An Interview with John Howard Lawson Author(S): John Howard Lawson, Dave Davis and Neal Goldberg Source: Cinéaste, Vol

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ORGANIZING THE SCREEN WRITERS GUILD: An Interview with John Howard Lawson Author(s): John Howard Lawson, Dave Davis and Neal Goldberg Source: Cinéaste, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1977), pp. 4-11, 58 Published by: Cineaste Publishers, Inc Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41685800 . Accessed: 15/02/2014 06:06

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This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions OnAugust 11, 1977, former screenwriter JohnHoward Lawson died in somemeasure ofcontrol over their own work. Mt.Zion Hospital, San Francisco, at the age of 82. Lawson'sreputation Forhis efforts, Lawson was blacklisted in 1947, as a memberof the restson hisscripts (BLOCKADE, SAHARA, ALGIERS, COUNTER- Hollywood10.He was the first "unfriendly" witness todefy the House Un- ATTACK,ACTION IN THE NORTHATLANTIC), his critical works AmericanActivities Committee, andwas dragged from the hearing by Fed- (Film : TheCreative Process, Theory and Techniqueof Playwriting and eralofficers for insisting that Chairman Parnell Thomas, later jailed him- Screenwriting,Filmin the Battle of Ideas), and plays (Processional, Suc- self,accord him the same courtesy Thomas had extended tothe long parade cessStory), but he was also a major,dare I sayheroic, figure on the Holly- ofcooperative witnesses who had been encouraged togive lengthy testi- woodleft who worked long and arduously within the film industry forsocial monialsto their own patriotism and the treason of others. Lawson's defi- change.Although Lawson was a giftedwriter (official historians ofscreen- anceof Thomas sent the star-studded Committee forthe First Amendment writingofcourse neglect him altogether), it is hispart in foundingthe scurryingback to Beverly Hills, but he set an example for those who fol- ScreenWritersGuild and his subsequent role in the Hollywood branch of lowedhim before HUAC. He served nearly a year in prison for contempt of theCommunist Party that were in the long run more significant. Congress,and never worked inHollywood again. It is hardlynecessary torecall that little is knownabout the political Asa critic,Lawson shared Marx's conviction that culture is classcul- historyof Hollywoodand less about Lawson himself, since students of ture,an instrumentofclass domination. Although his adherence to the Americanfilm have long pretended itdoesn't exist, preferring tochurn out Partyline and liberal use of Party rhetoric blinded him to some of the pro- identicalbooks on John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock for their own amuse- gressivecontradictions inpopular culture, he nevertheless wrote percep- ment.When interest inthe Hollywood left finally revived inthe late 60's tively,ifharshly, onHollywood film. A selectionofhis essays, published in andearly 70's, Lawson was too old and ill to submit to extensive interviews. 1953under the title Film in the Battle of Ideas, is a minorclassic of its Hisdeath will make it immeasurably more difficult to piece together the kind. story,although he was reportedly at work on an autobiographywhen he Thefollowing interview (edited here to read as a first-personnarrative) died,which isto be completed byhis daughter. wasconducted by Dave Davis and Neal Goldberg in 1973in connection Priorto the founding ofthe ScreenWriters Guild in 1933,Hollywood withtheir research into labor history inSouthern California.* Itsheds light writerswere treated with contempt. Itwas not uncommon for8 or10 writers on thecircumstances surrounding theformation of the ScreenWriters towork on one script with screen credit whimsically distributed among the Guild,but regrettably - because the interview was only the first of what producers'in-laws, golf partners, or bookies.In organizingthe Guild, washoped would be a seriesof discussions - it does not touch on the role of writershoped to exercise economic leverage against the studios and gain theCPUSA in Hollywood, noron Lawson's role within the Party. PeterBiskind

