Making Movies Black: The Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era

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Making Movies Black

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MAKING

MOVIES BLACK

The Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era THOMAS CRIPP S

New Yor k Oxfor d OXFORD UNIVERSIT Y PRES S 1993

Oxford Universit y Press Oxford Ne w Yor k Toront o Delhi Bomba y Calcutt a Madra s Karach i Kuala Lumpu r Singapor e Hon g Kon g Toky o Nairobi Da r e s Salaa m Cap e Tow n Melbourne Aucklan d Madri d and associate d companies i n Berlin Ibada n

Copyright © 199 3 b y Oxfor d Universit y Press , Inc. Published b y Oxfor d Universit y Press, Inc. 200 Madiso n Avenue , Ne w York , Ne w Yor k 10016 Oxford i s a registere d trademar k o f Oxfor d Universit y Press All right s reserved . N o par t o f this publication may b e reproduced , stored i n a retrieva l system, o r transmitted , in an y for m o r b y an y means , electronic, mechanical , photocopying , recording , o r otherwise , without th e prio r permissio n o f Oxfor d Universit y Press. Library o f Congres s Cataloging-in-Publication Dat a Cripps, Thomas . Making movie s blac k : the Hollywoo d message movi e fro m Worl d Wa r I I to th e civi l right s era / Thomas Cripps. p. cm . Include s bibliographical references an d index . ISBN 0-19-503773-1 (cloth) . ISB N 0-19-507669-9 (pbk. ) 1. Afro-Americans in th e motio n pictur e industry. I. Title . PN1995.9.N4C687 199 3 791.43'08996073—dc2 0 93-949 1

246897531 Printed i n th e Unite d State s of America on acid-fre e paper

To absent friends

Walter Fishe r Margaret Hollan d Elliott Rudwic k and William F . Walke r


Preface

When you make movies you don' t chang e history; you participat e in it. —Abraham Polonsky , i n conversation

Observers of American lif e hav e ofte n asserte d tha t popula r culture reflects its values. This book is an attemp t to examine thi s idea as it operated durin g th e er a o f World War II , when many deepl y rooted racia l customs wer e shake n an d reforme d i n way s tha t wer e anticipate d i n popular movies . Th e reader should kno w tha t this work appear s at the end o f an era when movie history written mainly for fans gave way to a rage fo r history rigorousl y grounded i n theorie s borrowe d fro m disci plines that included psychoanalysis, feminism, linguistics, anthropology, and Marxist economics. This academic vein of history was also rooted in heretofore inaccessibl e studio record s and therefor e less dependent o n the flawe d memorie s o f octogenarian eyewitnesses . Elsewhere I hav e trie d t o se t fort h a t lengt h a tentativ e mean s o f applying som e o f thes e theorie s t o a n Africa n America n historica l model.1 Here , rather than risk offering thi s book as a sort of test of ho w black history fits this or that theory, I wish to say only that I hope i t is a history informe d an d eve n discipline d b y theoretica l borrowing s an d fresh sources . But in the end I wish also, old-fashioned as it seems, to get the story straight. "The supreme duty of the historian is to write history, " said Steve n Runciman , th e studen t o f Byzantium, and no t t o "reduc e history t o a series of economic o r sociologica l laws."2 And yet , racia l history an d movi e histor y ar e social . Movies hav e both maker s an d audience s wh o effectivel y bargai n withi n a massive sociology o f culture—fa n magazines , word-of-mout h appraisals , re -

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views, and such that constitute an art world—much as Giotto or Rothko painted withi n a n art world of bishops o r patrons. In this setting movies are lik e tribal art: "no t mer e entertainment " but, a s Peggy Harper has written, " a significan t par t o f the cohesio n o f [th e tribe]." 3 This is not to argue in tandem wit h the Marxist critics of the Frankfurt schoo l such as T. W. Adorno, who wrot e that the notions in popular culture "ar e alway s those o f the statu s quo." Rathe r I wish t o argu e a plural, even liberal, politics in which ther e has been a play that allowed for th e "countervailin g powers " tha t Galbraith reported in his American Capitalism.4 Popula r cultur e i n thi s sens e ha s bee n wor n a s a loos e garment rathe r tha n a s th e trace s guidin g a mul e team . Th e resulting play i n th e wheel s o f Hollywoo d commerc e ha s allowe d bargainin g between bosse s and workers , ideologue s and audiences , lef t an d right , maker and audience, which i n turn draws attention to theories such as, say, those o f Antonio Gramsci , the Italian Marxist for whom bargaining between class-antagonist s remained a s much a possibilit y as the mor e doctrinaire predictio n o f class conflict. Moreover, movies should be seen as a pliant medium emerging from a corporate settin g that was itself rent by fissures through which, particularly in times of war an d crisis , minorities—"Others," a s James Snea d called them—have bee n abl e to exploi t cultural politics at those point s where momentarily share d goals invite cooperation rathe r than conflict . For example , Africa n Americans , if well le d by , a s Gramsc i says, "or ganic intellectuals," shoul d hav e enhance d thei r statu s during a war i n which Unity , Tolerance, an d Brotherhoo d becom e propagand a catch words. Le t it b e grante d tha t movie s unree l i n a dreamlik e stat e i n a darkened roo m that may enhance receptivity , that the closur e of Hollywood movie s o n happ y ending s confirm s things a s they are , an d tha t therefore the y contribut e t o a cultura l superstructure that ha s favore d dominant mentalities . Bu t i t mus t als o b e see n tha t Hollywoo d ha s known well which side its political bread is buttered on and has aimed at a "pluricentered " taste-culture . Even then , it s abilit y t o "engineer " a mentality ha s remaine d s o feckless a s to only "hal f creat e the environ ment [i t is] half created by" (a s Jeffrey Morto n Paine put it). Black forces in this looser context may affect movies at their source so effectively a s to promote a liberal "theatre of consent," according to the Jamaican Marxist Stuart Hall.5 Indeed, w e already know thi s from th e er a when critics wrote slyl y of directors as "auteurs" whose talent s included little tricks of signature by means o f which the y inserted persona l touche s i n thei r movies, ofte n unde r th e nose s o f hostile studi o bosses. 6 I n muc h th e same way , Africa n American s have resiste d remaining mer e Other s o r even, a s Snea d ha s written , "th e structure d absence" fro m America n movies.7 Decades ago James K. Feibleman in his Theory of Culture identified the socia l conditions that rendere d suc h change s likely. Wars , h e wrote, "despit e al l the evi l they entail, have th e goo d effec t o f drawing

Preface

ix

people together," an d particularly World War II had thi s sanguine effec t because "the ris e of the Nazis in modern German y ha[d] placed renewe d emphasis upo n th e racia l problem."8 World War I I thus became th e occasio n for a freshened liberal culture tha t restore d racia l issues to a nationa l prominenc e the y ha d no t held sinc e Reconstruction days. And a liberal-Hollywood-black alliance that aros e fro m thes e wartim e circumstance s no t onl y define d a ne w black presenc e i n th e nation' s propagand a (i f not alway s it s behavior) but extended its ideology into postwar America in ways that anticipated the moder n civi l rights movement. Thi s is not t o argue a programmatic liberalism bu t rathe r a "conscience-liberalism, " deepl y fel t an d fough t for bu t not coherently organize d into a movement.9 And yet it fed on its own expectations and soared, said one activist, as upon "a rising wind." Obviously, muc h o f this libera l energy wa s n o mor e than , a s Richard Dalfiume labeled it, "necessitarian." Yet it not only survived the war bu t also became a normative element i n postwar politics, because of the way the wa r reintroduce d black s into nationa l corridors of power.10 Baltimore, Maryland T. C.

January 1993


Acknowledgments

Every reader know s that book s ar e the product s o f collaborations, an d this one is no exception. I have been particularl y blessed with friends i n the librarie s that hav e bee n hom e bases for me for the las t quarter of a century an d the n some : Barbar a Humphrys, Pau l Spehr , Pa t Sheehan , David Parker, and their younger colleagues , among them Pat Loughney and Coope r Graham , i n the Divisio n of Motion Pictures , Broadcasting, and Recorde d Soun d o f the Librar y o f Congress ; Hele n Cy r and Mar c Sober o f the Audiovisua l Departmen t o f the Enoc h Prat t Free Library, Faye Houston o f its Humanities Department, an d the anonymous voice s of the library's telephone reference service; and the staf f of the Morris A. Soper Librar y of Morgan Stat e University, particularly it s directors th e late Walter Fisher and Karen Robertson and their secretary, Alice Woodson. I am als o grateful fo r assistance fro m othe r publi c archives, partic ularly fro m Willia m T . Murphy i n th e Audiovisua l Sectio n o f the Na tional Archives ; th e staf f o f the Nationa l Archive s branch i n Suitland , Maryland; Richar d Richardson in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland; an d th e Harr y S. Truman an d Frankli n D . Roosevelt Presidentia l Libraries. In recent years university libraries have increasingly become repositories o f manuscripts, corporat e records , an d journalistic ephemer a re lated to motion picture history, and I am much indebte d t o the results of the trend. The indispensable institutions ove r many years have been the Theatre and Specia l Collections of the UCL A Research Library and thei r

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staffs, particularl y Audre e Malkin , Brook e Whiting , Brigitt e Kueppers, and Hild a Bohem; th e Specia l Collection s of the Dohen y Librar y of the University of Southern Californi a an d th e staff , Rober t Knutson , Ann e Schlosser (formerl y of the Loui s B. Mayer Librar y of the America n Film Institute i n Lo s Angeles), an d currently , Leit h Adams , an d Ne d Comstock; th e UCL A Fil m Archiv e an d it s staff , particularl y it s manager , Steven Ricci ; the Twentieth Centur y Collectio n an d it s curator, Howar d Gotlieb, o f th e Muga r Librar y o f Bosto n University ; th e staf f o f th e American Heritag e Cente r a t th e Universit y o f Wyomin g i n Laramie , particularly Emme t Chisum ; th e Humanitie s Researc h Cente r o f th e University of Texas at Austin, particularly Ray Daum; th e Specia l Collections o f the Universit y o f Tennessee Librar y in Knoxville ; an d Richar d Harwell, the n curato r o f the Margare t Mitchel l Paper s an d Thoma s E . Camden, Hea d of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library , in the University o f Georgia . In addition t o these institution s I am grateful t o other archive s wit h identities separat e fro m universities . Ove r man y year s Ernes t Kaise r of the Schombur g Cente r for Research in Black Culture located i n Harlem has bee n unceasingl y helpful , a s wa s Ann e Schlosse r whe n sh e wa s librarian at the Louis B. Mayer Library of the American Fil m Institute in Hollywood. At the Museum o f Modern Ar t in Manhattan, Charles Silver and Ro n Magliozz i have bee n unfailingl y helpful an d patien t wit h m y demanding presence . Th e late Georg e Pratt , an d no w Jan-Christophe r Horak at the George Eastman House Museum o f Photography hav e been generous wit h tim e an d information . A t th e Pacifi c Fil m Archiv e i n Berkeley Nanc y Goldma n an d he r staf f hav e treate d m y demand s o n their ephemer a collectio n wit h uncommo n kindness . Th e Wisconsi n Center for Film and Theatre Researc h is a major repository of the record s of corporate Hollywoo d a s well a s of episodes i n it s history suc h a s th e era o f the blacklist ; Do n Crofton , Maxin e Fleckner , Susa n Dalton , an d others on the staf f hav e bee n open , accessible, an d even invitin g in th e style with which they have administered th e collection. Th e Academy of Motion Pictur e Arts and Sciences ' Margaret Herrick Library is a creatur e of Hollywoo d an d migh t b e expecte d t o allo w preservin g image s t o govern th e accessibilit y to it s holdings bu t th e staff—Sa m Gill , Kristine Krueger, Howard Prouty , Tony Slide, and others—hav e treate d scholar s with commendable openness . Ove r many year s the British Film Institute and th e Nationa l Fil m Library , particularl y i n th e person s o f Harol d Brown, Roge r Holman, Michell e Snapes , an d mos t recentl y Brigi d Kinally, have shown many kindnesse s tha t can never be repaid. Also among the BF I staff I should lik e to single out Fran k Holland who fo r a quarte r of a century has stoppe d a t nothin g t o se e that I saw films , stills , documents, anythin g tha t serve d m y purposes . We—m y entir e famil y a t times—lived in his house, borrowed his car, followed hi s maps t o Dean Street an d Berkhamsted , dined o n hi s cooking , listene d to hi s legends,

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and use d hi s telephone t o interview th e retire d movi e peopl e o f Buckinghamshire. Hollywood studio s have not always opened their lots to researchers . But exception s t o thi s genera l rul e hav e bee n Joh n Dale s an d Joh n Pavlik, in the guild s and association s an d i n the studio s themselves th e late Jo n Hal l o f RKO , Herbert Nusbau m o f th e Lega l Departmen t o f Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Davi d Smith an d Selb y Hall o f the Disne y Studio. Th e acces s t o archive s an d th e insight s int o th e industr y the y gave me could have been had in no other way. And for his own brand of insights as well as telephone number s fro m his trove I owe Davi d Robb then o f the tradepape r Variety a simila r debt . Blac k Hollywood woul d have remaine d a closed book t o me were i t not fo r a quarter-century of advice, gossip , an d tips , no t t o mentio n th e lendin g o f materials, tha t Carlton Mos s ha s provided . I ow e a simila r deb t t o Bil l an d Pegg y Walker, who fo r as long a time have allowe d m e to snoop amon g thei r friends an d memorabilia . An d fo r the politic s of race within th e studi o craft guild s as well as the loca l chapters o f the NAAC P I am indebte d t o Herbert Hill , former Labor Secretary of the NAACP . For lif e o n th e lef t I owe muc h t o Abe Polonsky and Davi d Platt. For either access to films and ephemera i n their collections or for the loan o f priceless materials I am indebted t o John H. Baker, Ernie Smith , Nate Zelikow , Ted Toddy, Mile s Kreuger , John B . Wiseman, K . R . M. Short, Le e Tsiantis, Dougla s Lemza , J . Fre d MacDonald , Cecil e Starr, Richard Grupenhoff , Dave Dixon, Irwin Markisch , Sa m Gertner , David Culbert, Davi d Platt, and Mrs . Phille o Nash. Colleagues, students , scholars , an d Hollywoo d informant s ove r a period o f many year s have becom e friend s wh o taugh t m e things i n our conversations tha t the y canno t kno w the y hav e done . W e just talked : above al l Walter Fisher , an d the n Carlto n Moss, J . R . Lyston, Jannett e Dates, Eri k Barnouw , m y ol d students Everet t Marshburn an d Michea l Pounds. I n variou s scholarl y enterprises—sharin g papers , debate s dur ing annua l conferences , opportunitie s t o addres s bodie s o f colleagues and students , an d on one occasion a n adventure i n coauthorship—I a m indebted t o Davi d Culbert, Gregory D. Black and Clayto n Koppes, Ste phen Vaughan, Georg e Roeder, Arthu r Knigh t an d hi s then colleague s in the University of Chicago Mass Culture Seminar, an d Associate Director Randal l K . Burket t o f th e W . E . B . DuBoi s Institut e i n Harvar d University. During the length y cours e o f this book towar d it s completion I was supported with enough generosit y to allow an occasional yea r and man y summers o f freedom to study and write. These benefactions includ e tw o American Council of Learned Societies fellowships, a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship , a Joh n Simo n Guggenhei m Memoria l Foundatio n fellowship, residen t fellowship s at th e Woodro w Wilso n International Center for Scholars in Washington and th e Nationa l Humanities Center

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in Research Triangl e Park, North Carolina , a summer's residency a t th e Rockefeller Stud y Cente r in the Vill a Serbelloni , Bellagio , Italy, severa l Morgan Stat e University Faculty Research Grants, and travel grants from the National Endowment fo r the Humanities, th e American Philosophi cal Society, and the ACLS. Without suc h support a great deal from basi c research t o final writing coul d no t hav e been accomplished . Once researc h ha s bee n completed , muc h o f th e credibility, re liability, authenticity, voice, and flavo r of a book ar e derived fro m quot ing directl y fro m archiva l sources . Thi s is particularly s o in writin g th e social histor y o f twentieth centur y popula r culture . Fo r permissio n t o quote brief passages from such materials I am indebted and deeply grateful to : Dr . Howar d Gotlie b of th e Muga r Librar y of Boston Universit y (the papers o f Robert Ardrey, Robert Hard y Andrews, Nunnall y Johnson, an d Eva n Hunter); John L. Balderston, Jr. (fo r letters o f his father, John L. Balderston, i n th e Librar y of Congress); Erik Barnouw (fo r his own writings in the NUL records, Library of Congress); the following for papers i n th e NAAC P records, Librar y of Congress: Juli a Baxte r Bate s and Gloste r B . Curren t (thei r ow n letters) ; Susa n Gethne r an d Dori s Steedman (letter s of their father , Mendel Silberberg) ; Honor Spingar n Tranum (letter s of her father , Joel Spingarn , an d he r sister , Hope Spin garn); Molly Moon Elliott (letters of her father, Henry Lee Moon); Jane White Viazz i (letter s o f he r father , Walte r White) ; Mrs . Ro y Wilkin s (letters o f her husband , Roy Wilkins). For permission t o quote brief passages from the following material I am equally grateful : Juli a Bon d (fo r the paper s o f her husband, Horace Mann Bond , i n th e librar y o f the Universit y o f Massachusetts a t Am herst); Virgini a D e Rochemon t an d Shale r McRee l (fo r letters i n th e papers o f thei r fathe r an d grandfather , respectively , Loui s D e Roche mont, in the American Heritag e Center, Universit y of Wyoming); Mary Helen an d Pete r Dougla s (letter s i n th e paper s o f their father , Melvy n Douglas, in the Wisconsin Cente r for Film and Theatre Research); Philip Dunne (fo r his own paper s in the Specia l Collections of Doheny Library of the Universit y of Southern California) ; Truman Gibso n (fo r his letters in the National Archives and the Motion Pictur e Association of America records i n th e Academ y o f Motio n Pictur e Art s an d Sciences) ; Crai g Tenney o f Harold Obe r Associates, agents fo r Langston Hughe s (fo r an unfinished scenari o i n Hughes' s papers , Beinek e Library , Yale , an d a letter in the NAAC P records); Julian (Bud ) Lesser (for memoranda an d script revisions in Hughes papers, Yale) ; Richard Grupenhof f (for letters in hi s possessio n tha t wer e cite d i n hi s ow n The Black Valentino: The Stage and Screen Career of Lorenzo Tucker [Scarecro w Press , 1988] ; Thomas E. Camden (for letters in Margaret Mitchell Marsh papers, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia); Carlton Moss (for his own letter in the records of the National Negro Congress);

Etta Mote n (fo r a lette r o f her husband , Claud e A. Barnett, in Barnet t

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papers, Chicag o Historical Society); Mrs. E . L . Wertman (fo r letters i n the paper s of General Lyma n Munson, American Heritag e Center, University o f Wyoming) ; Abraha m Polonsk y (fo r hi s diarie s o f 195 8 i n Wisconsin Cente r for Film and Theatre Research); Mrs. Nancy Prinzmetal (fo r one lette r i n the paper s o f Dore Schar y i n Wisconsi n Cente r for Film an d Theatr e Research) ; Reginal d L . McGhee, UA W Publi c Relations (fo r a script fragment in UAW records, Walter P . Reuther Library, Wayne Stat e University) ; Jill Robinson Sha w (fo r letters o f her father , Dore Schary, i n the paper s o f Clarence Brown in the Universit y of Tennessee Librar y and i n th e Wisconsi n Cente r fo r Fil m an d Theatr e Re search) ; Joan Scot t (fo r a lette r i n th e paper s o f her husband , Adria n Scott, in the America n Heritag e Center, University of Wyoming); Lewis Jeffrey Selznic k (for letters in the records of his father, David O. Selznick, in the Humanitie s Research Center, University of Texas, Austin); Dimitri T. Skoura s (fo r a lette r o f his father , Spyro s Skouras , i n th e paper s o f General Lyma n Munson) ; An n Tanneyhil l (fo r two letter s i n th e NUL records, Librar y of Congress) ; John Hal l Trotti (fo r a lette r an d diar y entry o f his father, Lamar Trotti, in MPAA records an d i n his own pos session, respectively) ; Cle o Trumb o (fo r a lette r i n th e paper s o f he r husband, Dalto n Trumbo, i n the Wisconsin Cente r for Film and Theatr e Research); Judith Singe r of Warner Bros, (for a fan letter in the Warne r Bros. Archive , Dohen y Library , USC); Brad J . Warin g (fo r a lette r o f Judge J. Waties Waring in the Clarence Brown papers, the University of Tennessee); And y Simon s of the Amista d Researc h Center, Tulane University (fo r a letter in the paper s of Fredi Washington); Rober t Wise (for a letter in the Wise papers, in the Wisconsin Cente r for Film and Theatre Research); Jac k Valenti , President , MPA A (fo r letters i n th e record s of the Production Code Administration of the MPAA, in the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academ y of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) ; Elizabeth Zutt (fo r her letter to Warner Bros, in the Warner Archive , Doheny Library, USC) ; and Georg e E. Stephens , Jr. , pe r th e Ban k o f America, executor o f the estat e o f Darryl F. Zanuc k (fo r letters i n th e paper s o f Walter White, Phili p Dunne, an d Genera l Lyman Munson) an d Borde n Mace (fo r letters i n th e DeRochemon t Papers). The sort of grinding work o f which this book is a result has ofte n led to adventure s i n variou s part s o f the world , whic h I hope hav e bee n partial compensatio n t o m y wife , Alm a Taliaferr o Cripps , for he r pa tience an d forebearanc e durin g th e elephantin e gestatio n perio d o f the book.


Contents

1. Antebellum Hollywood, 3 2. Wendel l an d Walte r G o to Hollywood, 3 5 3. The Making o f a Genre : Th e Integratio n o f Coli n Kelly, Meyer Levin , and Dori c Miller, 6 4 4. Th e Makin g o f The Negro Soldier, 10 2 5. Hollywoo d Wins : Th e En d o f "Race Movies," 12 6 6. Documentary Fil m Culture and Postwa r Libera l Momentum, 15 1 7. Thermidor, 17 4 8. " A Po t o f Message," 21 5 9. Settlin g In, Settlin g For , 250 Abbreviations, 29 5 Notes, 29 9 Index, 37 0


Making Movies Black


1 Antebellum Hollywood

One da y i n 194 0 i n a smal l town in Michiga n a black teenage r wit h a vaguely studious manner, which ma y hav e se t him of f from othe r kids, settled in his seat to watch Gone with the Wind. Later he remembered th e movie as "one thin g that marred thi s time for me." Th e boy's name was Malcolm Little , a name h e woul d she d i n favor of his nom de politique, Malcolm X . "I wa s th e onl y Negr o in th e theatre, " h e recalled , "an d when Butterfly McQueen went into her act, I felt like crawling under th e rug."1 Fully three years before this dark scene, David O. Selznick had sa t at his des k i n Culve r City , California , an d dictate d a memorandu m t o Sidney Howard , th e Pulitze r Prize—winnin g dramatis t who m h e ha d hired to write a movie from Gone with the Wind. He had bought the thick novel fro m it s author , a frail , gentle , fe y Atlanta n name d Margare t Mitchell, who ha d pecke d awa y a t it s yellow page s for years, stuffin g i t under th e sof a wheneve r sh e entertaine d guests . Selznic k wishe d t o transform he r cr y of Southern despai r and hop e int o a sort of American Iliad o f Civi l Wa r an d Reconstructio n tha t neithe r slighte d Norther n victory no r taunte d Souther n defeat . Among his first requests to Howard was to gut any references eithe r to the Ku Klux Klan or to overly assertive freedmen. Why cut the core of conflict fro m Mitchell' s book ? "I , for one, hav e no desir e to produce a n anti-Negro film, " Selznic k tol d hi s writer . "I n ou r pictur e I thin k w e have to be awfully carefu l tha t the Negroes come ou t on the right side of

3

4

Making Movies Black

the ledger." Why break with Hollywood racial convention? Th e answer, Selznick wrote , wa s tha t Gone with the Wind mus t no t becom e "a n advertisement fo r intoleran t societie s i n thes e fascis t ridde n times." 2 The ga p betwee n wha t Selznic k produce d an d wha t Malcol m X received was, of course, a sign of the gap separating the races on the eve of World War II , as well as an ech o o f Hollywood's classi c treatment of controversy an d contradiction—t o facto r the m ou t o f movie formulas, thereby rendering them int o James Snead' s "structure d absence." Selznick was far from alone in this rhetorical strategy. American movies, by a well-meaning leaching out o f all but th e most benign reference s to ethnicity, had created an organism of universal entertainment tha t reache d across the world's frontiers of language and culture . Indeed, s o successful wa s th e formul a i n foreig n market s tha t mos t nation s ha d take n measures t o blun t th e impac t o f America n movie s o n thei r nationa l cultures. Moreover , th e Motio n Pictur e Producer s an d Distributor s of America (MPPDA ) ha d create d thei r ow n interna l censor , th e Production Cod e Administration (PCA) , the famous "Hays " and later "Breen" offices, wit h th e ai m o f censoring pejorativ e references to al l national , ethnic, an d racia l groups . B y monitorin g ever y projec t o f th e studio s several times between first treatment an d fina l cut , the PC A effectively reduced ever y social group to a bland ciphe r incapabl e o f genuine dramatic conflict. Domesticall y the Hollywoo d system mediated between a national mentalit y and quirk s of localism suc h a s Souther n racism , al ways in search of a harmonious monochrome movi e culture that diluted cultural density and mute d politica l debate. Blacks , whenever the y ap peared, were ofte n conservativ e memor y bank s o f a painless nostalgia , emerging a s more rounded , comple x figure s onl y whe n time s o f crisis opened fissures in the system through which bolder characters and ne w meanings slipped . Of all the movies that called this universalizing apparatus into play, Gone with the Wind provided the clearest window o n the proceedings. As though i n a debate , o n on e sid e stoo d th e virtue s o f regionalism : A popular book b y a Southerner unknown in literary circles drew a fres h audience to the lore of the Souther n "lost cause." In doing so, it robbed slavery of its horrors, thereby implicitly discrediting black political goals. On the other side stood Selznick , seeking to render Mitchell's book int o Hollywood's universal marketing term s by muting the racial issues that still alienate d Northern victor s from Souther n vanquished. 3 Unavoidably, the unforeseen byproduct of Selznick's liberal, harmonizing intention s modulate d th e historica l conflic t betwee n black s and their enemie s an d no t onl y reduce d th e legitimac y of the blac k grievances but seeme d t o aim at neutering contemporary black protest. Selznick wa s trappe d b y hi s counterfactua l history i n tha t a tal e o f racia l struggle during Reconstruction would hav e shattere d the consensu s h e needed i n orde r t o recove r his investment. In othe r words , antebellum

Antebellum Hollywood 5

Hollywood's aversio n t o th e racia l contradiction s i n America n lif e re duced Africa n American s t o absent , alibie d for , dependent victim s of marketing strategie s aimed at a profitable universality. Only the onset of war, wit h it s attendant nee d fo r a propaganda o f national unity , woul d provide a ground o n whic h countervailin g force s o f blacks and liberal s versus Southerner s an d conservatives , th e forme r le d b y organicall y grown blac k activists , might conten d fo r political chang e i n movie culture. Compare ho w a Souther n nove l fare d i n th e universalizin g Hollywood syste m eve n withou t th e benig n interventio n o f Selznick. Stark Young's popula r nove l o f the Civi l War , So Red the Rose (1934) , fro m the outse t a t Paramoun t wa s symbolize d b y Y . Fran k Freeman , a n "unreconstructed" Southerner—th e ter m i s tha t o f Walte r Whit e o f the NAAC P (Nationa l Associatio n fo r th e Advancemen t o f Colore d People)—and Stev e Lynch , a forme r manage r o f Souther n theatr e chains. They chose as their director King Vidor, a white Texan admirer of black fol k culture , and a s their write r the prizewinning dramatis t Maxwell Anderson , wh o professe d a n abidin g "respect" for the book com bined wit h a wish to get right a sense o f intersectional fairness . "I'd lik e to retai n a s much a s possible," h e boldl y wrote t o Russel l Holman of Paramount, "o f it s politics, especially the liberalis m of [slaveholders]— and thei r doubt s about slavery, " alon g wit h the late-war "unres t of the Negroes." As for the soldiers, he wrote tha t "th e boy s of the North wer e victims as much a s the boys of the South." The resulting script not onl y provided the voice of universality that broadened th e marketplace but so fulfilled th e PCA's wish to avoid controversy that thei r man complaine d only o f a single referenc e t o "niggers. " Seemed fai r enough . Bu t chec k th e blac k angle. O n its face, So Red the Rose seeme d s o libera l a s t o b e willin g t o fac e th e har d trut h o f slavery. Slave s wandered off , black soldiers i n Grant' s arm y pillaged as they advanced , ther e wa s mutin y afoo t i n the slav e quarter. Bu t black drama wa s hobble d b y th e nee d fo r restraint , muc h a s Selznic k ha d reined i n Sidney Howard. Survivin g was a rough scen e mean t t o stan d for al l that ha d bee n cut , a n abortiv e slav e revol t le d by a n ol d han d (Clarence Muse) who give s a rousing speech callin g for a rising on th e eve o f the arriva l of, he says , "Yanke e me n i n blu e coats. " Ye t his big scene was discounted and dampened bot h by its own rhetoric and by the intervention o f a house servan t i n livery. First, the roarin g speec h end s not with a cry for freedom but with the promise that "we don't wor k no mo'." Second , th e servan t (Danie l Haynes) brings the rebel s t o froze n silence b y improbabl y handwrestlin g th e hardene d fiel d han d t o hi s knees. Togethe r th e incident s erase d a stif f dos e o f blac k abolitionist politics an d opene d th e movi e t o th e charg e o f merel y strummin g a liberal tune whil e ratifyin g th e statu s quo, muc h a s leftists ha d charged the Ne w Dea l with bein g a conservative expropriation o f their ideas.4

6

Making Movies Black

No Na t Turner here . A rebellious slav e (Clarenc e Muse) meet s hi s match i n the perso n o f his staunc h mistres s (Margare t Sullavan) i n So Red the Rose (1935). Britis h Fil m Institute (BFI) .

Race-angled movie s wer e no t alon e i n butterin g ideologica l bread on bot h sides . In hi s history o f Warner Bros , during th e Grea t Depression, Nic k Roddic k discerne d thi s a s a formul a i n which , a s i n Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) , a social problem (suc h as urban stree t gangs) is introduced an d subsequentl y solve d b y neithe r structura l chang e no r reform bu t b y th e interventio n o f a stoc k lonewol f hero . Lik e the Ne w Deal itself, eac h movi e introduce d a "tension . . . betwee n rugge d individualism an d socia l stability, " h e wrote , whic h i n th e en d wa s re solved by resort to the familia r legend of the lon e her o wh o rise s to th e occasion, thereby averting the need for more collective action. In Angels with Dirty Faces, fo r example , Rock y (Jame s Cagney ) an d Jerr y (Pa t O'Brien), tw o slu m waifs , begi n a lif e o f burglin g freightcars , but th e former mature s int o a crimina l an d th e latte r int o a priest ; eventuall y they become rival s for the hearts o f the newest cro p of slum kids. In th e end, on death row, Jerry turns Rocky into a redemptive hero by persuading him to die appearing to be a coward rather than a cocksure devil who will g o t o th e chai r wit h a win k o f his eye . The stree t kid s tur n fro m adoration to contempt , o f course, and thereafte r away fro m crime . Entirely, to b e sure , without resor t to a singl e community o r institutional

Antebellum Hollywood

7

social chang e i n th e condition s withou t whic h Rock y would no t hav e become Rocky. 5 At first glance it might seem that Angels with Dirty Faces arrived at its denouement i n th e writers ' bungalow s i n Burbank . Therefor e the y should be blamed for reporting in reel one tha t systemic poverty makes streetgangs an d the n solvin g th e proble m no t b y havin g recours e t o reform bu t actuall y undercutting th e urg e for reform b y invokin g im probable heroism . Roddic k instea d locate s guil t bot h i n th e studio' s assembly lin e method s tha t require d riskfre e ending s a s a for m o f cost control and in the PCA's urge for moral certitudes that obliged writers to write happy closures. The Breen office in this instance returned the script with a lis t o f two doze n objections , salien t among the m Rock y as un punished gangster. A conference between Bree n and Sa m Bischoff, on e of th e writers , safel y settle d th e matte r withou t takin g u p th e touch y matter o f social change. 6 Routinely , every Hollywoo d movi e followe d this pat h t o th e screen , accompanie d b y yet other guarantor s o f sameness—advertising that touted some "shocking" problem, reviewers who told ticket buyers what to expect, and other institutional influences upon the expectation s o f audiences . I n thi s way , conscience-liberalis m wa s warped b y force s tha t ha d scan t links to actua l politica l life . Gone with the Wind, burdened a s it was by a racial theme, receive d particularly cautious treatment fro m both Selznic k and th e PCA , so that no matte r ho w Selznic k shaped hi s movi e t o th e voic e o f liberal con science, i t was stil l partl y shaped b y othe r forces . It was fated , then, t o please audience s i n searc h o f universal images an d discomfi t the Mal colm Little s i n th e theatres—a t least unti l Worl d Wa r I I drove u p th e political valu e of including more rounde d blac k figure s i n th e cast s of movies. I n thi s sense , Gone with the Wind wa s lik e al l othe r film s i n reducing al l socia l data, whethe r war , crime , o r slavery , to socia l dysfunctions susceptibl e to resolution by heroic effor t alone . Wer e Indian s being bilked by their agent? The fault lay with a single heartless bureaucrat. Did poverty cause crime? If so, a crusading reporter would discover it, assurin g tha t Angels with Dirty Faces woul d b e followe d b y Angels Wash Their Faces. Did wardens turn their charges into Boy Slaves?Then a kindly judge would sav e them i n the las t reel. Indeed, such fabled lon e intervention i n th e movie s o f Fran k Capr a becam e suc h a politic s of Oscar-winning, last-ree l good intention s tha t leftis t cynic s dubbed th e genre "Capra-corn." 7 African American s often intruded in this system, but with onl y limited succes s in the er a before depression an d wa r restore d the m t o na tional attention. Tactically, they lacked not onl y a friend a t court whom the moguls trusted but also a rhetorical alternative to the studios' playing to universal tastes—at least unti l the nee d fo r wartime unity provided a moment whe n national , black, an d Hollywoo d goals intersected . Certainly the precedent was there for a black lobby in Hollywood, an agency

8

Making Movies Black

already enjoyed by various regional, religious, and ethnic taste-cultures . Both the produce r Ceci l B. deMille and Wil l Hays of the PC A routinely consulted th e Jesuit Danie l J. Lord on matters of historicity and morals , while Southern censor s such as Lloyd T. Binford of Memphis an d Christine Smit h o f Atlant a serve d a s gatekeeper s fo r thei r region , thereb y denying Souther n viewer s acces s t o racia l drama an d dauntin g studi o sales departments that regarded such censors as a market to be catered to rather than authors of taboos. Blacks, at least up to 1940 , had penetrate d this circl e wit h minima l success , preferrin g instea d a genr e o f "rac e movies"—threadbare, all-blac k versions o f Hollywood genres—o r de mands upo n state-leve l censor s fo r law s agains t "slandering " racia l groups. The results were uneven. Th e few slander laws probably helpe d shape the "structured absence " o f blacks from the screen more than they aided the black cause. Sav e for well-mounted successe s like the Colored Players' The Scar of Shame (1927) or causes celebres such as The Birth of a Race, a proposed antidot e t o The Birth of a Nation (1915 ) tha t bega n i n Booker T. Washington's Tuskege e Institute an d enjoye d th e backin g of Julius Rosenwal d o f Sears , Roebuc k an d othe r whit e "angels, " rac e movies generally remaine d s o poorly distributed that the y were alway s at a loss for capital, a talent pool , an d a continuity o f mission. 8 So o n th e ev e o f Worl d Wa r II , th e Hollywoo d machin e groun d onward wit h onl y incidenta l participatio n b y black influences . Eve n a dense, culturall y rich, Pulitze r Prize play suc h a s Marc Connelly' s The Green Pastures suffere d ignomin y o n it s way t o the screen . Arrivin g on Broadway in 1929 , at the heigh t of Hollywood's interes t in soundfilm, Connelly's fabl e o f blac k fol k religio n seeme d s o risk y a projec t tha t Warner chos e Al Jolson i n The Jazz Singer for its feature-film essa y into sound. Blacks , eve n giant s o f thei r craf t suc h a s Bessi e Smith , Loui s Armstrong, or Cab Calloway, remained exile d to tantalizing two-reelers. Only two blac k musical features, Hallelujah! (1929 ) and Hearts in Dixie (1929), eac h o f them roote d i n th e mos t old-fashione d notion s o f th e rural blac k South , reache d th e screen—eac h o f them, i t must b e said , earning a round o f black applause for their presence if not th e timelines s of thei r material. 9 A Southerne r insid e th e PC A praised Hallelujah! a s "splendidly done " but warned tha t i t would flo p amon g "anyon e wh o doesn't kno w negro customs," and besides, he wrote, "whit e people will object to a strong negro exhibiting passion."10 A similar caution greete d The Green Pastures, the PC A pointing ou t t o Warne r tha t thre e studio s had rejected it for want of an adequate audience. Eve n Daniel Lord, who praised it s religiosity, warned tha t smalltow n audience s "woul d miss" its point an d resent the blacks. Organized blacks themselves, fearin g th e worst, decline d to endors e a movie o f Connelly's play.11 Thus a prizewinnin g musica l dram a tha t ha d enjoye d a friendl y black and white press and years of success on the road took six full years before i t found it s way to the screen . Even then, th e studio timidly held


