The University of Liverpool the REPRESENTATION OF
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The University of Liverpool THE REPRESENTATION OF COMMUNISM IN POST-WAR BRITISH FILM, THEATRE AND ART 1945-63 Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of The University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Jacqueline Clulow August 2012 Abstract In contrast to previous cold war studies which have focussed on propaganda and the cultural contest between the USA and USSR, this thesis demonstrates how British film, theatre, and art marginalised communism, and by association political radicalism, through the reinforcement of dominant negative stereotypes. This thesis examines how largely negative portrayals of communism reflected the views of their creators: individuals and groups who were not part of the official state apparatus, but were illustrating their own perception of the communist threat. It is therefore a cultural examination of the visual portrayal of a political ideology within British film, theatre and art. Through the use of recognisable stereotypes, communism was demonised through a variety of guises: from aggressive and sinister domestic militants through to the portrayal of communism as being ‘un-British’ and a challenge to traditional values and beliefs. Although such anti-communist representations were dominant, more sympathetic portrayals gradually emerged, such as the naive, the gullible or those simply disillusioned and seeking change. Through a determined eclectic analysis of a broad range of sources from film, theatre and art this thesis will show that domestic concerns dominate in all three media. An in-depth look at the CPGB, the Artists Group and Realism, will demonstrate that British communism had no positive cultural influence within the media considered, leaving any sympathetic portrayals down to individuals. The changing fortunes of the Communist Party of Great Britain will also demonstrate how geopolitical events led to a decline in its domestic support and the continual reinforcement of negative communist portrayals. What emerges is that in the post-war years British film, theatre, and art looked with suspicion at an alien ideology largely associated with a hostile foreign power, and without any real challenge, its continued negative representation helped to establish a dominant anti- communist ideology. 2 Table of Contents Introduction p.7 CHAPTER ONE Flexible Scaffolding and Stepping Away from Propaganda Studies p.21 Flexible Scaffolding p.22 Propaganda, Communism and Stereotypes p.25 Stepping Away from Propaganda Studies p.32 Communism in Britain p.33 Cultural Cold War p.35 Post-War Britain p.37 British Film p.39 British Theatre p.42 British Art p.45 CHAPTER TWO The Realities of the Domestic Communist Threat p.50 Communism in Italy and France p.53 The Fortunes of the Communist Party of Great Britain p.56 The Trade Union Connection p.61 Factions, Colonies and War p.63 The fallout from 1956 and the ETU ballot p.67 Continuing Decline p.70 3 CHAPTER THREE Stereotypes and Negative Reinforcement: Portrayals of Communism p.73 in British Cinema Emergence of British Film p.80 Chance of a Lifetime p.86 John and Roy Boulting p.90 Seven Days to Noon p.93 High Treason p.97 I’m All Right Jack p.104 Carlton-Browne of the F.O. p.111 They’re all a bloody shower! P.115 CHAPTER FOUR The Duality of Post-War British Theatre p.120 Funding p.127 The Lord Chamberlains Office p.129 Institutional Theatre p.134 An Inspector Calls p.141 Independent Theatre p.147 The Challenges of the Theatre Workshop p.149 The Arnold Wesker Trilogy p.155 John Osborne p.161 John Whiting p.166 ‘Rep’ versus the West End p.169 4 CHAPTER FIVE British Art, Social Realism and the Challenge to Traditionalism p.179 The NCC and the Artists Group p.187 Realism p.191 Henry Moore p.201 The Critics: Sylvester & Berger p.207 Social Realism: John Bratby p.214 Derrick Greaves p.220 Edward Middleditch p.224 Jack Smith p.227 CONCLUSION The Representation of Dominant Negative Stereotypes p.234 Bibliography Archive Materials p.241 Newspapers & Printed Media p.243 Films in Chronological Order p.245 Plays in Chronological Order p.247 Art in Chronological Order p.249 Other Illustrations p.250 Primary Literature p.250 Secondary Literature p.251 Internet Sources p.260 5 Acknowledgments Special thanks must of course go to Professor Michael Hughes who has not only been a fountain of knowledge and advice, but has also guided me and inspired me through this whole process. I am also indebted to Dr. Alan Campbell for his initial input, and to Dr. Jonathan Hogg who stepped up to provide me with invaluable feedback and practical advice. A special mention should also go to the team at the University of Liverpool who presented the post-graduate Twentieth Century History course who encouraged my interest in this field in the first place, changing me from