My relationshipwith film goes back to 1920,when I'd just abouttwo- and- a- half years, coming out in thefall of 1928 and comeback from the First World War, where I was in theambu- stayinguntil the middle or end of 1930,during which time the lanceservice. I was broke and I hada familyand, at thattime, in stockmarket crashed. The whole economy of the country went to 1920or thefirst months of 1921,I sold a playto Paramount piecesbut therewas stillplenty of moneycirculating and avail- picturesfor $5,000. That enabled me to go to Europefor two years able in Hollywood.I did a numberof very bad butvery important towrite and that resulted in the plays Roger Bloomer and Proces- pictureswhich made a greatdeal of money,including OUR sional, which were done in the New York theater in 1923and 1925. BLUSHINGBRIDES starringJoan Crawford, another one called So I hadactually had business connections for the sale ofmaterial THE SEA BAT, and DYNAMITE,Cecil B. De Mille'sfirst talk- toHollywood as earlyas 1920-21. ingpicture. All of these were among my credits during those first Thatfirst contact didn't result in anyfurther attempts to do coupleof years, so I wasreally very successful in Hollywood. workfor the industrybecause during the 1920's I was preoc- By thistime, though, I was beginningto feelthat, in many cupiedwith trying to developan avant-gardemovement in the ways,art should be connectedwith social issues. I was willingto theater,a movementtowards theatricalism and awayfrom stage acceptthe conditions under which one worked in Hollywood,but I realism,an attemptto introduceentirely new values into the couldn'thelp recognizing that these conditions were abominable, theater.It correspondedin manyways with what Brecht and thateven from the point of view of turning out a satisfactorycom- Piscatorand Meyerholdwere doing in Europe. The most mercialproduct, it was verydifficult and almostimpossible to importantexample of thiswas probablymy play Processional functioneffectively under Hollywood conditions. That was true in whichwas doneby the Theater Guild. I thenwent on to form, 1929and 1930and I suspectthat, from all I knowabout Holly- alongwith four other writers, the New Playwrights Theater, which wood,it's still true today. From the point of view of the bankers functionedin NewYork in 1927and into 1928 at theCherry Lane andfinanciers, ofcourse, it makes lots of sense because they make Playhousein GreenwichVillage. Although it was important,in a lotof money out of deals. But from the point of view of turning myopinion, and made a deep impressionon manypeople, it outan effectiveand useful commercial product, it makes no sense becameapparent that we could not subsist. The conditionsunder at all, in myopinion. Of course,that's something that could be whichwe operatedjust didn't allow us to existas writersor pro- debatedat greatlength. ducersor managers. By1931 I'd putaside a littleof my money from Hollywood and It wasabsolutely essential that we find a differentway of func- I decidedto go backto NewYork where the conditions were more tioning,especially because I wasdead broke at thattime and had favorablefor my plays than they had beenearlier, because the heavydebts. The NewPlaywrights Theater could no longerfunc- Depressionhad intervenedand playswith some social content tionand therewas reallynothing else in NewYork theater that werebeginning to be in demand.This was just at thetime when couldafford to supportan avant-garde- a so-calledWorkers' or theroots of the Group Theater were being formed by Clurman and Peoples'theater, which is whatwe weretrying to establish.Just Strasbergand CherylCrawford. I knew them and was acquainted aboutthat time, in late 1928, I receivedan offerto comeout and withtheir efforts. It wasa periodwhen it looked as ifthere would workfor MGM. It wasinteresting that they should ask me,of all be opportunitiesin the theater, but to go backto New York I had people,because I was associatedwith a moreor less revolu- tofree myself from my contract with MGM. Theonly way I could tionaryor rebelliousmovement in the theater.But the motion freemyself from it was to break it, so I wentto Irving Thalberg and picturecompanies didn't care about that - theythought they could toldhim that I wantedto breakmy contract and go backto New use me,get something out of me and, at thetime, they weren't York because I had some plays that I wanteddone. Well, worriedabout what my opinions were. As a matterof fact, that was Thalberg,being a suspiciousman by nature and having experience rightat thetime that Eisenstein was visiting Hollywood and had a withParamount in relationto a dramatizationof Dreiser's job *An oftheir research was STRIKE THE a 30 minute novel,An American Tragedy. outgrowth SET, So I cameout to MGM on a contractfor three months with b/wdocumentary onthe history oflabor organization inHollywood, with rarefootage of the Hollywood strikes of 1946 and an interview with Herb optionsrunning for five years. After some waste of time, I beganto Sorrell,head of the Conference ofStudio Unions (CSU). For information functionvery effectively at MGM. I gotalong very well there with onrental of the film, write Dave Davis at Focal Point Films, 209V2 Colora- Thalberg,who was the head of the studio then. I stayedthere for do,Santa Monica, CA 90401. OppositePage: BLOCKADE 5