9

Marc Connell y direct s his ow n The Green Pastures o n a cramped , tightly budgeted se t rather than th e Souther n location s for which he ha d hoped . BFI. Copyright Warner Bros . back it s resources , decline d t o shoo t o n locatio n (a s Vido r had don e Hallelujah!}, sidesteppe d shootin g i n Technicolor , an d ignore d th e ad vice o f it s producer , Henr y Blanke , t o tak e advantag e o f pioneerin g opportunity t o make a benchmark colo r movie. 12 I n the en d its budget equaled that of a cheap programmer, somewhere betwee n a half million and $800,000 , 3 5 percent o f that i n recoverabl e overhead . Indeed , to ward th e en d o f shootin g th e studi o suddenl y loppe d a n additiona l twenty-three pages from a script already stunted by cuts in livestock and set construction. 13 Despit e these stricture s Connelly though t i t grossed three or four million dollars. But a few months afte r th e premiere, Variety reporte d tha t "sales departments o f the film companies hav e stymied at leas t tw o deal s [for prospectiv e blac k films ] tha t wer e se t t o g o through."14 It seeme d a s though n o amoun t o f success could override the reluctanc e to accep t the ris k attendant upo n blac k material. None o f the foregoin g shoul d suggest an ironfiste d racism . Rather, the mogul s behaved merely tribally, trusting only black mascots of the tribe such a s Bil l Robinson; corporately, preferring riskfre e enterprises ;

10

Making Movies Black

and traditionally , definin g goo d "rac e relations " a s an appreciatio n of only th e winsome , pious , o r musica l trait s o f blac k culture . An d o f course the y wer e reinforce d in thi s by every studio' s cadre o f Southern white counselors—Lama r Trotti , Nunnall y Johnson , Freeman , Lynch , and others—wh o provide d advic e o n loca l colo r an d racia l etiquette . Moreover, i n every sort of routine correspondenc e an d conference , studio personnel displaye d casual racial folkways shared with th e nation at large. They called for "nigger" extras, auditioned "dinges, " and spok e of certain set-light s as "niggers." 15 An d i n th e PC A itself, Bree n an d hi s staff le t pass all manner o f racial slight and wit , stiffenin g onl y o n black heavies or hints of miscegenation a s censorable material. 16 Walte r White of the NAAC P or Floyd Covingto n of the Nationa l Urban League (NUL) offered occasiona l measure d counsel , bu t Souther n hysteri a weighe d more in the scales. Should RKO use a flippant black servant described in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle? Better play it safe , though t Breen , and g o wit h white , marketabl e Walte r Brennan , an d whil e the y wer e about it , why no t dro p a needlessl y blac k orchestra . "I t i s certain tha t audiences i n the sout h wil l not lik e such scenes, " he wrote, "an d you r studio is likely to b e deluge d wit h letter s o f protest." 17 On the lots, with one eye on the box office, the y had little choice but to follow PCA custom. I f the studi o wished t o expose Souther n prison s in / Was a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang, then caution obliged them to use blacks only when "necessary," said the PCA man, an d to emphasize "entertainmen t ove r reportage " o r els e ris k a "headache " i n th e form o f "th e South' s well-know n dislik e of criticism." Imitation of Life (1934) wit h it s whiff o f "miscegenation " recalle d painfu l memorie s o f The Birth of a Nation. I f ever the y balke d a t change , a s i n th e cas e o f Martha Raye' s outre danc e wit h Loui s Armstrong in Artists and Models (1937), Souther n exhibitor s sent blun t warning s t o th e PC A to expec t angry demonstrations. 18 O n th e lots , th e interoffic e memorand a re corded th e endles s game o f outguessing the PC A man. G o as far a s w e like i n shootin g blac k mai d an d whit e mistres s embracin g i n Nothing Sacred (1937) , wrote Val Lewton to his boss, Selznick, providing we give no implicatio n o f equality . A t screening s animosit y ofte n flashed , a s when Lewis Milestone slipped some libera l touch int o Of Mice and Men (1939), t o whic h a PC A man snapped , "Yo u thin k you'r e prett y cute, don't you." Earl y on, socia l themes o f any sor t seemed t o promise only trouble an d box-offic e poison . Typically , a stor y edito r a t Paramoun t predicted o f th e Federa l Theatr e dram a abou t slums , One Third of a Nation, tha t althoug h compellin g on stag e [it] stood n o mor e chance as movie materia l tha n othe r faile d socia l films. 19 The effec t o f this institutiona l syste m was t o impos e o n white s a n imagery tha t wa s eve r more irrelevan t to th e actua l changing status of African Americans. As war an d depression and Souther n soil exhaustion brought blac k an d whit e American s togethe r i n cities , whethe r i n


11

breadlines o r federa l projects gangs , movie s persiste d i n ol d habits . I n 1929 a National Committee on Social Values survey reported tha t blacks still appeared "onl y to create a laugh on the screen, exceptin g for 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' " whil e a decade late r Selznic k with unintentiona l iron y confirmed thei r findin g by filing wit h th e MPPDA yet another proposed version o f Uncle Tom's Cabin.20 Sadly within black circles, not onl y had n o consisten t critica l voice emerged, bu t a corps of Hollywood Negroes ranging fro m actors to gossip columnist s serve d a s a conservativ e brak e o n activism . As early a s 1929 Walte r Whit e attacke d thei r work , a s di d Leste r Grange r o f th e NUL in 193 7 when he included the m amon g th e enemies i n his the fight for blac k integratio n int o America n life . A s timi d producer s remove d black heavie s fro m th e screen , unctuou s performer s suc h a s Stepi n Fetchit, Bil l Robinson , Louis e Beavers, and thei r peer s easil y overcame the fe w protest s o f the activists . Defending these actor s b y celebratin g their individua l accomplishment s a s the race' s achievement s wer e th e journalists Harr y Levette, Lawrence LaMar , Rub y Goodwin, an d othe r stringers who filed their storie s draw n fro m studio boilerplate and "ex clusive" interview s wit h the black "stars." Their papers ran their stuff as fodder fo r both fan s an d prospectiv e advertiser s among th e exhibitors . Only Claude A. Barnett and hi s Chicago-based wire service , the Associated Negro Press, tried to make "a dent in the Hollywood situation" bot h by challenging the blacks to abstain from demeaning wor k an d by prodding conscience-liberals with "th e courag e to experiment" to make films of "real Negro life." Fora fe w months i n the mid-1930s Barnett assigned Fay M . Jackson , a journalis t o f strikin g appearanc e i n a tow n wher e looks mattered , t o replac e Levett e a s hi s "man " i n Hollywood . He r charge: t o upset the coz y arrangement i n which a coven o f black actors "perpetuated thei r ow n kind " i n a n endles s ru n o f "maudlin" tale s of "cabins i n the cotton." Unfortunately, her idealism turned to such bitter contempt fo r the Wes t Coas t blacks that sh e was soo n al l but alienate d from he r sources. 21 Partly she flopped because she had miscalculated the depth o f adoration in which blac k actors were hel d by their fans, as well a s the respect for thei r smal l successes, which fan s took as a respite from their own lo t in life. Fa r from being regarded a s traitors to the rac e who merel y served white aims , th e blac k actor s wer e regarde d a s talente d hig h achiever s whose role s provided not onl y signs that a t least some black s might wi n the game of life but also incomes tha t they shared wit h their pet charities, service clubs , an d th e servant s i n thei r bungalow s i n midtow n Lo s Angeles, where equally comfortable whites once ha d lived . At the top of the smal l heap were featured player s such as Clarence Muse of Hearts in Dixie an d a hundre d othe r films, Hattie McDaniel, who woul d wi n th e first blac k Osca r for he r Mamm y i n Gone with the Wind, an d Stepi n Fetchit i n a strin g o f bucoli c romances rangin g fro m In Old Kentucky

12

Making Movies Black

(1926) t o a trilogy of Will Rogers vehicles in the mid-1930s. 22 Beneat h them o n th e scal e were th e bi t player s and extra s wh o measure d ou t their careers in terms of minutes on the screen rather tha n roles. Martin Wilkins, who carrie d spears or stood in crowds in The Real Glory, Tarzan movies, an d Congo Maisie, compare d blac k audition s t o stevedores ' shapeups. I n thes e "cattl e calls, " a s actors called them, "they gathered up i n gangs " a t Centra l and Twelft h t o mee t buses for the lots , wher e "the dollar " mattere d mor e tha n racia l sensitivity . "The y didn' t car e what i t was," Wilkin s recalled, "an y typ e of Uncle Tom," a t least unti l the Federal Theatre provided alternativ e income tha t allowe d the m "t o buck th e stereotype." 23 Not unti l th e en d o f the decad e an d a rush o f New Deal gestures— black appointment s t o federa l posts, a crescend o o f symbolic deeds by Mrs. Roosevelt—di d Hollywood tak e an y libera l cues . Souther n genr e films like The Littlest Rebel and Steamboat Round the Bend waned, and th e options of their black stars were dropped. At Fox the house Southerners , Lamar Trotti and Nunnally Johnson, wrot e strong, if Southern-textured, black roles into Slave Ship an d The Prisoner of Shark Island. Ou t i n "the valley" at Universal, Paul Robeson tested the climate by playing Joe in a new Show Boat. Socia l drama presol d fro m successe s i n othe r media , such as Clifford Odets' s Golden Boy (1938) and Joh n Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1939) , arrive d wit h a bi t o f politica l consciousnes s intact . Dramas o f the South , suc h a s Owe n Davis' s Jezebel (1938 ) and Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1941) , cam e fro m Broadway, more barbe d and les s char y o f offendin g Souther n sensibilities . Eve n conventiona l Hollywood fare in odd moments played to black tastes. In Jolson's Wonderbar (1935) , fo r example , h e san g a n homag e t o The Green Pastures entitled "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule," which, thoug h featurin g a porkchop orchar d an d a watermelon palace , serve d a s a lead-i n t o a pan theon o f actual black heroes draw n fro m history. 24 A half-doze n films teased th e them e o f racial integration , onl y t o retreat from it in the last reel. Two of them, One Mile from Heaven (1937 ) and Rainbow on the River (1939), narrowed th e social distance betwee n the race s to th e famil y circl e itself. I n bot h movie s whit e childre n ar e adopted b y blac k matriarch s wh o shap e the m int o decen t folk . Th e heavies ar e the forces of reaction wh o find the arrangement s appalling . But tantalizing clashes with Hollywood racial convention prove d unsup portable. Althoug h bot h movie s poin t towar d a n interracia l closure i n which th e familie s defend their happy circl e against officia l snoops , i n both a last-reel court proceedin g finds in favor o f the heavies, separate s black fro m white , an d restore s th e hegemon y o f convention. 25 Three musica l film s i n th e sam e er a reveale d a similar , growing tension between ne w racia l politics and ol d formulas. Two of them, The Birth of the Blues (1939 ) an d Syncopation (1942) , open o n a reverential treatment of jazz as a rich syncretism of Europe and Africa , but both en d


13

A variation on th e them e of adoption a s a point o f intersection o f black an d white lif e wa s sometime s see n through the eye s o f a white pupil a t th e fee t of a blac k jazz master, a s here in Syncopation (1942 ) wit h Jackie Coope r an d Todd Dunca n o n cornets . Copyrigh t RKO . in lilywhit e storie s mad e obligator y b y th e requiremen t o f a romanti c clinch a t th e end . Thei r establishin g shot s revea l thei r hopes , muc h as their closure s revea l th e constraint s o f Hollywood formula . Unde r th e main title s o f Syncopation a montage o f a ma p o f Africa , a blac k kin g under a parasol dickering for a coffle o f slaves, a "blackbirder" under ful l sail, a sprawling cotton field, and a New Orleans streetscap e i n 190 6 all serve a s a prologu e t o th e arriva l o f jazz in Storyville . Indeed , thi s i s where The Birth of the Blues begins, complet e wit h ragamuffins , street "arabs" hawking wares , lowdow n dive s that introduc e th e beat o f jazz life. Then both movies let slip the mood by shifting to their white heroes , both boys struggling at the piano unde r ster n teachers who wish to hear Beethoven a s written. Soo n the boys are hanging ou t at the doors of the jazz clubs. In The Birth of the Blues the bandmen i n Trixy's hear him . " A white boy!" say s one, the first he had ever heard playing lowdown style . But graduall y the plot s slip away int o whit e circle s of romance, good bad women , booze , and jail, an d i n the las t reel the whit e rebe l heroe s fulfill themselve s by interpolating black music into their own idiom . So a good stor y ide a clashe d wit h a n ol d formula, thereby endin g wit h th e erasure o f its black premise. 26

14

Making Movies Black

A third fragmen t of a jazz idiom appeare d in a reel of Paramount' s St. Louis Blues (1939) and reveale d much about th e prickly sort of resistance tha t conscience-liberalis m migh t expec t even wit h th e onse t o f a war agains t racism . At the cente r of the conflic t was Maxin e Sullivan , part o f whos e char m fo r he r Easter n fan s ha d bee n he r whimsicall y syncopated version o f the Scot s folksong "Loch Lomond. " I n first draf t the scrip t had include d stoc k black roles as well as Ah Sin, the Chines e cook on a showboat . But befor e shootin g began , Ah Sin became the black servan t Ida , Sullivan' s role. As though hintin g at the socia l concerns of the writers, the script also included a rising river that wiped ou t both shacks and mansions without respect for color or class. In any case, the seemingl y fluff y movi e outrage d on e o f it s ow n writers , Joh n C . Moffitt, wh o spat out an angry letter complaining of Sullivan's poaching on "Loch Lomond, " an d attesting to his deep sense of violation brought on b y this touc h o f liberal whimsy. 27 So far we have take n u p th e politic s of moviemaking o n th e ev e of World War II without reference to external forces, some of which helpe d arm libera l advocates agains t th e sor t o f resistance tha t Moffitt' s not e anticipated. At the onset of war the Hollywood left felt the pressure from rightwing newspapers, congressiona l committees , an d eve n gossi p columnists in the Los Angeles press who served as a thought-police. Louella O. Parsons, a would-be screenwriter, an d Hedda Hopper, a failed actress, helped reduc e politic s t o a sor t o f world-cup fina l betwee n simplisti c patriots and blood-red communism. 28 Th e studios not only tolerated but even fed this meddling in their affairs , becaus e it provided a check rein on prima donn a stars . Yet the columnist s would hav e been mer e pape r dragons had it not been for congressional conservatives, many from one party Souther n Districts , wh o a s early a s 193 9 unde r Marti n Die s (D Tex.), chai r o f the Hous e Un-America n Activitie s Committe e (HUAC) , investigated th e "prematur e anti-fascism " o f th e Communis t part y (CPUSA). From the Senate came other investigators of Hollywood "war mongering" i n its movies. To a poin t th e committee s wer e correc t i n thei r inferences . Th e MPPDA ha d begu n th e decad e b y disavowin g politic s an d portrayin g their movie s a s "civilizing" appeals t o "averag e standards " limne d b y endings wit h "virtu e . . . triumphant. " Bu t a s Hitle r ros e an d wa r loomed, Hollywood Jews, liberals , and the CPUS A embraced i n a "pop ular front" against fascism. Now and again their sentiment s spille d over from thei r petition s an d "mas s meetings " int o actua l movies . I n fact , Arthur Mayer, manager of the Rialto in New York, traced a 194 0 slump in rentals to "people throughou t th e lan d shake n ou t o f their compla cence .. . b y Europe's war [who ] ar e much mor e demandin g of pictures" a s a result. 29 But the PCA, and foreig n consul s and thei r lobbyists, sided with th e


15

right win g i n demandin g politica l neutrality . Sensin g th e prospec t fo r raising th e stake s fo r African Americans , Walte r Whit e o f the NAAC P began cultivatin g Hollywoo d liberal s an d pilin g u p marker s tha t h e might late r cal l in . A s earl y a s 1939 , i n a roun d o f dinner s wit h th e producer Walte r Wange r an d a carefull y kep t lis t o f other liberals , h e sought to cast blacks as one of the countervailing powers in a game that they ha d rarel y playe d well . Meanwhil e Georg e Gyssling, the Germa n consul i n Lo s Angeles, threatene d th e PC A with "seriou s difficulties " and eve n "troubles" if the potboiler Lancer Spy (1937) or Charles Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) were released. Breen took Gyssling's case to the lots, warning them of his threats and asking them to avoid labeling the warrin g camp s in Wanger' s Spanis h Civi l Wa r film, Blockade. Th e state censors joined in when Pennsylvania required the makers of Beasts of Berlin (1939) t o append a disclaimer that it intended n o "prejudice " toward any nation.30 Th e race angle here, of course, was that to agree to pussyfoot wa s to subjec t Jewish character s to the sam e otherness , era sure, an d absenc e tha t black s historically had faced . Alread y Beasts of Berlin had slyly labeled them an unnamed but courageous minority, and in William Dieterle's The Life ofEmile Zola (1937 ) the infamou s Dreyfus case ha d unfolde d withou t a singl e utteranc e o f the wor d Jew. Onl y Chaplin, not a member of the PCA, unabashedly located Jews at the core of a film, The Great Dictator.31 After th e American entry into the war al l of thi s woul d change ; fo r example , Joh n Balderston , a screenwriter , Elmer Davis of the Offic e o f War Informatio n (OWI) , and th e historia n Henry Pringle pressed Louis B. Mayer for an early release of Mrs. Miniver to hea d of f a ris e o f Anglophobia afte r th e botche d Britis h defense of Singapore agains t th e Japanese . Afterwar d Balderston praised Pringl e for "you r initiative [which ] ha s resulte d in a serious blow being struc k against genera l anti-Britis h feeling." 32 Observing how the system worked, Walter White could not help but sense an eventual inclusion of African American s in it as full partner s in a worldwid e allianc e agains t fascism . Th e crisi s o f wa r ha d brough t blacks, th e democracies , an d moviemaker s int o commo n cause . U p to then, th e onl y filmmakers who ha d eve r pai d attentio n t o black s had been a circle of New Yor k leftie s i n Nykino, Frontier, an d othe r cell s of Eastern documentarists. 33 At th e sam e time , Africa n American s had onl y just begu n t o lin k their goal s both t o th e wa r an d t o movies . Th e NAACP , fo r instance , quietly kept a file of prospectuses o f filmmakers who migh t hel p the m use film as a weapon, eve n though earl y in the Depression some officer s remained coo l t o th e medium . I n 1932 , fo r example , whe n Walte r Niebuhr of the Peac e Films Foundation proposed a film on th e cultural evolution o f Afro-America Joe l Spingar n at th e NAAC P grumbled , " I don't thin k pure machine-made propaganda does much good." Month s

16

Making Movies Black

later, th e blac k Rhode s schola r Alai n Lock e struggle d t o brin g film makers an d blac k sponsors togethe r bu t foun d "n o Negroe s . . . wh o would .. . b e interested."34 The Easter n radical filmmaker s offere d scan t additiona l hope fo r a black presence o n their screens, eventually leaving onl y Hollywood as a prospective ally during the oncomin g war . Radica l filmmakers, often a t great personal sacrifice , had spen t their professional lives making grainy, seldom seen, class-based propaganda i n which blacks held as marginal a place a s they ha d hel d i n Hollywood—mainl y because th e filmmaker s had no wish t o muddle the class conflict by stirring racism into the pot . The tw o mos t celebrate d documentarie s o f th e era , Native Land an d Time, Inc.' s The Ramparts We Watch, bot h omitte d black s i n thei r alarmist tale s of democracy in a hostile world. Native Land, despit e th e celebrated Pau l Robeso n a s narrator, painte d ou t blac k proletarians i n order not t o incite narrow, race-base d grievance s that migh t diver t th e eye fro m th e intende d heavies , a caba l o f nameles s "interests " an d "bosses." A s Leo Hurwit z recalled , "I t i s importan t no t t o indic t th e whole whit e rac e an d [thereby ] remov e th e clas s character o f oppression." Oddly, a friendly Ne w York press hinted a t an audienc e rip e for racial advocacy. "Powerful" an d even "superb, " they said . "Indicts th e spirit o f the Klan, " sai d the CPUSA' s Daily Worker.35 More politically centrist documentarie s als o warned o f menaces t o the American way, including, as The Ramparts We Watched did, the sam e nameless "powerfu l corporations " as well a s foreign fascists, bu t agai n blacks held no stake in the outcome. Land of Liberty, a pageant of American history made for the New York World's Fair of 1939, also depicted a lilywhite America save for a shot of a black butler. Despit e consultation with th e historia n James T . Shotwell, it s agenda neve r wavere d fro m a European manifes t destiny in the America n West. 36 At least Land of Liberty focused black rage upon film as propaganda. A year earlier, Edgar Dale, a pioneer in the study of the sociolog y of film at Ohi o Stat e University , ha d writte n i n th e Crisis, a n orga n o f th e NAACP, tha t Par e Lorentz' s New Deal-is h plea fo r intervenin g i n th e spoliation of arable land, The Plow That Broke the Plains, showed ho w " a single fil m . . . ca n mak e th e America n publi c sensitiv e t o [a ] problem." The n in 1939, as though takin g Dale to heart, J. Richardson Jones of th e blac k Atlanta Mutua l Insuranc e Compan y sa w Land of Liberty, bristled a t it s lilywhit e tenor , an d fire d of f an angr y lette r t o Walte r White. Thereafter, organized blacks began to join the ranks of the coun tervailing powers i n the moviemakin g system. 37 Not that sanguine results immediately followed. Up to then, sav e for a few oddments such as Lorentz's films and thos e of the Scot s filmmaker John Grierson , documentary fil m wa s marke d b y a n offputting , gray , neutral texture that was preferred by audiovisual librarians who wishe d to avoid controversy. Typical was Parade of Progress, a black-sponsored


17

film that followe d Jones' s protes t t o White , a stati c parade o f "talkin g heads" belonging t o black achievers such a s Mary McLeod Bethune, a member o f Roosevelt's informa l "black cabinet, " an d a n NAAC P promotional film done in similar style. Ensuing meetings of a "Greater New York Committe e for Better Negro Films" built "around the presenc e of Paul Robeson " generate d n o bette r ideas. 38 Th e documentar y genr e simply could not become the broadranging advocate that Edgar Dale had predicted—not unti l i t broke wit h it s somber style , its hat-in-hand de pendence o n inconstan t foundation s an d parent-teache r group s wh o sponsored films and donate d projectors , and it s cautious claims to un controversial "objectivity. " A 193 7 report t o th e America n Counci l on Education found , for example, onl y fou r fields that len t themselve s t o film: voice, hygiene, grammar, and aesthetics. Even the famous The Plow That Broke the Plains was praised for its "rhythmic beauty" rather than its advocacy. 39 Eve n i f an engagin g fil m survive d thi s system , audio visual libraries were few in number, projector s averaged fewer than on e per school, the rental firms had only just formed their guild in 1939 , and all were beholden to donors. Even the catalogues propped up this daunting system. Typically, when one reviewer reported that America's Disinherited include d a n angr y sharecropper' s slogan , "Yesterda y we asked for pity , toda y w e deman d justice, " h e cautione d tha t "th e teache r should als o se e that th e plante r sid e of the stor y is told."40 In this cinematic mood just before the war, African Americans began to sens e th e prospect s for affecting filmmakin g a t it s source, but i n th e short term the politics of documentary film were as daunting as those in Hollywood itself . Typically , documentarists chos e theme s an d subject s from a narrow inventor y of black fables o f "self-help," depictin g blacks solving some flaw in Souther n geograph y such as erosion o r weevils or celebrating black ideologies like Booker T. Washington's "philanthropi c efforts o n behal f o f the Negro. " A faithful viewe r coul d onl y conclud e that a good black future require d n o mor e than home-cannin g o f food, new flyscreens and privies, and fresh coat s of whitewash, al l done in the spirit o f Washington, i n whose nam e on e film promised tha t th e "rac e would prospe r if" only African American s took up "the commo n occupations of life." Two typical films of the day were MGM's biopic of the agronomist Georg e Washington Carve r and th e Nationa l Tuberculosis Association's Let My People Live (1938), a tale of how moder n medicin e intervened to reduce the incidence of disease. In the former film, humility an d a sens e o f place rather tha n achievemen t se t the tone . Carve r appeared "as a black common man , who though offered man y positions preferred t o devot e his lif e t o the stud y of the peanut , a n angl e Carver personally agreed to, providing it was sho t with dignity. As to the latte r film, a reviewe r found i t a usefu l too l in promotin g racial tolerance as though only suffering Africa n Americans were unthreatening and therefore deservin g of philanthropic attention.41 Eve n suppose d "actuality"

18

Making Movies Black

footage such as newsreels seemed to consider all but the most benign (or comic) blacks ineligible for inclusion. In The March of Time, for example, the cult leader Father Divine appeared no t a s a social phenomenon bu t as a comic figure at th e hea d o f a gimcrack crusade ; th e annua l blac k Easter parade became "Negroes Strut in Easter Finery in Harlem"; an d a report o n a n annua l bal l became a "Dizzyin g Round o f Jitterbug an d Jive" with a sidebar interview with the psychiatrist A. A. Brill, who told viewers tha t jitterbugging was a generic Africanism. 42 Near the en d of this dismaying decade in which radicals , documentarists, an d Hollywoodian s share d a commo n visio n o f African Ameri cans tha t casuall y erased the m fro m th e dail y round o f American life , Gone with the Wind arrived , effectivel y straddlin g th e critica l momen t between th e stasis of peacetime an d th e energizing mood o f war. As we have seen , Selznic k had no t onl y take n u p th e caus e o f nationalizin g Mitchell's regional epic, but had done so when Hollywood seemed at the height of its powers, like some ancient capital that successfully exporte d its ideal s t o almos t ever y nationa l cultur e o n th e planet—cultures , i t should b e said , i n whic h familie s habituall y attende d movie s twic e a week—and earne d $4 0 millio n annuall y fro m America n market s alone.43 It woul d b e Selznick , then, wh o woul d carr y Hollywood' s golde n age into war, thereby having the last racial word o f one era and the first of the next. Indeed, his movie was the first case of extended negotiation s between make r an d audienc e tha t include d Africa n American s a t th e table. Its resulting inner contradictions helped provide a template against which t o tes t black strengt h durin g the wartim e risin g of a Hollywood conscience-liberalism tha t woul d giv e blacks unprecedente d acces s t o the moviemakin g process . Consequently , movie s gre w no t onl y mor e self-consciously politica l bu t als o les s conten t wit h thei r forme r self proclaimed role as mere entertainment. No t that Gone with the Wind an d its peers became political tracts—far from it—bu t each slight, negotiated change in it was a transaction tha t demonstrated blac k power i n a society unde r th e impendin g stres s of war. Besides Howard, Selznick' s team soo n include d th e vetera n Hollywood body-and-fende r man Be n Hecht, as well as the distan t figure of Mitchell herself, an Atlantan of uncommon good sense with a wry image of her South as a region that sometimes took itself too seriously. Abetted by Kay Brown, Selznick's most trusted Ne w York aide, she contributed an urban e Souther n sensibility . She had bee n raise d a s of two minds , soaking up th e lore of the Lost Cause in daytrips to the blackened ruin s left b y Sherman' s arm y an d t o th e Cycloram a at Ston e Mountain, bu t also being broadened by a life that included attending a Yankee college, serving a tur n a s a reporte r o n th e Atlanta Journal, readin g Wilbu r Cash's heretical The Mind of the South, and writin g a novella of "flaming youth" tha t included an interracia l liaison.44 B y 193 6 her readin g em-


19

braced bot h Henr y Steel e Commager' s biograph y o f Theodore Parker , particularly, sh e told th e author , "th e part s abou t th e fugitiv e slaves, " and th e Negrophobi a o f Thomas Dixon , t o who m sh e wrote , " I wa s practically raised on your books and love them very much." Like man y Southerners sh e fel t sh e love d he r blac k servant s an d believe d th e K u Klux Klan to have been a historical necessity, yet of her book she said, "I sweat blood to keep it from bein g like Uncle Remus." Indeed, sh e liked standing i n th e win d betwee n th e tw o cultures , althoug h wishin g for acceptance b y Souther n readers . A s one o f her character s says : "Mis s Scarlett, tain' gwine to do you no good to stan' high wi d Yankees ef yo' own folk s doan ' 'prove of you." I n the end she had everything : South erners stood by her; Yankee s accepted her traged y of the Sout h as their own; th e book sol d millions; an d Selznic k hoped t o make it the greatest movie ever. 45 As they grappled with their task they searched for common ground, muting o r cuttin g scene s o n whic h ther e wa s n o compromise . A s conscience-liberals the y like d Mitchell' s blacks . The y were , Howar d wrote, th e best-writte n Negroe s h e ha d eve r read , t o whic h Selznic k added his wish that they appear "on the right side of the ledger," even at the expense o f historicity. "The pictur e must not emerge," he told Howard," a s anything offensive t o negroes" nor cast "too ba d a light on even the negroe s o f the Reconstructio n period." 46 H e even trie d t o tak e o n black consultants , includin g Walte r White , Charle s Wesley o f Howard University, and the black actors on the set—some of whom violated the ancient strictur e tha t actor s should b e neither see n no r hear d betwee n takes—and sample d opinio n in black Lo s Angeles. 47 For Southern lore he turned t o Mitchell's frien d Susa n Myrick of the Macon Telegraph an d Wilbur Kurtz, a Northern expatriate and Civi l War buff wh o advise d o n weaponr y an d plantatio n life—san s whips an d chains. Mitchel l reckone d tha t Myric k share d he r ow n wrynes s and , despite a pedigre e tha t include d a Confederat e general, possesse d a n "utter lack of sentimentality toward wha t is tearfully known as The Ol d South,'" couple d wit h a racia l mentalit y tha t on e blac k Georgia n summed u p to Mitchell as: "De race got two friends in dis county, sweet Jesus an d d e Macon Telegraph. " Myric k spen t he r day s screenin g old movies, conferrin g o n costum e an d manners , an d teachin g Souther n accents to the English actors, and scouting Los Angeles for black actors— in short, a s liaison between Atlant a and Hollywood . Of course, none of this assure d authenticity ; i n fac t Selznic k regarded Kurtz mainly a s a n overpaid meddle r an d soo n returne d t o th e Sout h h e kne w best — Hollywood's own. 48 Mitchell caugh t th e drif t an d feare d th e wors t a s Selznick gradually transformed her rustic Tara into a Georgian mansion. As fo r th e fat e o f th e blacks , sh e expecte d onl y maudli n Hollywood complete with , a s sh e told Ka y Brown, "thre e hundre d masse d Negro singers . . . standin g o n Mis s Pittypat' s law n wavin g thei r arm s an d

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Making Movies Black

singing 'Swing low, sweet chariot, comin ' fo r to carry me home,' whil e Rhett drive s up wit h th e wagon." 49 In thi s arrangemen t th e politic s o f moviemakin g fel l bac k int o Selznick's lap, particularl y as the Southerner s supplie d ric h detai l fro m their ow n lor e whil e h e responde d t o specificall y racia l problem s b y erasing them from th e script . This left black s as a sort o f coinage in th e politics of the marketplace i n which Selznic k seemed caugh t between a possibly hostil e blac k pres s an d hi s wis h fo r a universall y acclaime d movie tha t woul d retur n it s investment. Thu s Selznick smoothed awa y offending blac k parts: The epithet "nigger" all but evaporated , o f a proposed rap e scen e Selznic k prescribed tha t "th e negr o [be ] littl e mor e than a spectator," an d th e traged y of Reconstruction surfaced only a s a series o f nameless "politica l meetings." 50 The blacks, perhaps stil l not a t hom e i n th e unaccustome d rol e of being aske d fo r advic e b y powerfu l whit e men , requeste d littl e tha t Selznick could not deliver . Charles Wesley apparently never responded . As for Walter White, he asked only for "accuracy," promised n o "racia l chauvinism," an d afte r lunc h wit h Ka y Brown seeme d a pussycat . He and I are buddies, Brown told Selznick, and sh e expected onl y coopera tion fro m "Brothe r White. " This left onl y th e black s on th e set , on e of whom, th e choi r directo r Hal l Johnson, tol d Myric k he wa s unhapp y that som e black s had faile d s o obstinatel y t o appreciat e Gone with the Wind.51 A s insurance, Selznic k took o n a blac k journalist, gav e him a tour o f the studio , and began planting storie s in his column alon g with "exclusive" interviews. Next he let leak the story that the personal maid of Mrs. Roosevel t ( a heroine amon g blac k Democrats ) was u p fo r th e role o f Mammy. Finally , i n a n oddl y careles s gesture, Ro y Wilkins , a major figure in the NAACP , lightened Selznick' s task by running i n th e Crisis a snapshot o f himself visiting a movielot, a n image that could no t help but convey to black readers that one of their ow n seeme d o n good terms wit h Hollywood . O n the set , the blac k actors contributed to thi s era o f goo d feeling s b y bein g portraye d i n th e blac k pres s a s hig h achievers wh o ha d wo n "coveted " role s o f "dignity an d earnestness " that in their skilled hands would become "more than" mere servants. In this way they not only contributed to Selznick's strategy but played to a black politica l consciousnes s i n whic h persona l attainmen t wa s cele brated i n th e blac k press a s though reflectin g a genera l ris e i n Africa n American fortunes. In th e glo w o f these coups , Selznick' s greatest fea r was no t o f black activis m but o f various watchdogs o f historical trivia such a s th e Unite d Daughter s of the Confederac y and th e Societ y for Correct Civil War Information. The Hollywood veteran actors, beholden to the studio for their income and their stature among black fans, played it cool, perhaps tommed i t a bit, and, like Oscar Polk , wh o playe d Pork the Geeche e butler , fe d Myric k unctuou s testimon y tha t th e projec t "strikingly demonstrate[d ] how fa r we hav e com e i n s o few years." 52


21

Clearly, Selznic k had wo n th e publi c relations game ; blac k protes t fixed only on the easily patched matter of how many times "nigger" was to b e heard . Voice s on th e lef t damnin g "th e glorificatio n o f th e ol d rotten syste m of slavery" as an "incitemen t to lynching " wer e all but lost.53 A s earl y a s 1937 , Rub y Berkele y Goodwi n o f th e Los Angeles Sentinel and other local blacks feared the word "nigger " might leak from page to screen an d calle d for its erasure. Selznic k coolly allowed blacks to believe in their newl y asserte d power s whe n in fac t th e Bree n offic e had alread y warne d hi m agains t usin g th e word . A s late a s 1939 , h e wavered, thinking to reserve the word for only blacks to utter, but finally relented afte r hi s staf f surveye d blac k Lo s Angeles an d rule d i t "dan gerous." "Okay, forge t it, " h e sai d in the end. 54 By the tim e of its premiere i n Atlant a i n 1939 , Gone with the Wind had bee n oven-fire d t o a glossy , smooth , universa l metapho r tha t pleased almos t everyon e i n on e wa y o r anothe r s o tha t dissenter s seemed devian t (eve n Communist). Oddly, even th e Worker waffled , it s reviewer breaking with the CPUS A line in confessing to being charme d despite it s politics. Black s too cam e awa y awestruc k a t the geniu s that had manage d th e tale of Reconstruction without raisin g the ol d goblins of freedmen's corruption an d K u Klux nightriding. Neve r mind th e at tendant erasur e o f a chapte r o f blac k histor y o r th e absentin g o f it s participants; Selznick had made his universal classic from the skeleton of a regional book an d turne d i t into a celebration of an American faith i n individual heroism , gri t in th e fac e o f defeat, romantic love , an d eve n interracial harmon y (a t th e pric e o f th e histor y o f blac k politic s an d struggle and thu s th e historica l basis of their curren t plight) . The black characters were left only with their roles as slaves for whom heroism wa s measured out in fealty to their masters. Hattie McDaniel handled he r end so well tha t he r Mamm y wo n a n Oscar , the firs t eve r fo r a blac k per former, a n accomplishmen t tha t me t wit h genuin e blac k approval . If they winced a t all, it was as Malcolm X recalled: at a stridently mindless maid name d Priss y (Butterfly McQueen). 55 Selznick's movi e taxe d th e critica l faculties o f the reviewer s a t th e political cente r o f the nation' s press . Eve n a s the y sneere d a t it s shrill advertising, outsize d girth , swolle n budget , an d th e glit z wit h whic h Russell Birdwell trumpeted i t in three year s of promotional stunts , the y confessed t o likin g it . S o critic s eithe r side d wit h Jame s Age e i n th e Nation i n attackin g it s "aestheticall y self-defeating " excesse s o r wit h Pare Lorentz in McCall's i n confessing that "If I go on any longer I might as wel l g o t o wor k fo r MGM." 56 Fe w o f them too k u p racia l angles , mainly because of Selznick's skill in universalizing Mitchell's blacks into icons o f social harmony. This lef t th e tas k o f attackin g Selznick' s cinem a politic s t o th e CPUSA and th e blac k press, neither on e o f which presente d a coheren t aesthetic. A "glorification of the ol d South, " sai d a Socialis t paper; " a

22

Making Movies Black

foul slande r o f the Negr o people .. . i n a slic k package o f sentimen tality," sai d th e CPUSA ; " a rabi d incitemen t .. . t o provok e rac e riots," said another leftist . And yet their vehemence maske d their failure to find a hook o n which to hang a more systematic attack on the movie . Indeed, Howard Rushmore o f the Worker s o struggled for an angl e tha t reflected hi s ambivalence tha t h e brok e Part y discipline and i n its eyes became a "renegade," an act followed u p by the Worker's commission ing a rebutta l b y th e blac k write r Carlto n Mos s and , a s th e vetera n CPUSA movie criti c David Platt recalled, "boot[ing Rushmore ] out " o f the Worker. Wit h orthodoxy restored, Platt successfully pressed the New York critic s to den y i t their "bes t film " award. 57 But what of the black public? Apart from the fact that the movie was about slavery , it became clea r to many black s that a Hollywood studi o had take n a political ste p that, eve n i f rooted i n a sad past, gave racial material a dimensio n i t ha d neve r possesse d before . The black figures were o f uncommon humanity : a mammy s o acerbic as to dominate he r scenes, a butler so cool as to seem managerial, slave s dressed in hones t "Negro cloth" ; onl y the inan e Priss y broke th e mood . Ther e had eve n been a fleeting glimps e of a "darktown," through whic h Scarlet t rode , Dandy black Republicans and thei r white bosse s were reduce d t o glimpses in Gone with the Wind (1939) , i n keepin g with Selznick' s wish t o plac e Africa n Americans on "th e righ t sid e of the ledger. " Nederland s Stichting Filmmuseum (NSF) . Copyrigh t Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


