporting players, especially the Spanish actors. I did have a problem with the overall style of the film which played more like a set of moving images rather than a "movie". Photographed quite beautifully by Nigel Walters but ultimately rather loosely and sloppily directed (almost amateurishly) with a number of obvious Brits putting on American accents, namely the usually brilliant John Sessions! This may win awards in the Icelandic Film Festival but Oscar will look the other way.

This is a superb film about Blacklisting of Hollywoods writers/directors and actors. Jeff Goldblum is fantastic as Director Herbert Biebelmen who made the acclaimed film "Salt Of The City". This is a very powerful film superbly Directed by veteran Welsh film maker Karl Francis. It also features a great supporting cast. Possible Oscar noms for this film.