This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions withthe difficulties ofwriters, immediately assumed that the plays he talkedabout the cut in salaries- hissalary was beingcut one- I wantedto go backand producein NewYork were plays I had half,too, he said- tearsstreamed down his faceas he explained writtenon MGM's time. Actually, they had notbeen written while whata sacrificeit was. Well, I and mostof my friends among the I was at MGM; theywere plays I had writtenbefore I leftNew actors,writers and othersdid notthink it was sucha sacrificefor Yorkin 1928. There was no way of assuring him of that or even of MGM. We knewvery well that they were making profits and discussingthe matter, especially because the fact that I wantedto wouldgo righton makingprofits, and thatLouis B. Mayerwas leavethe studio at all wasvery upsetting to him. retaininghis enormous assets in termsof stockin MGM. About So I leftMGM in 1930and wentback to NewYork. My wife thattime I hadbegun to holdmeetings regarding a writers' guild andI hadtwo children by this time and we were determined not to or union.When the 50% cut came,it seemedobvious that the returnto Hollywood,but to establishourselves in the East. We writersin Hollywood- several hundred of them,many of them wantedvery much to be outin thecountry, so webought a house unemployed,and others being cut one- half regardless of the terms outnear the Sound on LongIsland. There was a lotof work to be oftheir contract - that the time had come when it was possibleto doneon it but we were very happy with it. Pretty soon, however, the reallyorganize a union,although writers were afraid of the word expensesof running the house on LongIsland were so greatthat I union,so wecalled it the Screen Writers Guild. had to go backto Hollywoodto payfor it. I found,as did many I wasvery active in thepreparations for the first open meeting otherpeople, many other artists in otherfields, that it's notso of theGuild. At thetime of thefirst open meeting- I thinkin simpleto make a compromiseabout commercial undertakings - in Marchor Aprilof 1933, shortly after Roosevelt's inauguration - fact,it's almost impossible. nobodyin Hollywoodknew anything about the Guild. But the I had marvelouscredits from my period at MGM,credits that wordhad gottenaround to writers,and therewas a turnoutof wereworth dollars in the bank. I wasable to makea veryunusual, severalhundred writers that night. I had takensuch a leadingrole veryunsatisfactory arrangement with RKO in 1931which allowed in the preparations,and in thestudy of the legal questionsin meto write three original film plays in New York, not at thestudio, regardto theorganization of theguild, that it was unanimously andjust come out to the studio for two weeks consultation on each agreedby thesteering committee that I shouldmake the main ofthe film plays. This was a veryunusual arrangement at that time report,and that I should be electedwithout opposition as andit worked very badly because that was the year the Depression Presidentof the new guild, which I wasvery proud to do. beganto affectHollywood. RKO in particularwas in a state I wasinterested in a ScreenWriters Guild for two reasons: in approachingbankruptcy and therewere frequent changes in the thefirst place, from an economicpoint of view; and in thesecond leadershipof thestudio and theidea thatyou could turn out a place,to makebetter pictures, to makesome sense of the produc- scriptand throw it into that malestrom and haveit comeout as a tionof pictures within the industry. Now I didn'tlabor under the picturewas perfectlyabsurd. They were very enthusiastic about delusionthat the writercould controlhis material,which is someof the things I wrote and some of them were produced, but by supposedlythe situation in thetheater, although in thetheater, theend of 1931 David Selznick had become the head of RKO - for too,there are all sortsof factors which determine what the writer - a fewmonths, not for very long and he wasworking on hisown can do witha playwhich is in productionand underall the projectsand had no use forthe scriptsI had written.He did pressuresof production. But I did thinkthat writers should have employme foranother four to six weeksbut thenmy period at moreparticipation in production,that they should be partof a RKO endedand I lookedin vainfor another job in Hollywood. teamwhich would include the director and theproducers of the The tremendoussuccesses I had madeat MGM had beendissi- picture.The producer,the director and thewriter, in myopinion, patedby myfailures at RKO, and apparentlythere was just no shouldwork together in a collaborativeeffort to makea motion placefor me to function. My family and I remainedin Hollywood picture.Whether this was practicalor not,I wouldwonder now, anywaybecause we didn't have enough money to sustain a perma- butanyway this was very important to us at thattime, the whole nentprogram of living in the East. questionof the treatmentof writers.Not onlytheir physical Soonafterwards I had twoplays produced - one in NewYork treatment,their physical inability to function effectively as writers and one on theroad. The one in NewYork was SuccessStory , butalso thecustom of having four or fivewriters or tenor twelve whichwas a veryremarkable play and it attracteda greatdeal of writerswork on thesame story, and theconfusion about credits. attention.It just so happenedthat Cecil B. De Mille,with whom I Duringthe time I'd beenat MGM I gotsome very big credits, and had workedon hisfirst talking picture, wrote me a lettersaying I gotsome fairly good credits at RKO afterwards,but the credits thathe had seenSuccess Story and thoughtit was tremendous, did notcorrespond in anyway to theactual work I had doneon thatit was the only good play in NewYork. He especiallyadmired thosepictures, because friends of theproducers were put in for thedialogue which was so life-like,he said,that it was absolutely subordinatecredits, and thecredits were juggled in all sortsof astoundinginthe New York theater. Well, I passedthis letter on to ways. myagent and itimmediately resulted in an offerto work at MGM So I wasvery much concerned with the writer's role in relation again.Thalberg was veryready to forgetthe conditionsunder tothe industry, and I stillam. When I madethe opening speech at whichI had leftthe studio if I was to comeback, and thewriters meeting - I thinkit was held in the Knickerbocker willing - especiallyif I wrotesuch wonderful dialogue, as CecilB. De Mille Hotelin HollywoodI openedwith the words: "The writeris the saidI did- De Millewas then still at MGM. So I cameback and creatorof motion pictures." I think people have failed to recognize wasassigned to work on a storyabout a GeneralHospital. thesignificance ofthose words which foreshadowed by many years I was back workingat MGM at a reducedsalary, but very thedevelopment of the auteur theory which developed in France happyto getthe money. At thesame time, however, I was very and whichidentified the director as the creatorof the motion disgustedwith the conditionsin Hollywood.Then came the picture.Nowadays I wouldn't know whether it's the director or the electionof Roosevelt and its impact on the whole social situation in writer,but I wouldbe verydoubtful if thewriter is thecreator thecountry - his inauguration, the closing of thebanks, and the unlesshe and thedirector are thesame person, or so closethat stoppingof all moneytransactions in theUnited States. This was theycan reallywork together in some sortof effectiveartistic nota movewhich presaged a revolution,by anymeans; it-was a collaboration. practicalmeasure to stabilizethe banking system and to avoid In anycase, those words were sufficient to insurethe eternal failuresof banks. But it was used thestudios as theoccasion to enmityof producersagainst the writers. I sayeternal because it by - cutthe salaries of all creativepersonnel by one- half. At MGM and stillexists there'sa strikeof writers going on rightnow as wesit theother studios, meetings were held of all thecreative personnel - and talk.You see, the producersregarded the ScreenWriters all theactors, writers, technicians and directors- and at these Guildnot only as an economicthreat that would negotiate and get meetingsthe 50% cut was explained. Louis B. Mayerpresided over higherpay for writers, but also as a deadlythreat to thewhole thatmeeting. I was sitting not very far from him and I sawthat as systemof making films and to theirauthority and powerover the