23

and a dandified town Negro, probably a Republican, who hinte d o f the subsurface racia l politics struggling to break fre e fro m universalism . Some o f this reache d blac k viewers , rousin g the m t o unexpecte d division rangin g fro m predictabl e hectorin g t o acut e anticipatio n o f changes to come in the politics of movies. Some took comfort in Selznick as a n all y against Mitchell's Souther n chauvinism . Th e Crisis itsel f re ported that he had "eliminate d practicall y all of the offensive scene s and dialogue so that there is little .. . t o which objectio n can be entered," an opinio n clos e t o tha t o f Edward G. Perry's piece in th e Negro Actor reporting tha t he "wa s no t offende d o r annoyed." 58 Among the newspapers , som e blac k critics began t o see more tha n mere erasur e o f th e offensiv e an d t o examin e omen s o f attainment . Some, of course, beholden a s they were to exhibitors' advertising, took a soft line , rehashing apologia and measuring success by the hours or days earned b y blac k extra s tha t ha d brough t "economi c jo y an d artisti c aplomb to the loca l colony of sepia screen players," praisin g individual performances, an d cheerin g eac h smal l breach wit h racia l convention . The Norfolk Journal and Guide, for example, admire d th e modernit y of the relationship between Rhett Butler and Mammy, while others at least shared the pleasure of the Crisis in the erasure s that had lef t "n o reaso n for Negroe s to fee l indignant. " Indeed , som e echoe d Par e Lorent z in finding it "magnificently done" and even "truly the greatest picture ever made!" Dissen t wa s scattere d amon g a fe w paper s an d irat e letter writers.59 The same fissures opened amon g th e moviegoers. At modish bene fits in hal f a dozen cities , exhibitors held dress y premieres tha t divided blacks int o tw o camps , formall y attired firstnighters and th e picketer s whose line s the y guiltil y crossed . I n Washington , th e ticketholder s walked under sign s proclaiming "You' d Be Sweet Too Under a Whip!" Lillian Johnson gave her stor y in the Gary American a personal spin . " I crossed a picket line," she wrote. " I wasn't sorry." 60 Two incidents that followed the stunnin g reception of Gone with the Wind calle d attentio n t o ye t anothe r politica l division that anticipate d black action during the coming war, a division that separated blac k East from West , activists from actors . First, in New York, Walter White, wh o had temporized over Gone with the Wind, assailed a proposed remake of The Birth of a Nation, thu s introducin g th e prospec t o f blac k actio n against movies at their source. Meanwhile, ou t west McDaniel received her Oscar , arriving in true Hollywood fashion—late and i n a fur against the rigor s of California springtime . Sh e sat at Selznick' s table, took he r statuette from Fay Bainter, got a kiss from Vivien Leigh and a handshake from Gable. She urged black youth to "aim hig h and work hard" and, in a phrase that soon would make liberals wince, hoped to "keep on being a credit to my race."61 For the moment, McDaniePs gesture meant more than White's . Her linking the race' s succes s to he r ow n seeme d clear,

24

Making Movies Black

while hi s step towar d a means o f imposing th e group' s wil l o n whit e America was lost on everyone. Yet in only two years, the war would be in ful l cry , McDaniel would b e ou t o f work, an d Whit e woul d b e ad dressing mogul s a t Hollywoo d lunches , remindin g the m o f a linkag e between their work and the highflown anticolonial sentiments of the yet to b e writte n Atlanti c Charter . Onl y a handfu l o f picket s outsid e McDaniel's Oscar dinner hinte d a t the eventual shift fro m accommoda tionism t o direc t action . Poor McDanie l fel t th e changeove r first . Afte r 1940 , whe n a fa n praised Selznick for giving "the Negro , individually, a chance to display his or her talent," her career slumpe d despite Selznick' s best efforts. H e put her on the road to plug the movie and to give blacks the sort of thrill that whit e peopl e derive d fro m persona l appearanc e tour s denie d t o blacks. But "where does this Negro artist go from here?" asked the radio gossiper Jimm y Fidler . "Why , bac k t o playing incidenta l comed y maids," h e answere d wryly . White' s bran d o f conscience-libera l ac tivism with it s stress o n collectiv e action rathe r tha n individua l ambition stoo d read y to replace her an d th e entir e corp s of Hollywood Negroes.62 But this was never a mere squabbl e between tw o archenemies. Already, othe r Hollywoo d filmmakers and othe r Africa n American s ha d caught th e sam e drif t towar d th e creativ e disequilibriu m tha t th e wa r would bring . T o take on e instanc e i n detail , So l Lesser, th e make r of Tarzan movies, set out to make his own off-the-rack, B-movi e Gone with the Wind, hirin g as writers the black actor Clarence Muse and the autho r Langston Hughes. Both had displaye d urges to make movies, Muse as a lyricist and director of race movies, Hughes as a participant in 1932 in an ill-fated Sovie t attempt t o make a movie about racism. 63 Much as Selznick had reworke d Gone with the Wind fro m a regional to a national epic, so Lesser on his own scale wrestled with modernizin g antebellum blac k figures. Yet Hughes's first draft must have seemed like strong medicine . I t i s se t i n th e Ne w Sout h o f Henr y Grad y and th e Atlanta Constitution and hydroelectric dams, and its blacks are in a multiethnic workforce bonded b y a mutual understanding an d th e ques t for the American dream! A hero modeled on the legend of John Henry helps build a dam that eventuall y lights the home s o f black and whit e alike , and i n deat h h e anticipate s th e comin g o f racia l integratio n havin g taught th e white juvenile hero hi s songs. Boldly, a s though anticipatin g th e rhetori c o f the Atlanti c Charter, Lesser at first gave his writers a free hand. "Messrs. Muse and Hughes are to be given the utmos t libert y in developin g th e Secon d Draf t Screen play, s o tha t i t wil l contai n ever y elemen t o f thei r conceptio n o f th e story," he wrote to his staff. O f course, he must have guessed that Hollywood formula s woul d intrud e an d colo r th e project . Fo r example, h e accepted a sort of Huck-and-Jim pairing that "gradually" expose d "th e


25

slave situation, " bu t suggeste d castin g fo r "a littl e pickaninn y o f th e Stymie Beard type." In like manner h e placed "th e colore d man' s poin t of view" in the hands of a stock preacher of "quaint dignity, earnestness, and sincerity, " whil e adoptin g the well-worn devic e of blaming slavery on coarse "Yankees " o r "London businessme n . . . wh o kno w noth ing of the fine relations that existed between plantation owners an d their slaves." Hi s faith in such Hollywood conventions a s vehicles for conveying his fresh blac k angle extende d eve n t o the music , a s though sugar coating th e ne w wit h a glaze of the ol d made i t go down mor e easily. He imagined a n encounte r wit h eithe r John Brown o r Dred Scot t wit h the libera l anthem "Joh n Brown' s Body " over it , but fo r an "auctio n block episode " h e suggeste d "anothe r spiritual, " a s thoug h th e pre sumed balance would, he said, "avoid the typical hackneyed Hollywoo d story."64 Throughout th e sprin g of 1939, Muse and Hughe s held ou t against Lesser's fondness for plantation legend . As though shee r density of detail would overrid e slippage s i n theme , the y wrot e i n outsize d heroi c women an d men amon g thei r canecutters , a richly drawn New Orleans streetscape speckle d wit h loca l color Negroes . But soo n the y quarrele d over "weaknesse s i n th e storyline " an d reinsertion s int o "Lesser' s re vised continuity. " A s the y los t t o Hollywoo d conventio n o n th e bi g points, the y hel d ou t fo r the littl e ones—cuttin g a n ol d "Tom " an d a driver wh o say s "massa"; clingin g to evocativ e bit s o f work-chants, a slave who refuses to be whipped, a drum hidden in the slave quarter, an African tale told around th e slaves' fire, and populist lines such as that of a woma n wh o say s "they" get the ham s an d black s get the rest. 65 In the end , o f course, conventio n won , no t s o much becaus e black lost to white, bu t because Hollywoodians—Lesser and Muse—spoke the same filmi c language . Afte r all , Muse' s mos t famou s wor k ha d bee n "Sleepy Tim e Down South," a sentimental plantatio n ditty that becam e Louis Armstrong's theme music. Thus when in March Lesser insisted on keeping i n "the happ y contentmen t o f the slave s [and ] . . . th e traditional, honest , litera l comed y o f the Negr o folk," burdenin g th e stor y with a carpetbagger heavy who "doe s not understand" th e "emotiona l relationship" betwee n slav e and master , an d creatin g a mood "sympa thetic to th e Souther n people, " h e wa s choosin g Muse' s loca l color as against Hughes' s populism . Sur e enough , th e tradepaper s spotte d th e structural split and praised its freshness, particularly the resistance of the white orphan-her o (Bobb y Breen ) against a Yankee executor's plo t t o sell of f slaves , an d the y commende d th e blac k writer s fo r "breakin g away fro m th e sharpe r line s o f formula " b y mean s o f their "colorfu l material."66 If thi s seem s lik e a smal l victor y compromise d b y convention , it must b e remembere d tha t Way Down South, a s i t wa s called , pointe d more towar d futur e chang e tha n towar d pas t convention . Moreover ,

26

Making Movies Black

even wit h it s heart cu t ou t Way Down South was remembered fo r years by its black writers, in Muse's case by flying it at the top of his letterhead till the day he died, and in Hughes's by eternally seeking film projects as though the movie roved the back alleys of his memory a s a good experience that promised better. His files bulged with possible black biopics, a film of his poe m "Th e Negr o Speaks of Rivers," a wartim e musical , a documentary inspire d b y Jean Cocteau' s L 'Amitie Noir, Pau l Robeson vehicles includin g a wa r movi e i n whic h h e foil s " a giganti c plot [i n which] the fascists enslave and exploit the natives," and a black western about th e Kansas "Exodusters."67 Taken together, Gone with the Wind an d Way Down South, a s Selz nick had hoped, offere d a t least timid challenges to Hollywood's plantation legend, partly as a result of the moviemakers' growin g attention to the racial stakes of the impending war. The ensuing decline in the stature of this Southern genre surface d in a memorandum b y Lenore Coffey , a Warner's writer who, no t long after th e release of these movies, panned a propose d ne w genr e film . Sh e confesse d puzzlement a t wh y suc h a remote, old-fashione d story would interes t anyone. 68 Thus a "first " of sorts had happened : A Hollywood writer and a black kid in a Michigan theatre ha d bot h sneere d a t th e sam e genr e o f no-longer-producible material. Of course, the contemp t fo r "fascism" tha t wa s share d b y Selznick and Hughe s an d governe d thei r attitud e towar d movie s coul d no t o f itself foreshadow a shifting American racial arrangement, but it did echo a mentalit y tha t had begu n to resonate i n Hollywood and blac k circles alike. At first Hollywood merely kept a cautious eye on how wa r migh t affect markets , but it s gestures soon gre w mor e political . Jack Warne r helped for m the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League; Walter Wanger struggled to bring the Spanis h Civi l War to the scree n i n Blockade; an d eve n th e Breen office stiffene d agains t German opposition to The Great Dictator.69 Gradually, a s vagu e sentimen t gre w int o fir m antifascism , it affecte d acquisition o f properties , editoria l departmen t readings , advertisin g angles—the entire process—redirecting audience expectations toward a new politic s of movies to be shaped, eventually, by an organic coalition of moviemen, th e NAACP, and the OWI, in a shared hegemony ove r the formerly lil y white manufacturin g of movies. Moreover, thi s shif t i n mentality extended t o the entir e raffish , lib eral bohemia know n a s show business. Its polyethnic practitioners even found i t easy to shif t t o a national propagand a ben t upon neutralizin g racial antipathy, first as mere propaganda, then as eventual public policy. Joinin g wit h th e entertainer s wa s the OWI , at war's beginning n o more tha n a n "offic e o f fact s an d figures " burie d i n a large r agency, which despite Southern congressmen eager to slash its budget grew into a hom e fo r conscience-libera l allies o f black s who becam e skille d a t expanding upon the narrow necessitarian functions o f their agency. Not


27

that creator s o f popular cultur e and federa l agent s conspired t o make a new national racia l ethic. Rather , unbidden by any agency the persona l sentiments, conscience-liberalism , an d antifascis m of entertainers cam e together with the government's nee d for a propaganda of national unity , providing a center to which th e nation turne d for denning th e war and its aims. In this way, popular cultur e generated a n ideological life o f its ow n that carrie d Americans toward a collective antifascism and eventuall y a more libera l turn o f mind. Muc h a s Picasso's painting o f Guernica, the Basque town bombed b y the Luftwaff e i n 1937 , galvanized the world' s intellectuals, so a Life cove r of a weeping, bourgeoi s Marseillaise watching the German s march i n was not onl y a shot of his violated town but also th e Paris o f Americans ' imaginations. 70 Thu s popula r cultur e heightened emotio n beyon d mer e necessitaria n goals , popularizin g a conscience-liberal ideology that sharpened th e meaning o f hazy notions like "fair play" by setting off Nazi racism-as-policy from America n racism as a flaw correctibl e through "socia l engineering." At first popular culture offere d mer e reactiv e patriotis m i n song s lik e "De r Fiihrer' s Face" an d "Let' s Remembe r Pear l Harbor, " comedians ' scatologica l jokes abou t th e Axis , broadcast plea s t o sav e cookin g fat , and comi c books featuring antifascist heroes such as Captain America. But it quickly moved towar d settin g specifi c agenda s i n suc h movie s a s Howar d Hawks's Air Force and song s like John LaTouche's and Earl Robinson's "Ballad fo r Americans." I n thi s way , withou t forethough t conscience liberalism bore deep into popular culture not as mere sentiment bu t also as a means o f winning th e war . For African Americans , then, the war was a moment o f high opportunity. I n movie s particularly , black s became creature s shape d b y th e Hollywood-OWI-NAACP axis in search of a propaganda of unity rooted in idea s tha t aros e organically fro m a nutrien t brot h o f historic black grievances stirred in with goals arising from th e culture of a war against fascism. Th e Hollywood en d wa s perhap s th e leas t coheren t an d leas t steadfast. Urban e Jewish liberalis m coexiste d wit h a profitmaking system that churned out deeply personal movies alongside cheap sentimen t that sold tickets. It both awaited and resented guidance from the outside. Within the OWI, tension mounted betwee n its cell of conscience-liberals and the Souther n congressme n wh o hel d it s budget hostage; neverthe less, i t opene d a n offic e i n th e Taf t Buildin g on Hollywood' s famous corner o f Hollywoo d an d Vine , a s thoug h establishin g a beachhead . Residual black inconstancy derived from a clash over the nature of black achievement: Wa s it to b e define d b y Walte r White a t lunche s i n th e Victor Hugo to which no other blacks had access, or by Hollywood actors who earne d thei r keep playing incidental servants and hoofers? 71 In an y case , the wa r provide d a catalyst . Blacks ha d gaine d incrementally during the New Deal as clients of various programs, but not a s

28

Making Movies Black

the pac e tha t a national wa r footin g would provide . I n war industrie s they double d thei r hourl y earning s an d entere d trad e union s a t five times thei r prewa r pace , som e o f th e gain s ensuin g fro m thei r ow n activism o n behal f of a federal Fai r Employment Practice s Commissio n (FEPC). Membershi p i n th e NAAC P increased tenfold . By no mean s a revolution either in behavior or mentality, the changes nonetheles s pro vided a n insisten t backbea t t o th e large r wa r effort . A s th e historia n Thomas C. Cochran wrote, by war's end "' Democracy ' had become th e major sloga n o f the period." 72 Consider ho w rac e ha d alread y shifte d fro m bein g a purel y loca l matter t o havin g a plac e i n nationa l politics . Befor e th e wa r black s expected mere gestures: a speech b y Mrs. Roosevelt, an appointment t o the "blac k cabinet, " an d othe r token s tha t som e black s sneered a t a s they di d th e Nationa l Recovery Administration (NRA)—"Negroe s Ru ined Again." Eve n then, advisers counseled restrain t for fear o f alienating th e Souther n win g o f th e party . N o les s a libera l tha n Henr y A. Wallac e warne d hi s presiden t agains t "to o muc h concer n fo r on e 'underprivileged' segment." 73 But with the onset of European war cam e a mood shift . Roosevelt , only a casual liberal in racial matters, gave in to pressure fro m hi s wife , Secretar y o f Interio r Harol d L . Ickes , an d A. Philip Randolph of the blac k Brotherhood o f Sleeping Car Porters in signing the order creating the FEPC to monitor fai r labor practices in war industries. Icke s himself ha d move d fro m a generalize d liberalis m to ward th e specifi c "goa l o f a democrati c arm y wher e ther e wil l b e n o segregation." Wil l Alexander , a Souther n liberal , resigne d fro m th e black-oriented Rosenwald Foundation an d reentered governmen t whe n "World War II produced ne w challenge s in race relations." An d Representative Helen Gahaga n Douglas, herself a movie actor , spen t th e wa r stiffening convictions , seekin g t o toughe n th e FEPC , an d speakin g against charge s o f black cowardice durin g th e Italia n campaign. 74 Black leaders tried to mesh their own aims with those of the war, the most far-reachin g gesture bein g Willia m G . Nunn's Pittsburgh Courier and it s "Double V " campaign. Th e letter V had becom e a multitextua l sign embracin g Churchill' s brav e gestur e durin g th e Londo n blit z an d the openin g note s o f Beethoven' s Fift h Symphon y (whic h coincide d with Morse code for V), both of which became an aural/visual signoff for every movie shown after 1941 . Nunn gave it a black twist by calling for a Double V— a simultaneous victor y over foreig n fascis m an d domesti c racism—and tubthumpin g th e idea by means o f cartoons, beaut y con tests, and editorials. Activists took up the cry, the NAAC P by holding its annual conventio n o n Hollywood' s doorste p an d th e NUL by devotin g its annua l meetin g to "Th e Problem s of Negroes in a World at War." 75 Carlton Moss , a youn g blac k radi o writer , carrie d th e ide a int o sho w business. Sponsored by an ad hoc Fight for Freedom group, he mounte d a revue that implored blacks to fight despite "evils which still hinder [th e


29

Negro's] complete integration . . . [s o victory could] point the way to a better day. " Onl y days after Pear l Harbor his Salute to the Negro Troops played a week a t the Apoll o in Harlem. In a letter to OW I Moss toute d his show a s an antidot e t o low black morale and Japanese propaganda portraying itsel f as "an inspiratio n t o th e darke r races." 76 In the sam e spirit Richard Wright, a lapsed Communist whose nove l Native Son had been th e ho t book o f 1940, als o offered hi s services to OWI, wishing t o "be helpfu l i n winning th e war, " whic h h e describe d as "the nationa l democratic cause. " Specificall y h e wishe d t o hel p i n "clarifyin g an d popularizing th e administration' s wa r polic y amon g th e Negr o peo ple."77 White people , despit e th e persistenc e o f racia l antipathy , suffere d these development s i f for no othe r reason tha n that , a s John M. Blum put it , rising black expectations and consciousnes s formed a "prerequi site for wartime and postwar progress toward desegregation and a warning to Washington t o ameliorat e a t least some black grievances." Roosevelt himsel f gav e voice t o thes e smal l goal s i n hi s "fou r freedoms " speech, th e highflow n anticolonia l claus e of the Atlanti c Charter, an d personal letter s urgin g repudiatin g "a t hom e th e ver y [racist ] theories which w e ar e fightin g abroad." 78 Gallu p polls reveale d a whit e fore bearance, if not enthusiasm, for change; respondents narrowly approved changes in Souther n racia l etiquette, Mrs. Roosevelt's resignation fro m the Daughters of the American Revolution in protest of its racial policies, and eve n a federa l antilynchin g la w despit e fear s o f extending federa l powers int o loca l matters. 79 Southerners joined in at least marginally, not onl y in polls but als o in raising a few liberal voices in the ranks of agencies such as the South ern Conferenc e for Huma n Welfare . In Birmingha m i n 193 8 i t ha d a brush with th e loca l cops because it ignored race in its seating arrangements; i n 194 2 in Nashville it gave its Jefferson Awar d jointly to whit e Frank Graha m an d Mar y McLeod Bethune o f the Nationa l Youth Administration; an d i n its house orga n it called for racial reform "after th e defeat o f Germany and Japan." The latter device, invoking foreigners as a reaso n fo r socia l change , wa s take n u p als o b y th e libera l novelis t Lillian Smith , wh o though t racis t incidents "sounde d 'jus t right' " t o Japanese an d Germa n ears. And in Raleigh at a biracial "Win th e War " rally Graham , b y the n presiden t o f th e Universit y of Nort h Carolina, portrayed th e wa r a s " a people' s war, " a n ide a echoe d tha t da y by a string o f celebrants of black and whit e heroes. 80 Of course, slogans are cheap, an d speeche s may not alway s lead to action. Around the country, wherever overtaxed facilities strained racial etiquette as in bus statio n waiting rooms, or where unaccustomed new social roles such as black officers o n Southern posts clashed with custom, violence ofte n resulted . Besides, some blacks also reacted coolly t o th e war. As Horace Cayton told it, a black sharecropper greeted a white ma n

30

Making Movies Black

at hi s gin with th e news : "B y the way , Captain , I hear th e Jap s don e declare wa r o n yo u whit e folks! " Apart from it s sounding more lik e a 125th Street wisecrack than th e greeting of a peon, th e stor y reflected a certain blac k skepticism , whic h OW I had foun d i n a sampl e o f black opinion, alon g wit h outcropping s o f sympathy for the "colored " Japanese.81 In the main, however, Africa n American s as well as whites at least tolerated call s fo r "nationa l unity. " Moreover , th e wa r wa s accom panied by a boom in radio and in recorded music, two media that, along with theatrically performed music, drew audiences of an urbane, "hep," "otherdirected" (a s David Riesman would cal l them) , youthfu l taste culture that seeme d most ope n t o change. Indeed , a reading of Variety, the "house paper" in every theatrical hotel o n the circuits, revealed an otherwise hidde n watershe d i n American rac e relations, on e drive n by the young and hep of both races. "Colored Bands ' Bonanza" was one of hundreds o f headlines heraldin g th e penetratio n o f blacks int o whit e show business . Black combos signe d with whit e agent s i n orde r t o get the newly opene d gigs—som e of them a s sidemen wit h whit e bands led by Gen e Krupa , Benny Goodman , an d Charli e Spivak . Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Golden Gate Quartet, Lucky Millinder—acts that rarely had played outside of black circuits—joined the Ink Spot s as crossovers, and some o f them, Jimmi e Luncefor d for example , playe d Souther n date s that include d white s i n th e audiences . A s the line s betwee n th e race s blurred, th e Apoll o itself booke d "ofa y [white ] dates " suc h a s Charlie Barnett and Louis Prima (whose driving beat led some fans to think hi m black). Broadwa y joined th e tren d wit h a rash o f black shows suc h a s Mike Todd's The Hot Mikado, a roadshow Porgy and Bess, an d E d Sullivan's "tab " show , Harlem Cavalcade. Elsewher e Duke Ellington filled the cathedra l o f white culture , Carnegi e Hall, and th e Unite d Service Organizations (USO ) began booking black talent for camp shows. Busy black bands began refusing toug h gigs like state fairs, demandin g larger fees, an d seeking dates in big hotels. Variety reporte d that "th e shortag e of colored bands is more acute than in the ofay field." 82 Dramatic theatre filled the voi d lef t b y th e ol d Federa l Theatre wit h revival s of Porgy, a stock compan y Petrified Forest, an d Canad a Le e i n Native Son an d a s Caliban in The Tempest. Th e American Negro Theatre did Philip Yordan's Polish melodrama , Anna Lucasta, and Abra m Hill' s Walk Hard (wit h Robert Earl Jones, while als o playing New Haven in John Patrick's The Hasty Heart).83 More tha n an y other performer , Paul Robeson rod e the mood . His leftist activism , which ha d take n hi m t o prewar Russi a and Spai n and thrust hi m int o an y numbe r o f picke t lines protesting discrimination, merged wit h hi s performin g career. I n concerts , a tou r wit h Othello, broadcasts, war bon d drives , appeal s for a second fron t i n western Europe, an d singin g on deman d th e libera l anthe m "Balla d for Ameri-


31

cans," he combine d performanc e wit h protest. 84 Othe r actor s gre w as bold. Road companies electe d to pass up segregated theatres, Rub y Elzy quit a roadshow Porgy rathe r than stay in a Jim Crow hotel, and in 194 4 accommodating Bil l Robinson spoke from the stage against racism. Variety itself was caught up in the rush of events and once played such stories on pag e one fo r five straight weeks. 85 Of al l th e media , radi o leap t int o th e wa r wit h th e mos t fervor , probably with one eye on federal monitors who expecte d it of them and the other ey e on audience ratings. The keynote was sounded by endless plays o f "Balla d fo r Americans. " It s sentiment s echoe d o n al l sort s of programs: talkshows , blac k time slots , an d primetim e variety . Among them were Roi Ottley's New World A 'Comin' on Harlem's WLIB; Men o' War, a blac k sho w fro m Grea t Lakes Naval Station; KNX' s These Are Americans; Blue Network's America's Town Meeting of the Air; and one shots like Wendell Willkie' s readin g o f An Open Letter on Race Hatred following a racial riot in Detroit. Late in the war, Kate Smith on We the People boldly called for an en d t o racial antipathy, not "a t a conference table i n Geneva " bu t "i n you r ow n home" ; th e sho w dre w twent y thousand request s fo r reprints . Eve n soa p opera s joine d in : Our Gal Sunday an d The Romance of Helen Trent eac h introduce d a black role , while CBS fished for a black audience with its sitcom Blueberry Hill. And in primetime, certifie d lefties suc h as Norman Corwin wrote occasional race-angled dramas. 86 The armed forces made a couple of gestures of their own i n keeping with a mood the y probably preferred to do without. I n the first case, an American bomber flown by Colin Kelly, a Southern Presbyterian , in late 1941 attacke d a Japanes e freighte r i t ha d mistake n fo r Haruna, th e largest cruiser in the Imperia l Navy. His bombardier wa s a Jew name d Meyer Levin . Hungry for news o f an America n score , someon e a t th e navy's pres s des k notice d th e ethnicit y o f the cre w an d playe d i t up . Thereafter, despit e the mistaken identity of the ship, the stor y became a subject of a movie, an issu e of True Comics, and a n inspiratio n for Howard Hawks's Air Force (1943). Days earlier at Pearl Harbor, Doric Miller, a black messman (th e only rating open to blacks), had leapt into a dead gunner's seat on the deck of a bombed and burning battleship and begun firing at the enemy bombers. The incident took weeks to reach the white press, but the black press picked up on it because of its peculiar meaning to African Americans : Miller had been free d fro m hi s place in the galley by the openin g o f the war. Like Hezdrel in The Green Pastures, he coul d no longe r wai t for divine intercession an d ha d take n u p arm s withou t waiting fo r God. 87 Hollywood in much the same desperate way bumbled into the war. Even before OW I opened it s doors, movies, particularly those with Eas t Coast pedigree s such as Lillia n Hellman' s The Little Foxes (1942) , kept their stron g black roles. O r sometime s a smal l gestur e revealed som e

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Making Movies Black

conscience-liberal sensibilit y behin d a decision . Take , fo r example , a mere blip on th e scree n i n John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941) , a fraction o f a second tha t no viewer a t the time ever recorded, bu t none theless an image that required forethought and action, if no more than a telephone cal l specificall y askin g fo r tw o blac k extra s rathe r tha n th e whites who routinely would have been cast. Sam Spade has in his hands the black bird on which the plot hangs; t o protect it from the heavies, he deposits it in a checkroom. I n the blink of an ey e a neatly dressed black couple rendezvous at the counter and silently walk out of the frame. The moment adde d nothin g t o th e story , bu t someone a t Warne r willfull y ordered black extra s months before the ide a occurre d t o anyon e i n th e NAACP.88 In a more substantial case, Warner's flawe d but reverent adaptatio n of Ellen Glasgow's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, In This Our Life (1941), a film by two certifie d liberals , John Husto n an d Howar d Koch , ther e was a scene o f uncommon boldness—so much s o that th e acto r a t th e center of the frame, Ernest Anderson, received reports that black soldiers at a Southern pos t stopped the showing an d demanded th e rerunning of the ke y scene. One of its stars, Bette Davis, remembered i t for the res t of her lif e an d pu t i t in her memoirs . "Ther e wa s a first in this film, " sh e wrote. "Th e Negr o bo y playe d b y Ernes t Anderso n wa s writte n an d performed a s an educated person. Thi s caused a great deal of joy amon g Negroes. They were tired of the Stepin Fetchit version of their people."89 In the sequence , a spoiled Southern gir l evades a charge of hit-andrun drivin g b y blamin g Parr y Clay , a blac k studen t an d handyman . Anderson recalle d a messenger deliverin g freshly revise d blue pages in which his studious character was expected to "revert t o type" and, while in hi s cell , whin e fo r mercy . H e too k u p th e revision s wit h Huston , arguing fo r the integrit y of the role , afte r whic h th e directo r dismissed the rewrites as "the wron g pages" and allowed his actor to give it a more modern reading.90 As released, Anderson's scene s held a muted strengt h and a credibl e tensio n tha t gav e Davis a chanc e t o ac t with he r usua l authority by giving her a self-possessed character against whom t o play. Moreover, a glance a t th e scrip t and th e pres s book s suggest s that th e final cut of the movie, although solidl y in step with th e changing times, had been designe d as a more conventional vehicle . As though ransacking Hollywood' s racia l past, the scrip t called for Clay's jailmate to sing the stereotype d "Nobod y Know s th e Troubl e I've Seen " i n a circl e of shabby "darkies, " on e o f whom squat s i n th e pos e o f a gorilla. 91 Th e advertising playe d Anderso n wit h simila r ambiguity . H e was credite d with graduatio n fro m bot h Dunba r Hig h Schoo l i n Washingto n an d Northwestern, bu t a s thoug h bein g cut t o fi t a Booke r T. Washington mold, he wa s described as a discovery among th e studi o porters, attending night school to obtain a teacher's certificate so he could raise up his race.92


33

The shot hear d roun d Africa n America . Parr y Cla y (Ernes t Anderson) stand s up t o a bete blanc, thereby earnin g a flurr y o f black fa n mai l in prais e o f In This Our Life (1941) .

The point is not t o catch Hollywood in a few vestiges of its past, but rather t o see what Anderson saw—that black audiences had noticed. In This Our Life inspire d a batch o f letters not onl y from th e race' s leaders but fro m th e black middle-class moviegoers, who fairl y san g of the ne w note i n Hollywood' s treatmen t o f the rac e as normal an d intelligent . A spokeswoman fo r th e oldes t o f black sororities , Alpha Kapp a Alpha , expressed dee p gratitud e for Anderson's portraya l of Parry as a human being rathe r tha n a stoc k blac k grotesque , a n even t sh e construe d a s Warner's ne w policy . Th e mos t acut e senso r o f chang e wa s Joh n S . Holley, a black Washingtonian an d frequen t letterwriter t o the studios . With uncommo n acuit y h e praise d Anderso n whil e pointin g ou t th e jarring old-styl e figure s i n the cells . Moreover, h e reporte d tha t exhib itors had cu t Anderson's scenes . Thus, the movie in a way unearthed a sort o f organicall y grown cadr e o f sensitiv e viewer s wher e non e ha d stood before, a group the AKA sister regarded as breaking with the habit of indifferenc e wit h whic h olde r fans ha d greete d movies. 93 Whites to o go t the message , not alway s approvingly. Daily Variety praised Anderson as a "standout," particularly in his big scene, but th e Atlanta censor promised that if the racial politics were not changed there

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Making Movies Black

would b e trouble in Souther n cities . As though confirmin g the report edly heightened black attention to movies that broke with the past, one of Breen's informants attributed the increased impertinence o f blacks to Hollywood's constantl y promotin g th e Negro. 94 Togethe r wit h othe r signs o f the impendin g war , thi s ferment must hav e begu n t o prepare audiences for a war that would destabilize racial arrangements, set loose forces fo r change , an d provid e guidanc e fo r th e conscience-libera l movies t o follow . Unpremeditated , fragile , untested , thi s linkag e be tween wa r an d socia l change gav e blacks unprecedented acces s to th e medium. Tha t this was viewe d i n Washington a s merely necessitarian quickly came to be seen by black activists as beside the point .

2 Wendell and Walter Go to Hollywood

The world' s wa r cam e hom e t o Americ a on Decembe r 7 , 1941 , year s after i t ha d bee n se t aligh t i n Asi a an d Europe . Typically , Americans responded slowly , eve n fitfully , t o war . Ye t the conscience-liberalism that ha d alread y begun t o tinge popular cultur e leapt as though fro m a crouch int o a positio n o f almost organi c ideological leadership fa r be yond th e modes t measure s urge d b y government . As we have seen, Walter White, by then not only a ranking figure in the NAACP but a syndicated columnist, an d a hero among blacks for his reportage o f lynching , ha d begu n t o regar d Hollywoo d a s a targe t of opportunity. Already he had cultivated the producer Walter Wanger and Wendell Willkie, the defeated Republican presidential candidate in 194 0 who ha d take n o n tw o ke y posts: specia l counsel t o th e NAAC P an d chairman o f the board of 20th Century-Fox . A s he told Wanger, he ha d been "overwhelmed at your not only being willing to give me advice but to give a luncheon for me in Hollywood." They soon began to exchange pamphlets an d list s o f likeminded friends : Melvy n Douglas , who ha d taken u p th e caus e o f black children, Selznick , Sidney Buchman, wh o had Whit e t o a te a fo r the Hollywoo d Anti-Naz i League, Bette Davis, who seeme d "ver y militant, " Jame s Cagney , and other s wh o seeme d "interested in " th e caus e o r simpl y ha d appeare d i n socia l proble m movies.1 For its part, the government inched toward propaganda as a smarmy business tha t th e othe r sid e stooped to . A t first only humdru m office s 35

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Making Movies Black

took u p th e duty : Governmen t Reports , Facts and Figures , and, insid e the Offic e o f Emergency Management, a Divisio n of Information. They were le d b y straight-arro w Middl e Westerner s wh o a t firs t seeme d merely competent—Milto n Eisenhowe r fro m Agriculture , Elmer Davis, a radio commentato r who m Time calle d "clearheade d [and ] sensible, " and Archibal d MacLeish , a poe t wh o promise d a "strateg y o f truth " rather than "ballyhoo methods." Not until summer 194 2 woul d Roosevelt creat e th e Offic e o f War Information. 2 The task for African American s was t o smoot h over interna l differ ences an d presen t a fron t tha t White—o r someone—coul d appea r t o lead. Black opinion neede d tha t sor t of organic leadership t o give focu s to sentiments that ranged from those held by Cayton's friends, for whom the war was "on yo u white folks," to those of people for whom war was an eternally unrequited opportunity t o win ful l citizenshi p in return for service. The trick would be for White or another t o find some play in the government's propagand a an d Hollywood' s movie s int o whic h blacks might insinuate bargains for promised incremental socia l gains. Already the roste r o f blac k volunteer s include d mos t newspape r editors , th e NAACP and NUL , the filmmaker s Willia m D. Alexander and Osca r Micheaux, an d Richar d Wright. Far fro m seein g themselve s a s dupes o f a meretricious white government, the y stood a s black activists in commo n cause wit h conscience-liberals , whos e propagand a o f nationa l unit y might b e turned t o goals shared wit h Africa n America. 3 And of course they had thei r point. Every black American knew th e details of FDR's "black cabinet " appointments, hi s wife's standing up for Marian Anderso n i n a gestur e tha t a majority of Americans endorsed , Executive Orde r 8802 that ha d create d th e FEPC , and othe r favor s tha t for th e secon d time in American history led black parents to name their children "Roosevelt. " Already , William Nunn's Pittsburgh Courier ha d begun it s Doubl e V campaign wit h it s attendan t beaut y contest s an d essay competitions designed to suggest an unbreakable linkage between the nationa l struggl e against fascis m an d th e black struggle against racism.4 If thing s wen t wel l fo r blacks , thi s symbiosi s o f politica l futures would grow increasingly public, bringing to an end the traditional black clientage in the Republica n party while providing a platform for greater activism withi n Democrati c wartim e Washingto n (an d Hollywood) . Although at first mainly vague and ceremonia l an d embedde d i n highflown rhetoric such as the Atlantic Charter, the way lay open t o convert the ephemera l t o the substantive. The intellectua l subfloorin g for suc h a ne w politica l constructio n was alread y in place in the for m of a half-century-long popularization of certain anthropologica l theories tha t fel l unde r th e rubri c of "cultura l relativism." Ho w thi s academi c pursui t worke d t o populariz e liberal notions of race may be seen in the wartime uses to which the work of the

Wendell and Walter Go to Hollywood

37

anthropologist Rut h Benedic t wa s put . Fo r year s Fran z Boa s an d hi s students a t Columbi a ha d worke d ou t th e theory , whic h hold s tha t culture is learned rathe r than innate an d tha t therefor e cultures (rather than "races" ) ar e comparable onl y wit h respec t t o their utilit y to thei r group even though the y might see m inferio r as against Western culture . In th e 1920 s this new anthropolog y passe d int o popula r culture when Margaret Mead, a Boas pupil whose windblown likenes s t o the aviator Amelia Earhar t assured he r a degre e o f popular idolatry , wrote a n ac count o f childrearin g practice s in th e Sout h Pacifi c tha t becam e a hi t among youn g modern s i n searc h o f a guiltfre e wa y t o emancipat e mothers fro m ancien t tie s to Kinder-Kirche-Kuche. In 1934 Ruth Benedict wrote a synthesis of the new anthropology in Patterns of Culture, which, lik e Mead's work, became a tabletop success. In 1940 , wit h Boas' s encouragement, sh e brought ou t Race: Science and Politics, an indictment o f racism grounded in the idea of cultural relativism. Then came the war, and her book suddenly became the source for a pamphlet circulate d amon g soldier s an d civilian s alik e an d the n th e theme o f a widely shown animate d movi e o n "brotherhood. " Later, in courses on "tolerance," national committees o n racism, and the "socia l engineering" movement , sh e offere d he r wor k a s a n antidot e t o Naz i racism an d a n assertio n tha t " a natio n coul d b e administere d withou t creating victims."5 Thu s the popularized work of anthropologists anticipated a wartim e transformatio n o f cultura l relativis m int o a weapo n against racism in various popular media . Thus th e incipien t allianc e o f Hollywood, Africa n Americans , an d the OW I acted i n a n environmen t alread y mad e fertil e b y a popula r anthropology roote d in the idea of a multiethnic cultur e in which everyone had a place. Newsweek, for example, noticed Americans finding no t only eve r mor e occasion s t o sin g "Balla d fo r Americans " an d thu s "wave the flag for tolerance," but even to overflow with such feeling, as they onc e di d in 193 9 whe n Robeso n san g th e son g t o a broadcasting studio audienc e an d receive d a twenty-minut e ovation . Educator s traded upo n i t by slipping shard s o f the mentalit y int o thei r textbooks , sometimes drawin g th e wrat h o f conservatives i n fea r o f change. The y formed committee s t o promot e "educatio n throug h democracy, " rea d magazines like Common Ground, and attende d symposi a on topics such as "Pluralism an d Intellectua l Democracy." O n the ev e of war i n 194 0 the New York Times described the tren d a s a conviction tha t democrac y was " a real , dynami c burnin g cree d wort h fightin g for. " Whe n wa r came, i t was an eas y matter t o retool the ide a into persona l testament s such a s James B . Conant's Fighting Faith (1942) and int o U.S. Office o f Education tract s on "Educatio n and Nationa l Defense." Together they provided a warborn e mentality that anticipate d the actua l advocacy of the stil l vagu e conscience-liberalism. 6 Obviously there was a broadly popular response to th e comin g of a