a medievalist no less! From 2008-2011 I was also given invaluable financial support from the School of History, University of Liverpool in the form of a bursary which allowed me to continue with my research, and without which I could not have completed. Many thanks must also go to all in the department for such a supportive and encouraging atmosphere, staff and post grads alike, but especially Matt and Chris. My thanks to the staff at the Working Class Movement Library in Manchester and those of the Peoples History Museum in Manchester, particularly those associated with the Communist Party Archives who were a fountain of knowledge. Thanks also to staff at the British Library for their patience and to all those who have compiled the wonderful on-line archives relating to art, theatre and film: from the Tate, to the Theatre Archive Project, and to the BFI, I am very grateful. Finally a most special thank you goes to all the people who have supported me and offered me a distraction when I was on the verge of losing the will.... To family, to Justina, Joanne and Saffron, and most importantly of all to my girls, Hannah, Rachael, and Lilly for being my inspiration, and to Tom my best mate and proof reader, whose support has kept me going. This work is dedicated to my Dad. 6 Introduction This thesis analyses the representation of communism and other forms of political radicalism in British film, theatre and art during the period 1945-1963. It examines how communism was marginalised in these forms of media, reflecting concerns which looked with suspicion at an ideology largely associated within a hostile foreign power, rather than as a result of a deliberate state-led programme of propaganda. Communism was subsequently demonised to represent a variety of characters, from the aggressive portrayal of domestic communists as sinister and immoral figures, through to the more diffuse representation of communist ideology as being in some way un-British and unsympathetic to traditional values and beliefs. The thesis therefore takes a different position from other recent work on the ‘cultural Cold War’ which generally starts from the premise that culture was used in a deliberate propagandist way to demonstrate the wider struggle between East and West. Instead, this thesis focuses on the way in which cultural life in Britain was influenced by the less conscious sense of the ‘wrongness’ of communism. This does not mean that film, theatre and art were not used to communicate deliberate messages, but that this was often by individuals and groups that were not part of the official state apparatus and thereby using their own position to articulate their own perception of communism in Britain and the potential threat it posed. 7 One of the first things to establish, however, is the relevant timeline. The time span of the thesis incorporates the immediate post-war years under Labour reform and the following twelve years dominated by the Conservatives, ending in 1963, a year with both political and cultural significance. At a political level this marked the end of the leadership of Harold Macmillan, which effectively lead to the end of Conservative rule as Labour gained control in 1964 under Harold Wilson1. The year also saw confidence in the British government under considerable pressure domestically following the revelations of the Profumo Affair, and internationally her status was rocked by the French veto by De Gaulle preventing Britain from joining the EEC2. At a cultural level 1963 was significant for all there media considered. In film it saw the last of the ‘New Wave’ films of British cinema as their gritty realism was no longer considered commercially successful. The audience wanted James Bond, glamour, and the celebration of affluence and this signalled the end of the representation of working class angst and also the last of the Boulting brothers’ institutional satires, which had become outdated3. In theatre 1963 saw the creation of the National Theatre under the leadership of Laurence Olivier, and also the decline of the commercial success of the kitchen sink dramas previously seen in the work of the Angry Young Men4. This trend was again mirrored in art as social realism lost favour to be replaced by the commercial success of op art and pop art, with the austerity of the fifties replaced by the colour and 1 Following Attlee’s Labour government the Tories had been in power since October 1951 initially under Churchill and then Eden. Harold Macmillan had been in power since 10 January 1957 following Eden’s resignation over the Suez crisis. Macmillan himself retired as a result of ill health on 19 October 1963 (no doubt exacerbated by the scandal of the Profumo Affair) to be replaced by Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who went on to lose the following election to Labour in October 1964 ending 13 years of Conservative government.