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This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions material.In themonths and yearsthat followed, this became a everybody.I think that characterization would still hold good, and majorissue. This is importantto mentionbecause it's almost I thinkthere are people in Hollywoodwho would accept that char- alwaysignored in accountsof the historyof Hollywood.I don't acterization.It is no longerthe generalopinion of peoplein thinkyou can possiblyunderstand the situationthat developed Hollywood,though - theyconsider me violently prejudiced in favor aroundthe Hollywood Ten and whythe attack was madeat that ofan extremelyradical position. particulartime in 1947 withoutthis perspective.You cannot Be thatas itmay, I decidedin 1934that I couldnot run for re- regardit as an offshootofa labordispute that came up suddenlyat electionas Presidentof the Guild, although I wanted to be on the thattime - the case of the HollywoodTen goes back to the boardand participatevery actively in itsactivities. So whenthe formationof the ScreenWriters Guild in 1933,and I am very electionwas heldin Hollywood- I was livingin theEast at the proudof thefact that I was a leadingfigure in organizingthe time- theyaccepted my refusal to runfor President again, and Guild.It was a dedicationthat I feltdeeply toward the writer, RalphJ. Block became the second President of the Guild. He was towardthe freedom of the writer within the limits imposed by the notelected by acclaim. I am stillthe only person in thehistory of industry,toward enlarging those limits so thatthe writer could do theScreen Writers Guild who was elected by a unanimousvote of a moreeffective creative job. I feltthis very strongly, although my themembership. ideasabout how and to whatextent it couldbe donehave varied The Guildand I soonentered a verydifficult period. It was throughthe years and would be quitedifferent today. But I regard perfectlyplain, not only to me but also to otherleaders of the thatmeeting at the KnickerbockerHotel in 1933 as reallythe Guild- RalphBlock was succeeded in 1935 by Ernest Pascal - and beginningof a cycleof my life, a determination,a commitment to fromtalking with Sidney Howard and leadingwriters from the givemy life and myprofessional activity to thiscause. It was the DramatistsGuild of the Authors League of America, that the only logicalbeginning of the events that came to a crisisin 1947and wayto makeour pointand becomerecognized by the motion thatsent me to jail in 1950and 1951.These issues are still at work pictureproducers was to form a singleorganization ofwriters, ont todayand they're still ignored. organizationthat could stop the flow of material from all writing Duringthe Depression, with the development of organization, sourcesto the producers. As longas theScreen Writers Guild and includingtrade union organization and people'sorganization, it theAuthors Guild and the DramatistsGuild were all separate becamevery important for the leadingpower in the United organizations,and all goingtheir separate ways, there was no States- whatis looselycalled the 'Establishment' - to controlthe possibleway of organizing a sufficient control of material to win a meansof communication. The meansof communication were far fightagainst the producers. So we undertookto organizeone big moreimportant in 1933and 1934than they had beenin 1925and unionof writers,uniting all thevarious spheres, for the whole 1926,because the whole situation in thecountry had changed. country. Therewas no threatof revolution, that would be perfectlyabsurd Well,these were wordsas faras the were - fighting producers tosay, but there was a threatof social change thesocial changes concerned.When this plan was openlyproclaimed, and simul- thatwere being conducted with a greatdeal of liberalskill by taneousmeetings in New York and Los Angeles were announced to FranklinD. Roosevelt. establishthis one organization ofwriters for the whole country, the WhenI waselected President of theScreen Writers Guild, I producerswere determined to breakup thesemeetings and to kill had a contractwith MGM, so theykept me for the length of my theorganization. Again, their attack was directed mainly against contract.When it expireda fewmonths later, I was fired,of me.I hadgone to Washington at thattime to testify before a copy- course.I spentmost of the year 1933 and early 1934 in Washington rightcommittee regarding copyright law, and in the courseof tryingto getrecognition of the Screen Writers Guild underthe mytestimony I had said thatscreen writers in Hollywoodwere NationalIndustrial Recovery Act, which was one of the great treatedlike office boys. This was taken as a signalamong the - it's pillarsof Roosevelt's legislation that been adopted by Congress at a verycomic idea - butthis was taken as a signalamong the more thattime. Being in Washington,totally frustrated in theeffort to conservativemembers of theGuild that I was degradingwriters getrecognition for the Screen Writers Guild, I learneda greatdeal andtalking about them as officeboys. A bigmovement to censure about the Establishmentand about Washingtonpolitics. The me and throwme offthe board of directorsof the Guildwas - processof radicalizationwhich began for me at dawn on the organizedand thisfrightened the members of the board so much battlefieldin Francewhen I was drivingambulances near Hill thatthey made a compromisewith the reactionaries. They offered 301- thatprocess of education in the meaning of the social struc- towithdraw me in someways and makean indirectcensure of me tureof capitalism in the United States was continuedand givena ifthe reactionaries would continue to supportthe program for one decisiveturn by myfunction as the head of the ScreenWriters bigunion of writers. This was about May or June of 1936. Guild.I learnedthere was no compromiseyou could make with It turnedout this was all a trickto destroy the Guild. The reac- theEstablishment. I learned that it was simplya dream- later, tionariesin the Guild were verywell organized.They did ofcourse, the dream was realized- butit was simplya dreamin participateup to a certainpoint in the decisions to reorganizethe 1933to supposethat the Roosevelt Administration was goingto Guildas partof one big unionof writers, but then at a certain supportthe demands of writers against the demands of the rulers pointthey all gotup and walkedout and said theywere through ofthe industry, when the Administration and thewhole govern- withthe Guild. The nextmorning the blacklist was initiatedfor mentdepended on theindustry to popularizeits activities and to thefirst time in Hollywood- that was in 1936,not in 1947 or supportit. 1950- becausethe producershad decidedthey could kill the However,there were interesting issues which arose during that Guildcomplétely. I had warnedthe Guild that if they made any campaign.We did win certainconcessions as a resultof the concessionsto theattack on me,it wouldn'tbe myselfwho would campaignI led in Washington,but the producers were very well sufferfrom it, it would be all thewriters, because the Guild would able to undermineall theconcessions. There were also a great be brokenif we gave them that opportunity. Ofcourse, this proved manyinternal difficulties between the Screen Writers Guild and correctvery rapidly - muchmore rapidly than I hadanticipated or theDramatists Guild and theAuthors Guild, the other guilds of feared. theAuthors League of America, which had offeredus a home.I Whathappened to me personallywas thatI was definitely had twomore plays slated for production in theearly spring of blacklistedin theindustry, as weremany other people, too, be- 1934,and I hadto decide whether I wanted to go on as Presidentof cause of theirknown record as supportersand activistsin the theScreen Writers Guild. I wasvery popular. One ofthe reasons I ScreenWriters Guild. The ScreenWriters Guild went completely hadbeen elected President of the Guild was that even at thattime underground;nobody could admit that they carried a cardin the therewas a left-wingand a right-wingin Hollywood,but I was ScreenWriters Guild. The blacklistwas veryloosely organized, almostthe only person who was totally trusted by all groupswithin however,because nobody was very worried as faras theproducers theGuild. They all feltthat they could rely on me,that I would wereconcerned. Zanuck was reallythe leader of the producers in serveonly the interests of the writer and be perfectlyhonest with suppressingthe Guild, and he wasvery open and very frank about 8