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Making Movies Black

world war , a s wel l a s mor e specifi c response s suc h a s Jewis h Holly wood's alertnes s t o "thes e fascist-ridde n times. " Bu t what o f conven tional Hollywoo d genr e films, the bread-and-butte r o f the movielots ? How woul d th e wa r affect , say , typica l adventur e movie s se t i n th e rimlands of "civilization"? Coul d the "natives" be relocated i n the center of the frame and the action with an actual investment in the outcome of the plots ? And woul d eac h breac h o f movie formula , each resulting ambiguity, raise contradictions that would challenge survivin g conven tions and stereotypes, thereby opening up the prospect of fresh formulations grounded in a new politics of race and culture? And could all of this be guide d b y leader s thrus t t o th e for e fro m th e rank s o f minoritie s themselves? Some o f these intimation s o f change may b e take n u p b y studying Sundown (1941), mainly because documentation of the circumstances of its production survives . Henr y Hathaway's Africa n adventur e yar n ar rived in New York only two week s afte r Pear l Harbor, that is , preceded by th e eb b an d flo w o f the Nort h African campaig n o f Field Marshals Montgomery an d Rommel . The impact on the movie may be felt in th e reception given it by a staff reviewer on the Maryland Censor Board. On his analysi s card h e wrot e tha t Sundown "concern s Germa n inspire d uprisings among the native tribes of the Dark Continent and the bearing of such agitations on current world conflicts." In other words, in a single sentence a veteran reviewer' s trai n o f thought leap t fro m mer e Hollywood convention—the natives of darkest Africa—to the film's "bearing" on the present. 7 Indeed, not only had Sundown, a prewar purchase as a stock African escapade, bee n adapte d t o th e wa r but , i n keepin g wit h th e Atlanti c Charter, it proposed a sketchy successor to colonialism that closely paralleled such a plan proposed by the British Empire Marketing Board. Its release date almost gave it an aur a of prescient journalism. Bot h Hollywood and the Saturday Evening Post had bough t Barre Lyndon's novel, only to have it rendered moot as the British, Italians, and Germans swept to and fro across the Sahara, struggling for control of the Sue z Canal and the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf. It began its run i n the Post in January 1941 whil e th e fightin g stalled , endin g a mont h late r a s fres h Afrik a Korps patrol s clashed wit h forwar d Britis h units. I n thi s seria l form i t was no more than a tribute to the bearers of "the whit e man' s burden" in th e Hor n of Africa durin g a squabbl e between triba l enemies an d a band of renegade "Shifta." Meanwhile, in Hollywood on February 21, a typist finishe d Lyndon' s first draft script , in which n o Germa n ye t ap peared; a lone Italian was a "residente" on the post rather than a prisoner, an d th e Shift a wer e tradin g gold fo r weapons , includin g a ma chinegun that mischievous Arabs have allowed them t o test. Incredibly, Lyndon's blacks were mere "wogs" and thei r women "spoiled b y their splayed nostrils and heavy lips." At last, in April the blue pages reflected


39

events in the war, specifically the British taking of Addis Ababa from th e Italians on April 5: The hero asks leave to reconnoiter the tribes now that Abyssinia i s "ours."8 By then Rommel' s armo r ha d throw n th e Britis h back into Egypt, save for a besieged force in Tobruk, and settle d in for the summer. The n on Jun e 14 , as Tobru k repulse d a n assault , Walte r Wanger , th e pro ducer, wrote to his new friend , Walte r White, describing the changes in Lyndon's yarn that war had wrought . H e began as Harry Levette might have done—b y countin g th e "colore d boys " hire d t o pla y Lyndon' s "wogs"—but ende d wit h a conscience-libera l stres s o n th e respec t earned by, and th e appreciatio n of , Negro courage and loyalt y that th e war had mad e possible. Next day in the scrip t the Italian wa s strengthened into a political analyst and pacifis t wit h chunk s o f expository dialogue to explain the place of Africa in the war. In the las t two week s of June, as the British countered Rommel' s thrust , Pallini , the Italian, was given a speech explaining the Germans' geopolitical plot to use Africa as a bridge to Japan. B y then the weapon s ha d becom e Skod a rifles fro m occupied Czechoslovakia to be used to strike the British rear in the horn of Africa. Finally , Kuypens, a Dutch mineralogist, wa s rewritte n int o a German agent . Anothe r character , Zia , an Ara b trader wit h n o visibl e politics, was reshaped int o an Anglophile who draw s a confession from the Germa n that i t is he wh o run s gun s to the renegades. 9 As the film evolved, Wange r must have recalled that th e politic s of Blockade, hi s Spanis h Civi l Wa r film , wer e slashe d b y th e PCA , for h e allowed th e scrip t of Sundown into their hands fo r mere hours, delivering it on a Monday an d insistin g on it s return fo r shootin g o n th e following morning.10 We cannot know all the details of the transformation that led to this point, but we can know that Wanger took it up with th e NAACP's ma n i n Hollywoo d an d tha t h e incorporate d a libera l angl e into it s formerly politically empty plo t line . A s released i t wa s starkl y remote from its origins in the Post: It had become colonial without being colonialist; it s black soldiers had wive s and live d by plausibly authentic customs; it s last ree l i s a half-strangle d promise o f a ne w postwa r ar rangement fo r Africa . Howeve r obliqu e an d muted , African s ha d a n investment i n th e outcom e o f war an d movie . Eve n so, it wa s al l to o clear tha t Sundown wa s no t a trac t bu t stil l a yarn . I t receive d mixe d reviews, one focusing on its giving Gene Tierney (Zia) "more important " work, anothe r carpin g a t it as "slick magazin e . . . fustian " typica l of Wanger's "agai n tryin g to mix melodrama wit h a message." 11 In an y case , Sundown open s o n a Britis h outpost a s i t brace s for trouble. It s blac k "Askaris"—soldiers—hav e alread y take n casualties , some o f whom ar e buried by thei r keening widows , who tos s clods of earth o n thei r graves . A shadowy German presence threaten s a fragil e tribal peace. Into the camp comes Zia, the half-caste boss of a network of caravan routes , whic h i n Germa n hand s woul d provid e a channe l

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Making Movies Black

On its face n o mor e than a conventional African yarn , Sundown place d th e British arm y an d th e Masa i tribe of East Africa i n allianc e against the rene gade "Shifta" i n a partnership that promised to reach beyond the wa r year s (Bruce Cabo t an d extras) . Copyrigh t Unite d Artists . through which t o arm the tribes and bring the Luftwaffe withi n rang e of Suez. At last Zia agrees to side with th e British , leading t o a chase across the desert, a nighttime assaul t on the Germans' tribal allies, and a daring rescue o f Zia (an d thus o f British fortunes). But paralle l t o thi s colonialis t skeleto n outlin e i s another lin e tha t not onl y provide s a n obligator y romanc e bu t als o a n anti-imperialis t sidebar, perhaps a product o f the liaiso n between th e Walters , Wange r and White.12 Thu s with America's entry into the war still months away, Hollywood began to adapt its formulas to new conditions. Zia, for example, in Lyndon's novel is no more than an Arab pawn to be won early on, but i n th e movi e sh e grows int o a n activ e forc e i n th e outcom e o f the game. Moreover, i n the en d sh e marries a Canadian , evading th e PGA proscription agains t miscegenatio n b y bein g revealed a s merel y a n adopted Arab ! B-movi e improbabilitie s aside , beginnin g wit h he r firs t meal in camp the old racial rules are overturned. Th e officers' mes s is set as usual, Arabs outside the netting . Besides , says one ol d hand , sh e is "chi chi"—a mestiza against whom "even the natives discriminate." But Crawford the Canadia n (Bruce Cabot) is having none of it. Not only does he dine with her outside the netting, he explains his motives by invoking


41

the American nonceword discrimination, and as though reading from a n OWI memorandum he promise s tha t th e Englan d that i s going to wi n the wa r wil l change muc h o f that sor t o f "nonsense." At that moment a n incredible union of iconography an d audienc e memory provide s an eeri e contras t betwee n Hollywood's old and ne w versions of Africa. Harry Carey walks into the frame, costume d precisely as he had been in 1931 when he played the title role in Trader Horn (shot on location not far from Sundown's purported locale) . Looking not a day older, he wa s an icon expressing Hollywood's shif t fro m th e ol d jungle genre t o it s wartime mode . O f course there is no recor d o f a spectator noticing; certainl y n o reviewe r recorde d it . Bu t th e scen e mus t hav e resonated wit h som e sens e of changing politica l values. Finally, th e ne w mentalit y towar d Afric a i s asserted i n a last-reel coda. After th e British have vanquished th e pro-German renegades and restored orde r t o the tribes , the mos t racist of British officers, a s he lies dying fro m wounds , spill s out a n od d tal e o f his father , a n Anglica n priest wh o ha d trie d withou t succes s t o implan t i n hi s so n a sor t o f progressive colonialism. Zia and Crawfor d go to him to be married in his church, whic h ha s bee n ruine d b y Germa n bombs . Wit h a n etherea l light glinting through th e splintere d roof, they are married a s the priest (Cedric Hardwicke ) call s fo r a n eventua l victor y founde d upo n al l churches in alliance. The movie ends with the audience sensing that they will return to an Afric a cleanse d o f colonialism and ope n to a new day. If release d durin g th e previou s year, Sundown surel y woul d hav e earned Wanger a congressional inquiry into his warmongering. Bu t appearing as it did, following Pearl Harbor by two weeks and accompanie d by a n internationalis t slan t t o it s pre-Christmas advertising, Sundown took on an authority and voice unwarranted b y its own limited merits as melodrama. Bosley Crowther in the Times sensed the added weigh t that the momen t had give n movies an d referre d t o i t in hi s reviews: Major Barbara ("produced in a war-wracked England against odds which only the stiffes t courag e could lick") ; Sergeant York ("abou t th e possibl e involvement o f ou r countr y i n anothe r deadl y worl d war") ; Target for Tonight ("courag e and strength of the British under fire"); and others. Of course, th e changin g time s opene d u p th e movie s t o a wid e rang e of readings, and Sundown was no exception: Crowthe r may have seen his movies through the prism of war, but a colleague on the Times dismissed Sundown as no more than "the Bo y Scouts in Africa" bent upon saving it "for th e British." 13 Nevertheless, a s th e wa r change d rando m ingredient s i n th e ol d formulas, i t exposed contradiction s and force d adaption s to new conditions. Similarly, as even the cheapest Saturday jungle movies introduced

their Africans t o the center of the frame an d th e action and gav e them a stake in th e outcome s of plots, some stereotypes persisted lik e stain s i n an ol d rug, while other s fade d i n th e ligh t she d b y the war . I n Tarza n

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Making Movies Black

movies, for example, So l Lesser quickly adapted th e serie s to the war by replacing th e usua l ivor y poacher s wit h Naz i heavies . I n Tarzan Triumphs (1943 ) th e German s forc e Tarza n t o recapitulat e th e popula r notion o f the American entry into the war: First they violate his territory; then Zandra, an obligatory white princess of a lost tribe, warns him tha t if they conquer he r land, he i s next; an d finally , afte r the y fire upon his son, Tarza n boils over—"Now Tarza n make war! " h e says . Moreover , Tarzan's "biographer, " Gab e Essoe , reporte d tha t such incident s fol lowed directl y from Stat e Department entreatie s t o turn th e King of the Jungle int o a "propaganda weapon." 14 The introduction of geopolitics into the genre also thrust the painted natives into unfamilia r roles where they grew articulate, prepossessing, and aler t t o th e impac t o f the wa r o n thei r domains . A s early as 1940 , Universal's B-movie Zanzibar added a diplomatic crisi s to th e plo t tha t had been borrowed fro m an actual clause in the Versailles treaty obliging the German s to return t o the Britis h the skul l of a deceased sulta n as a talisman o f hegemony ove r Eas t Africa . Thu s a mere programme r wa s made timely by setting it amidst an actual issue: If the heavies succeed in snatching th e reli c they wil l destabiliz e Africa, reopenin g i t to th e Ger mans wh o ha d los t i t in 1919 , wherea s i f the Britis h hold i t there i s a Sundown-like hin t o f a postcolonial for m o f self-determination. 15 Obviously, portrayin g Afric a a s a flashpoin t in a globa l war coul d lead t o scrappin g profitable Hollywoo d formulas, but i t also contraste d old wit h ne w an d raise d u p creativ e ambiguities . I n Zanzibar, fo r in stance, the howling, savag e spearbearers ar e contrasted wit h Chie f Umboga (Everett Brown), who calmly bargains with the British to pacify his people, drive n t o frenz y b y wardrums . Th e implie d paternalism , i f anyone noticed , allowe d scan t inferenc e tha t h e migh t eve r challeng e the right of the British to rule his people; nonetheless , th e scen e played to expectations raise d in the era of Sundown an d the Atlantic Charter.16 Of course , a conventiona l Hollywoo d solutio n t o unruly , ill-fittin g new idea s wa s t o eras e the m int o absentia , o r t o reshap e the m int o racially neutral, honey-colored exotics . Much a s Tarzan stumbled upo n the occasiona l los t whit e tribe , s o i n Drums of the Congo (1942 ) th e veteran Ernes t Whitman wa s th e onl y blac k Hollywood regula r with a substantive role . Instea d ther e wer e improbabl y lightskinne d Doroth y Dandridge an d Turha n Bey , a Tur k wh o spen t a bus y decad e playin g roles tha t black s might onc e hav e rea d for . Unfortunately, the actor s blamed th e resultin g black absence no t o n the wartim e drif t bu t rathe r on a rift in black circles caused by Eastern black activists, whose pressure threatened t o eras e stock black roles while providin g no compensator y bread-and-butter roles. 17 Clearly, a fe w not entirel y sanguine change s in formul a factor s di d not constitut e a revolution. Nevertheless, of the hundre d o r s o movies released i n th e week s followin g Pear l Harbor , a considerabl e number


43

anticipated change s ye t t o come . True , Variety's reviewers stil l spotted survivals of the past, much as astrology coexisted with astronomy: Mantan Moreland' s "popeye d porte r [wh o was ] fas t becomin g a fixtur e i n Monogram's pictures, " o r Louis e Beavers' s "colore d slavey " wh o seemed "hel d down." But arrant breaches of etiquette too k o n a life of their own . Doole y Wilso n bega n th e wa r a s Sa m th e pianis t i n Casablanca, spoke flippantly of a white woman ("i f she was black she'd b e beautiful") i n Louisiana Purchase, and joined with white servant s in an egalitarian union i n Higher and Higher.18 I n od d cases , the custo m of writing out racial material grew lax. For example, befor e the war, convention oblige d writers t o cu t scene s suc h a s those involvin g a Creol e mistress in th e operett a Naughty Marietta (1935) . Bu t i n th e 194 1 re make o f Rex Beach' s Klondik e gold rus h yarn , The Spoilers (1906) , a whimsical racial scene that had been written out all of previous versions was writte n bac k i n b y To m Ree d an d Lawrenc e Hazar d a s a neatl y turned bi t played between Joh n Wayne an d Mariett a Canty. 19 Moreover, audiences , o r at least the reviewers who wrote for them, took notice . Time an d Newsweek, for example, grumble d a t vestige s of plantation movie s as a "bad scene " marked by "absurd" black characters. Critics routinely cited black actors as never before, praising Dooley Wilson in Casablanca, for example, a s "a Negr o 'find'" an d "th e bes t of the supportin g players. " A "white" fa n magazin e eve n aske d Jimmi e Lunceford fo r an essay on the changing times. One black critic hit upo n the notion of a structured absence of black roles: In The Grapes of Wrath, he reported, "you kno w they're there by their absence." Even the Hollywood Negroe s me t t o discus s "som e sor t o f check " o n "derogator y types." Finally , Walte r Whit e bega n t o for m a strateg y t o promot e "film[s] abou t th e Negr o . . . picture d neithe r a s a buffoo n no r a s a humble servant, " and t o complain agains t specific sequence s suc h a s a those portraying wild-eyed, manic John Brown in Santa Fe Trail. At the same time , a Times ma n though t tha t eve n th e casua l neighborhoo d moviegoer seemed ready for a break with Hollywood's "all-too-familiar escapist fare." 20 Could an y coherenc e an d directio n b e give n thi s drift ? Walte r White, anticipatin g Nunn' s Doubl e V, gave i t a try , callin g fo r a dua l "fight for liberties here while waging war agains t dictators abroad."21 If only he, o r someone , coul d harness thi s loosely phrased mentalit y fel t singly by Hollywood's anti-Nazi Jews, Ne w Dealers in searc h of means of recruiting black voters, and Africa n American s seeking to engag e in war, withou t seemin g t o b e profiteer s off its tragedies . And i f shared sentiments coul d be converted int o activism , how coul d short-ru n na tional necessit y be shape d int o a long-ru n politics o f civil rights ? That conscience-liberals began to link their goals both to Hollywood's engine of popular culture and to Allied war aims may be seen in White's correspondence. On e letterwriter, for instance, praised Metro's B-movi e Dr.

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Making Movies Black

Kildare's New Assistant (1942) for its multinational cast , "a nic e United Nations touch, " bu t als o sa w a misse d chanc e t o inser t a bi t o f th e unfolding conscience-liberalis m i n th e for m o f a black doctor . "Don' t they se e how the y ca n pionee r a ne w fre e worl d b y employin g suc h touches?" sh e aske d rhetorically . An d ye t sh e wa s delighte d b y th e prospect o f a crusade agains t Hollywoo d "a s stirrin g and promisin g a s any o f the principle s se t forth i n th e Atlanti c Charter." 22 Less tha n a wee k afte r hi s colum n callin g fo r a dua l campaig n against fascism and racism, White met Lowell Mellett, a Scripps-Howard journalist whom Roosevelt had drafte d t o take over the motio n pictur e section o f OW L Mellett wishe d hi m wel l an d promise d t o "pu t i n a word" for White in Hollywood, as White began to weigh how t o call in debts Hollywood had incurred when he testified o n its behalf before th e Senate committe e investigatin g it s "warmongering. " I n retur n Whit e looked t o the movielots fo r help in putting a new Africa n America n o n the screen. In what amounted t o a planted story, the columnist Thornto n Delahanty charted a possible course an d als o hinted a t a threat o f government intervention : "Washingto n official s . . . hav e made it plain to studio executives that th e governmen t i s definitely intereste d i n having the negr o presente d properl y on th e screen, " he wrote , an d "b y slow , and i n som e case s painful , degree s th e fil m industr y i s comin g around."23 Only a fortnigh t after Pear l Harbor , then, Whit e seeme d poise d t o intrude into the arena described by Delahanty. His friend a t court was to be Wendell Willkie, the politician with on e foot i n the NAAC P and th e other on the Fox lot.24 As though heavensent , Willkie' s multiple image as Republican liberal, folkish Hoosier, and studio boss, as well as his high tolerance for long lunches with White, suited the task at hand. " I ough t to have a tiny bit of influence right now," h e told White. "Let's go out to Hollywood an d talk with th e more intelligen t people i n the industry to see what ca n be done." From this opening White began to rough ou t a year's campaignin g tha t enliste d Willki e fo r a majo r addres s t o th e NAACP's impendin g conventio n i n Lo s Angeles itself , a dat e i n tur n made possibl e by Mellett's helping skir t federal restrictions on needles s travel.25 Meanwhile , Whit e resume d hi s cultivation o f Wanger, Darryl Zanuck, and othe r moguls, along with leftis t actor s such as Jean Muir, Melvyn Douglas , and hi s activis t wife , Hele n Gahagan . Tie d i n wit h Willkie's appearance i n the massive sienna-colored Shrin e Auditorium, White planned addresse s at the city's two major universities and severa l black churches . Ou t o f al l thi s wa s t o com e som e share d ideologica l position toward , a s Whit e tol d Douglas , proddin g movieme n "t o broaden th e role s in whic h Negroe s ar e pictured." 26 I f they wo n thi s strange new game , White and his friends woul d have aligned, however temporarily, Africa n America n socia l goal s wit h th e wa r aim s o f th e nation a s expresse d i n unfocuse d rhetori c suc h a s Roosevelt' s "fou r

Wendell and Walter Go to Hollywood 4

5

freedoms" speec h an d th e Atlanti c Charter, echoes o f the prewar , left liberal, antifascist "popular front, " and the still-forming mentality of the OWI an d it s Hollywoo d branc h unde r Nelso n Poynter , ye t anothe r newspaperman.27 Already those movies in the assembly line or in release unbidden by pressure groups allowed White a good feeling that a genuine movemen t was marshalin g a t hi s back . I n fact , h e use d In This Our Life a s a n opening gu n afte r a frien d ha d toute d i t as unprecedented becaus e " a Negro is given an opportunit y t o explain to white folk s hi s ambitions. " See it, he urge d White, "becaus e i t is the typ e o f example yo u wis h t o give t o movie producer s fo r future pictures. " Whit e was a quic k study and learned to praise right conduct and to announce his arrival, first by telling Olivi a d e Havillan d o f th e "spontaneou s applause " tha t ha d greeted her character' s sidin g with th e black student, the n b y thanking Harry Warner for "the dignifie d presentatio n o f the young Negro [that] is a refreshin g change fro m th e traditiona l treatment, " an d finall y b y (wrongly) attributin g it to the "progress " tha t had ensue d afte r hi s and Willkie's work. 28 Actually, a t first the campaig n met scattere d resistance. Withi n th e NAACP were those who sniffe d a t the Hollywood sojourns as "Walter' s thing," an obsessive need t o hang about with th e famous. Black Hollywood constituted a sort of disloyal opposition bent upon protecting their investment i n th e statu s qu o an d thei r role s a s scamps , savages , an d flunkies. O n the lot s every studi o had a t least one residen t Southerne r such as Y. Frank Freeman at Paramount, a "thoroughly unreconstructe d Southerner" nex t t o whom Whit e sat at on e o f Willkie's lunches. And OWI was always of two minds; the officia l lin e disavowed any "attempt to solve the problem of Negro-white relations," but its conscience-liberal cell kep t "i n constan t touch " wit h Hollywoo d and , a s Poynte r did , boasted of hectoring Sam Goldwyn "to convert him to our way of thinking." Already, Roy Wilkins had reported that blacks had bluntly turned a meeting o n "th e moral e o f the Negr o troups" int o a vocal demand fo r "corrective actio n about the mistreatment of the Negr o throughout th e whole wa r effort." 29 From the beginnin g White pressed Mellett of OWI to reach beyond the merel y necessitaria n an d even t o remai n aler t t o th e impac t o f movies on foreign markets. " I hope you will keep in mind in your new job th e necessit y of films taking a more enlightene d attitud e in the picturing of so-called colored people, " wrote Whit e as he linked the "con stant irritation" o f blacks to the "infinite harm in Latin America" caused by moviemade racism. Mellett, for his part, not only promised "to put in a wor d t o the sam e purpose," bu t wangle d a ticket for Willkie's trip to Hollywood.30 Hollywood liberals seemed ready for him. They went to see Jump for Joy, a liberal, satiric revue at th e Maya n Theatre, where the y watched

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Making Movies Black

"dicty Negroes " an d "ofays"—Harle m patoi s fo r snoot y black s an d whites—interact. In one skit, Uncle Tom's Cabin has become a "chicke n shack" a t Hollywoo d an d Vin e serving a menu o f "social demand s a s potent a s spice." Avanell e Harris, a cast member, recalle d that "it s message caused a wave of enthusiasm throughout the cast." The angels were themselves Hollywoodians , ranging fro m mogul s lik e Joe Pasterna k t o New Yor k leftie s suc h a s Joh n Garfiel d t o th e ne w black s i n town , Dorothy Dandridge , Herb Jeffries , an d Ellington' s singer , M e Ander son.31 By earl y 1942 , Whit e ha d arrive d o n th e scen e fo r a schedul e o f lunches i n th e commissaries, a meetin g a t th e Academy , a nigh t o f tablehopping a t th e Osca r dinner, speakin g dates—si x of them i n Sa n Francisco—and meetings with "smal l group s of writers and producers " rendered compliant by, he said, "the terribl e pressure upon us" brought "by the war." Eve r reminding Willkie of his work on their behalf when the Senate "was tryin g to lynch the movies," White arrived in February armed wit h letters of introduction (one from Eleano r Roosevelt), stayed at the lilywhite Roosevelt Hotel, and met with Will Hays, a delegation of local blacks , an d mogul s wh o seeme d agreeabl e t o "broadenin g th e treatment o f the Negr o in the movin g picture." 32 If his groundwork lacke d thoroughness, it was in its neglect of black Hollywood an d hi s impact on thei r livelihoods . The y hated everythin g about him: hi s Eastern roots, his liberal friends, hi s access to hotels an d movielots, his neglect of their stake , even his pinkish pallor and straight hair, with the result that they stiffened agains t him and thus came across as reactionaries. More than a quarter of a century later Eddie Anderson, a scampish valet to Jack Benny' s parsimonious employer, remembere d White wit h unconceale d contemp t a s "an Easter n phoney tryin g to be white." White' s blac k counse l responde d i n kind . "Mos t o f them ar e ignorant," wrot e on e man , "[and ] ca n onl y fit in wit h th e part s the y have been playing anyway." Anothe r source dismissed them as "limited in backgroun d an d appearance " an d unabl e therefor e t o carr y off the roles o f ingenues o r heroes. 33 Separating the two factions was an ideological gulf. On the one side stood White' s urban e liberalism ; o n th e othe r a deepl y rooted , old fashioned individualis m and it s virtues of hard wor k an d earne d incre ments. Man y black actors had begun by answering "cattl e calls, " registering with Charle s Butler's segregated version o f Central Casting, and hanging out on the corner s of Central Avenue, the main dra g of "darktown," in the fain t hop e o f being collected b y a studio bus i n search of extras. By the tim e of White's arrival many of them enjoyed the security of contract s and regarde d themselves as member s o f a talente d guild. Some, lik e Stepin Fetchit, Bill Robinson , Hattie McDaniel , and Louis e Beavers, sa w themselve s a s interracia l goodwil l ambassador s whos e charm contribute d materiall y t o goo d rac e relations . I n n o cas e di d


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Willie Bes t (right) i n th e sor t o f residual bread-and-butte r rol e i n The Kansan (1943) tha t earne d hi m a bungalow o n Sout h Hobart . Copyrigh t United Artists.

they concu r i n th e lo w estimate s o f their wor k tha t White' s adviser s held. Two typical cases were McDaniel and Willi e Best. If Best's bio i s to be believed, he was discovered strolling down Central Avenue but bolted fearing arres t by a white ma n wh o turne d ou t t o b e a talent scout . He soon becam e a "colored star, " that is, a featured player with a familia r shtick, a variation of Fetchit's style that earned a six-month contrac t at $300 per week, a limit on furloughs, an d a nice house o n Sout h Hobart. McDaniel, a Middl e Wester n vetera n o f churc h choirs , temperanc e union dram a contests , vaudeville , an d a stretc h o n th e Optimisti c Donuts radio show, broke into movie s in 1932 . She built her career on a n accommodating, motherl y obesit y tha t helpe d he r wi n roles . "Every body love s me," sh e onc e said . "When I' m workin g I mind m y ow n business and do what I am told to do." Whe n Whit e arrived she earne d more than $200 0 per week. 34 Of course , Best an d McDanie l belonged to a n elite . Beneat h the m was a vas t arm y of the underemployed , including McDaniel's brother Sam, who measure d his career in term s of occasional days rather tha n weeks. Below him were the bit players who worke d a for a few dollars a

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Making Movies Black

day, a bo x lunch , an d bu s fare . I n th e middl e rang e wer e those , lik e Hattie's colleagu e o n Gone with the Wind, Butterfl y McQueen , whos e price during the war reached $60 0 per week. Their work and its rewards mirrored live s strikingly like those i n other crafts : Althoug h a rare black actor earne d mor e tha n a comparabl e white , i n th e mai n onl y a few blacks reached the middle range of white actors, and for many there was no floor , n o net , beneat h thei r live s on th e lowest rung. 35 But a s a group the y forme d a conservativ e ancho r agains t White' s work, partl y becaus e the y wer e no t merel y actor s bu t soli d Lo s Angelenos wh o hel d jobs in the count y civi l service, appeared i n local nightclubs an d o n radio , an d ra n storefron t acting schools . Moreover , they practiced civic virtue as volunteers in churches, fundraisers, sorority and fraternit y officers . Thu s for White they seeme d n o more than rigid, peasant kulaks whos e prosperou s bu t precariou s statu s warpe d thei r politics int o a narrow , touch y "fals e consciousness " tha t boggle d hi s mind.36 Therefore, for them he could be no more than a Stalin calling for the destructio n o f their class. And of course, their fat e durin g the war as adventure yarns migrated from jungles to deserts—being structured out of gig s b y Turha n Bey , Fran k Lackteen , Abne r Biberman , an d othe r whites wit h a vaguely Asian cast to thei r features—confirme d them in their worst fears. In domestic dramas the erasure of blacks came as mere wartime realism ; Hollywood' s notio n o f the America n family tightene d down t o a servantles s nucleus . I n musicals , sleek , fair-skinne d East erners go t al l th e gigs—o r so i t seeme d t o blac k Hollywoo d a s the y watched Lena Home, whom they regarded as White's "girl," win a longterm contract. O f course, this slippage in their fortunes had begun in the 1930s, an d Whit e therefore became a scapegoat for a trend large r than his campaign . Bil l Robinso n an d Stepi n Fetchi t ha d alread y suffere d dropped option s an d slippe d into B-movies. Others hung o n as regulars only in cheap programmers: Fre d Toones as "Snowflake" i n B-westerns, George Reed as a butler in Metro's Kildar e series, Mantan Morelan d a s a bug-eyed driver in Monogram's Charli e Chan series. The women slippe d into blessedly invisible radio where they need not compete with younger Easterners. The trend rendere d useles s Clarence Muse's warning t o th e young Doroth y Dandridg e that "i f colore d kid s ge t int o a scen e here , they wan t the m t o look blac k and Negroid." 37 Their fate seeme d maddeningl y cruel . No t even thei r whit e friend s on th e lots—an d the y had white friend s a t th e top—coul d sav e them . Muse had been Frank Capra's good luck charm in several movies; Eddie Anderson seemed so centered in Jack Benny's act as to seem the cause of Benny's success; at Fox Robinson had bee n th e tai l of Shirley Temple's comet, s o when sh e burned out , so did he; an d o n th e sam e lot Fetchit and Wil l Roger s teamed s o closel y tha t friend s though t o f Roger s a s Step's "rabbi, " s o when Roger s die d in a plan e crash , Fetchit's career died wit h him . Traine d practitioner s lik e th e choirister s Ev a Jessye ,


49

Katharine Dunham, Jester Hairston, and Hall Johnson fell back on their music. Canad a Lee and a few others could pla y Broadway when things slumped. And in one instance a studio actually sought out a fabled black performer, Pau l Robeson , t o brea k hi s boycot t agains t Hollywood — which "entirel y ignores the many dynami c force s i n the worl d today/ ' he ha d said—an d pla y i n Tales of Manhattan (1944). 38 Bu t fo r mos t Hollywood Negroes the war grew into a personal and professional disaster. And yet White's work went badly and provided scan t gains to compensate for the sufferin g o f black Hollywood. Not that the moguls stiffe d him. Rather, he had no t learned hi s craft o f lobbyist, and he and Willkie had miscalculate d man y o f their tactics . White seeme d t o snu b th e ac tors, the local NAACP, and the black press. Willkie forgot the fear generated i n th e heart s o f th e mogul s b y thei r master s i n thei r Ne w Yor k offices; a few letters from the m migh t hav e far outweighed letter s fro m Eleanor Roosevelt . Besides, White neglecte d t o lear n hi s way throug h the maze of Hollywood gatekeepers, agents, and changed addresses, and so squandered hours , eve n days , mailing note s tha t cam e back "no t a t this add.," leaving his cards in anterooms, scribblin g fruitless invitation s to meet "an y time. " At the same time his "thing," his wish to know th e famous, le d him t o cultivat e actors , who , a s any fa n knew , wer e ren dered impoten t b y their fear s o f moguls, droppe d options , an d spitefu l gossip columnists. 39 Moreover, i n th e earl y round s o f luncheon s White , whos e pros e often crackle d wit h accusator y imagery , seeme d daunte d b y hi s elit e company. At one lunch a t Fox it was Willkie who seeme d "hard-hittin g and uncompromising, " whil e Whit e merel y allaye d "fea r .. . o f any reforms which migh t cu t dow n box-offic e returns. " Meanwhile , th e snubbed loca l blacks held thei r ow n meeting s t o assert a place for their craft an d promot e th e sor t of all-black movies that Whit e found "com pletely jim-crow"; once one of them even urge d seizin g the propert y of Japanese wh o had been "relocated " in Idaho. An d White, now that he had th e moguls ' ears , received only the dulles t of advice, as from Edgar Dale, wh o urge d givin g awards t o worth y films , makin g educationa l films, and planting in features occasional blacks "doing skilled and professional work." 40 Thus in the early moments Whit e flopped for want of a simple, neatly put angle that accommodated pas t practice while feelin g its way toward a new genr e tha t opene d movie s t o the "ne w Negro. " At his last luncheon on his last day, White sat with the moguls in the Biltmore while th e liberal s among the m picke d at their foo d a s thoug h awaiting a sign . H e an d Willki e intended t o retur n i n July , bu t the y needed t o b e tol d something—now . "I mak e one-sixt h of the picture s made i n Hollywood, " said Darry l Zanuc k wit h exaggerate d diffidence , "and I never thought of this until you presented the facts. " White could hardly lecture them o n ho w t o make movies, but the y wer e entitle d to

50

Making Movies Black

some formulatio n of what th e fact s mean t an d ho w t o behave towar d them. Wavin g aside threats, prescriptions, and calls for a token Negro in the Hays office, h e asked simply that they show "th e Negr o as a normal human bein g an d integra l part o f human lif e an d activity. " A s he lef t these powerful men whos e compan y he relished, he fel t a clear sense of impending change. As he told a friend o n the Los Angeles News, when he and Willki e returned the y would hol d substantiv e meetings with Wan ger, Zanuck, and the rest; then the screenwriters; and , through Cagne y and Douglas , perhaps a session with the Scree n Actors Guild, at whic h they would present their plea for "the Negr o as a normal human being." Uncannily, h e ha d hi t o n th e raison d'etre o f th e ol d blac k Lincol n Motion Pictur e Company in 1915 : "to pictur e the Negr o as he i s in his every da y life." The only differenc e betwee n the m was White' s goa l of promoting th e agenda amon g powerful white men—an d th e fac t tha t a world wa r ha d helpe d retur n th e issu e to a national scale. 41 This last event loomed eve n as the war drove into exile from Frank furt th e cel l of Marxist critics who share d th e commo n findin g that , as one of them, Theodo r Adorno, argued, "the idea s of order [tha t popular culture] inculcates are always those of the status quo." Eve n though this was certainly so in the Nazi Germany they were on the run from, White' s chore was to hold up as a collective goal the notion that the spontaneity, brashness, and abrasiv e urbanity of popular cultures would be renewe d by war and thereby override the caution and profiteering that drov e the business end of show business . The communally share d values that th e war stirred might yet induce, as Feibleman suggested, a mood i n which blacks might join in defining a new se t of terms on which lif e in America in the future might be based. Thus if the government cried "unity," then conscience-liberals might put their own stamps on it by crying "brother hood." Th e increasing frequency with whic h thes e nonceword s wer e heard testifie d t o the possibilit y of a changed mentalit y of the majority, which might tolerate a challenge to the traditional marginality of blacks. Certainly the Gallu p polls that affirme d a general suppor t for the FEP C and othe r measure s attested t o the prospect . Surel y White thought so , perhaps eve n feelin g that th e wa r ha d place d th e win d a t hi s back. 42 Indeed, his mere presenc e o n th e lot s wa s a clea r sign of an emergen t liberalism. I f only he—o r th e writers—coul d come u p wit h a genr e of war movie s tha t buil t upo n th e familia r social problem movie s o f th e Depression years , gran t Africa n American s citizenshi p i n tha t scree n world, pu t fort h a postwa r blac k socia l agenda , an d challeng e th e pessimism of the Frankfur t analysts , fo r whom th e apparentl y realistic Depression movies had provided, as Adorno argued, not genuine visions of empowermen t bu t onl y "solution s [that ] woul d b e impossibl e for them t o us e .. . i n thei r ow n lives. " Perhap s he coul d conver t th e legends o f Coli n Kelly , Meye r Levin, and Dori c Miller into a formul a similar t o tha t alread y bein g written for Hawks's Air Forced


51

If only, White wrote, he and Willkie in July could "come back to the coast and finis h thi s job befor e the y cool off or go too fa r in making allcolored pictures instead of doing the much more important job of decent treatment o f the Negr o in al l pictures. " H e admitte d tha t i n Februar y "they could give me the runaround and get away with it," bu t this time, with Willki e i n tandem , "promise s mad e t o Willki e an d m e jointl y would commi t the m i n a fashion they would no t dar e go back on." I n addition h e looke d t o tw o ne w weapons . H e broadened hi s circl e t o include more imposing figures—not only actors but Henry Jaffe, counse l for thei r guild . Also, OWI had move d int o Hollywoo d and Vin e as, h e told a friend, "on e o f the openin g guns " in the government' s campaig n to improv e "th e statu s of the Negr o in the war." 44 But what to tell them to produce? He badly needed a n angle, someWorld Wa r II , by strainin g th e capacit y o f public accommodations, a s in thi s Southern bu s station , calle d int o questio n th e high cos t o f maintaining ol d forms o f racial discrimination . OWI-LC .

