Guilty by Suspicion

The merit of this film is that it portrays the mechanism, the mentality and the impact on human character of what might very well be any communist regime there ever was in a stunningly perfect way (as a person grown up in a socialist country, believe me - I know!) - only here represented by people who are supposed to prevent communism from spreading! A great comment on human nature - whether intended or not is less important. If I didn't know better, I'd believe this was a Hollywood remake of some film about Stalin's 30:s purges or Polish repressions against the right wing combatants in the 50:s. Solid performance from De Niro, supported by a talented cast. Martin Scorsese appears in a cameo that must be one of the most extensive in his acting career.

It's almost impossible to write any kind of objective film about the blacklist, the wounds of it run deep in show business. Guilty By Suspicion has no pretense to objectivity, neither does that John Wayne epic Big Jim McLain which was favorable to the House Un American Activities Committee.

Those who gave testimony at HUAC did so for a variety of motives. Some like Adolphe Menjou wanted the blacklist for everyone to the left of Herbert Hoover. Some like Robert Taylor felt they were doing a patriotic service. Some under the threat of not being able to work as artists in their chosen profession named names before HUAC. A very select few said stick it in your ear.

If there any guilty parties it's not the artists whatever their political persuasion. It was the studio bosses and one of them, Darryl F. Zanuck is played here by Ben Piazza, who gave in without exception to HUAC and cooperated in the blacklist, who pitted the people of various political persuasions against each other. Sad to say that's not really demonstrated here in Guilty By Suspicion.

The members of HUAC were 95% on the political right of both parties. The Democrats were mostly southerners and the Republicans were on the right in their party. The liberals of either party had more constructive ways to spend their time in Congess.

Guilty By Suspicion tells the story of Robert DeNiro as a fictional film director who gets blacklisted because of secret hearing testimony given by Chris Cooper. His struggle to find work turns positively Kafkaesque until he agrees to go before the committee.

DeNiro strikes all the right notes in his performance and is aided and abetted by the performance of Annette Bening as his estranged wife. Acting honors however go to Patricia Wettig who plays a distraught blacklisted actress with a drinking problem to start with.

Guilty By Suspicion is not the ultimate telling of the blacklist's story, but it's still pretty good and does get a feel for the times the story is set in.

The film Guilty by Suspicion showed the effects of the Hollywood blacklist in true-to-life form. Not only did it deal with how friendships and families were affected during this period, but it also showed how other American's, such as teachers, were also blacklisted. Blacklisting was not only a Hollywood occurrence.

Those interested in communism in Hollywood will find the screenplay exciting and interesting, as there are hints of actual transcripts from the House Committee on Un-American Activities scattered throughout the movie. I've watched it at least three times, and I never get bored, I just pick up more and more of the realities of this time period.

The movie is not meant to be used as a way to research this time period. It is a statement movie. It is a statement about the evilness of the red scare. It is not pro-communist, but it is pro American freedom of expression.

Guilty by Suspicion is a great educational movie that is supported by a great cast, and great subplots!

Some Americans today may never have heard of Senator Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term refers to U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) and has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting from the late 1940s through the 1950s. It was characterized by heightened political repression and a campaign spreading fear of communist influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents. After the mid-1950s, McCarthyism began to decline, mainly due to the gradual loss of public popularity and opposition from the U.S. Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren. The Warren Court made a series of rulings that helped bring an end to McCarthyism.

The movie "Guilty by Suspicion" takes place in Hollywood during the height of the Second Red Scare. The movie focuses on David Merrill (Robert De Niro) though he is indicative of many Hollywood personnel affected by the Communist witch hunting.

David, by all indications, was a gainfully employed movie director that was in constant demand. He would have been able to stay gainfully employed so long as he told the F.B.I. what they wanted to hear. And they wanted to hear that certain friends of David's were Communists. David, valuing friendship over finances, opted to keep quiet about any of his friends activities. For that, David was put on the Hollywood blacklist.

"Guilty by Suspicion" is a weighty movie. We get an up close and personal look at what McCarthyism was doing to people's lives. Now I know that some of you may be saying, "Who cares? It was Hollywood." To that I would say that the Constitution never put zoning restrictions on who it applied to. The Constitution didn't have a Hollywood exemption in it and the U.S. government was trampling all over people's Constitutional rights. If they didn't have enemies within the U.S. they were certainly making them.

I consider this period of the early 90's to be Robert DeNiro's second wind, if you will, after many great films he starred in the 70's. This film, along with the excellent Goodfellas, Awakenings, Night and the City, A Bronx Tale, and Cape Fear highlighted a great actor's resume. He hasn't done many great films in a while, but his acting chops speak for themselves. He stars here as David Merrill, a blacklisted director in Hollyweird, who's basically accused of being a communist and certain government factions want him to name names. His performance, although subdued, is very solid as he struggles with the decision to either report his friends, who are thought to be Communist in order to rescue his once promising career, or refuse to give up any names so their lives and careers won't be destroyed also. There's a moving scene between Merrill and congress as they bombard him with questions and accusations. This is probably the most memorable scene, but I thought it tries to wrap the film up in a neat little ball, as opposed to letting us know exactly what went on in those supposedly communist meetings Merrill was a part of, and what was discussed there and who attended these meetings.

George Wendt does a commendable job as Bunny Baxter, even though it's difficult to see him other than Norm from Cheers, but I digress. Annette Benning and Patricia Wettig also give solid performances in this forgotten little film based on a true story.