This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions HenryFonda and Madeleine Carroll in BLOCKADE it. Therewere a greatmany full- page advertisements,many of a lossof hundreds of thousands of dollars that very day, whereas themvery insulting, in Varietyand the Hollywood Reporter stating theconnection of writers with production was much more remote, thepositions of writers, pro and con,on theGuild. But as faras andmuch less immediate in terms of a threat. theblacklist was concerned,it reallyworked more or less auto- So thiswas the first stage in thehistory of the organization of maticallyand it wasn't anything where there was a definiteperson thewriters and actors. The actors had been denied any recognition or groupof peopleto whomyou appliedto clear yourselfor at thattime, and thewriters not only had no recognitionbut they anythingof that sort, as it was later.My friend Francis Faragoh, nolonger had a guild.In placeof the Writers Guild, a neworgan- whowas very successful in theindustry at thattime and whowas izationunder the direction of theproducers was set up. It was Vice Presidentof theGuild at thetime it was brokenup, was calledthe Screen Playwrights, orsomething of that sort, but it was convincedthat his fate in Hollywoodwas determined by his con- simplya companyunion. nectionwith the Guild and thatthe blacklist operated against him and againsta greatmany other people withwhom he was associated.In anycase, that struggle in 1936and 1937marked the "BLOCKADE" firststage in therather naive effort to createa ScreenWriters I cameback to Hollywood,however, in themiddle of 1937.I Guildin Hollywood. cameback due to the courage, reaily, of one man, Walter Wanger, Meanwhile,the creationof the ScreenWriters Guild was whowas an independentproducer desperate for material. He had responsiblefor the parallel and almostimmediate creation of the establisheda friendlyrelation with Harold Clurman, formerly of ActorsGuild, which was founded in 1933 just a fewweeks after we theGroup Theater. Clurman was workingas generaleditor for foundedthe Screen Writers Guild. The ActorsGuild was founded WalterWanger, and Wanger had a problemwith a storythat had verylargely with my advice and undermy guidance. I satwith the beenwritten by Lewis Milestone and Clifford Odets. The story was committeeand we talkedover all the arrangements;their basic unsatisfactory,it hadn't worked out, and Wangerdidn't know contract,and theiragreement with their members, were really whatto do withit. Clurman suggested that he call me- I wasback modeleddirectly on thearrangement of theWriters Guild. The in theEast at thattime at ourhouse on LongIsland, which we ActorsGuild had one thingin theirfavor, though. The Actors werestill trying desperately to support- and Wangertelephoned Guildwas not feared in relation to the control of material, because andasked if I'd comeright out to Hollywood, and I saidI would. theonly people who were a threatwere the very powerful stars who I cameout very shortly and we enteredinto discussions about werein a positionto dictatewhat was written,but eventhese thisfilm. At thattime it wasbased on a storyby Ilya Ehrenburg powerfulstars were not independent enough or important enough aboutRussian expatriates who had refused to return to Moscow at toconstitute any real threat to the power of the producers. At the thetime of the revolutionand whowere living in Paris.It was sametime, the actors had an advantagein thatthey were essential aboutthe problems of these Russians, whether they should return immediatelytoproduction. Ifactors walked off the set, that meant to theSoviet Union and takepart in theactivities of theirown 9