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Making Movies Black

thing like Roi Ottley's notion of a "New World A'Comin'" couple d with something a s substantiv e as th e ol d Reconstructio n cry o f "forty acres and a mule." Otherwise, he could offer n o lesson plan to accompany the "audiovisual aid " tha t Hollywood might become. Moreover, within African America his formulation must offer a plausible rebuttal to Cayton's ironic stor y of the 'croppe r wh o ha d hear d th e "Jap s declare d war o n you white folks," indeed must show that the Axis had also declared war on blac k Americ a an d tha t therefor e blac k American s woul d hav e a stake in the outcome . A prototype appeared even before White's first journey to the coast. The Courier's Double V campaign ran fo r weeks through the sprin g and into th e summer , al l th e whil e urgin g black participatio n in th e wa r against the da y o f victory when blacks could cal l in th e resultin g debt. The kerne l o f th e idea ha d com e fro m Jame s G . Thompson , a black cafeteria worke r a t Cessn a Aircraf t i n Wichita . "Lik e al l tru e Americans," he harbored " a desir e for complete victory over the force s of evil which threaten our existence today" even to the point "that we sacrific e every othe r ambition. " Bu t a blac k patrio t coul d no t hel p bu t ask : "Should I sacrifice m y lif e t o live half American?" Obviously , no. "Victory over our enemies fro m without " mus t be linked to, he wrote, "vic tory over our enemies from within." One of the editors thought that the resulting campaign had already opened up war industries and the office r corps to blacks, resulting in a show of mutual "good faith intentions." 45 It remaine d onl y fo r Whit e an d hi s friend s t o formulat e Thompson's rhetoric into a movie genre . The first NAACP handout set forth a dichotomy between Axis racism and anticipate d America n liberalism. "The Axi s ha s utilize d Race as a cardinal principl e in its arsena l of propaganda, " it sai d of a Germa n "orgy of anti-Semitism" and the Japanese "slogan s of Asiatic tribalism." Americans, then, coul d do nothing less than put aside racial antipathies in the interes t o f "national unity. " Fo r White, then , th e rol e o f Hollywood became clear. "If we [say ] . . . th e American motion picture has rendered disservice to the principles of racial equity," h e wrote, "w e d o so only to identify th e mood an d temper of the American people today." The modern temper required a repudiation of these old, divisive images:

"the Negr o as a barbaric dolt, a superstition-ridden ninny .. . a race of intellectual inferiors , cowardly, benighted, differen t fro m th e superio r group." And in their places the nation di d not need " a publi c relations campaign . . . t o whitewash us . . . bu t in the name of those ideas for which al l of us ar e no w fighting , w e as k tha t th e Negr o be give n ful l citizenship in the world of the movie." A t the same time, he argued that no studi o should erase history by committing "the si n of narrow real ism" b y picturing poverty and suc h without reference to th e "sa d an d ugly thing s that have made the m so." 46 Meanwhile, White prepared for his July return to Hollywood's pop-


53

ping flashbulbs , drink s a t th e Garde n of Allah, chicken sou p wit h th e moguls, caucuse s wit h th e stars , an d storie s i n Variety a s th e sta r of "confabs wit h fil m execs." He began filing movie review s int o pile s of good an d ba d racia l bits: Sullivan's Travels an d Blossoms in the Dust— good, Belle Starr, Maryland, an d The March of Time—bad. He learned t o comment o n ever y sort of racial nuance, panning Young Dr. Kildare for its stoc k servan t whil e toutin g it s brownskinned docto r o r carpin g a t Metro fo r it s Tarza n serie s whil e naggin g the m fo r th e thi n rank s of blacks on the lot. Through Henr y Jaffe h e caught the ea r of Abel Green of Variety, wh o began to play up White's work. So when Hobe Morrison of Variety cite d a movie in which "one o f the sightseer-extra s is a Negro, a genuinel y realisti c touch," White, whos e eg o was a s big as the Ritz , could attribut e the bi t to his own "fin e Italia n hand." 47 At last, in July the NAAC P convened unde r th e yello w minarets of the Shrin e Auditorium , th e Hollywoo d Negroe s al l bu t invisible , th e spotlight on Willkie's closing speech . We cannot gues s how th e studios might have handle d th e socia l angles of the wa r withou t th e NAACP' s prodding, bu t afte r th e cheerin g died , a t th e lunc h Whit e an d Willkie took with sevent y moguls, guild members, MPPDA staff, an d th e Hollywood Victor y Committee, Walter Wanger portrayed the movies as "th e most valuabl e mean s .. . fo r spreadin g th e America n wa y o f life. " The differenc e betwee n thi s an d al l previou s self-congratulator y pa triotism was that Africa n Americ a had bee n painte d int o th e scene . As White recalle d it , h e aske d th e mogul s fo r " a ne w day " marke d b y parallel abandonmen t o f stereotypes and a "broadening " o f the rang e of roles. "Delay invites danger," he said. Reporting back to the NAACP, he predicted " a true r picture of the Negr o as a normal membe r o f society an d a n integra l par t o f th e civilizatio n o f ou r countr y an d th e world."48 His brave front aside , White's actual accomplishment remaine d am biguous. Apar t fro m th e faithful—Wange r an d Zanuck—th e mogul s when no t merel y balk y wer e a t leas t edg y towar d a push y outsider . Indeed, Whit e foun d himsel f i n a role analogou s t o tha t o f Booker T. Washington, a blac k Republica n wirepuller whos e powe r over blacks was a byproduct of his influence over whites, but who could never know the actual limits of white fealty. Som e moguls, like Frank Freeman, ha d predictably declined, but so too had the hoped-for Sam Goldwyn. And of those a t table , surel y severa l agree d wit h Mende l Silberberg , a studio lawyer who doubte d tha t White' s "continue d presenc e will be of much value." Hollywood , h e said , was "fille d wit h group s an d committee s trying to put certain thoughts and views into motion pictures," and most of them "soon wear out their welcome."49 Eve n Nelson Poynter, OWI's man in Hollywood, despite his willingness "to constantly urge upon the industry the elimination of the negro stereotype" an d "th e screen' s tradition o f 'th e ol d Selznic k South/ " steere d Whit e towar d "periodi c

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Making Movies Black

visits" rather than some sort of NAACP Hollywood bureau (an idea that, in fact , ha d occurre d to White). 50 If thes e force s amounte d t o n o mor e tha n low-voltag e moral sua sion, they must also be seen as signs that the governmen t o f the United States, after a hiatus o f more than half a century, ha d begu n to take u p the blac k conditio n a s a matter o f national interest . Fo r example , on e group o f OW I monitor s reviewe d movie s no t fo r thei r impac t upo n America but rathe r a s eventual exports t o allies, usage as armed force s fare, an d eve n fo r showin g t o land s regaine d fro m th e enemy . Whil e carrying no politica l weight, thei r judgments revealed a rising expectation o f change s i n Hollywood' s blac k imagery . "W e ar e particularl y interested in all appearances of dark-skinned races," said Edward Barnhart's staf f manual . O n forms that looked dully like all other suc h datagathering forms , th e viewer s analyze d th e qualit y of ethnic portrayals with uncommo n acuit y tha t le d t o eventua l attainment s a s critics , among them Doroth y B. Jones, Barbar a Deming, and Phili p T. Hartung (he only week s awa y fro m takin g u p a column i n th e libera l Catholic weekly, Commonweal}.51 There i s n o wa y o f knowing whethe r Whit e contribute d t o thei r sharpened ey e fo r conscience-liberalism , bu t i t certainl y colore d thei r The war provide d Samm y Morriso n th e opportunit y t o crac k th e rank s o f the East Sid e Kids, a s here i n That Gang of Mine. Copyrigh t Monogram Pictures .


5

later work. "Rain , n o game, " sneere d Earnin g whe n Stormy Weather, the sort of all-black musical that repelled White, appeared. Deming even grew testy at the slo w pace of Hollywood's breaking with "it s stake s in the statu s quo." O n the job the y overlooke d nothing . Fo r instance, i n taking up Sa m Katzman's Smart Alecks, one of a B-movie Dead End Kids series, the viewe r took notic e o f the addendu m o f a black kid (Sammy Morrison) t o th e gang , his wearin g o f his ski n a s though a jaunty cap rather than a scar, his link to his mother rather than seeming to be a lone black figure i n a sea of whites, and hi s election t o say the gang' s prayer over a falle n buddy . Another single d ou t a n angr y blac k servan t wh o snapped, " I ain' t accustome d t o be talked to like trash." And Deming, the sharpes t o f them, like d th e interracia l grou p o f sailor s wh o "liv e [and] pray together" in a coast guard film. Of course, th e studi o bosses read non e o f this, but th e OW I unit nonetheles s reflecte d a sensibility that wa s a direc t result of the crisi s of war an d eventuall y extended t o critics in both regiona l an d metropolita n presses . Moreover, wheneve r the blac k press learned o f it they offere d i t as a sig n of changing times. For example , when the Richmond News-Leader sai d o f Ethel Waters in Cairo (1942) , "Ther e wer e plenty of times when i t seemed th e camer a hunted he r ou t t o the exclusio n o f the othe r actors, " th e Courier ran a sidebar o n it . At the sam e time, Souther n audiences , le d by exhibitors fearing lost sales, theatregoers hungry for liberal drama such as The Little Foxes, critic s who resente d th e paternalism , an d perhap s th e Yanke e soldiers on local posts, pressed censors to relax their racial vigilance. For example, when The Little Foxes was censored in Memphis, exhibitors on the west bank of the Mississippi played it up as the one "they would not show i n Memphis." 52 Meanwhile, in Hollywood, as movies ground their ways through the system, White waited for those that might show signs of his hand. Bu t as Zanuck ha d tol d hi m i n July , "i t take s anywher e fro m thre e t o si x months o r a yea r fo r pictures to ge t int o release. " Moreover , Zanuck, who woul d gro w int o a genuin e ally , insisted tha t heavyhande d ges tures—threats o r th e appointmen t o f a Negr o t o th e PGA—woul d be "misunderstood a s pertainin g t o censorship, " an d therefor e Whit e should "leave the whole matter to . . . th e individual studios."53 As for the others , the y offere d incantatio n an d remembranc e o f past favors a s much as they proposed action. The Warners touted the already released In This Our Life. Tre m Car r o f Monogram, lik e many others , hollowly promised tha t "a t firs t opportunit y I a m goin g t o discus s it wit h ou r producers." Other s wer e mor e vague , promising onl y t o "ac t i n ever y way possibl e to furthe r thi s vita l education." 54 O f course ther e wer e dissenters. B . G . "Buddy" D e Sylv a o f Paramount lumped White with the advocates of the Double V as war profiteers. "I was a bit riled recently

by some of the negro spokesmen who said the negro shouldn't be sent to war unles s h e coul d receiv e equal benefits wit h th e whit e man, " h e

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Making Movies Black

complained. " I thin k i t i s a ba d tim e fo r th e negr o t o 'tr y t o mak e a deal/" 55 In the face of this resistance White began to press too hard, perhaps beyond wher e th e NAAC P migh t hav e wishe d t o go . " I conside r th e matter of the treatmen t of the Negr o in motion picture s of such importance tha t i t takes rank over som e othe r phase s o f our work, " he tol d Joseph Breen of the PGA. Although his files were thick with expressions of the goodwil l of white men, complaint s from blac k fans, memorand a on bit s "degradin g t o Negroes, " movi e reviews , reports o f threatene d theatre boycotts , an d plan s t o broade n th e coalition , Whit e ha d no t made a singl e substantiv e suggestio n t o th e moviemen , ha d faile d t o engage the black press, which was beholden t o exhibitors for advertising revenue, an d ha d no t reache d a n accommodatio n wit h blac k Holly wood.56 Othe r tha n a fe w plea s fo r mor e bourgeoi s black s i n crow d scenes, he offere d n o ne w angles , no entertaining fusion o f politics and art, not eve n the eventua l formulatio n of introducing a lone Negro into the ranks of a white group; he stil l knew onl y what he did not want o n the screen. The war itsel f had leapt ahead o f him in the way that news papers played the assimilationist stories of Colin Kelly, Meyer Levin, and Doric Miller, yet their stories as movie metaphors had s o far crossed no Hollywood minds. 57 This failur e o f movie politic s may b e see n i n tw o aborte d propa ganda movies: Metro's Liberty Ship an d Warner' s The Launching of the Booker T. Washington. Both were tributes to the unlovely "liberty ships" that had been cobbled together in haste to meet the shortage of freighters caused b y Germa n submarin e warfare . Each had stalled , in n o smal l measure a s a resul t o f the blac k characters that ha d bee n introduced , perhaps at the behest of White, but ha d bee n s o garbled as to be unusable. For example, both script s took up th e intricate matter of equitable housing for war worker s in suc h a way a s to b e divisive. Both script s centered o n th e sam e nugge t o f conflict—th e black defector in need of moral suasion—and ended on a note of triumph, th e launching o f a libert y shi p a s a symbo l o f interracia l achievement . MGM's Liberty Ship strayed from its black angle by improbably introducing foreig n agent s wh o momentaril y wi n ove r a blac k stevedore , a s though onl y duping rather than genuin e issue s might tempt a n Africa n American to turn traitor. In any event, i n the last reel he returns to the fold, presumabl y provin g t o whit e people , a s th e scrip t argued , tha t blacks embrace d th e civi c virtue s o f patriotis m an d loyalty . Ou t a t Warner's lot, Gordon Hollingshead's shorts unit took up The Launching

of the Booker T. Washington, a story that focused o n a Negro who refuse s to fight, but ended on the launching, which again confirmed the contribution o f African American s to th e war. 58 Of th e two , Liberty Ship hel d ou t les s promise, mainly because its authors failed t o deal simultaneously with blacks' rage at the status quo


7

and blacks ' faith i n their investmen t i n the outcom e o f the war ; tha t is, they faile d t o produc e a fai r fictiona l replicatio n o f the realit y o f many black warriors . Instead th e plo t wanders int o a longshoreman's buyin g his mother a house i n a white neighborhood, thu s supposedl y showin g the breakdow n o f old ways a s a result o f the war , bu t als o leading th e storyline off on a cross-purpose d tangent . Warner' s Booker T. took th e same line , openin g o n a squali d alle y in th e shado w o f the capital , a n echo o f a prewa r sho t o f Dingman' s Alle y take n b y a Far m Securit y Administration (FSA ) photographer. Reinforcin g this contradictio n be tween national purpose and national practice, an angry newsy snarls out the day' s headline , a stor y o f "Whites Wh o Refuse d Occupancy " t o a new blac k tenant. Onl y a remarkabl y sophisticate d denouemen t save s the day by balancing two black views of the situation. On the one hand a black soldie r acts as mouthpiece fo r th e Doubl e V, refusing t o figh t fo r what is bad, he says, but unafraid of fighting for the good to come. Yet as one voic e says , the soldie r wa s no t advocatin g mer e accommodation : Never learn t o accept racism, he says , without raisin g a fuss. A s though unsure of herself the author, Lillian Hellman, added a hyperbolic coda, a socko last-reel tableau with Paul Robeson and the Fisk Jubilee Singers at the Lincol n Memorial o n th e eightiet h anniversar y o f Emancipation. 59 Only a thin paper trai l survives from the Liberty Ship idea , but th e Warner Archiv e allows u s a glimpse of the tenuou s interactio n amon g OWI, Hollywood , and th e NAAC P in balancin g minorit y demand s fo r justice an d th e government' s requirement s fo r propaganda . Afte r White's first visit, Variety ha d played the story under a page-one banner , "Better Break s for Negroe s in H'wood, " bu t b y Ma y Hellman' s scrip t arrived at Warner's and was filed under "Negr o Picture. " No t until lat e summer when he called upon Poynter in Washington did White learn of "the Hellma n story." W e have scan t evidence that White had a hand i n what followed . Al l we kno w i s tha t o n Octobe r 8 Jac k Warne r tol d Hollingshead to get busy on rewriting the Hellman shor t eve n i f he ha d to put a writer o n overtime , certainl y a smal l sacrific e fo r his country , Warner said. 60 Perhap s meant onl y to pad th e file with evidenc e o f the studio's patriotism , th e memorandu m als o allowe d th e inferenc e tha t Jack Warne r ha d fel t pressur e fro m th e propwas h o f White's activities. For whateve r reason , b y lat e summe r th e studi o ha d i n han d a script drawn fro m a n actua l incident : Maria n Anderson' s christenin g o f th e Booker T., a n even t that occurre d amidst the flurr y o f black attention t o movies. The ceremony, following close upon White's summe r visit , had been recorded o n newsfilm. At the same time the black press rushed to cover movies as though at last somethin g big was afoot . I f anyone i n Hollywoo d read it, the press must have seemed a warning flar e o f an impendin g attack. The California Eagle urge d its readers to protes t to Mellet t the releas e of Metro's Tennessee Johnson, a biopi c of President Andrew Johnson tha t nettled

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Making Movies Black

black intellectual s because o f its crabbe d vie w o f Thaddeus Stevens , a hero of black Reconstruction; another protes t was directed at Sam Goldwyn's decisio n t o rereleas e The Real Glory (1939) , a colonialis t melo drama o f American guerrilla war in the Philippines. Goldwyn's decision to reconsider becaus e of the offens e give n to Filipino allies was taken as "a demonstration o f the fact that Hollywood can be whipped int o line." In the same week, the Courier reported that the pledges given at White's luncheons had been "unanimous." In other reports, episodes featuring a black sailor in Fox's Crash Dive were said to be based upon Doric Miller's big day at Pearl Harbor. On the Warner lot, a black reporter interviewe d Bogart, Garfield, and others, drawing from them testimony o f their rising liberal mentality. Finally , Jack Warne r himsel f face d pressure . Month s earlier in a letter h e ha d ple d a paucity of material a s an excus e for no t filling the screens with black stories—a letter the Courier ran on Septem ber 26 as though i t were exhibi t A in a murder trial. 61 Yet another stor y broke on November 14 , too lat e to affec t Booker T. but nonetheles s par t of th e risin g mood. Apparentl y Metr o ha d bee n tryin g t o alte r Liberty Ship i n some way and had fired Caleb Peterson, a young black actor and one o f White's mos t acute informants. A quick note to Howard Dietz at MGM, on e o f White's mos t truste d studi o men , save d no t onl y Peterson's gig but als o another role in a feature film. As Peterson reporte d t o White: "Whe n you r informatio n regardin g Libert y Shi p reache d th e Coast, they immediatel y pu t th e colore d boy' s rol e bac k i n Bataa n Patrol."62 Taken together, these events suggest that Hollywood had grow n accessible to blacks and responde d t o the conscience-libera l mood tha t had grow n ou t o f the necessitaria n aspect s of the war . Whatever its motives, Warner's memorandum wen t out on a Thursday; o n Frida y Hollingshead reported tha t Vincen t Sherman wa s eager to rewrite Hellman's treatment . O n Saturday Poynter sen t clipping s on another blac k stor y t o goa d the m on . B y Sunday nigh t Sherma n an d Hollingshead finished their draf t an d launche d Booker T.—at the behes t of Mellett's OWL On October 21 they sho t location s at Terminal Island, where th e shi p lay moored whil e getting rigged for sea, and by November 1 1 Sherman finishe d a final draft o f the shootin g script. 63 It proved a marvel o f conscience-liberalism. More tha n an y completed movi e it took up issues of abiding concern to blacks, hinted at a postwar social agenda, and ende d o n an integrationist metaphor tha t echoed Dori c Miller and Colin Kelly—th e Booker T. settin g sail with a "mixed crew. " Along th e wa y t o thi s closur e ever y sequenc e include d wha t amounted t o an officia l line : as many group s as possible represented i n each shot , a n improbable black foreman named Ross who report s to the boss tha t black s ar e happ y workin g i n th e yar d an d h e fear s onl y a n emotional overflow o n the nigh t of a Joe Loui s boxing match, a n ironic bit i n whic h a blac k soldie r i s refuse d servic e at a lunc h counte r b y a white cook who i s a fan of Louis's. The rest of the story , told in the dark


59

Wartime "fai r employmen t practices," at least in som e industries, altere d th e racial etiquett e o f the workday—a s here in the Maryland Shipbuildin g an d Drydock Company—an d forme d th e backstor y of the aborte d The Launching of the Booker T. Washington. OWI-LC . streets prowled b y the mob overheated b y Louis's victory, wins over th e soldier to a view of the war broader tha n merel y a white man' s war. As the story developed, Hellman's bluntness, suc h as a flashback to a lynching, wa s softene d while conscience-liberalis m wa s punche d up . Sure , lynching happens, bu t faith in the future , no t an urge for revenge, mus t guide th e soldier . Besides, only libera l gestures ca n sav e racist s fro m themselves. Fad e out o n th e mixe d crew. 64 At thi s moment, stii l remot e fro m a fina l cut , Booker T. ma y hav e helped OW I define it s mission and mov e away from Hollywood' s usual erasure of the plac e of blacks in history toward a formulation of a cine-

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Making Movies Black

matic liberalism . Withi n OW I a deskto p struggl e had broke n ou t be tween competin g vision s o f the wa r a s i t affecte d Africa n Americans . Some men urged a radical black cinema ending with a promised place in postwar America , whil e other s dre w th e lin e a t "agitatin g fo r socia l equality." Farthest to the left was the notion that an "immediate goal " of wartime America was "to achieve equality of opportunity," a n outcom e set forth by the creation of the FEPC. As a result of the debate, Sherman' s soldier wa s t o becom e a civilia n wh o i s persuade d t o enlist , thereb y refuting a white opinion tha t blacks were shirking. OWI's man in Hollywood mediate d by asking Hollingshea d to "discard" ("rewrite " would have been th e verb of choice in polite Hollywood) the scrip t in favor of an angl e that equall y stressed black dignity and whit e toleranc e wit h a closure on a harmonious wis h fo r a greater black share in the prosecution o f the wa r effort. 65 A t this moment o f conscience-liberal epiphan y the project stalled and expired. Nonetheless, the debates it had se t alight clarified the complex process through which a black genre of war movies would emerge. In fact, in the end both the agency and the studio agreed on a sketch for future scripts that conformed precisely to the outlines pu t forth i n th e Courier's Doubl e V campaign. Stil l open t o debat e wa s th e matter o f how t o translat e their concep t int o familia r Hollywoo d con ventions. I n a sens e Booker T. had becom e a confluenc e at whic h th e OWI, NAACP , and Hollywoo d came togethe r to form a civil consensus that had agreed to consider African Americ a as entitled to a share in the stakes of the war. Of course, a cabal of OWI bureaucrats, black lobbyists, and Hollywoodians, should not be expected to produce many films, but they ha d a t leas t al l learned somethin g abou t ho w racia l propagand a might be put o n the screen . That thi s comple x machiner y migh t actuall y work ma y be see n i n Metro's Shoe Shine Boy (1943), a mere shor t bu t on e tha t a t leas t survived to reach the screen. The film historian Lewis Jacobs, then a scriptwriter in the shorts unit, induced the studio to buy Ellick Moll's Saturday Evening Post story , assigned Walter Hart to direct, recruite d a black kid from the janitorial crew, and egged the actor Sam Levene to work cheap , all in response to a sensed demand for, as Jacobs termed them, "progres sive films." In the tightly wound styl e of half-hour radio shows the story unfolds: A bootblack yearning to be an arm y bugler buys a pawnsho p bugle, begs an audition , and earn s a chance t o blow fo r the army . The white habitues of his corner urge him on, and at the climax Levene sends him off with a little speech. You are a true American, he says, blow on e in Hitler's eye for us. The kid replies with firm resolve and marches off, i n the words of an OWI reviewer, "with troops in action, inspiring them to victory wit h hi s trumpet. " Mor e t o th e point , anothe r OW I monitor, ignoring th e patrioteering , observe d tha t th e ki d wa s a refreshingl y "true" sketch of a Negro. Yet by then Jacobs attributed such figures not to White's "hand," but to a war-propelled mood. "I t couldn' t be don e


61

without the war," h e said, because "they could not refuse to do this kind of film for fear o f appearing slac k in 'doin g thei r bit.' "66 Indeed , b y the end o f th e yea r th e studio s wer e alread y stirrin g suc h bit s int o thei r feature-film formulas, much as White, OWI, and the moguls had apparently agree d they woul d do . It remaine d onl y fo r moviemaker s t o tak e th e audienc e int o th e arrangement, t o make movies that engaged the viewer's sense of the fun of moviegoin g rathe r than , a s wa s reporte d o f showing s o f th e anti Semitic Der Ewige Jude i n Germany , al l but requirin g audiences t o re main in their seats during propaganda showings. In this way the alliance that the crisi s of war ha d create d would blend good moviemaking with newly phrased unifying ideals, thereby making use of the legitimacy and authority that popularity often confer s and thus using popular culture to change ideas rather than to ratify th e statu s quo. Moreover, if the ensu ing movies were good enough to endure as classics, they might reach far beyond thei r merel y necessitaria n use s an d serv e a postwa r agenda . Such an outcome , o f course, rested not upo n the merit s of the messag e but rather upon the achievement of making movies good enough to bear the burde n o f racial politics in a familiar, pleasin g style. 67 In this sense, these three short, aborted, or rarely seen films provided an apprenticeship , a semeste r o f boning u p i n th e relativ e cal m o f th e shorts units. Feature films were another matter . I f Huston and Selznick were alread y reflecting a nationa l moo d i n thei r treatment s o f In This Our Life an d Gone with the Wind, the n only a light hand on th e process might b e calle d for. Such a tacti c would no t b e a mer e pose ; rather , it might appea l t o al l democracies tha t wer e unwillin g t o stage-manag e ideologies yet wished to promote som e worthy idea l as a manifestation of nationa l virtue . S o the pos e o f choice fo r these alien s in Hollywood was that of shy pupil making a suggestion for the class field trip. OWI, for example, despite the conscience-libera l mentality o f some o f its agents, never officially claime d to wish more than "a representative portrayal of Americans at war" that included "a sprinkling of average looking Negro people." And always they disavowed any intention "to solv e the problem of Negro-white relations." Eve n White liked to ask for only benign goals such as vaguely harmonizing America n ideals with practices, hoping tha t libera l movies woul d promot e " a bon d betwee n th e races " as "the fundamenta l thin g i n th e wa r w e ar e fighting. " I n an y case , th e studio bosse s did join a wav e of ceremonia l liberalism—brotherhoo d weeks an d such—b y writin g check s an d chairin g committees , a s N. Peter Rathvon of RKO and Selznic k did for a Victory Through Brotherhood campaign . I n private OWI and NAAC P played mor e aggressive roles. "Mak e the m to e th e line, " demande d on e o f White' s friends . "Mellett Wants to Se e Scripts," claimed a Hollywood Reporter headlin e that portraye d OWI a s a threa t t o th e hegemon y o f th e moguls . And OWI's man on Hollywood and Vine, Nelson Poynter, asserted a duty "to

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Making Movies Black

constantly urge " change d blac k roles , pas s o n script s that th e NAAC P might pitc h t o the studios , build a network o f California black s "whom we could call upon fo r advice," kee p a weekly log of OWI's pressures on the studios , an d kee p a runnin g fil e dedicate d t o "evaluation " o f all movies i n release. 68 Of course , th e result s wer e uneven . An d som e lot s suc h a s Paramount, where Frank Freema n ruled , seeme d antiquaria n i n mentality. Their Dixie (1943) , a biopic of the minstrelman Da n Emmett, was slathered with sentiment s establishe d by Technicolor Currie r and Ives prints under its main titles as though nothin g had happened sinc e 1935, when its director, Edward Sutherland, had made Mississippi. Bu t World War II had happened , an d a s a sign of it Commonweal critic Philip T. Hartung, who als o reviewed fo r OWI, panned i t for its lack of "social conscious ness" and it s "Hollywood croonin g darkies " tha t perhap s woul d hav e passed unremarke d befor e th e war . Ye t even Paramoun t sometime s went along , a s i n Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) , whic h Bin g Crosby ended, a s though speakin g fo r OWI , by callin g for th e unit y o f all th e Washingtons—George, Martha , an d Booke r T.! 69 At th e least , however, White , th e OWI , and Hollywood , thrust to gether b y th e circumstanc e o f war, ha d draw n th e attentio n o f thei r constituencies t o a fresh way of viewing African Americans on the screen and had offere d a standard of "progress" that, while hardly contractual, provided a measure o f the studios ' conduct. 70 Moreover, White' s sens e o f the politic s of art graduall y grew fro m mere connoisseurshi p towar d a broade r socia l vision . Leftis t critic s of White's work , though , move d by the increasin g centrality of movies i n their lives, impatiently called for an end to White's "attac k vi a the luncheon table" and the taking up of some sort of "mass action." In fact, he sometimes joine d the m o n specia l occasions . "Th e Clarenc e Muse s . . . ca n spoil nearly everything you and I and th e rest of us have bee n fighting for," he wrote to Fredi Washington, a striking-looking if under-

used actres s who m Ada m Clayto n Powel l ha d hire d fo r hi s People's Voice. Othe r blacks tested hi s pledge s by sailin g black scripts "over th e transom," keepin g scor e i n thei r columns , o r playin g bot h side s lik e Muse, who proclaime d himself as "a force in showlife" in White's camp while holding open the gates to the studios by insisting black actors had "no grievanc e with the producers." 71 O f course, the black right's refusa l to adapt seeme d t o White's friend s a wish "t o b e injured and insis t on being injured " rathe r tha n enlis t in th e cause . But lik e logotypes on a box of pancake flour or grinning porters in a railway advertisement, they had becom e anachronism s tossed , a s Trotsk y ha d sai d o f th e Men sheviks, "int o th e rubbish-ca n of history." S o in genera l the cente r of action wa s lef t t o th e liberals. 72 White Hollywood, for its part, also enlisted in a liberal, ecumenical left compose d o f the America n Writers Congress , the Hollywoo d Inde-


63

pendent Citizen s Committe e fo r th e Arts , Sciences , an d Profession s (HICCASP), and it s lineal descendant th e Hollywoo d Democratic Committee (HDC) . Moreover, a s their blac k members the y solicite d not th e oldline Hollywoodian s bu t th e ne w cro p o f Easterner s suc h a s Len a Home an d Re x Ingram, an d thei r programs began t o reach beyon d th e culture of the screen toward direct action against local racial discrimination an d towar d recruitin g fo r the NAACP . Farthes t t o the lef t wa s th e Committee for Democratic Culture, which include d the presumed Communists Howard Fast and Herman Shumli n an d th e blacks Fredi Washington an d Kennet h Spencer . Obviously wars breed a patriotic right as well as a left. Th e Motio n Picture Allianc e for th e Preservatio n o f American Values, for example , routinely linked the NAACP to the "reds." Variety itself , perhaps move d by the war's imperatives and storie s of CPUSA infiltration of the studios, chided th e Hollywoo d Writers' Congres s (HWC), to whom White gave an address , fo r its attempt "t o infiltrat e pin k an d re d propagand a int o screenplays," promptin g a denia l fro m Ro y Wilkins. And suc h alarm s had thei r effects . Zanuc k eve n addresse d th e HWC , warning the m o f rushing ahea d o f the audience' s capacit y for receiving change. An d th e writer Salk a Vierte l remembere d sh e an d he r worrie d leftis t friend s agreed t o "respec t Hollywoo d taboo s . . . [and ] neve r t o conside r anything fro m a n ideologica l . . . poin t o f view."73 But taken a s a whole, the attack s failed t o diminish the significanc e of the attainmen t o f black seats of power an d persuasio n i n Washingto n and Hollywood . It remaine d onl y fo r the allie s to asser t a politic s that might disar m the righ t by using popular cultur e a s a national voic e for admitting blacks to the nation' s table . They needed onl y a genre of film that dre w nutrient s fro m wartim e rhetoric , reduce d issue s to a human scale, featured stars unafraid t o risk their villas on a political movie, an d carried traits that might quickly grow familiar enough to earn the generic tag of "war movie. " In such a package conscience-liberalism could hea d off carping from the right, generate a synergy with its audience, take on a life of its own, an d offe r a vehicle for conveying new racia l politics where there had bee n none . In this way, movies might create new conditions upon which blacks and whites might agree to fight a war together against external enemies . In plac e o f a n externall y fixe d notio n o f rac e relations , th e change s brought on by the war migh t b e portrayed as a sort of rolling frontier of shifting relationship s that , onc e teste d in genre movies, woul d see m a n unthreatening mean s of doing what White had asked : granting "citizenship" t o blac k character s i n th e movie s an d providin g the m wit h a n investment i n th e outcom e o f the war .

3 The Making of a Genre: The Integration of Colin Kelly, Meyer Levin, and Dorie Miller

As Metro's Liberty Ship ha d bee n written to persuade whit e America of the loyalt y of black America, so almost every movie tha t stemme d fro m White's wor k spok e t o whit e peopl e a s muc h a s t o black . I t wa s a s though togethe r the OWI-NAACP-Hollywoo d axi s was an organi c embodiment o f the notio n tha t crisi s bre d reassertion s an d enactment s o f the commo n cor e o f values that the nee d fo r unity had calle d attentio n to. A t th e sam e time , th e actua l situatio n a s ol d segregatio n barrier s cracked unde r th e stres s o f overcrowding , overburdene d publi c amenities, an d crumblin g urba n transpor t le d to civi l strife . Using the legitimacy that the need for national unity bestowed upo n them, conscience-libera l propagandist s sough t a movi e versio n o f Nunn's Double V, an iconic expression that wartime chang e and peace time promis e coul d b e a s one . A s the scriptwrite r Jess e L . Lasky, Jr. , scribbled i t on th e titl e page o f a script , their dut y wa s a portrayal o f a plural America n wa y o f lif e tha t include d White' s "normal " blacks. 1 Black moviegoers no t only shared a similar idea but more than ever told the studios their ideas. A black schoolteacher i n St. Louis, for example, needle d Warne r fo r it s lib/whit e shor t March On, America. Suc h prejudiced films made he r task doubly hard, sh e wrote, contrastin g the studios' eage r response t o Roosevelt's Latin American "Goo d Neighbo r Policy." Other s sen t th e moguls ' excuse s fo r backslidin g to th e blac k press o r plugged pet project s such a s biographies of this o r tha t Africa n American worthy. Tha t their nagging had a n eventual impac t was see n 64

The Making of a Genre

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in th e mids t o f the Harle m rio t o f 194 3 whe n Lawrenc e D . Reddick, curator o f th e Schombur g Collectio n o f Afro-America n Culture , use d Hollywood features as well as federal documentaries a s magnets to draw Harlem's yout h fro m th e trouble d streets . Manipulative , yes , bu t Red dick's tacti c also reveale d tha t th e newl y minte d wa r movie s attracte d black audience s an d provide d a n ideologica l alternative t o mer e rage . Necessitarian o r not, th e movie s hel d ou t som e sor t o f promise. 2 As the scriptwriter Sidney Buchman explained the changed mood t o a black reporter, "Hollywoo d a s a whole ha s recently been mad e awar e of the Negro's true position in America and our responsibility toward th e subject." B y this h e mean t no t tha t h e ha d bee n blin d t o th e Africa n American plight , bu t tha t th e ite m ha d bee n reinserte d i n a nationa l agenda an d that Walter White had tol d him so. 3 The impact of this new mentality ma y b e see n i n th e framin g o f The Adventures of Mark Twain (1942), a flawed biopi c that cam e to White's attentio n a s a result of his asking Arch Reeve of the MPPD A "how man y companie s are plannin g pictures i n accordanc e wit h th e pledges. " Reev e had littl e t o offer— a couple of deckhands i n the Twain film—although unknown to him an d without guidanc e fro m White , ou t i n Burban k th e scrip t wa s alread y undergoing a wartime retooling. In one draft, Twain is made to seem a n abolitionist. A s he strolls in Hannibal, Missouri, he encounters a debate between Huc k Finn an d To m Sawyer ove r wh o ha s th e blackes t ears. Nigger Jim is excluded because "niggers" do not count ; th e law says so. Then someon e shoul d chang e th e law , Twai n offers. 4 Onl y a mont h earlier Breen , whos e politic s wer e stil l locke d int o makin g movie s merely inoffensive t o blacks, had asked Warner to omit "nigger." Thereafter, Jess e Lasky reworked th e script , calculatedly striving for a combination o f box-office hi t and propaganda for the American way. His dual success ma y b e see n i n a not e fro m Poynte r t o Warne r i n term s s o glowing a s to see m a regimental citation , praisin g the studi o for giving other nation s a n ide a of "the America n way." 5 Of course , no t ever y movi e passe d throug h thi s process . Bu t th e submittal o f scripts to outsider s became almos t routine , i f for no othe r reason than that it earned th e studios' way back into the good graces of a hostile Congress, thus giving them access to supplies of scarce film stock. Transformed fro m "warmonger " t o "essentia l industry, " Hollywoo d moviemakers became , sai d a n admirin g arm y officer , " a grou p o f wholehearted, willing , patriotic , peopl e tryin g to d o somethin g fo r th e government."6 Muc h a s Stali n invoke d Mothe r Russi a a s a goa d t o patriotism, s o Hollywood' s conscience-liberalis m acquire d officia l ca chet. Not that OWI replaced the PC A as arbiter of movie content, but th e interaction between th e two agencies, along wit h the NAACP' s and th e black audience's angles, kept the products from becoming mere patriotic cant. Smal l deliberat e acts—casting more blac k extras in uniform , for example—placed black s on a war footin g wit h whites and gav e them a

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visually asserted stake in the outcom e o f the war. Ye t as to an emergen t genre o f such wa r movies , b y late 194 2 there wer e stil l only rumors : a Doric Miller biopic, a black deck office r i n Action in the North Atlantic, and others. B y 194 3 Hawks' s Air Force reminde d viewer s o f the poly ethnicity of Kelly's and Levin's adventure, but no Doric Miller figure ha d appeared. Make the crew " a cros s section of the allies," Hal l Wallis had told hi s writer. 7 The eventua l substanc e o f this stil l emergin g ne w Negr o was hel d hostage t o th e inabilit y of conscience-liberals t o pu t fort h a figur e tha t worked. I f too insisten t o n a "ful l shar e i n winning th e war, " th e ne w man migh t see m a n opportunist. If the OW I liberals themselves seeme d too pushy , the y riske d nettlin g thei r congressiona l master s an d even their colleague s who fel t racia l issues beyond th e "responsibilitie s o f an information service" and their duties limited to "better coverage of black beats." Finally , singlin g ou t ethnicit y a s a n antidot e t o Hollywood' s portrayal o f blacks as "taking no par t in the lif e o f the nation " put th e liberals i n oppositio n t o a n officia l can t tha t define d Americ a a s " a melting pot, a nation o f many races and creeds, wh o have demonstrate d that the y ca n live together an d progress." 8 To se e how air y sentimen t gre w int o substantiv e propagand a tha t pleased an d touche d it s audiences, w e mus t begi n wit h a manageabl e sample of films: four self-define d "wa r movies, " Bataan, Sahara, Crash Dive, and Lifeboat; tw o musical s that reveale d th e snare s in celebrating black lif e b y resorting t o all-blac k milieux, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather; Tennessee Johnson, a biopic of Andrew Johnson set in a populist fable of the ris e of a common man ; Tales of Manhattan, a n antholog y starring Paul Robeson in a violation of his promise never to work Hollywood; an d Since You Went Away, a wistful sketc h of the homefront with a sidelong glance at African America. On these movies rode the hopes of the conscience-libera l entent e fo r a propagand a o f wartime unit y an d postwar hope . For workada y Hollywoo d th e shif t i n ideology migh t eve n see m casual. There, almos t any directo r might b e assigned in a single year, as Victor Fleming was, The Wizard ofOz an d Gone with the Wind; routinely contract director s stepped fro m on e chor e t o another without pause , as Henry King did in A Yank in the RAF and The Song ofBernadette. More over, i n th e intensel y politica l mood se t by th e war , persona l politic s often sharpened . Irvin g Rappe r as dialogu e coac h o n In This Our Life barely recalled Anderson's groundbreakin g role a t the beginning o f the war, while at the end he remembered vividl y a moment on the set of The Voice of the Turtle when Ronald Reagan, with a nod t o Anderson (a s a n elevatorman), predicted a day when Americ a would ope n u p to blacks. George Murphy remembered his own han d i n such a story on the se t of This Is the Army whe n Michael Curtiz cued a chorus of black dancers by shouting, "Brin g o n th e nigge r troops. " "Hol d everything! " Murphy


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hollered, as he explained t o Curtiz the offense take n by the dancers, wh o probably preferred "colored troops." 9 Similar revelations emerged as little flashes of heightened conscious ness i n th e writers ' bungalows . Joh n Howar d Lawso n revele d a t hi s warborne opportunitie s t o work into a string of assignments littl e flecks of CPUS A "popular front" images : Wanger's Blockade, the anti-Nazism of Four Sons, the black extras in Action in the North Atlantic, an d finall y Sahara, his most pointed essa y on racial politics. Sidney Buchman, late r fingered a s "red" b y HUAC, made a longer journey from The Howards of Virginia (1940) , an anomal y tha t interwov e th e America n Revolutio n and the plantation South , to Talk of the Town (1942) , in which h e wrot e a solid role for the black actor Rex Ingram that was rooted in his growing sense that the "fundamental thin g in this war we are fighting" was that democracy "mus t b e extende d an d deepene d i n greate r number s o f people among bot h white an d colored." Rober t Buckner, a Warner writer, followed a similar course from prewar westerns , amon g the m Santa Fe Trail, in which John Brown' s madnes s a t Harper' s Ferr y was mad e more centra l tha n hi s racia l politics , t o Mission to Moscow, a midwa r propaganda movie that included Haile Selassie's protest to the League of Nations against Mussolini's aggression , t o Rogue's Regiment (1948), a n homage t o wa r movie s tha t reaffirme d hi s wartim e conversion . A s he told Ebony: "I wrote . . . wit h n o preachment, n o dialect, none of the usual gags." 10 Black actors , ofte n fro m th e East , not onl y playe d i n thes e movie s but, i f they faile d t o giv e the m appropriatel y moder n readings , face d criticism fro m newl y alerte d reviewers . Leig h Whipper , th e wizene d original Crabman of Porgy, brough t his role of Crooks, the stablehan d i n Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1940 ) from Broadway . Bu t blac k bread and-butter was still to be earned i n movies like The Vanishing Virginian (1941), Virginia (1940) , and Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941), in which h e played s o slavishl y that th e Times ma n wrote , "Honestly , we' d neve r have believed it if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes." At last he scored in the two best roles he would eve r have: a s Selassie and a s Sparks, the preacher an d unheede d conscienc e o f a lync h mo b i n th e movi e o f Walter Va n Tilbur g Clark's The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) . Bu t b y the n there wa s a rif t betwee n Whipper' s styl e and ne w critica l expectations , so th e Amsterdam playe d bot h angles , praisin g hi m fo r usin g a "rar e opportunity" wit h "dignity " but mournin g th e "servile" shtick that h e brought t o it. 11 But until White an d his allies produced a genre that challenged th e popularity o f Hollywood's South , an d unti l opportunitie s extende d be yond lookin g to th e nex t bit , walk-on, one-line scene , two-day-withlunch gig, the blacks had little to show for their work. Until then, success was measured in praise for giving dignity to a stock servant or exploiting some fissur e i n racia l etiquette . As lat e a s Jul y 1943 , Whit e wa s stil l

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Making Movies Black

fobbing of f proposed biopics of prim worthies tha t brought yawns fro m the movielots . Wh o woul d lea p a t a chanc e t o shoo t th e Charle s C. Spaulding sag a o f foundin g Nort h Carolin a Mutua l Insurance ? Wh o would plunge for a shot at the rights to the story of Felix Eboue, the antiVichy, blac k governor o f Frenc h Wes t Africa ? No ? Ho w abou t a n all black musical? White winced a t the idea of the voice of liberalism in th e hands o f moviemakers bent upon imitating , say, Oscar Micheaux's rac e movie Swing.12 What , then? Success for black activists could mean only a genre that caught th e spirit th e wa r ha d alread y denned a s urgent : value-impregnate d tales that, lik e all stuf f o f genres, ritually spoke to th e centra l values of their audiences, i n th e proces s half-formin g th e mentalitie s the y themselves were half-forme d by . As the wester n endlessl y teased th e them e o f the rugged lone r versu s society , it s her o eternall y rebor n a s towntamer , trailboss, ramrod (bu t never storekeeper or teacher or other more historically numerous figures), its plots forever drawing taut the play between rough Wes t an d effet e East , eve r worryin g th e contradictio n betwee n savagery and civilizatio n in the American psyche, so conscience-liberals needed t o inven t a mythi c cinem a tha t playe d upo n their audience' s Angst. Already the y sense d thei r her o shoul d no t b e too black , too muc h the loner , an d shoul d be , i f don e well , a blac k figur e se t dow n i n a microcosmic company of whites (wh o would be the better for his having passed thei r way) . Thus it cam e t o pas s that th e metapho r o f the lon e Negro set down in a lost patrol, lifeboat, landin g party, became th e core of a polyethnic genre that would define a black place in American life for the nex t generation . It s apotheosi s wa s t o b e reache d whe n Sidne y Poitier dropped in on a flock o f nuns (rather than soldiers) in Lilies of the Field (1963) , mad e the m al l the bette r for it, and wo n a n Osca r for his rendering of the role. 13 Not that White's circle drafted a master template for the future. They had already been themselves half-formed b y the wa r and were only half-forming th e medium in the image they had begun to choose a s the vehicl e for conveying their politics. 14 At last the genre of war movies emerged in late 1942 and early 1943, each on e o f them followin g a simila r course t o completion , screening , and reception. Each began as part of the institutional Hollywood system, grew t o maturit y i n it , an d alon g th e wa y face d u p t o som e sor t of guidance o r monitorin g b y th e activists , then opene d i n th e theatres , where a t leas t som e moviegoer s noticed tha t the y wer e differen t fro m the garde n variet y genre film. Common t o the m all , then , wa s no t s o much machine-tooling by a state apparatus of the sor t that guided Fritz Hippler's Der Ewige Jude o r Riefenstahl' s Triumph des Willens, bu t a mentality shared by likeminded persons rendered so by the nature of the war. Tales of Manhattan slippe d throug h al l o f them—OWI , Zanuck's


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office a t Fox, White's NAACP—mainl y because it had bee n a "pickup," an independent productio n that Fox had agreed to distribute. "We were not consulted on this one," sai d OWL And yet its makers—Sam Spiegel, a Pol e wh o ha d represente d Universa l i n Germany ; Bori s Morros , a Russian emigre ; an d th e Frenc h refuge e directo r Julien Duvivier—had concocted i t over lunc h on e da y a t Chasen's . Together they share d a n abiding Europea n contemp t fo r fascis m mixe d wit h a folkis h imag e of African Americ a that seemed t o its American cameraman n o more than "a Sunda y shot o f a Negro minstrel band. " Its own star , Robeson , stil l being politically formed by the war and acquiring through it his Russian brand of heroic folkishness, would turn on the finished movie.15 Tennessee Johnson, a biopic of President Andrew Johnson in which Congressman Thaddeu s Stevens , a "radical" Republican and recentl y emergin g hero of Reconstruction to many serious black readers, had been cast as a heavy, seeme d als o to slip through OW I checkpoints. Steven s had onl y just been restored to statesman status by W. E. B. DuBois's Black Reconstruction (1935) and James S. Allen's Marxist Reconstruction: Battle for

Democracy (1937) , which refute d th e older notion o f Reconstruction as a mere orgy of corruption an d redefined Stevens as nemesis of the planter class an d a sourc e o f black politica l hopes. Lik e Tales of Manhattan, i t proved t o b e a poo r choic e o f ground fo r a fight . It s blacks ha d bee n erased rather than maligned; its hero, though meant t o express a populist wisdom, sullie d his politics with a n offputtin g peasant' s rag e at his betters. Then in the midst of production someon e dre w the attentio n of David Platt , the Worker's critic , to it ; h e passe d th e wor d t o th e blac k press and thi s brought OWI and Whit e to the Metr o lot in Culve r City. But eve n befor e that , MG M had elided Stevens' s blac k mistress , an d OWI had hear d "tha t Negr o circles are worrie d abou t thi s picture, " a story Mellett hoped "i s not justified." 16 As Tales of Manhattan ha d bee n a n ide a o f Sa m Spiegel' s circle, Tennessee Johnson also had come from an odd source, a dormant script in Metro's inventory that the conservative writers, Wells Root and John L. Balderston, ha d revive d a s a misguide d vehicl e to promot e OWI-style unity. It had begu n a s The Man on America's Conscience, a n attemp t t o rehabilitate Johnson' s reputation , whic h ha d bee n sullie d b y well known tales of drunkenness, intemperate petty rages, and, worst of all as far a s blacks cared , hi s battles with "Radical " Republican s bent upo n insinuating a plac e fo r freedme n i n th e post-Civi l Wa r Sout h a t th e expense of the ruler s of the defeate d Confederacy. With this as its proposed theme , onc e Whit e learne d tha t th e Worker wishe d t o mak e a n issue of it he ha d n o choic e bu t t o join i n o r risk losing credibility. All through the summe r the Worker ha d been campaignin g for black attention and gratitude by urging racial integration of baseball as an antidote to its wartime decline in both talen t and viabl e franchises, givin g more coverage to the Negro leagues than did some black papers. In this setting,

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White's wor k too k o n an unforeseen urgenc y and Tennessee Johnson an importance a s an aren a tha t n o on e would hav e freel y chosen. 17 Platt played it masterfully as a potential The Birth of a Nation, whic h he describe d a s part o f a pattern tha t include d the rereleas e o f The Real Glory, th e rumored cuttin g of the black scenes from In This Our Life, an d several report s o f recantation s o f th e pledge s t o White . "Negr o Pres s Attacks Ji m Cro w Movie, Praise s Daily Worker's Campaign, " ra n on e Worker headline. 18 Clearl y Whit e stoo d i n dange r o f appearin g a s a toothless tiger , having elicite d empty promises . At this point, despite warnings from a story editor that both Marxist and black attacks soon would follow because of Stevens's role as a heavy who live d with a black woman, rejoiced at Lincoln's death, an d too k a hand in Johnson's impeachment, Metr o assigned Balderston to rewor k Root's script . Balderston , wh o ha d settle d int o mer e competenc e afte r two classic Frankenstein scripts in 1931 , even took the trouble to consult the black writer Carlton Moss on how to handle Stevens . With almost all black role s erase d anyway , Baldersto n correctly guesse d tha t Steven s would grow as a point of contention rathe r than the larger issue of black image.19 Earl y i n August , Metro receive d a flurr y o f letter s s o tightly bunched an d rhetoricall y alike as to hint of a common origin . In sum , they linke d th e curren t wa r fo r surviva l wit h th e disunit y that woul d ensue from a malignant portrayal of one o f America's greatest defenders of African America n rights. At first OWI and th e libera l left wave d aside the campaign as the work of radical blacks in league with the CPUSA. 20 But the n Poynte r o f Hollywood OW I routinely aske d Metr o fo r a copy of the script—non e of the activist s had rea d it—and for assurances that it would not "militate agains t . . . nationa l unity," and enclosed a letter from Whit e in which he urged research into DuBois or others who "have not been influenced by the Confederate point of view." White, for his part, intensifie d his preferred tactics: addressing the mogul s i n person, i n this cas e Mayer himself and hi s daughter Iren e (Mrs . Selznick), while warnin g Mellet t tha t Steven s as heavy "woul d d o enormous in jury to morale." 21 By the end of summer the y had won thei r skirmish but lost Mayer's forebearance, i f not hi s allegiance. In August, Mellett and Poynte r too k an agend a o f propose d cut s t o Maye r tha t b y Novembe r resulte d i n "much reshooting and cutting." Mayer still treated White politely, reminiscing about a dinner at the Wangers, but to Poynter he played waspish inquisitor, asking if "a minority should dictate what shall be seen on th e screen." And inside the walls in Culver City he grew "extremel y upset " and raile d a t th e intrusio n a s "directl y a resul t o f th e Comunists" — including "the cel l in the studio" who must have first leaked the story.22 Almost mindlessl y an OW I reviewer lost sight of the rea l goals and treated the ne w final cut as a victory that it clearly was not. "The Negro question has bee n sidesteppe d almost altogether, " h e wrot e of the era-


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sure of African Americans, a line followed by Mellett in thanking Maye r for cuttin g everything "in it of controversial nature or harmful to anyon e of any race , creed, or color." Finally, the OW I men, stil l counting thei r censorious achievement a s a victory over something, urge d both Whit e and th e Communist s no t t o cro w to o publicl y over thei r triumph . T o make tha t "mistake, " Poynte r tol d White , migh t caus e Hollywoo d to stiffen i n future encounters . Mellet t sent a similar warning t o the Communists, askin g the m t o regard Tennessee Johnson as "acceptable" an d "likely t o promot e nationa l unity. " "T o cal l thi s a pro-slaver y film is preposterous," he angrily wrote. "The Dail y Worker by raising this fals e issue certainly is rendering no service to the American people, least of all to the Negr o whose caus e it pretends t o represent." As though tackin g on a coda , Howar d Diet z o f Metro too k a simila r tone i n warnin g th e CPUSA not to be a pressure group for censorship, a tactic that could no t help bu t invit e similar pressure from th e "crackers " on th e occasio n of some futur e controversia l pro-Negro film.23 On its face the movie as released seemed an advocate of equality, but it was only emptily so in the absence of freedmen. Johnson's love scenes Conscience-liberals took heart from thei r campaig n agains t Tennessee Johnson (1943), a s a result of which Congressma n Thaddeu s Stevens wa s softene d from a malevolent force t o a merely cunning curmudgeo n (her e Lionel Barrymore a s Stevens counts th e vot e to impeach Andre w Johnson) . BFI . Copy right Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

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with his wife are little gems of populism tha t testify t o his right to fly his own flag, to fish in the stream with everyone else, to rise from mudsill to man of property; indeed , at one point they clinch on the word "equal." Once in office h e announces tha t a s Lincoln freed th e slaves he will fre e their masters , a s h e sign s a n amnesty . O n th e othe r hand , Stevens' s "forty acre s an d a mule" fo r blacks is seen a s n o mor e tha n cunnin g revenge o n a prostrate South. 24 In release the Communist s picketed, the black sociologist E. Franklin Frazie r thought i t "hypocrisy," the Nation and PM panned it . "Ne grophiles," sniffe d Time, Exhibitors, including Al Lichtman, owner of a chain o f Washington house s tha t serve d blacks , fished for friendly en dorsements.25 Obviously ther e wa s littl e to celebrat e i n suc h reactiv e attack s o n mere target s o f opportunity . An d ye t th e gatherin g o f force s agains t Tennessee Johnson anticipated th e mor e affirmative , subtl e activism directed against the emerging genre of war movies by the evolving groups of liberal activists in the OWI , NAACP, and Hollywoo d offices. Togethe r they provided an even t tha t mor e tha n an y other , sav e for Randolph's threatened marc h o n Washington, helpe d tes t a set of strategies of confrontation tha t would become a behavioral underpinning of the moder n civil right s movement i n tha t i t anticipate d it s eventua l growt h fro m local issue to national policy matter. It remained onl y for the liberals to translate necessitarian propaganda into what Hollywoo d did best: finding th e nex t ho t topi c an d fluffin g i t int o a cycl e o f moneymakin g movies.26 Each of the war movies , as though trace d from a template supplied by OWI , used th e war t o thrust a black figure into a small white circle. Wesley Epps (Kenneth Spencer) in Bataan was a preacher in civilian life but throw n b y th e fortune s o f war int o a polyethni c platoon ; Olive r Cromwell Jones (Be n Carter) in Crash Dive combined memories of Doric Miller with a hep versio n o f the Souther n myt h o f camaraderie acros s racial lines; in Sahara Tamboul (Rex Ingram) spoke for the popular front against fascism; and i n Lifeboat Jo e the Stoke r (Canada Lee) is a central figure i n wrestin g contro l o f a n ope n boa t fro m a German . Th e fou r movies, appearin g i n a nine-mont h spa n a t midwar , simultaneousl y forecast a n enhance d blac k statu s a s a resul t o f wa r whil e showin g whites the y ha d nothin g t o fea r fro m change . Moreover , black volun teerism seeme d freel y give n rathe r tha n a plo y fro m whic h t o exac t a postwar payoff. And each revealed the ease with which a few blue pages of chang e coul d redefin e th e politic s o f the genr e o f the "los t patrol " movie by typing in "Negro" where it had neve r befor e appeared. Bataan bega n i n th e summe r o f 194 2 whe n Selznic k took u p th e story, then stepped aside and sold it to Metro. Meanwhile, Robert Hardy

Andrews, a writer o n Dor e Schary's Metro lot, tossed in a simila r idea about the Corp s of Engineers, "the onl y Army outfit [h e said] i n which

The Making of a Genre 7

3

Negro troops stan d equa l i n every respect with whit e troops. " His firstdraft blac k warrior resonate d with bot h th e legen d o f John Henr y and newly minte d libera l convention: a "towering Negro" release d "fro m a downriver chaingang " for having helped "sto p a flood," but reworke d into "a n importan t moral e pictur e . . . wit h . . . ver y 'American ' characters."27 Schar y imagine d Andrews' s stor y a s a remak e o f John Ford's Lost Patrol (1934) , but slante d t o "tell people the y were i n fo r a tough fight " whil e tryin g "t o brea k th e colo r barrie r i n America n wa r films." Th e race angle, o f course, oblige d Schary to d o his best work i n Mayer's office , wher e the y al l fel t stun g b y th e scra p ove r Tennessee Johnson.28 Fox' s Crash Dive (1943 ) seemed eve n mor e promisin g at its start, what with a production tea m o f Zanuck, one o f White's circle , as producer; writer J o Swerling , eventually to advise the War Department on its own propaganda movie, The Negro Soldier, and to collaborate with Steinbeck on Lifeboat; an d directo r Archie Mayo, a veteran o f Warner's social movie s o f th e 1930s . Moreover , i n th e earl y goin g the y puffe d Carter's role to a scale far beyond hi s stock stableboy roles, that is, from mere comi c relie f designed t o softe n th e danger s o f submarine servic e into a substantive role in which h e and a n old chief, working as a team, make a nighttime amphibious landing at German submarine pens, overpower guards, and withdraw unde r fire, Jones refusing t o leave the chief behind.29 Sahara (1943 ) owe d it s substanc e t o ye t anothe r unio n o f Holly wood syste m an d wartim e leftis t ideology . John Howar d Lawson , th e Communist ideologue, borrowed his version of the lost patrol from Mikhail Romm' s The Thirteen (1937), a tal e of Red Army soldiers pursued across th e Gob i Deser t b y th e Whit e Army , internationalize d it , an d changed the unit into a tank crew composed o f a sample o f the Wester n alliance, their Italian prisoner, and Tamboul, a Sudanese, as the voice of collective security. In the front offic e a t Columbia, Harry Cohn protected Lawson from righ t wing snoop s wh o ha d hope d t o get Lawson fired. "I ain't gonna louse up a picture that's gonna d o three million two domestic," sai d Cohn . At the NAAC P White needed onl y to cheer th e "prog ress" o f Sahara (an d t o us e i t t o reviv e hi s biopi c o f Feli x Eboue).30 Lifeboat (1943 ) derived from simila r sources, albeit left libera l rather than Communist, but suffered mos t from the continuing problem of how to maintai n politica l coherence i n th e roug h an d tumbl e o f movielot operations while strugglin g against survivals of past practice. Steinbeck, Swerling, an d directo r Alfre d Hitchcoc k intended thei r lifeboa t a s a n allegory fo r th e Atlanti c alliance, having th e survivor s of a torpedoing join force s t o kill a German office r who m they have taken int o the boat after thei r own mortall y wounded freighter ha s rammed his U-boat. But in the scrip t there was a slippage of everything they had agree d upon: A proposed contras t between a coldl y charmin g Bavarian and th e argumentative survivor s comes of f a s fascis t superiorit y ove r democrati c

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squabbling; a bit of tossed-in clas s conflict seemed besid e the point; an d the clos e quarters called attention t o the mos t mannered actor s in all of Hollywood—Henry Hull , Tallula h Bankhead , an d Willia m Bendix . Worst o f all , th e blac k figur e wa s name d "Charcoal, " o f al l thing s (though Swerlin g droppe d thi s afte r th e firs t ree l i n favo r o f "Joe"). 31 In general , al l fou r movie s performe d thei r servic e a s pleasurabl e propaganda creditably . Perhap s Epp s in Bataan wa s a shad e to o diffi dent, Tamboul in Sahara too much th e good soldier, Oliver in Crash Dive too muc h Benn y Carte r an d no t enoug h Zanuck , an d th e stoke r i n Lifeboat mor e like a steward than a stoker. But together they set forth o n the screen an image that for better or worse defined American interracial life fo r decades to come: A t the en d o f every day, when th e shop s clos e and th e machine s shu t down , blac k American s an d whit e hav e spen t their day together an d go home to their monochromed neighborhoods . No on e i n scrip t or in lif e imagine d an y othe r arrangement , a t least for now. I n any case, they were politically more challenging tha n an y other offering, whethe r all-black musical, populist fable lik e Tales of Manhattan, o r misguided attemp t t o dra w black s into movie s by , as Tennessee Johnson ha d done , castin g them ou t o f the story . Unquestionably , wa r and th e expectation s i t brought ha d com e t o matter . Tales of Manhattan, a n antholog y hel d togethe r by the fat e o f a coat stuffed wit h money tha t passes from han d t o hand, seeme d t o be on the right track in its black segment: Th e coat fall s fro m a n airplan e into th e hands of a black village, and in the end the villagers reject spending their gains o n individua l blessings— a brindl e co w an d such—an d choos e assets the y ca n share , suc h a s new tool s s o sharp th e soi l jumps u p t o meet them. But there was some old-fashioned stuff o f which stereotype s were made: A woman falls to her knees in supplication, her eyes bulging in fear; a chorus sing s "Amazing Grace" ; an d Pau l Robeson, a leader in their drif t towar d a shared fate , sing s of their joy an d thank s i n a scen e queasily echoing The Green Pastures.32 Ou t o f touch wit h events , apar t from th e main Hollywoo d circles, familiar only with th e old rather tha n the ne w Negro , Tales ha d simpl y grafte d ont o familia r black figure s a smidgen of populist egalitarianism. Bataan, Crash Dive, and Sahara were different i n tha t someon e wit h a n ey e o n wha t wa s newl y possibl e monitored th e makin g o f the movies . In the first instance, Schar y may have share d White' s visio n of race relations, bu t nevertheles s a t som e momen t nea r Christma s 194 2 White's informan t on the lot, Caleb Peterson, heard tha t th e studio was dropping the black soldier from Bataan. Whit e carried this news imme diately t o Howar d Dietz , who m h e ha d com e t o trust , wit h th e result that, a s Peterso n wrote , "the y immediatel y put th e colore d boy's rol e back i n Bataa n Patrol. " B y then Andrews' s Joh n Henr y ha d becom e Epps, a soldierly Negro dynamite r and, fortunatel y fo r his white pals , a preacher capabl e o f reading prayers ove r th e dead . He , Corpora l Jake


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The well-meanin g populis m o f the blac k sequenc e o f Tales of Manhattan (1943) clashe d wit h it s residual echoe s o f stock Negr o characters wh o san g either for glor y o r supplication . BFI . Copyright 20th Century-Fo x Fil m Corporation.

Feinberg, an d th e other s forme d a multiethni c band o f stragglers wh o represented America n resolv e i n th e fac e o f overwhelmin g Japanes e forces i n th e southwes t Pacific . S o please d wer e the y a t Metro , the y made a black version of their serial advertisement, "The Lion' s Roar," in order t o tou t it s angl e o f "th e spiri t o f me n o f al l creeds , races , an d colors."33 B y then, o f course , apar t fro m th e actua l substanc e o f th e movie o r it s hoped-for reception, throug h Diet z the y kne w Whit e wa s watching. As to who watche d Crash Dive and Sahara, in the former case it would be Zanuck , the mogu l most open t o White's goals, and i n th e latter Lawson , who serve d a s th e eye s o f th e CPUSA . I n th e cas e of Lifeboat, i t would have been Jo Swerling, by then probably doing double duty o n th e Wa r Department' s own fil m The Negro Soldier. At an y rate , this handful o f war movie s thrust upon audience s and

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critics the reception o f movies in which wa s embedded a newly minted , if still emerging, liberal racial ideology. Tales of Manhattan, whateve r th e good intentions o f its antifascist makers, had taugh t the m the pitfall s of having all-blac k material stan d fo r their doctrine . O n thi s the moguls , OWI, the NAACP, and the CPUSA seemed agreed; at least their speeche s and slogan s sai d so . "Nationa l Unit y fo r Victor y ove r Naz i Enslave ment," a clear echo o f Nunn's Doubl e V, ran o n the Worker's masthea d throughout 1942 ; Robeson's speeche s regularly called for "a war to fre e all peoples"; Poynter, who attended a Robeson speech and applauded it, called fo r a change i n "ou r domesti c . . . attitudes " tha t woul d ener gize the war on "poverty, frustratio n and fear." The Worker covered th e event and put its best ecumenical face on the proceedings, reporting that the audience responded "enthusiastically. " In such a mood Tales of Manhattan could fin d no t a single friendly voice . Robeso n himself, back i n New York playing Othello, offered t o picket his own movie, while on the black righ t in Hollywood Eddie Anderson calle d a "secret" meeting t o hammer ou t a comple x Africa n America n strateg y designe d simul taneously to protest the stoc k types in Tales of Manhattan an d "discour age" the pickets, whose anti-Hollywoo d tactics he traced directly to the black Communis t Charlott a Bas s and he r Los Angeles Tribune.34 Th e debate spille d into th e whit e pres s when Hedd a Hopper wished fo r an old time Green Pastures flavor, t o which a black soldier replied that "th e last of the 'Gree n Pastures ' and 'Uncl e Tom's ar e gone." In the middl e between protes t an d apolog y stood White an d th e blac k press, the former gratefu l fo r small favors, th e latte r for advertising linage, and bot h finding Tales of Manhattan " a mil d improvement." 35 By way o f contrast, th e wa r movie s seeme d heavensent . Everyon e "hailed" Bataan: MGM's preview cards ; the NAACP , which gav e it an award a s a "needed realistic picture"; OW I reviewers, who sai d it "de served all the praise that can be showered upo n it" ; th e black press; the urbane Times, which thought Epps "one o f the outstanding merits of the picture"; an d th e Worker, whic h praise d no t onl y Epps but th e "equa l footing" o n whic h h e ha d bee n placed . O f course, n o movi e please d everyone. Fre d Allen recalled a coupl e i n fron t o f him who , afte r tw o reels of creeping through jungles, departed. "Well, mother, I guess we've seen enoug h o f thi s picture, " th e ma n said . "Yes, " replie d hi s wife , "there's too much crawlin ' i n it."36 Crash Dive wa s les s satisfying, burdene d a s i t wa s b y a stoc k lov e story an d star s in nee d o f friendly camer a angle s and scree n time, bu t nonetheless Be n Carter played against his old types, joined his mates in their rai d o n th e Germans , an d ende d th e movi e i n a sequenc e tha t moves from a three-shot on the connin g tower of his submarine, to his receiving a Nav y Cros s (remarkabl y lik e a new s sho t o f Dori c Miller receiving his medal) , and finall y t o a n etiquette-breakin g handshake with a white officer. " A real step forward," said White; "excellent," sai d


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In Bataan (1943) , Epps (Kennet h Spencer ) wa s calculatedl y centere d in th e frame, give n a militar y skill , a plac e in th e action, an d a civilia n calling , all unthinkable attribute s befor e the wa r tha t inspire d them . BFI . Copyrigh t Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

the OWI reviewer , and "somethin g one finds all too rarel y in pic tures."37 Sahara carried the argumen t stil l further and i n more cinematicall y rewarding terms . A crippled , stragglin g tank , lo w o n fuel , clank s aimlessly over the dunes, its crew searching for their unit. Along the way they meet Tamboul , with a n Italian prisoner i n hand as though liberat ing Africa i n a single stroke. Thereafter, Tamboul often speak s and act s for th e Gran d Alliance : h e defend s th e Italian' s right s a s the y debat e abandoning hi m in a watersaving triage; his folk wisdom finds water; i n a eucharisti c trope h e clamber s dow n th e disuse d wel l an d catche s its trickling water in his cupped hands; a s Africa's contributio n t o the war , he fights to the death against a larger German force bent upon reaching the water. 38 An d audience s sa w i t all . Th e NAAC P linke d i t t o th e pledges, praisin g it a s a n "outstandin g contributio n towar d th e objec tive stated by Mr. White"; i n Harlem, kids stood and cheere d Tamboul; the nationa l pres s caugh t it s drift . Onl y Lawso n lacke d fait h tha t conscience-liberalism had grow n normative : He guessed it reached th e

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In Sahara (1943 ) Tamboul (Re x Ingram) wa s a centra l figur e fo r it i s his desert an d onl y h e know s how t o find water, abandone d forts , an d ol d carava n trails—the lor e tha t European s canno t know . BFI . Copyright Columbi a Pic tures.

screen at all only because "Cohn didn' t understand th e picture nor wha t it meant." 39 Lifeboat, th e last movie i n the cycle , may have been th e least politically satisfyin g t o it s libera l viewers . Bot h it s angles—th e lifeboa t a s metaphor fo r the popula r front , an d Jo e th e stoke r a s a means o f integrating blacks into th e cente r o f the action—mumbled their lines . Joe is too ful l o f tics an d oddment s o f business. A s scripted h e i s meant t o b e brave and cool in the situation, but he is too cool, regarding the compan y with curiou s eyes, preferring "good" music, refusin g t o "boogi e i t up " on his flute. He seems an honest, even pious, sailor, but he has done time for pickin g pockets, so his bit in the assaul t on their captured Germa n is to filch his compass an d knife . Hi s role in the dail y round o f life o n th e boat i s that o f steward, whic h h e slip s into to o easily . In th e scrip t h e agonizes over joining in killing the Germa n because he onc e saw a mob lynch a Negro , bu t o n th e scree n his reluctanc e seems mer e tentativeness, an d thu s a poten t blac k motiv e fo r actio n i s erased , a s thoug h


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audiences i n 194 3 wer e stil l unread y t o ar m a Negr o even agains t a common enemy. 40 No on e like d th e result . Steinbeck , imaginin g h e ha d writte n " a Negro of dignity," asked his agent to remove his name fro m th e credits. At its opening, Bosle y Crowther and Doroth y Parker pounced upon its soft center , eve n arguin g that i t was pro-Nazi , a charge Bankhead an d Hitchcock did their best to deny until she ended the interview by turning on a PM reporter and calling his paper a "filthy, rotten, Communist rag. " Others in the national press agreed with Crowther and found the stoker a spineless throwback to antebellum times.41 Billy Rowe's review in the Courier not onl y covere d it as a movie i n which "Jo e stand s aside an d does nothing" but a s a detective yarn in which Row e discovered signs that Fox had intende d t o call Joe "Charcoal " throughout an d to mak e more o f hi s crimina l past . Abra m Hil l i n th e Amsterdam reckone d i t remote fro m White' s goa l of a "vita l an d realisti c interpretation o f th e Negroes' part in Americana." Finally , Roy Wilkins wrote personall y to the studio, labeling Joe a "strikingly nonessential . . . sop " an d saying that the "general reaction among Negroes" was one of diminished mo rale.42 The desert island genre adapted t o fit the war , Lifeboat (1943) , portrayed th e Allies as "all i n the sam e boat" against a common enemy , althoug h Joe th e Stoker (Canad a Lee ) drew th e usua l black assignments: stewar d an d pickpocket. BFI. Copyright 20th Century-Fox .