This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions people.Milestone had readthis story and persuadedWanger to and it was readyto starton a Mondaymorning. On Saturdayof buyit. Milestone and Odets then worked on thestory on thebasis thatweek, Wanger called in Dieterle and myself and he said, "I'm, thatit would be changedto a storyabout Spaniards living in Paris sorry,but I've been told thatI'll neverget anotherpenny of whowere initially sympathetic to the Francoregime, and their bankingmoney in Los Angelesor anywhereelse in the United discovery,their great enlightenment, to the pointwhere they Statesif I makethis film. So all I can tellyou is thatit's off. Sorry, decidedthey must go backand takea gunin theirhands, even if butthere's nothing I can do aboutit." therewere no ammunition,in order to defendthe democracy and thepeople of Spain. Well,practically the whole story took place in France.When I THE GUILD GETS ITS CONTRACT wentin to see Wanger,I said,"I havea reallystartling idea for Meanwhile,tremendous changes were being made in the you- whydon't you have the story take place in Spain?" So, he situationin Hollywood,because the actorsand thewriters had said,"How do youdo that?"And I elaboratedthe idea ofa small grownin strength.Roosevelt had adopteda muchmore radical townin the part of Spain still held by Franco, a smallseaport town programthan that with which he started.Roosevelt was also completelysurrounded by the Franco forces, with the people dying interestedinthe Hollywood situation from the point of view of pre- of starvation,waiting for a Russianship whichwas bringing ventingfilm production from falling into the hands of total supplies.The ship thenappears through the mistof an early reactionaries.From a liberalpoint of view, Roosevelt had become morningoutside the harbor and just as iťs aboutto reachthe quiteinterested inthe plight of the writer. He didn'tlike actors, he dock,it's torpedoed and sinks at thedock, and all thesupplies are was alwaysprejudiced against actors and thoughtthey were bad lost.That was the skeleton outline I submittedto Wanger of what I people.There's a veryinteresting letter I havesomewhere in which hopedwould be a realdocumentary about the Spanish struggle, Rooseveltexplains his attitudetoward actors as opposedto the and he enthusiasticallyaccepted it. That'swhy the picturewas reallyserious people, the creatorsof film,who he thinksare calledBLOCKADE. In the makingof thefilm, however, there writers. weremany It was agreedbeforehand, of course - there Bythis time there was theNational Industrial Relations Act, questions. - wasno questionof the fact that we had certainlimitations that withits clause 7.A, whichguaranteed collective bargaining. So, we couldnot call the Loyalistsby name,we couldnot use the underthe Labor Relations Act, we were able to forcethe issue of actualLoyalist uniform. This I acceptedbecause it was theonly collectivebargaining. A laborelection was finallyheld between wayin which the picture could be undertaken.There was complete 1939 and 1940, as I recall,and the ScreenPlaywrights, the understandingbetween Wanger and myselfand therewas no companyunion controlled by the producers, was overwhelmingly attempton mypart to introducematerial without discussing it, defeatedand the ScreenWriters Guild was made the sole becauseI wouldconsider that dishonest and wouldnever attempt bargainingrepresentative for the writers.I was reinstatedby todo thatwith a filmI wasmaking. havingworked with Wanger and becausethe producers and the Theproblem of BLOCKADE was not only the question of how Administrationtook a differentattitude toward trade union faryou could go withit politically.It seemedto me thata great organizationfrom that they had taken in 1936.I wasable to be on filmcould be madesimply on thequestion of democracy in Spain, thecommittee that negotiated the contract for the writers and in becausethis to me was thebasis of the struggleof the Spanish 1941,I believeit was, a contractwas finallyagreed upon and people.There was also the pointthat Franco and Hitlerand signed.I was presentduring that whole procedure as one ofthe Mussoliniwere using Spain as a meansof preparingfor World representativesofthe writers. WarII, and ifthe people of Spain were defeated, World War II However,there was a greatdeal of pressuremounting. Reac- wouldfollow. This we agreedupon and thiswas thebasis of the tionariesand representativesof Americanfascism of various story.But therewere lots of problems- aesthetic problems, shades and kinds were beginningto workvery actively in creativeproblems - that I was notable to solve.I'm proudof the Hollywoodbecause the question was being faced increasingly as to factthat BLOCKADE did playa partin thestruggle around the whowould actually control communication. This is thequestion awakeningto the meaning of Spain. I'm proudof the fact that it thatthe Hollywood strike in 1946and 1947was reallyabout, and wasthe only commercial film that was madethat did attemptto thissame question went back to thevery founding of the Screen takethe Loyalist side and to explainthe Loyalist point of view in WritersGuild. theSpanish struggle. But as forthe aesthetics of the picture, it is Thatquestion was very obviously raised in regardto myfilm nota finepicture in manyways. I wouldn'tsay it's a bad picture, BLOCKADE. BLOCKADE appearedjust at thetime when the becauseit's touchedby thegreatness of the subject.There are so-calledconsent decree about the trustification of the industry momentsin BLOCKADE, however,when you can see a definite wassigned by the producers, with the producers agreeing to divest conflictbetween the documentary aspect - thefaces of the Spanish themselvesof certain properties inexhibition in orderto avoidan citypeople in thelittle town, the people on the all-outanti-trust suit. The anti-trustsuit was tabledand certain people,peasants, - hillwatching for the boat from the Soviet Union to comein and agreementswere made in regardto it.That happened just at the thesecond-hand spy story which is thecentral story of BLOCK- timeof the production of BLOCKADE. One of the people who was ADE. You justcannot fit them together. That is myfault, no one mostactive in attackingthe film industry as beinga trustified else'sfault but mine. I nevercould find a wayof dealing with this industry,and demandingthat trustification be stoppedby the materialthat would give it itsfull weight and strengthin relation government,was Walter Wanger, because he was one of the inde- tothe tremendous historic issues that were raised. pendentswho was most affectedby the increasinglytight There'sa veryinteresting story about BLOCKADE. It was concentrationof capital in the industry- a concentrationof plannedto havea gala openingat Grauman'sChinese Theatre capitalwhich in other forms goes on today. and,at thelast minute, Wanger was forcedto call it off.He was By 1941,when the Screen Writers Guild was organizedand forced- and he toldus thishimself - he wasforced to sendcopies recognizedby the producers,and the ScreenActors Guild had ofthe script not only to Washington but also to Parisand London beenrecognized, and otherguilds had also been recognized,by foradvice as to changesthat would be made.When the changes thattime it was apparentthat there would be a majorstruggle weremade, the picturehad a muchmore modest opening at aroundthe strength and position of the guilds. The Screen Writers Westwoodin Los Angeles.So therewas enormous pressure on the Guildhad tobe controlledby the producers in sucha waythat it picture.There was so muchpressure, in fact,that William couldnot go beyondthe limits of purely economic questions. The Dieterleand I - he was the directorof BLOCKADE, as you politicalattack on the WritersGuild and other guilds in know- WilliamDieterle and I feltit whileworking on another Hollywood,the attempt to takeover the guilds in thesense that filmfor Wanger. It wasto be thefirst film to deal with the struggle theyshould be preventedfrom having any larger perspective or againstthe Nazis, the underground struggle in HitlerGermany. largerpoint of view, began in 1940and 1941.This was when the Thatfilm was all readyto go- it was cast,the scenery was built, Dies Committeewas firstformed. The FederalTheater was 10

This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions destroyedat thistime - thatwas the firstfunction of the Dies HollywoodQuarterly , which first came out in 1945,I think.I was Committee.It was also at this time that a mannamed Jack Tenney one of theeditors and largelyactive in determiningpolicy. We became Presidentof the musiciansunion on a veryradical wantedto make it a genuinelyactive academic magazine, which at program.But the minute he becamePresident - with the help of thesame time would go intothe problems of the industry, which thewriters and theactors, incidentally - he immediatelyturned wouldtry to makethe making of pictures a morecreative process, reactionary.He becamechairman of a committeeof the California and whichwould be supportedby the guilds.There are many legislatureinvestigating Communism inHollywood, particularly in reasonsthat couldn't be accomplished,but one of the main themotion picture industry. So in1943 and 1944, Jack Tenney was reasonswas that by 1946 it was no longerpossible for me to be an operating,having hearings. I was called to thosehearings and editorof The HollywoodQuarterly. I recall the day when I was forcedto givecertain testimony although I refusedto giveother calledinto the office of Clarence Dykstra, who was Provostof the testimonythat they tried to wangleout of me. Boththe national universityat that time, and withgreat regret and withapologies, Dies Committeeand thelocal TenneyCommittee were working he toldme thathe had beentold that he had to eitherdrop The overtimeto provethat there was a hugeCommunist conspiracy in HollywoodQuarterly , to severall relationsbetween it and the Hollywood. university,or else I had to resignas one ofthe editors. "Well," I It's importantto note,in this connection, that at thistime the said,"I don'twant to hurtthe magazine,so I'll resign."The writersbegan to extend their interests beyond just purely economic HollywoodQuarterly was later changed to TheQuarterly of Film, questions.One tremendousevent which occurred at thistime was Radioand Television, and then it was changed to Film Quarterly , ourparticipation with the University ofCalifornia in Los Angeles whichis stillbeing published. It is thedirect descendant of the in holdingthe first Writers Congress. It was held rightin the magazinethat I helpedinitiate in 1945. middleof the war, in 1943,and it opened with a messagefrom the Today,of course, there has been a proliferationofcommunica- Commander-in-Chief,fromRoosevelt himself, saying that this was tionsdepartments, ofthe study of communications and theinter- one of the mostimportant events that had takenplace in the relationshipof the media.It is exemplifiedparticularly in the UnitedStates. Despite this, the Writers Congress was violently CaliforniaInstitute of theArts which was establishedwith the attackedin Los Angelesby JackTenney and it was violently moneyof Walt Disney.I rememberreading an articleon the attackedin Washington and by the Hearst press. It wasconsidered foundingof the Instituteby Corrigan- he was thehead of the a plotby Communists totake over the industry. Institutefor a longtime until he wasforced out - inwhich he said, Out of thatfirst Writers Congress, however, came the first This is a revolutionin thearts. This is thefirst attempt to havea collaborationbetween working people in themedia - film,radio genuinelyfree institute of the arts.' Well, how can you have a free and,later, television - with academic people. I can saywith pride instituteof the arts when it's gotthat kind of moneybehind it? and withoutany hesitation that I was largelyresponsible for this Whenits function is obviouslyto keep people quiet and notto help firstcollaboration. We decided to publisha magazine,The Continuedonp. 58

Film Quarterly articles are anthologized. (Because they discuss major issues with lasting clarity and cogency, avoiding jargon. Nick Browne on narrativepoint of view in classical style. Barry Salt on the influence of film technology on style. Hans Feldmann defending Kubrick's vision of history.)