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The various pannings o f Lifeboat notwithstanding , thi s cycle of wa r movies at least sharpened an d refine d th e audience's ey e so that a wary Hollywood adopted a conscience-liberal stance that extende d eve n int o the postwa r er a of , a s th e historia n Jame s T . Shotwell calle d it , "th e thinking picture. " Bu t th e relativ e succes s o f a smal l bod y o f midwa r movies must not be taken as a sign of an ideological consensus. A s often as not , goo d intention s wer e misrea d acros s a gul f betwee n th e tw o cultures—black and white . Put in the starkes t of terms, whit e prais e of Stephen Foster' s "Ol d Blac k Joe" a s innocent nostalgia migh t see m t o sensitive black s an offensiv e memor y o f slave times . I n mor e moder n terms, t o many jazz buffs blac k music was presumed bes t when played by blacks , whil e t o White' s circl e th e ver y ide a smacke d o f the sor t of dated Jim Crow mentality against which the y fought. The play betwee n these tw o taste-culture s allowed a n insisten t minorit y in Hollywood to call for all-black musicals a s fulfillments o f the nee d fo r a richer Africa n American presenc e o n th e screen . In the middle of the war Hollywood made two such musicals, whic h brought into play the tension betwee n integratio n and cultura l uniqueness and produced i n the minds of black activists no end of anxiety ove r the implied retreat from integration . Moreover, the two musicals, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather, wen t into release during three nast y race riots that simultaneously dre w attention t o the persistence of racism and seemed to point to movies and other pressures for enhanced blac k status as causes of the riots . And t o the disma y o f many i n White's circle , th e musicals revived the matte r o f the Hollywoo d Negroes ' plac e in movie s in that th e large casts placed them i n demand again . Additionally , their release coincide d wit h Paramount' s releas e o f a coupl e o f biopic s o f oldtime minstrelmen , eac h wrappe d i n a settin g o f roseat e Souther n nostalgia at odds with the activists' plans. The clash of ideals may be seen in Metro's casting of Lena Home i n Cabin in the Sky. "You r troubles are over," a friendl y journalis t tol d White . " I a m no t sure, " h e wrote . " I don't think the all-colored picture is the answer." He much preferred her in a drama , perhap s Somerse t Maugham' s The Moon and Sixpence, a project th e Hay s office objecte d to, h e said , "becaus e o f [her ] color." 43 Not tha t Whit e an d hi s friend s ha d no t know n o f generation s o f proud Africa n American s wh o ha d boaste d o f succes s in comparativ e terms: Sissieretta Jones was "the blac k Patti," Lorenzo Tucker "the blac k Valentino," an d so on. But the point wa s to assert a black identity more fitted to new conditions, an d by doing so promote a better metaphor for race relations. Ideally , in this image black and white would be neither as separate a s night an d da y nor a s smelted dow n a s in Israe l Zangwill's "melting pot," bu t more lik e paint speckling an atelie r floor or, as Hopper propose d in her column , lik e black and whit e pian o keys . At an y rate , th e musical s went int o productio n whil e begging th e questions of whether o r not the y merely exhibited blacks as though at a


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zoo (a s Agee would write) , or only reflecte d the segregate d fact s o f real life, or were a retreat from the moguls' pledges, or were a racially collective mean s o f integrating th e industr y muc h a s Amos 'n' Andy woul d (controversially) d o in postwar television. 44 In fact, th e musical had onl y just begun t o mature int o a vehicle for taking u p racia l material . Blac k version s o f whit e shows— The Black Mikado an d Carmen Jones—had alread y cracke d Broadway . An d th e musical for m itsel f ha d grow n fro m ligh t operett a t o musica l drama , from Victor Herbert's Red Mill to Rodgers and Hammerstein' s Oklahoma! Moreover, Variety reporte d tha t althoug h "sale s department s hav e al ways squawke d tha t the y hav e an impossibl e job i n tryin g to sel l the m down sout h . . . interracia l leader s conten d no w tha t th e citizen s of Dixie tak e readil y t o colore d entertainment." 45 A t Metro i n particula r the form promised t o regain the popularity of the days of The Golddiggers of 1933. Arthu r Freed , a songwrite r turne d producer , ha d picke d u p a play b y Lyn n Rigg s tha t Verno n Duk e an d Joh n LaTouch e (autho r o f "Ballad fo r Americans") crafte d int o a Broadway hit , Cabin in the Sky. For racia l politess e LaTouch e consulte d th e NAACP , an d MG M adde d Marc Connelly, "Yip" Harburg , and Harold Arlen, a writer of old Cotton Club shows repute d t o have " a specia l empathy fo r blacks." Thei r director, Vincente Minnelli, als o was known fo r a flair for black material tha t included a Josephine Bake r sho w an d th e hard-drivin g blac k numbe r "Public Melod y No . 1 " in Artists and Models, whic h i n 193 7 Will Hays had though t a "worry" because o f its touchy "racial" overtones. 46 For Minnelli th e tas k was t o recast the sweetnes s o f The Green Pastures into wartime term s or, he said, grind out yet another "naive, childlike stereotype." This balancing act also, of course, obliged him to mediate between urban e Easter n blacks whom he knew and the Hollywoo d veterans White ha d snubbed i n 1942. As an example, Ethe l Waters, wh o had bee n i n Hollywoo d sinc e 1929 , and Len a Home, wh o wa s widel y regarded a s White's "guine a pig " to be used to make "a differen t kin d of image for the Negr o women," clashed o n the set like gladiators, Waters in comba t fo r the statu s quo , Hom e seemin g t o "star t a revolt o r stea l work."47 More than a spat between Eas t and West, old and new, i t was also a struggle between tw o style s of black performance , betwee n thos e wh o could "cros s over " into whit e theatre s an d thos e who ha d playe d ou t their live s on the "chittlin' circuit." O n one side were th e baritone Kenneth Spencer , th e slic k team o f Buck and Bubbles , the legendar y Louis Armstrong, an d th e Ziegfel d Follie s veteran Ethe l Waters, whil e o n th e other wer e th e oldtimer s whos e narro w rang e an d parochia l styl e doomed the m to the colored theatre wheels or roles as stooges in prewar movies. Stepi n Fetchit , fo r example , pleade d wit h Free d fo r a rol e i n Cabin in the Sky, promisin g to reform his pas t history of missed gigs an d claiming th e lea d rol e wa s al l but autobiographical . But Freed' s scouts

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knew wha t the y wante d an d tha t th e fossil s o f Fetchit's er a were out worn. "Jaz z Lips " Richardson ? No t present-da y quality . Butterbean s and Susie , two fixture s i n the colore d circuits ? A skinny geezer and hi s fat partne r who seeme d not Metro style. And so on. In other words, the men of Freed's unit through a common aesthetic—Metr o style—worked toward fresh , raciall y political goals. The studio also provided a n aren a in which Minnelli fought its entrenched conservatives , amon g whom he included Cedri c Gibbon' s feuda l Ar t Department , fo r suc h realisti c modes a s th e gentee l blac k povert y of In This Our Life a s agains t Gibbon's wis h for a conventional squalo r associated with black material.48 As released, Cabin in the Sky confirme d White's wors t fear s of allblack material even as it fulfilled th e artistic intent of Minnelli. Stagey in design, reminiscen t o f The Green Pastures, a folks y religiou s fable, th e movie portray s th e struggl e for th e sou l o f Joe , amiabl e husban d o f angelic Petunia . The y ar e settled , pious , churched . However , Joe , a n elevator operator who describe s his job as "the hote l business," i s beset by a demonic itch to gamble, to roll his "calamity cubes " i n Jim Henry's Paradise, a saloo n tha t reprise d th e streetscap e o f sinners i n The Green Pastures. Th e struggl e for Joe's sou l begin s whe n h e i s wounded i n a shooting scrape in the Paradise. The central theme takes over as he clings to life ; i n his deliriu m Petuni a struggle s against Satan' s imp s an d thei r ultimate weapon , th e temptress Swee t Georgia Brown (Home) , against whom gingham-hearte d Petuni a (Waters ) seem t o hav e no t a chance . Throughout, there i s a sort o f yang-and-yin of tone, lighting , costume , and voice , a clas h o f stark dark s an d lights , se t between whic h i s th e gray, earthe n worl d o f Petunia, wh o sing s her theme , "Happines s I s a Thing Calle d Joe." Fo r hi s part , th e strugglin g Joe (Eddi e Anderson ) expresses his will to prevail by singing "Life's Full of Consequences." I n the end, of course, Petunia wins Joe's soul, thereby placing blacks on the good side of the sam e sort of ledger Selznick had kep t on Gone with the Wind. At th e bo x offic e al l o f this worked, fo r white s perhap s becaus e i t exonerated the m fro m complicit y in the black plight, while for blacks it may hav e echoe d materna l warning s agains t th e wron g crowd , mea n streets, an d ba d women , particularl y the sleekl y fera l wome n whos e antidote t o the half-loa f lif e ha d give n them wa s t o live off their looks , their wits, and othe r women' s men. Bu t politically it divided critics and put White' s pledge s to a stres s test. Indeed , White' s ow n ambivalenc e reflected th e tangled critical politics. On the on e hand, he praised Connelly for "a marvellous job in transforming what was the average white man's notion o f Negro religion," whil e o n th e other , eve r wary o f allblack stuff , h e coul d onl y gues s tha t "MG M though t i t wa s doin g a decent job" wit h sensitive material. Metro, still smarting from Tennessee Johnson, tro d softly , no t onl y in assembling a race-sensitive unit, but i n hiring Billy Rowe as a black flack who praise d it as "the nucleu s of a new


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day in Hollywood," a n angle played by those black papers that cheere d the "long-awaited" movie and its "awe-inspiring" Water s and gleefull y reported it s above "normal" business in the South. 49 But the rest of the black press had been made waspishly political by the expectations raised by the war. "An insult masking behind th e label of folklore," wrote Ramona Lewis in the Amsterdam. She was also saddened by the white people who "seemed t o believe this was the norma l pattern o f Negr o life," an d wh o sa t throug h i t makin g "patronizin g sounds." "Insulting," said Joe Bostic in the People's Voice. " A disservice to race relations," complained Whit e to poor Connell y (wh o had con sulted o n th e script) , particularly because o f the "vulga r things " tha t Home was made to do, things "they would not think o f having a white actress do. " Bu t i n th e mai n White frette d ove r audience s an d thei r misreading o f the film . "A n Azuz a [audience ] migh t thin k i t was th e berries [tha t is, terrific]," h e warned Connelly. 50 White maintained a balance between wartim e mentalit y and nos talgic appreciation o f oldtime Souther n lore. The Times delighted i n it s "bountiful entertainment, " whil e conservativ e Time though t it s "Sambo-like entertainers" compromise d wartime racial liberalism. Variety reviewed it as though an OW I tract rather than a movie and blessed its playing to the "wider interest in the Negro throughout the country, " although thinkin g i t "doubtful material in the South. " Thu s the main line, urban press had broadene d thei r scope to include the socia l angle embedded in war movies. 51 Stormy Weather (1943) was a more prickly subject. Culturally black

in its roots, wearing its black patriotism on its sleeve, larded with crossover blac k performers , i t surel y promise d t o b e a n ornamen t o f conscience-liberalism. I t had begu n a s a Hollywood rarity , an origina l story, a pe t o f H y Kraft , a n ol d left y wh o ha d bee n tossin g i t ove r transoms fo r months . Ye t whatever coherenc e i t migh t hav e derive d from it s leftist source s would see m compromised by the sam e all-black quality that made black liberals wince. Kraft's working title, Thanks, Pal, wore its theme like a bumper sticker: A birthday party for an old hoofer becomes a lead-in to a national voice of gratitude for black participation in past wars, but encased in "the magnificen t contribution of the colored race to the entertainment o f the world." Indeed , th e men i n the establishing shot s ar e mean t t o b e Jame s Rees e Europe, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake ; their image s ar e intercu t wit h actua l footage of the 15t h New York National Guard marching up Fift h Avenu e with its Croix de Guerre ribbon s flyin g o n it s guidons , Hudi e Leadbetter, an d th e Fis k Jubilee Singers, coupled with footag e o f Harlem, Beale Street in Memphis, the Pekin Theatre in Chicago, and othe r shrines of African Ameri can performing culture. 52 Its sources on the lef t notwithstanding, Stormy Weather revealed yet another lin e o f last ditche s to b e fough t for . At 20t h Century-Fox , a s

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long as Zanuck treated a film as a personal projec t it stood a chance of responding to pressures from OWI , Walter White, o r his house liberals. But i n th e middl e rank s o f producer s o f routin e programmers , con science-liberalism, unlik e water , di d no t trickl e downhill . Moreover , they frequently balked at original material that required costl y tinkering and delays . Surely this was true in the cas e of Kraft's treatment . Julia n Johnson, a Zanuc k man nea r th e top , love d th e "historica l stuff " an d hoped i t would sta y in, particularly a proposed tragi c love story involving Bill Robinson and Florence Mills, a famous black performer who ha d met a n earl y death i n the 1920s . But Johnson als o kne w tha t th e lin e producer, William LeBaron, would care little for the project, its historical angle, o r its raffish blac k sho w busines s bohemia. 53 LeBaron's attitude may be found in hi s playing safe wit h th e mos t profoundly black element o f the movie, its music. At first Fox had take n the unheard-o f ste p of engaging a black composer, Willia m Grant Still , to score the movie. But by early 1943, Still had quarreled with his boss in the musi c department , wh o ha d foun d the scor e "to o goo d [because ] black musicians didn't play that well." Angrily, Still carried his grievance to the press, hoping for an outcry that might override his boss. As he told Walter White: "It may happen that the big people to whom you talk are perfectly willing and eager to do something constructive, but their effort s are nullified b y the . . . head s of departments." The press caught th e gist of the argument , knew th e movielot politics, and wrote off Still as a hero bu t nonetheless a "suicide." 54 But ther e wa s more t o come. Fe w actors were lef t i n the poo l afte r Metro's vetting and casting them for Cabin in the Sky. The result was tw o improbable lovers : slee k Lena Home and ol d Bojangles, who ha d no t worked i n films since 1937 . They shot aroun d th e awkwar d pair , ami d rumors of a parallel search for a lead whom the "audience would accept as [Home's ] lover. " I n th e en d th e strai n mus t hav e affecte d a t leas t Home's performance; bot h she and her director , Andre w L. Stone, recalled he r coldnes s an d inabilit y t o "displa y som e sor t o f creditabl e emotion."55 In any case, by the tim e the movi e opened i n the summe r o f 1943 , Kraft's tribut e t o black show busines s survive d only i n a came o o f Jim Europe, played by Ernest Whitman, who ros e above a lifetime of Negro bits and read the role with precise fidelity to Europe's owl-like, soldierly presence. The rest was a backstage triangle told in flashbacks in whic h Robinson i s a burned-ou t dance r an d Hom e a risin g star , wit h Bab e Wallace a s a youthfull y chubb y rival to Robinson . Th e story is told b y Robinson to a circle of black kids seated o n his porch a s he reminisces , each memor y servin g as cu e t o introduc e a ne w characte r or incident from th e Jaz z Age : Dooley Wilson , a bootblac k wit h a nos e fo r good cigars and a n ey e for bad women; Fats Waller in his last sly, winking gig before hi s death ; Ca b Calloway in whit e ti e an d tail s doin g "Geeche e


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Joe"; Flourno y Miller and Johnny Lee in their jalopy routine from Shuffle Along of 1921 ; an d turn s by Zutt y Singleton , Ad a Brown , an d Ma e Johnson, th e latte r singin g " I Los t M y Suga r i n Sal t Lake City." Th e three hig h moment s wer e Hom e lookin g ou t o n a windblow n street scape singing the title song, Katharine Dunham a s a fancy lady strutting with he r dancer s unde r th e e l as they rom p throug h "Dig a Dig a Doo " from The Blackbirds of 1929, and th e adolescen t Nichola s Brothers in a flashdance tha t Robinso n coul d n o longe r do. 56 Onl y thi s surfei t o f music save d Stormy Weather fro m it s actors ' limite d range , awkwar d cutting around it s two putative stars, an inchworm pace, an d a story so devoid o f heavies a s to lac k dramati c conflict. Besides, as did eac h allblack musical , i t riske d portrayin g Africa n Americ a a s a happ y plac e with happy problems—just the sort of stuff that White feared played well in Azuza.57 The only sanguine outcome was that White used the movie's opening as a gimmick to commend Zanuc k and Fo x for resisting pressure to withdraw i t during the summe r riot s of 1943 , so it became ye t anothe r seminar fo r critics in trainin g to analyz e the politic s of movies. Stormy Weather appeare d just as riots broke out in Harlem and Detroi t and th e "zoot suit" riots hit Lo s Angeles, which al l but scare d Fox into pulling the movie. The decision to run it , in fact, earned praise from blacks of all political sectors—from Harry Levette, who feare d for its profits following "the depressin g effect s o f the racia l outbreak, " t o Walte r White, wh o congratulated Zanuck for "refusing to permit race riots to change [Fox's ] plans." The resulting tension, sai d White, required "affirmative prevention," which movies might provide, if "getting along together" was ever to come . Th e nationa l pres s playe d it s prope r part : love d th e music , hated the miscast romance. A s Hartung wrote in Commonweal, Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" was a delight, but as to the rest, "Rain, No Game!" Time agreed , singlin g ou t Doole y Wilso n fo r hi s "Elizabetha n blen d of simplicit y and skil l which toda y i s seldo m foun d outsid e Harlem' s Apollo Theatre. " Lik e almos t an y wartim e movie , i t probably mad e a profit; i t had "warm" runs in key cities, reported Variety, includin g two Southern towns. Moreover, it said, as though to conscience-liberals, this hepcat's delight outdrew the pieties of Cabin in the Sky by three to one.58 These few movies hardly added up to a revolution i n movie art, but their half-measures—partl y defined by th e force s the y wer e tryin g t o redefine, partl y an outcom e o f a test of countervailing if not triumphan t forces, partl y constrained b y the mer e coincidenc e o f national an d mi nority goals—nonetheless asserted a place in movie culture where once there ha d been none. Indeed, the littl e epiphanies o f racial insight they provided wer e smallish by any subsequen t standard: a lone black hero amidst a whit e circle ; o r th e od d slic e o f black life ; o r th e occasiona l breach o f armed force s racia l policy (long befor e th e force s themselve s would change, and therefor e speaking with a voice of subtle advocacy);

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or the tantalizin g coolness of black actors playing their roles as thoug h being se t down amon g thes e whit e stranger s obliged them t o pa y ou t only so much of themselves, as if trolling for fish. However long after th e war ha d ended , the Amsterdam's critic George Norford recalle d Lifeboat as a unifying metapho r tha t returning soldiers took as a sign of political change to come. Indeed, the image he called up anticipated precisely the form take n b y th e mos t famou s Suprem e Cour t cases o f th e ensuin g years, a lawyerish struggl e to admit lone little children t o all-white circles, much a s such lone figures had graced white circle s in war movies. Thus the war movies gave visual rhetorical form to postwar conscience liberalism, drew it toward programmatic action, and perpetuated it artistically in the form a s a new stereotyp e of a lone black person in a white circle. No t tha t thei r succes s opene d a sluicegat e fo r simila r role s i n civilian settings; indeed, late in the war, after OW I budgets were slashed by the Southern-ruled Congress, there arose a distinct sense that the heat was off . In fact , ever y new rol e invited the sor t of struggle Alvah Bessie and Delme r Dave s face d whe n the y los t blac k femal e defens e plan t workers to nameless scrip t doctors' meddling , or the one John Howard Lawson los t whe n blac k officer s wer e erase d befor e hi s Action in the North Atlantic reached th e screen. 59 This pull-and-hau l between th e ne w an d thos e wh o feare d i t can best be seen in Selznick's most self-conscious effort t o get civilian life o n the screen : Since You Went Away. Lik e so many movies , it grew simultaneously from libera l hopes and th e lead weight of Hollywood custom. Like the O'Hara s in Gone with the Wind, th e Hilton s in Since You Went Away were blessed with Hattie McDaniel as their servant (Fidelia, now). She and Selznic k both tried to modernize her dress , makeup, body english, and even her weight, but in the end a good idea failed to overcome inertial forces tha t enshrine d blac k performance in a timeless mode. As they crep t towar d completio n i n 194 4 the y seeme d unabl e t o engag e Fidelia in the war ; it s impact follow s onl y from th e Hiltons ' inability to afford her on a sailor's pay, so she works for room and board. Even in the first "page breakdown " o f Margare t Applegat e Wilder' s novel , whe n Fidelia i s feeding two blac k soldiers they tur n ou t t o b e deserters . Not that Wilder did not try to reveal ironies brought on by the dislocations of war. In an early script draft Anne , one o f the Hilto n girls, goes in search of "wa r work " bu t flunk s a dexterit y tes t while , a s th e scrip t says , a poorly dresse d blac k gir l seate d nex t t o he r calml y performs the task . Later Anne receives another lesso n in wartime populism when her prospective boss turns out to be a black matron with a sort of Lady Bountifu l manner towar d th e underprivileged. 60 Yet throug h eightee n revisions in th e summe r o f 1943 , a growing team o f writer s faile d t o introduc e Fideli a t o th e realit y o f war . I n Wilder's last try, sadly, it was no better . In one comi c scene the Hilton s meet her a t a railway depot where an attendant requires her to describe


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items i n he r los t luggag e befor e sh e ca n reclai m it , a n occasio n fo r a stream o f gratuitou s sightgags— a greas y "dreambook " fo r predictin g lottery bets, a large pistol, a bottle of gin, soiled laundry, and a smelly bag of stal e clams . F . Hugh Herbert , Selznick' s next scrip t doctor , sa w th e need t o cut the scene but insisted on keeping McDaniel's role an old, fat, languid mammy , smellin g o f lavender. 61 I n th e movi e a s released, th e train statio n sequenc e survive s in mute d form . At last, in November Ulric Bell of OWI, by then a sort of federal Hays office, reminded Selznic k that there was a war on and that Fidelia should be touche d b y it . Wh y not , h e said , giv e her a famil y whose wartim e stresses require her changed circumstances ? Perhap s a s a result of Bell's "possible retakes," th e broadest o f Fidelia's comedy i s missing from th e surviving print . (I n a n astonishin g intrusio n int o Hollywoo d custom , another chang e resulte d partl y fro m angr y comment s b y severa l black Women's Arm y Corp s recruits a t a snea k previe w i n Sa n Bernardino. They complaine d o f a clutc h o f giggling uniformed blac k women , an d the sequence wa s replaced b y a handsome blac k soldie r saying farewell to his wife and child as he leaves for war.)62 And Fidelia herself is drafted into th e movie' s wa r effort , a n even t foreshadowe d i n a prologue tha t shows th e white family as an enduring fortress . A slow pan confirms the idea b y scannin g th e artifact s o f famil y history—ca r keys , a mounte d fish, bronzed bab y shoes , snapshots , an d finall y th e gol d sta r i n th e window signifyin g the absent father—and thence t o the children ineffec tually pickin g u p Fidelia' s slac k b y cleanin g th e hous e an d makin g breakfast while the mother (Claudett e Colbert), slightly at sea, makes do with fracture d schedules an d balk y appliances . But the true impact of the war upon Fideli a is made manifest not by writing bu t b y McDaniel' s retoole d performance . Gon e i s he r empt y obstreperousness of Alice Adams (1933 ) and Gone with the Wind, a brave gesture fo r an acto r who ha d wo n a n Osca r playing that very trait. Her mien, t o bot h th e camer a an d th e family , i s a leve l gaz e undilute d b y downcast eye s and othe r servil e tricks. As though drawin g the viewer' s eye to th e ne w McDaniel , a famil y frien d (Josep h Gotten ) give s her a charcoal portrai t i n which h e ha s caugh t th e graying, matronly dignit y that th e audienc e i s supposed t o focu s on . McDanie l presses th e poin t when sh e sit s with th e famil y durin g a daughter' s graduation ; i n flowered dress and sensibl e hat sh e gives life to the Fidelia that the artist had rendered on paper. Sh e even reads a line that asserts her wartime footing in witt y term s when , i n respons e t o prais e fo r her cake , sh e trace s its merits no t to an ancien t recip e bu t t o an "experiment. " " I bought it, " she says, admitting a guiltless break with the stereotype that define d the kitchen as her only theatre of operations. But McDaniel could push only so much ligh t into th e corner s of a role intended onl y for the margi n of the frame . I t had simpl y never occurre d to Selznic k that a movie about the civilia n sid e of the wa r shoul d include obligatory blacks as the wa r

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Hattie McDanie l infuse d her Fideli a wit h a quie t dignit y tha t Selznic k rein forced b y having a houseguest presen t he r wit h a penciled sketc h (her e a s Joseph Cotte n look s on ) i n Since You Went Away (1944) . BFI . Copyright United Artists .

genre had done . Hi s blacks thus take part in the war onl y as sidebars to white storie s or visual flourishes to counterpoint th e white cente r of the action. On e o f the Hiltons ' daughters , fo r instance, take s her oat h a s a nurse's aide, promising to minister to the wounded o f whatever colo r or creed, a duty made manifes t later when she serves ice cream to a group of amputees that includes a black veteran. Black extras dotted the crow d scenes as staid civilians, crisp soldiers, and familie s saying appropriately sad farewells—in short, th e black bourgeoisie tha t had bee n pledge d to Walter White i n th e summe r o f 1942 . Generally, th e studio s treate d suc h materia l gingerl y enoug h t o avoid appearin g t o la y it on wit h a trowel; nonetheless , a n occasiona l dissenter from the liberal rhetoric complained o f its heavyhandedness, a s though confirmin g Goebbels' s dictu m tha t "th e momen t a perso n i s conscious o f propaganda [it ] becomes ineffective. " In th e cas e o f Since You Went Away, Selznic k in fac t ha d lai d i n gratuitou s bit s tha t jarred more than they persuaded. A t a party a Jewish officer—"Solomon"—i s introduced (an d dropped) for no othe r reaso n than t o trot in a Jewish Navy Cros s holder . Anothe r sequenc e open s no t o n a perso n bu t a paperweight o n whic h i s inscribed Carl Sandburg' s line, "America , th y seeds of fate have borne a fruit o f many breeds," a prop from which to tilt


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up t o a diplom a o f a patrioti c Jewis h doctor . Finally , Zofi a (All a Nazimova), a welder in Mrs. Hilton's war plant, is so grateful fo r her lif e in America that at lunch one day she recites the entire poem inscribed on the pedesta l o f the Statu e o f Liberty: "Give m e you r tired , you r poor , your huddled masse s yearnin g t o be free . . . " Certainly a few of the viewers grumbled at the ponderous messages . One of the complainers wished for at least one movie that averted its eyes from African America , while another merel y snapped a t Selznick's Middle Europeans : "To o Jewish. " O f course, i n a sens e th e absenc e o f a thick shea f o f suc h carpin g allowe d th e inferenc e tha t conscience liberalism was, i f not takin g hold, a t least enjoying the toleranc e o f the main body of the audience and therefore promised to become th e political platfor m upo n whic h futur e libera l black s an d white s coul d cam paign.63 Yet, as the war wound down , racia l material seeme d a s daunting as ever: hard t o work int o civilian situations and unpredictable at the box office. A case i n poin t wa s ye t anothe r Selznic k movie, RKO' s Till the End of Time (1946) . Both Selznick and RK O leapt a t the chanc e t o bu y Niven Busch's novella They Dream of Home, which wa s the first popular treatment o f the unpredictabl e social dislocations to be faced b y returning soldiers. Weighing heavily in their decision to buy Busch's book wa s that th e principal s wer e black. An d ye t betwee n Alle n Rivkin' s first treatment i n Apri l 194 5 an d th e film's release mor e tha n a year later , Busch's black famil y ha d becom e white , perhap s a s a result o f market forces overridin g th e libera l racia l politic s o f th e OW I an d NAACP , which ha d los t the cachet tha t the war had onc e bestowe d upo n them . As lat e a s Februar y 1945 , Perr y Kinchlo e an d hi s famil y ha d re mained black . Perry, huge and powerful but also wounded an d wracked by fear of a future in a bed with an exercise bar over it, was at the center of the action. Bu t by April, Tabeshaw, a Pima Indian wit h a plate in his skull, had becom e the axi s of the rac e angle , apparentl y stil l on the nation's agend a bu t i n need o f soft-pedaling. I t is the Indian, o n trial for car theft, wh o i s the subject of a defense based upon his shock at returning fro m th e Marines , wher e equalit y reigned, t o civilia n life, wher e i t was a n empt y sloga n an d wher e racist s prowled th e bus stop s an d sa loons stirring veterans against racial minorities. So said the as yet unsho t script. By this time Kinchloe was known i n the script by his wheelchai r rather tha n hi s color , a poin t mad e fina l i n tw o draft s i n lat e Ma y i n which someon e ha d carefull y pencile d ou t ever y reference t o hi s race. Thus in a few strokes Perry had grown white enough t o be portrayed by one o f RKO's rising, marketable stars. 64 In this same spring, the scrip t passed from Selznic k to RKO, where Rivkin kept at it under the ey e of Dore Schary (producer of Bataan). By then, a s thoug h American s wer e unread y t o carr y the ne w politic s of race into peacetime, the rac e angle had shrun k to a single incident in a

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cocktail lounge, while an estimating-script, a casting report, and a January market analysi s had erase d any reference to blacks. OWI, as though sensing i t was o n it s last legs, praised th e sequence—"W e applau d th e idea o f showing tha t veterans ca n an d wil l combat bigotr y at home"— but als o spoke the unthinkable : ho w easil y a couple of sneering racists echoed Naz i beerhall brutes and how pliantl y postwar American s fell i n with them . "It will do us more har m tha n good overseas, " wrot e Gen e Kern o f OWL65 Till the End of Time (its release title) also set forth yet another devic e that became a postwar conventio n i n race-angle d movies : tha t racis m always sprang from foreig n rathe r than domestic roots . (Similarly , wartime documentarists , perhap s char y o f fragil e libera l alliances , ha d sometimes portraye d racism a s a divisiv e weapon o f foreig n agents. ) Indeed, i n a n earl y draft o f Till the End of Time, in a war plan t where a quarter o f the worker s ar e black, several white oldtimer s grumbl e over jobs los t t o black s an d eve n se t ou t t o driv e the m away , onl y late r discovering enem y agent s sowin g dissension . Whateve r th e reason , Schary and Rivki n reduced their black presence t o a single sequence. By September 1945 , Kinchloe had bee n assigne d to Bill Williams and Tabeshaw th e Pim a ha d bee n give n t o Rober t Mitchum , th e forme r o f a white actor of surpassing cuteness, th e latter a sullen, Byronic presence; both had begun to cultivate a teenaged following. Necessarily, the stakes became a matter of postwar readjustment of soldiers to civilian life rathe r than blac k soldier s facin g th e uncharte d landscap e o f postwa r racia l arrangements. Th e race angle, then , wa s reduced t o a barroom fight in which a lon e blac k soldier , playin g a t pinball , hear s th e taunt s o f a couple of American War Patriots who ar e recruiting veterans fo r a campaign agains t a caba l of their bugbears : foreign-bor n labor racketeers , Catholics, Jews, an d Negroes . At first the soldie r (Cale b Peterson) plays on with coo l dignit y designed t o mask his hurt, the n too calml y leaves the frame whe n the white heroes barge in and fal l upon th e agitators, a scrap that, say s the script , shows tha t th e soldier s will need to fight for "readjustment" (no t agains t racism). 66 Surely Schary, Rivkin, and their director, Edward Dmytryk, himself a certified lefty , wer e divide d against their own liberalism , wishing for a black angle but tethered t o looming postwa r ho t topic s such as conversion t o a peacetim e footing , a s wel l a s t o revive d concern s fo r thei r postwar marketplace . A s though a n allegor y for their plight , al l of th e veterans o f Till the End of Time ha d passe d int o muft i excep t th e lon e black veteran, who, as though clothing race in hopes that ended with the fighting, remained in uniform. The tension between box office and ideals was unmistakable. O n the one hand, th e studi o engaged the American Research Institute and thei r innovative "wan t to see" inde x to confir m the se x appea l of Mitchum an d Williams . On th e othe r hand , a little liberalism seeme d t o go a long way, at leas t according to thei r preview


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cards. O f one survey , almos t hal f the respondent s single d out th e bar room fight as a scene they liked; 20 percent sai d they talked about th e race angl e afterward ; and thos e wh o bothere d t o writ e praise d RKO' s "tolerance" as it emerged in the black soldier's big scene, where he acted like a n averag e huma n being . On e write r urge d stil l more films that played u p interracia l "harmony " a s a preconditio n o f th e postwa r growth o f democracy. Th e makers wer e touched ; indeed , Rivki n was "overwhelmed" and year s later thought hi s writing ha d no t bee n "fo r nothing." As a sign of their wis h to pleas e OWI they hel d on e o f their premieres i n th e Archive s of the Unite d States , to th e deligh t o f Arch Mercey, who by then had take n over as chief of a films bureau in a new Office o f War Mobilizatio n and Conversion. 67 And yet as released the movie seemed eeril y diminished i n contrast to the war movies. The pinball scene is a mere sidebar, unforeshadowed, inconclusive. The marines, cleancut, foregivably boisterous, impatient to resume civilia n life , ar e frame d i n a crowded , happ y plac e whe n th e agitators intrude. The only race angle is the visual one: They barge into a postwar Americ a tha t includes a blac k soldier , an d i n contras t t o th e marines the y see m mouth y an d clothe d i n motley . Th e vets ' bante r seems as one with jukeboxes and the clatter and ring of pinball. Only the agitators are discordant. Then the movi e retreats. Although their racist tirade includes blacks, what riles Tabeshaw is a reference to Jews, and he gives a little speech about a Jewish buddy dead on a Pacific beach. Thus not onl y doe s th e poin t a t issu e sli p fro m rac e t o religion , th e blac k soldier is even denied the right to wade into the fray o n his own behalf; he sidles out of the frame, leaving the viewer to infer that racism is in the hands o f a few mean men o f so little moment that the Negr o need onl y leave th e figh t t o goo d whites. A s thoug h sensin g a postwa r ther midorean reaction , Ebony overpraise d the smal l favor. 68 Was this scene a sign that conscience-liberalism was going out with a whimpe r instea d o f a bang? Perhaps , but thes e timi d ambition s an d limited attainment s were i n fac t viewe d by millions who no t onl y sa w but affirme d thei r modes t goals , thereb y perpetuatin g th e genr e i n a postwar revival. Their misplaced emphases and truncated intentions also revealed th e nee d fo r a permanent libera l presence in Hollywood, perhaps as a bureau of the NAACP, or even in the form of an emerging cadre of actor s such a s Sidne y Poitier, who afte r a n errati c apprenticeship in army trainin g films, race movies , an d blac k theatre seeme d poise d t o serve as the embodiment o f the cool, lone black figure set down amon g white peopl e muc h a s his forebears in th e wa r movie s had been . Certainly the war movies had helpe d for m a liberal expectation of continuity. The receptivity for such a notion—hardly a sign of consensus, but a t least a gropin g toward a differen t racia l future—ma y b e see n i n th e appearance o f race-angled books offered b y major university and trade presses. Roi Ottley's New World A'Comin' (1943) , Gunna r Myrdal's An

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A turn a t pinball b y an anonymou s blac k soldie r (Cale b Peterson) wa s th e lone surviva l o f a project tha t ha d begu n a s a nearl y all-blac k nove l an d ended a s th e all-whit e star-vehicle , Till the End of Time (1946). BFI. Copyright RKO.

American Dilemma (1944), and Rayfor d Logan' s What the Negro Wants (1944) spok e fo r thes e stil l formles s goals , whil e onl y Stuar t Ome r Landry's The Cult of Equality expressed alarm at the corp s of governmen t filmmakers tha t ha d abetted "Hollywood' s racia l antagonism" an d persisted i n grinding out "pur e propaganda." 69 Not onl y wa s thi s sensibilit y abroa d i n th e land , bu t liberal s pro moted it. A PM reviewer, for example, although findin g the black musicals "zooty " (itsel f blac k argo t tha t ha d penetrate d whit e circles) , Jim Crowish exercises , notice d whit e applaus e a t th e Roxy , which , h e ar gued, "makes it clear that the Negro is in the movies, as a top star, to stay [and] ther e i s th e promis e o f bette r understandin g an d unsegregate d appreciation t o come." 70 This newl y civi c mentalit y colore d th e wor k o f movi e monitors ,


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whether OWI , state censors, or PGA. Whereas before the wa r the y ha d mainly erase d black s from th e screen , afte r 194 2 the y seeme d eage r t o cheer eac h ne w breac h wit h th e past . A t OWI , for example , Barbar a Deming bega n t o formulat e a cree d a s sh e screene d eac h day' s allot ment o f schlock. Lot s o f th e stuf f migh t ge t "th e stam p o f officia l ap proval .. . a s 'good propaganda,'" she thought. "Bu t a movie is not a handbill. It is the unfolding drama itself whic h speak s with th e loudes t voice." In other words , sh e had begu n t o shape a politics of movie art . Less subtly , Helen C . Tingley at th e Marylan d Stat e Censor Board, ap palled a t rumore d boycott s i n Texa s o f Mission to Moscow a s "Whit e House propaganda, " urge d her boar d t o approv e i t because i t seeme d "vitally needed a t this time to allay propaganda against our All y Russia, and t o counterac t isolationis t sentimen t whic h ma y affec t th e entir e course of the countr y a t the en d o f the war. " An d uncharacteristically, Hollywood itsel f stiffened agains t Souther n censors. A s Gradwell Sears of United Artists (UA) said as he readied a suit against Lloyd Binford, the Memphis censo r wh o ha d cu t UA' s The Southerner (1945) , "We ar e going to fight bias and bigotry in any form when it threatens freedo m of the screen, " a postur e h e directl y linke d t o FDR' s "fou r freedoms " speech.71 At OW I they built a paper recor d o f Hollywood's changin g civility toward Africa n Americans : A black in Mystery of the Riverboat seemed uncommonly heroic; a maid in Cairo was more "friend" tha n "servant"; in Meanest Man in the World a boss and servan t seeme d "fraternal" ; a black bo y joined th e Eas t Side Kids i n tw o o f their B-movies ; a black woman snappe d " I ain't accustomed to be talked to like trash" in Night of Crime, and so on. Conversely , they recorded survivals of past practice that offende d ne w sensibilitie s in The Vanishing Virginian and others . When they found a genre film adapted to war (such as an African yarn in which the heavy is "an Axi s agent," or Revenge of the Zombies, in whic h "a ma d docto r of the bayou s is making zombies for the Germans") , o r when a timel y social principle wa s asserte d (a s "striking th e native s is against the law" wa s in Bahama Passage], they made a point of it in their reviews. As to documentaries, OWI played the role of bean-counters and tallied up the blacks and what they did: none in March On, America; two in Mr. and Mrs. America, a fil m abou t lif e i n Muncie ; an d i n a Coast Guard tribute , Mississippi Blackout, with it s "quick t o lear n an d deepl y religious" crews , fifty-fifty, black and white. 72 Moreover, as the movies swelled their files they, along with the war itself, produce d additiona l OW I flashe s o f libera l insight . Deming , fo r instance, saw in the B-movie The Great Gildersleeve a maid (Lillia n Randolph) "i n th e conventiona l Hollywood-Negr o manner" bu t als o detected a subflooring o f new meaning . "She manage s to maintain in this film more decorum than the other characters," wrote Deming, "because, as a n actress , sh e ha s foun d hersel f a wa y t o connec t directl y wit h

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. . . Gildersleev e withou t bein g swep t int o th e whirlpoo l o f his silli ness." Furthermore, the men and women of OWI began to predict negative response s t o thoughtles s backsliding : The "Ji m Crow-ism " o f a blackfaced minstre l shor t thwarte d "mobilizin g th e Negr o for the wa r effort"; i f black roles seemed to o "likable, " racists might rea d i t as perpetuating "the myt h of Negro inefficiency an d laziness"; while the same role as read by a black viewer "very sensitive to this problem" might end with th e viewer "inflamed." 73 Of course , these flicker s o f changing racia l ideology by themselve s do not allow the inference of a mentality shared with audiences. And yet they did anticipate such a sensibility that had leap t ahead o f mere government necessity. In the darkened theatres, where psyches tried on new racial ideas and tolerances long before their echoes turne d up in Gallup polls, moviegoers in fact went to such movies. True, moviegoers went to see what they liked not for its politics but because they had expectations of pleasur e tha t the y hope d woul d b e fulfilled . I t wa s thi s networ k o f expectations tha t dre w them , no t racia l politics . Bu t the y went . An d unbidden b y liberals , dozens of movies emitted littl e organic wisp s of new racia l meanings. Va l Lewton at RKO, for example, produced thre e neat film noirs—/ Walked with a Zombie, Cat People, an d Curse of the Cat People—each of which made much of a key black cameo. "Jane Eyre set in th e tropics, " sai d Jacque s Tourneu r o f hi s an d Cur t Siodmak' s / Walked with a Zombie, which use d a black calypso singe r "a s a Greek chorus," a bit tha t di d not pas s unnoticed a t OW I nor, w e migh t pre sume, among attentive moviegoers. In no less than three pages the OWI man commended it s "undertones one could match in no current Hollywood fil m portrayin g th e Negro " an d it s "keepin g a t pla y . . . am biguities" tha t wer e "ove r th e hea d o f th e whit e characters. " I n Cat People, Gunthe r Fritsc h an d Rober t Wise' s fil m o f DeWit t Bodeen' s script, the actor Sir Lancelot (who had played Tourneur's calypso singer) represented a calm center o f sanity in a white circle in whic h nothin g was wha t i t seeme d t o be . An d i n Curse of the Cat People h e wa s a prepossessing houseman originall y written a s "a middle-age d New England motherl y type " who , accordin g t o Bodeen , wa s redirecte d b y Lancelot's readin g int o i t a "colorful , amusing , an d differen t wa y o f presenting expositor y information." 74 In the slipstream of any hot trend we might expect a satirist to haze it, an d conscience-liberalis m wa s no t immune . Presto n Sturge s in hi s Sullivan's Travels (1942 ) pu t som e englis h o n th e ide a in a bit about a filthy, defeated white chaingang that is invited to a rural black church for an evenin g o f old movies. The preacher (Jess e Lee Brooks) admonishe s his flock with arch irony: "Brethren and sisters , we are goin' to share our pleasure wit h som e neighbor s less fortunat e tha n ourselve s . . . an d when the y gets here I' m goin ' to ask you onc e more, neither by word, nor b y actio n .. . t o mak e ou r guest s fee l unwelcom e . . . no r t o