Film Quarterly articles are talked about. (Because they focus on questions worth arguing. Michael Dempsey reassessingJohn Ford. Paul Thomas explicating Fassbinder. Lynda Buntzen and Carla Craig psychoanalyzing Hour of the Wolf.)

Film articles are used in Quarterly teaching. (Because they stimulate discussion about fundamental problems: Lucy Fischer and Alan Williams analyzing the structuresof non-narrativefilms. Teresa de Lauretis arguing for The Night Porter as a woman's film. Brian Henderson on Metz's evolution.) (PLUS, of course,interviews, reviews, film book round-ups,etc. FQ is a journalyou cannotafford to miss!)

A New money-saving 2-year sub rates! I Ě Subscribeand be assured of receiving every issue, plus the yearly index. In the U.S., Canada, and Pan- ! t America,send $6.00 for one year, or $10.80 for two years (elsewhere, $7.00 or $12.80)

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This content downloaded from 128.59.62.83 on Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:01 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions DO YOU KNOW

THIS WOMAN? Mexico's most famouswoman painter,Frida Kahlo, was brilliant, beautiful,flamboyant. Married to Diego Rivera and haunted by childhood illness,she endured constantphysical and emotional turmoil.Her pain and passion became the focal pointof intensely personal,surrealist paintings. Her art is a powerfultestament to unfulfilledwomanhood and obsessivelove. Thisaward-winning film is a devastatingdocument narrated by the people who knew her best. Filmedin Mexico, it tracesa lifewhich waveredon the cuttingedge of artand politicsin the 30's. Dying,she had herselfwheeled in a protestmarch against the C.I.A. Andre Breton called hera bomb disguisedas a butterfly. "Mr.and Mrs. Crommie evoke Kahlo' s Ufe through still photographs, pictures of herpaintings and, on the soundtrack, the recorded recollections ofpeople who knewher in Mexico and this country. The Crommies' achievement is to have producedsuch an emotionallycharged film at such a farremove in time from theirsubject which is testimony,I suspect, not only to their taste and talent as filmmakers,butalso to thevitality of Kahloand herwork . . . THELIFE AND DEATHOF FRIDAKAHLO runs only 40 minutes, but it is moreaffecting than mostfeatures." - VINCENTCANBY, NEW YORK TIMES 40 minutes,color, sound, rental:$60 sale: $500 Serious Business Companydistributes short films in 16mm& 35mm, specializingin women'sstudies, film as artand animation.Write for catalog.

THE SCREEN WRITERS GUILD (Contd.) themexpress themselves? For thatmatter, what happens to the filmindustry, what happens to independentproduction, when you haveall thisbusiness intervention today? Paramount is connected withGulf Oil, Warner Brothers is connectedwith Kinney Shoes - I mean,how can you talk about the independence ofthe industry, or 1 6mm the independenceof any individual,however well intentioned, workingwithin the industry, when all thisis goingon? Thesequestions deserve a greatdeal further study. And all this historyis essentialto understandingwhat happened on a certain morningwhen subpoenas were delivered to about25 Hollywood distribution peoplewho went to Washingtonand becamethe Hollywood Ten. Thisis thereason why the Hollywood strike in 1945, 1946 and 1947 wasbroken so brutallyand with so muchviolence. It all fitsinto a compiled by certainpattern, and unlessthat pattern is observed,it's very difficultto understandthe tradeunion situation in Hollywood Judith Trojan today,it's very difficult to understandhow the content of pictures relatesdirectly to the process of unionization. ■ & Nadine Covert *Astrike was begun in Hollywood inMarch, 1945, under the leadership ofthe Conference ofStudio Unions a confederationofvarious craft A (CSU), handbookcovering commercial, university, and unions- painters, setdecorators, machinists, electricians, etc.- whichwas self-distribution;theater and televisionexhibition; attemptingtoorganize a new, democratically-run industrial union to re- filmfestivals and showcases;review sources; and placethe old AF of L unionswhich, under the domination ofRoy Brewer's much,much more. InternationalAlliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), were polit- icallyreactionary and rife with corruption. In October of that year, mass lines 184pp., May 19/7. ISBN: 0-87520-000-1 picket outsidethe Warner Bros, studio were attacked by strike- breakersand goons armed with baseball bats and tire irons, with assistance Price:$6.00 prepaid (S5.00 EFLA members) fromthe Burbank police who used high -pressure fire hoses and tear gas thestrikers. Orderfrom: Educational Film against LibraryAssoc. TheCSU strike was eventually defeated, and the CSU itself destroyed, 43 West61st Street byan alliance between Brewer's IATSE and the studios. The whole affair NewYork, NY 10023 wascharacterized byintense red-baiting and ended in a seriesof law suits, conspiracyarrests and a congressionalinvestigation. 58

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