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draw away from them or get high-tone. Fo r we is all equal in the sight of God."75 Musicals boome d an d ofte n foun d a plac e fo r a slive r o f libera l doctrine, thoug h seldo m wit h Sturges' s sl y wit. I n the mos t charmin g (and neglected), Higher and Higher, the young cast featured Frank Sinatra, Me l Tonne , th e Frenc h refuge e Michell e Morgan , an d Doole y Wilson, the latte r on a hot strea k that include d Casablanca an d Stormy Weather. The y spen d th e movi e plannin g a n anti c "butlers ' ball, " a n egalitarian affai r tha t was a jiving civilian twist on the war movie genre. Then Hazel Scott, a bundle of intellect, brass, and musicology, was spotted a t Caf e Societ y b y Gregor y Ratoff , wh o mad e a spo t fo r he r i n Something to Shout About (1943) , a musica l tha t als o feature d Tedd y Wilson, a hero amon g black s for having integrate d Benn y Goodman' s band i n Hollywood Hotel (1938) , an d tw o blac k act s no t know n fo r crossing over : Chuc k and Chuckle s and th e Spee d Kings. Praise be t o Ratoff fo r hi s "sympatheti c treatment, " wrot e Florin e Ros s in PM, a sentiment echoe d by Scott herself. "I hope this trend keeps up," sh e said in the Courier, an d calle d for an en d t o "hangover s o f Jim Crow. " Th e boom i n thi s sor t o f casting shoul d b e see n a s mor e tha n gesture s t o please the OWI; every city had its hepcats like the whites who danced in the aisles of the Brooklyn Paramount, and the tradepapers began to take their tastes into accoun t i n their movi e reviews. 76 Even when black acts were segregated, their energy and style rattled convention an d mad e th e 'cat s swin g a s much a s the y mad e Walte r White wince. Two of the best, Warners' Thank Your Lucky Stars and This Is the Army, arrive d in 1943 , complet e with rousing, if Jim Crow , numbers wove n int o soldiers ' "cam p shows" put o n t o raise funds . I n th e latter, blac k loyalt y is portraye d i n a bi g danc e numbe r i n a stylized Harlem streetscap e tha t swing s it s way towar d describin g "wha t th e well-dressed Harle m ma n wil l wear"—zoo t suit s swappe d fo r arm y olive-drab. A simila r setting—probabl y th e same set—showcase s th e black number i n Thank Your Lucky Stars. There Willie Best, more or less as himsel f but i n "clas s A " uniform , come s hom e t o marr y "Ic e Col d Katie," wh o i s temporizing in her fla t whil e th e ensemble , includin g a svelte Hatti e McDaniel, sings out: "Ic e Col d Katie , marry th e soldier! " Among the m ar e the doyens o f black Hollywood: Nobl e Johnson a s a n Indian, Madam Sul Te Wan as a black Mae West, Jesse Lee Brooks in the clawhammer coa t of a stock preacher, all seeming to knowingly parody their bread-and-butter roles . Yet another black gem in a white setting , Paramount's flawe d Star Spangled Rhythm (1942 ) gave Katharine Dunham an d Eddi e Anderson a rollicking spoof of zoot sui t style in al l its calculated outrageousness. Ofte n thes e bits passed without a ripple, but Star Spangled Rhythm evoke d a rang e o f criticis m tha t reflecte d th e evolving aestheti c brought on b y th e war . A hit, sai d the Negro Actors Guild Newsletter a s it counted the blac k gigs; onl y an infant' s step fro m

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The black productio n numbe r in Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943 ) reveale d th e tension betwee n ol d and ne w blac k imagery , a s here Jesse Le e Brooks is marrying garis h Hatti e McDaniel t o uniforme d Willi e Best. Copyrigh t Warne r Bros.

convention, sai d th e Amsterdam an d Commonweal; a caricature , sai d Manny Farber on the left, a sure sign that the studios "have not changed their mind " abou t Africa n America. 77 An d o f course , Farbe r ha d hi s point; a trend wa s not a ukase from a tsar. Notably, Paramount wit h its minstrelman biopics shied from black specialty acts. And at MGM, apart from Cabin in the Sky there was little, perhaps because Home was seen as Walter White's "weapon to try on the moguls" an d therefore too controversial. In any event, sh e appeared i n eight movies in two years, mostly in easil y snipped solos , save for Panama Hattie, i n whic h sh e an d th e Berry Brother s san g o f white s "dow n belo w th e borderlin e [110t h Street, where] the y don't kick the gong around." Minnelli remembered / Dood It, " a comi c potboiler " salvage d fro m "footag e an d sets " o f a stalled projec t int o whic h the y tosse d Haze l Scot t an d Butterfl y McQueen.78 Clearly, after half a century of black erasure from lif e in the movies, a restoration would not be easy. Take as an example Rhapsody in Blue, one of a cycle of show-business biopics into which it should have been likely to work black acts. Thi s Georg e Gershwin lif e provide d a neat openin g


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for Haze l Scott, an actual friend o f the subject , and Warne r Bros, indeed engaged her fo r a sequence i n which sh e appears in his Porgy and Bess. But a s production dragge d on an d th e "nut " rose , th e bosse s went for only th e safes t o f material , thereb y shelvin g it s urbanity , it s director Reuben Mamoulia n (wh o ha d don e th e firs t Porgy o n Broadway) , its leftist writer Clifford Odets , and graduall y all of its black parts. Typically, the Bree n offic e close d off the issu e when it fretted over offendin g col ored audience s an d spoilin g Lati n American relations . Finally , a s th e focus narrowe d t o Gershwin's privat e life, th e remaining black production number s seeme d too stage d to Osca r Levant, a friend of Gershwin who playe d himsel f i n th e movie , an d the y wer e cut , thu s removin g from th e cente r o f Gershwin's creativ e life th e Africa n American s wh o had inspire d muc h of his work. All that remained wer e his ache to do a "folk" opera , a glimpse of early triumph a s Al Jolson sing s "Swanee," and a glitzy ending in which Pau l Whiteman pay s homage t o Gershwin by introducing jazz to a formally dressed crossover audience and promising to "make a lady out of jazz." As to the blacks themselves, onl y Scott as a classy saloon pianist and Anne Wiggins Brown as tartish dancer to a darkened-down bu t clearl y whit e mal e corp s d e ballet i n a sequenc e from Gershwin' s brief opera Blue Monday Blues79 survived the final cut. The Hollywood caree r o f Katharine Dunha m too k a similar route . Despite a career on Broadway and on tour in Europe, she spent the war in search o f movies that offere d mor e tha n the od d zootsuiter's moll in Stormy Weather o r Star Spangled Rhythm. Sh e choreographed th e shor t Carnival in Rhythm an d Abbot t an d Costello' s Pardon My Sarong, bu t near th e en d o f th e wa r he r agen t wa s stil l arrangin g dinner s wit h producers on whom her potentialities seeme d lost and steerin g the tabletalk towar d castin g he r a s Sadi e Thompson i n Maugham' s Rain, o r perhaps a film of her stag e show Carib Song, o r a bold movie o n racial problems, all with dauntingly poor luck. 80 Nevertheless, blac k angle s continued t o turn u p i n mos t genre s i n heretofore unthinkable roles , bits, and dialogue, each speaking its piece for OW I while adding to the slo w accretion o f a liberal mentality. Even westerns squeezed in a few oddments, no mean achievemen t i n a genre that in antebellum times had all but erased black figures from history. An easy means to segue into a western locale was to open on the Civi l War and Reconstruction , fro m whic h th e her o flees westward, bu t i n suc h movies before the war— The Texans, The Last Command, Southward Ho, Belle Starr, and B-movie s like Robin Hood of the Pecos—nightriding terrorists were cleansed of their antiblack motives by calculatedly absenting freedmen an d thu s becam e mer e avenger s agains t greed y railroad s or other western conventional heavies. Santa Fe Trail (1940) , for example, opens o n Harper' s Ferry amidst th e sectiona l hatreds arisin g from th e debate ove r slavery , a devic e for introducing historical figures like th e abolitionist John Brown, whom Raymond Massey played with Hitlerian

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bombast. Driven more by demons than by conviction, Brown surrenders the debat e o n slaver y to Jeb Stuart , an eventua l Confederat e brigadier who also regarded slavery as a wrong but one that cannot end either as a consequence o f Abolitionis t pressur e o r a t th e pric e o f los t Souther n "pride." N o matter: th e movi e move s wes t an d th e issu e i s droppe d (leading Whit e t o write : "M y wife , so n an d I wer e inexpressibl y shocked"). A simila r appea l t o Souther n prid e colore d th e politic s of other westerns: Dodge City, Virginia City, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, and They Died with Their Boots On. In Dodge City, fo r example, opposin g gangs of Civil War veterans brawl in a saloon and vie with each other in singing "Rally 'round the Flag, Boys" and "Dixie," a contest won by the Southerners.81 Yet the wa r affecte d th e wester n genr e i n smal l ways, as in The Ox Bow Incident, which it s author, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, had intende d as a n anti-Naz i tract, an d it s advocate s a t Fox—Lama r Trotti , Henry Fonda, and William Wellman—each took personal pride in as a voice for conscience-liberalism. The Georgian writer Lamar Trotti in particular felt his liberalism heightened by the war in small ways recorded in his diary. He foun d himsel f bristlin g at racis t tabletalk , questionin g hi s ow n re gional ideologica l baggage, counting th e number s o f blacks in parade s and i n th e Senat e gallerie s durin g debate s o n polltaxes , feelin g thei r rising presenc e i n crowde d depots , an d makin g littl e gestures suc h a s after reading Lillian Smith's Strange Fruit leaving it in a Texas busstop for some other Southerne r to pick up and read . By 1944, he found himself arguing a t dinne r tha t "Negroe s mus t b e permitte d t o vote " an d tha t "the Sout h wil l an d mus t fac e it. " An d i n a n encounte r thrus t upo n them by their respective wartime activities, Trotti and Lillian Smith met in Washington where h e found that mutually he had liked Strange Fruit and tha t she had like d Ox Bow.82 Their western owe d muc h to prewar "problem " movies tha t ofte n had ende d b y revealing th e goo d a t th e cor e o f American life , suc h a s Wellman's ow n The Public Enemy (1931) , Heroes for Sale (1933) , an d Wild Boys of the Road (1933) . But th e wa r clearl y had toughene d th e genre; i n The Ox Bow Incident n o happ y endin g ca n hea d of f a tripl e lynching tha t tw o saddleworn , hard-drinking , morall y ambivalen t heroes (Fond a and Harry Morgan) are powerless to stop. Its only concession to regional pride was Trotti's softening the glare of blame upon th e South by making th e Confederat e office r wh o lead s th e part y int o no t only a phoney soldier but a remorseful suicide, unable to face up to a son who ha d refuse d t o participate. 83 Despite th e no d t o Souther n sensibility , the y di d justice to Clark's book, whic h ha d bee n writte n i n th e yea r o f the Munic h pac t a s "a n allegory o f the unscrupulou s and bruta l Nazi methods , an d a warning against temporizin g . . . [against ] a kind o f American Nazism." Even though their movie "fell flat on its face" (Wellman' s words), and Jame s


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Agee thought it s "phonily gnarled" movielot tree s portentously stagey, it remaine d faithfu l t o Clark' s goal, a goal, it must b e said , which wa s accomplished i n part by Trotti's rounded an d toughened blac k preacher, Sparks (Leig h Whipper) as a man apar t from th e white mob, refusin g t o join in, praying over the three men mistakenly hanged as rustlers, and in part by Clark's own tw o saddletram p heroes, speakin g for restraint. The only flaw was in Whipper's ow n readin g of the role, which black critics thought echoe d hi s most unctuou s work. 84 Despite Walter Wanger's prototypical Sundown, th e genre of jungle movies never full y adopte d a war footing , preferring mere erasure as a solution t o adaptin g Africans t o the war . The idea o f an eventua l part nership as a surrogate for colonialism, although adopte d a s policy by the British after the Atlantic Charter, may have given black Africa a n investment in the outcom e o f the war , bu t no t i n the worl d o f the B-movie. Erasure seemed mor e riskfre e tha n engagement. A s Harry Cohn i s supposed t o hav e sai d t o a prospectiv e scriptwriter : "N o niggers ; ge t m e another jungle." Following Cohn' s cautious line, ever y hack arrive d at the sam e solution: Lighten the characters to a neutral brown color, but deny the m a specifi c ethnicity ; inves t the m an d thei r mythica l countr y with a grudge against the Axis; and locate them in a hidden valley or lost city governe d b y thinl y cla d Amazons , a dodg e tha t allowe d castin g offices t o recrui t fro m th e rank s o f reforme d ecdysiasts . Two typica l factory model s were PRC' s Jungle Siren (1942) an d Columbia' s Captive Wild Woman (1943), the forme r placing Allied fortunes in the hand s of Olympic swimme r Buste r Crabb e and th e ex-strippe r An n Corio , th e latter starring Acquanetta, a coolly beautiful B-movie actor whose mixed ethnicity allowed her to appear a s black in the black press and white in the white . Saturday morning serial s followed a similar line, the most ingeniou s erasure of blacks turning up i n Republic's Nyoka the Jungle Girl (1942), in which not only was the witchdoctor-heavy played by Frank Lackteen, an actor with a vaguely Arabic face, but the stock savages were rendered obsolete b y arming th e docto r wit h a spearthrowin g machine ! The sequel, Perils of Nyoka (1942) , exiled Africans by shifting to a desert where Vultura, "th e exoti c ruler o f a band o f vicious Arabs," holds swa y over her whit e dacoits. Republic' s The Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943 ) played a simila r angle , bu t wit h a Naz i heavy wh o improbabl y kill s a local sultan and dons a burnoose s o convincingly that the hapless Arabs never spo t th e ringe r i n thei r midst . Whe n the y tire d o f Arab s an d Amazons it was an easy matter to relocate to a nameless exotic island, as in Danger in the Pacific an d Universal' s the Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943), wher e th e traito r Kageyam a (Turhan Bey) conspires wit h th e evil Fraiilei n von Teufe l (Ros e Hobart) . An d i n th e od d fil m lik e Universal's Jungle Queen (1945 ) fo r whic h the y trotte d ou t blac k Holly wood—in thi s cas e Clarenc e Muse, Napoleo n Simpson , an d Clinto n

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Rosamond—the writer s invente d a "mysterious " whit e quee n t o rul e them.85 Once, Warne r Bros , trie d to serv e th e caus e o f war b y means o f a makeshift recutting of a prewar promo-film for the Belgian colony in the Congo, succeedin g onl y i n revealin g t o themselve s ho w th e wa r ha d changed thei r mind s an d reveale d th e absurditie s embedde d i n thei r prewar ide a o f Africa. A s Gordon Hollingshea d o f the short s uni t tol d Jack Warner (with no hint of irony), Congo showed how the African ha d progressed fro m cannibalis m t o contributin g t o th e wa r effort ! Luckily for th e studio , Norman Moray in the Ne w York offic e quickl y saw tha t their angle might fuel rather than solve the race problem. Necessarily, he predicted, blacks would resen t th e picture if the "savages " were show n at thei r worst , whil e i n th e Sout h the y riske d rousin g a n alread y rumored reactio n t o Hollywoo d liberalism. Thu s the y face d onl y tw o options i n treating their misguide d purchase: eithe r bury it as a purely "educational" film so dull as to arouse no one, o r play up the Belgians. Either way, their dilemma revealed the mindless casualness with whic h they ha d onc e viewe d African s a s agains t thei r ne w fram e o f mind , which a t least had thrus t upo n them th e need fo r new stuff. 86 Blessedly fo r audiences, writer s found less absur d solution s t o th e problem of introducing warborne racia l material into movies: character and incident that fit both assumptions that audiences were already grafting onto old ideologies and the merely necessitarian needs of the war. At the least , socia l distanc e betwee n th e race s narrowed . I n a Dea d End Kids movie, for example, a bootblack voices the propaganda line: Whe n a Naz i sympathizer asks for a shine, h e replies , "Giv e yo u a shine? I'l l polish you off quick if you don't get outta that chair." In Eyes of the Night (1943), a B-movie detective yarn, a blind private eye and his black valet are more a team than boss-and-flunky . In Samuel Bronston's biopi c of Jack Londo n (1943) , the hero' s lin k t o th e proletaria t i s establishe d when he is fired from a cannery; bac k home his link to blacks is shown in his familiarity wit h a family servant . No t only d o they shar e a common fun d o f knowledg e o f poverty , bu t i t i s sh e wh o stake s hi m t o expenses t o cove r th e Russo-Japanes e Wa r (wher e h e vainl y warn s America in 190 4 of Japanese expansionism). In two major biopics, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1943 ) and Wilson (1943) , on Georg e M. Coha n an d President Wilson respectively, even the White House servants are given new lines . In the former, stiff a s royal courtiers, they fondly recall every president since "Mr. Teddy, " and in a production number freedme n file past th e loomin g statu e o f Lincoln , singin g "Th e Battl e Hym n o f th e Republic" a s a voiceover intones th e Gettysbur g Address. In the latter , Wilson's liberalis m is overstated indirectly when on e o f his daughters decides t o d o socia l work amon g the Africa n American s in Goa t Alley (the capital's slums were wel l known t o Americans).87 If th e Academ y had give n Oscars for stretching material to fit OWI


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needs, Reunion in France (1943) would have been a shoo-in. A romantic story o f a downe d pilo t (Joh n Wayne ) an d a patricia n Frenchwoma n (Joan Crawford ) wh o seem s too coz y with th e Germa n occupiers , th e film ambles alon g i n searc h o f a wa y t o wor k i n th e rea l wa r unti l it becomes a parody that embrace s blacks and Allie d war aims . At a chic supper club reminiscent of, but to o sleek to be taken for, a saloon of the literary Paris of the 1920s , a black jazz combo is improbably playing. As though proving that even a black sideman can strike a blow for freedom, a grinning musician croons to the uncomprehendin g Germans : "I'l l b e glad when you're dead , you rasca l you—and Adolph too!'' We canno t kno w th e precis e impact o f a cycl e of war movie s an d their resonances in general Hollywood fare, bu t certainl y black activists thought moviemakers had contribute d to the idea l of a Double V. Certainly wheneve r a black soldie r praised these gesture s a black reporter took hear t fro m it , aire d i t ou t i n hi s column , an d predicte d a lively postwar future o f more of the same . And the NAAC P gauged its work as so promising tha t it plotted a postwar Hollywood bureau meant t o perpetuate its wartime arrangement, which had grown into a liberal pulpit. And eve n th e OW I liberals proposed some sort of postwar extension of their agency. If th e blac k gains chronicled her e see m no t t o measur e u p t o loft y hopes, an d see m no mor e than the tic s of a culture in crisis, it must b e kept in mind: That is part of the point . In cultural crises, new alliances form, ne w leader s emerge , ne w fissure s ope n i n ol d structures , ne w scaffolding rises in place, and in popular culture old genres and formulas take o n adde d weight . Sometime s these shift s i n weigh t an d meanin g occur in bits so recondite a s to see m th e sor t of lore that onl y connois seurs share, not unlik e Hitchcock's fans wh o com b the scree n in search of hi s momen t o n th e scree n (i n Lifeboat h e i s the "before " sho t i n a newspaper a d for a dieting regimen), while in other cases they seem to promise such profound change as to seem organic in origin. In this way, their small doses often refer to a shared history and give shared beliefs an entertaining twist, whetting their audience's expectation for more of the same.88 But what o f the hundred s o f B-movies and programmer s tha t seemed untouched b y the war? It must be remembered that the circumstances of moviegoing must have enhanced credibility. A-movies played

in downtow n "palaces " accompanie d b y glossy advertising an d wer e occasions fo r heav y Saturda y nigh t dates , s o the y too k o n a cultural importance that warrante d attentio n and receptivity . In other words , if B-movies played matinees and split weeks in "the nabes, " accompanied by rud e noise s mad e b y impuden t boys , n o on e gav e the m a secon d thought, bu t man y wa r movies , playing as they did i n pictur e palaces, took o n th e cache t of cultural event s that mattered.

4 The Making of Th e Negr o Soldie r

During the New Deal the Roosevelt administration had been as diffiden t toward producin g its own film propaganda a s the Congres s had bee n wary o f it, at least until Pare Lorentz's famous pair, The River an d The Plough That Broke the Plains, Paul Strand's The City, an d the Farm Security Administration' s photographer s reveale d ho w ar t an d messag e might be combined without the appearance of shameless tubthumping. At a level closer to bedrock, a nation built upon deeply running feeling s of th e righ t o f the individua l to oppos e hi s rulers , t o clai m "counter vailing" powers , th e ide a o f awardin g governmen t th e righ t o f self advertisement seemed anathema . Wartime , for a while a t least, would perhaps be different , because , as Feibleman's Theory of Culture had as serted, wars against external enemies induced a "tendency towar d similarity" that invited the government to take a bolder hand in defining its war aims as well as its means of prosecuting the war. In other words, the government felt entitled to assert Why We Fight—to borrow the title of its most famous film series. Having shed their coyness toward propaganda, their feelin g tha t only the enemy resorte d to it, the government's filmmakers and psychologist s rushed to their wor k with the fervo r o f converts and with a faith in "social engineering"—the alterin g of collective belief—that seeme d boundless . Bu t what t o teach Americ a about racism? Luckily, as one wit said, "Hitler gave racism a bad name"; that is, the nature of the enemy helped modulate a prickly regional issue into a collective, liberalizing mentality. 102

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The struggle to make the army' s ow n documentary , The Negro Soldier (1944), a project that was the sum of several antagonistically cooperative interest groups, reveals much about the place of the film of advocacy in a representative democracy. At first the project was restrained by mere necessity . Th e army wante d onl y a n antidot e t o th e simmerin g racism i n it s ranks ; Hollywoo d wishe d onl y fo r a mean s o f earning a medal for its efforts; th e social engineers hope d t o cultivate their craft i n a near-laborator y setting ; an d th e NAAC P fishe d fo r a wa y t o lin k it s goals to the government's wa r aims. Meanwhile, conservative s in Congress strove mightily to slash filmmaking budgets while liberals in agencies such as OWI nursed thei r projects through t o the screen in order to enlist the governmen t i n their cause. 1 The army itself was of two minds. The mere presence of an eventua l one millio n blac k soldier s appalle d man y o f it s senio r officers , whil e liberals among the circle of civilians in the War Department face d u p t o the black presence and imagined that their social engineers might design movies and manuals t o create harmony i n the ranks across racial lines. How were the two camps to be reconciled? That nettle was left up to the civilians and a group of officers onl y just drawn from civil life. They were everywhere, fro m Brigadie r Frederic k H . Osborn—ric h Ne w Yorker , scholar in eugenics, board member o f the Social Science Research Council, nephe w o f Henry Fairfiel d Osbor n (himsel f a schola r an d a majo r figure in the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan), family friend t o Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and General George C. Marshall, and advocate of film as a medium of education and morale-building—all th e way through th e rank s to Hollywood civilians like Frank Capra , late of Columbia Pictures. 2 Of all the army' s branches, it s Information an d Educatio n Division (I&E) mos t reflecte d this intrusio n o f civilian ways. Osbo m heade d a staff tha t included such social scientists as Donald Young of the University of Pennsylvania an d Samue l Stouffe r o f the Universit y of Chicago, the latter a senior officer in I&E. Together they put forth an argument not only fo r the us e o f film but fo r systemati c measurement o f its efficacy . Moreover, thei r agend a gre w beyon d short-ter m goal s t o includ e a "strategy of truth" coupled with a trust in "social engineering " tha t they intended t o use to teach liberal reaffirmations of American social beliefs. The immediate target of their strategy was black disaffection. Judg e William Hastie , a Wa r Departmen t assistan t fo r blac k affairs , kep t a clipping file on the incidence o f racial strife around arm y posts, a record confirmed i n OWI' s ow n file . Blac k resentmen t o f Ji m Cro w blood banks, discriminatio n i n industr y an d housing , th e circumscribe d role for blacks in the war—all of these and more prodded the black press and a readershi p that included , sai d OWI , a "younge r an d militan t Negr o clergy" drive n b y "a n anti-wa r attitude " roote d i n th e government' s slowness t o "translat e th e objective s o f th e wa r int o realitie s for Ne-

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groes." Necessarily, OWI probed for a means first to convey to blacks a rebuttal t o th e Japanes e portraya l o f the conflic t a s " 'a whit e man' s war/" an d second, t o mount "a n educationa l campaign" tha t se t forth to Africa n Americ a " a real , legal , and permanen t chanc e fo r improvement under democracy." 3 Reinforcin g this official frame of mind was th e army's ow n manual , whic h too k movie s a s it s poin t o f departure . "When th e Negr o is portrayed in th e movies , o r elsewhere , a s a lazy, shiftless, no-good , slew-footed , happy-go-lucky , razor-toting , tap dancing vagrant , a ste p ha s bee n take n i n th e directio n o f fixing this mental pictur e i n the mind s o f whites," it warned. 4 At first the tas k seemed paralyzingl y hopeless. Opinion samples revealed an "impaired" and "bitter " black army whos e disaffectio n gre w with eac h ne w Doubl e V sermon preache d b y their chaplains . Besides, for ever y blac k soldie r wh o sneere d a t th e iron y o f " a discriminator y system a t home" contrasted wit h "th e fou r freedom s overseas, " ther e was a white soldie r who nurse d a nugget o f resentment o f blacks bent upon "tryin g t o use the wa r a s a wedge to pry open th e door s of social equality." Solution s range d ove r mer e gimmickry : a propose d "Negr o Good Wil l Caravan, " blac k newsreels , an d recruitin g maker s o f rac e movies.5 Much lik e event s i n Hollywood , th e situatio n i n Washingto n changed a s a resul t o f a coalitio n o f forces : Hasti e and the n Truma n Gibson in the Pentagon; Carlto n Moss, a young black veteran of Federal Theatre and radio ; an d th e blac k pres s that urge d it s readers to delug e Lowell Mellet t with petition s fo r som e sor t o f filmed propaganda, an d reported th e progres s of White in Hollywood and ever y failure o f Hollywood newsreel s to measure up . Thoma s W . Young of the Norfolk Journal and Guide, fo r example, sa w tw o version s of news footag e of black engineers, one of them straight reportage, the other intende d for whites, "a burlesqu e an d a travesty" o f black participation i n the war. 6 If the War Department failed to respond t o these entreaties, not onl y might the y dro p th e proble m just where Hasti e had foun d it , but the y would leav e the field to race-moviemaker s fo r whom blac k critics had lost al l hope . Indeed , earl y on , Osca r Micheaux , th e doye n o f rac e movies, had complaine d to Elmer Davis in OWI that only a tiny fraction of wartim e fil m "show s th e Negr o from an y standpoint " an d offere d himself as one who had "learned how and what to do to get [blacks] into the wa r spirit. " A hal f doze n o f thes e firms , whos e profit s ha d bee n derived fro m th e Ji m Cro w syste m that th e wa r wa s comin g t o stan d against, offered thei r services, and indeed at first they seemed "a n excellent mediu m fo r reaching Negroes. " Te d Toddy of Atlanta, head o f th e most enterprisin g of them , hinte d tha t h e ha d Pau l Robeso n himsel f ready to do a movie about the black 99th Pursuit Squadron. And two of them actuall y made movies: Alfred Sac k and hi s black director and sta r Spencer Williams made Marching On, a grainy, washed-out movie of life

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on a black pos t wher e th e troop s silence a clandestine Japanes e radi o station; an d th e tea m o f Elder Solomo n Lightfoo t Michau x an d Jac k Goldberg made a documentary, much o f it from th e Signa l Corps's own footage, We 've Come a Long, Long Way.7 No t until the latter film came in, coincident wit h th e completio n o f The Negro Soldier, di d th e Wa r De partment recko n that the ideology of race movies differed fro m th e Pentagon's evolving racial aims of the war—that is, not until Moss's writing forced th e army to think throug h wha t sor t of film they wished t o have speak fo r them t o Africa n America. 8 Why Moss , only just departed fro m studen t life a t Morgan College and Columbia ? Partl y i t wa s Ne w York : radio , theatre , th e produce r John Houseman , an d finall y a revu e h e pu t togethe r fo r the Apollo , Salute to the Negro Troops. Bu t i t was als o a mood se t by the Doubl e V campaign, stragglers from the March on Washington, the black rank and file drawn t o th e CPUS A b y its gestures such a s running a blac k vicepresidential candidate, an d the New Dealers who aske d "will thing s be better fo r u s now " tha t wa r ha d come . A t firs t skeptical , a s Horac e Cayton observed, o f the government's "sporadi c an d unintegrate d an d insufficient" policies , blacks soo n enjoye d th e soarin g sens e o f "more attention tha n [they ] had enjoye d since the old Abolitionist days." The feeling extende d dee p into black circles, including the laborers who ha d come to Washington t o wrestle with the post offic e entr y examination s and win a stable life sorting mail. One such woman, a domestic servant, was transformed by the war when she got a job with th e Offic e o f Price Administration and within days found herself in the center of a protest to integrate the OPA' s cafeteria, all in a single stroke that would have bee n unthinkable befor e th e war. 9 Moss arrive d i n Ne w York' s theatrica l bohemi a amids t thi s un focused energy . Hi s first letter t o Archibal d MacLeish a t th e Offic e o f Facts an d Figure s (OFF , later OWI ) read lik e a leftis t versio n o f Mi cheaux's opener : "Unles s w e answe r th e jus t grievance s o f the Negr o people," it said, enemies "wil l use them to sow disunity and confusion. " Already he had mounted hi s Salute under the auspices of Fight for Freedom, Inc. , a coalitio n o f lefties an d conservativ e patriots : Mrs . Calvin Coolidge and Richar d Wright, Senato r Carte r Glass of Virginia and Jack Warner, Lowell Thomas and Paul Robeson. Odd couples all, but a solidly ecumenical resum e entry for Moss. Folded i n with Moss's own Council on Negr o Culture, it played its Salute at both th e Apollo and th e 3500 seat Mecca Temple in midtown a s a fundraiser for recreational programs for th e Ji m Cro w army . O n its face a n aberran t concoction , th e revu e nonetheless include d as makers, performers, and sponsors an aristocracy of Hollywood : Haze l Scott , Canada Lee, Teddy Wilson, Hele n Hayes , Charles MacArthur , Ben Hecht , Ethe l Barrymore , Douglas Fairbanks, Spyros Skouras , Wanger, Warner , and others . A s a resul t Moss foun d himself linke d to a winner , an d althoug h h e coul d not trac e his Negro

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Soldier gi g directly to it , whe n Salute was revive d i n th e sprin g a t th e Apollo, with Moss again at its center, he touted it to OWI as a vehicle for admitting past national sin s while pointin g t o a sanguin e future. 10 Luckily for Moss and th e army , his homage to black soldiers played while th e government' s searc h fo r filmic tool s was a t a low ebb . Holly wood movie s wer e slow to start , an d it s documentaries suc h as Liberty Ship neve r seeme d t o make i t to the screen ; th e studio s gave as an alibi the wis h t o avoi d "duplicatin g effort " o f the government . Whe n som e films—such a s Fran k Capra' s Why We Fight series—di d appear , the y reduced enemie s an d issues to geeklike comic-book level s that offende d reviewers. Moreover , Salute to the Negro Troops, o r a t leas t it s broad brushed sponsorship , free d th e arm y from th e tra p o f rejecting Moss as too black, to o militant, eve n to o "Communist." 11 In an y event , i n th e summe r o f 194 2 afte r th e Apoll o revival, th e army (an d later OWI ) began treatin g Moss as though h e were the black organic intellectual that Walter White had hoped to become, the spokesman through whose veins flowed the sense of the group. Moss, working with Marc Connelly, probably hired as a hedge against disaster, began to make a hymn to black pride, a reason to fight, and a menu o f reasons for white soldier s t o tolerat e black . The y toure d th e post s i n searc h o f a n angle an d a compromis e betwee n Connelly' s sweetl y nostalgi c blacks and Moss's Men of Color to Arms—the title (borrowed from the abolition ist Frederic k Douglass ) o f a militan t firs t draft . Alon g th e wa y the y picked up two Hollywood script carpenters, Be n Hecht and Jo Swerling, the former a sponsor o f Moss's Salute. Thus the prospective movie began to take shape in the classic Hollywood manner—assigning script doctors to rework perviousl y assigned material. 12 I n thi s timeworn Hollywoo d way th e arm y embarke d o n a ques t mappe d ou t fo r i t b y "feathe r merchants"—the army' s slan g fo r meddlesom e civilians , i n thi s cas e Negroes, intellectuals , an d Hollywoo d liberals . Th e result , Go d forbid , might conver t a besieged arm y int o a social laboratory define d by racial propaganda tha t fe w genera l officer s concurre d in , addresse d t o on e million blac k soldier s whom the y woul d a s soon d o without , an d i n a newfangled, mistruste d medium . For the army the most disturbing ingredient of the thing itself was its tone o f advocacy. Lik e an y familia r audiovisua l aid i t combined stoc k footage (fro m both Hollywood and the Signa l Corps) an d talking heads, but i t also included reenactment s o f history. Thus the army' s wis h fo r a movie to help smooth ove r its racial tensions coincided with Moss's hop e that unde r it s breath th e movie migh t exten d it s argument beyon d cur rent necessity. Improbably, the army had been implicated by the rush of events i n it s own eventua l racial integration. The rhetori c o f th e scrip t embrace d wha t ever y blac k activis t i n Hollywood had been lobbying and sipping lunchtime chicken soup for: a means of enlisting African American s on the tea m by showing that they

The Making of The Negr o Soldie r 10

7

had already been covertly signed up in all of the nation's previous wars, as though making up for generations of structured absences and erasures from newsreels and heroic post-office murals. So rapidly did events carry the idea forward that b y war's en d th e quie t insinuations o f The Negro Soldier gre w insisten t i n Moss' s las t project , Teamwork (1945) . More over, blacks noticed. As a black show business paper headlined it : "Army Shows Hollywood th e Way." 13 This is not t o clai m tha t Mos s worke d apar t a s though a Leni n i n Zurich. As early as 192 8 a thread o f conscience-liberalism ha d appeare d in the intellectua l quarterlies, providing a growing fund o f both theor y and data upon which t o build a politics of changed racia l arrangements . In fact , Donal d Young, who i n 192 8 ha d edite d a n "America n Negro " issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, spent th e wa r monitorin g project s like The Negro Soldier an d writin g manuals such as the army's Leadership and the Negro Soldier. He reduced a lifetim e of research int o convenien t "do' s an d don'ts " tha t becam e prescriptions fo r governmen t moviemaking . N o shot s o f watermelons , no fondnes s fo r porkchops, n o stoc k figure s fro m Hollywoo d lore , n o "colored soldier s most Negroid in appearance," n o overweenin g atten tion t o blac k officer s becaus e "th e Negr o masses" thin k tha t "colore d men wh o ge t commissions ten d t o loo k dow n o n th e masses. " At the same time , wit h th e bes t o f intentions h e cam e dangerousl y clos e t o Hollywood's practic e o f absentin g an d erasin g Africa n America . "N o Lincoln, no emancipation, o r any race leaders, or friends o f the Negro, " he wrote. 14 In other words, caution required a middle course that eschewed th e extremities of both ancien regime and revolutionary vanguard—neither a Bourbon no r a Robespierr e be. Sadly , the polic y needlessl y adopte d a timidity tha t migh t stifl e th e message , indee d ha d alread y don e s o in altering Moss's title, and might divide blacks ever after into those with a contempt fo r half-loaves and thos e for whom they were too good to be true. Alread y th e governmen t ha d turne d ou t it s shar e o f humdru m films: a one-reeler o n the colored section of the National Youth Administration, anothe r o n Negro Colleges in Wartime an d thei r ROT C units , and Henry Browne, Farmer, the only one with a spark of the drama that Moss hoped t o attain . Claude Barnett of the Associated Negro Press (ANP) had been in on

a coupl e o f government-sponsore d film s an d fel t thwarte d b y them . Somehow, betwee n idea and result a slippage always occurred. In 194 0 he ha d urge d th e Genera l Educatio n Boar d t o sponso r a fil m fo r th e American Negro Exposition in Chicago, but o f the resulting One Tenth of a Nation coul d say only that i t was " a prett y picture but i t did no t d o what we se t out t o do." An d of Henry Browne, an idea he had take n to the Department of Agriculture, he could only report that "my initial idea flew righ t out th e window" to be replaced by "an insipi d little story far

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from ou r origina l purpose. " A t leas t on e blac k viewe r agreed , askin g OWI: Is there "onl y one Negr o family in the war and is the onl y thing they ar e doing farming?" 15 Actuall y the film was no t al l that weak . I t was an homage to the bucolic life that Booker Washington had preache d in which a black farmer wh o plant s peanut s (fo r their wartime uses) is seen a s one o f the "soldier s o f production," indeed a s part o f a contin uum between his own kids, who raise a calf and do their chores, and the black warriors in uniform. In fact, Barnett' s barbs notwithstanding, no t only did the NAACP thank Agriculture for "the admirable farmer and his

family" and acknowledge the film's "value both in raising the morale of Negroes themselves and even more in the emphasis to white audiences, " but durin g th e Harle m riots , a s we hav e seen , th e Schomburg' s ma n played i t on hi s wall. 16 At any rate , The Negro Soldier would be bolder, Moss thought, de spite its army sponsors an d thei r Hollywoo d scrip t doctors. H e worked away a t i t i n th e Librar y o f Congress , wondering whethe r th e arm y would accep t his script . Meanwhile , bac k i n Hollywoo d Fran k Capra, the nominal producer , chose a director, first William Wyler, who the n "got a better offer fro m th e Ai r Force," and the n Stuar t Heisler, a journeyman wh o ha d weathere d racial tensions whil e shooting The Biscuit Eater (1940 ) o n locatio n i n Georgia . In tur n Heisler , who hope d fo r a writer who ' 'really knows the background of the Negro," met Moss, and they "hi t i t off like magic" wit h the resul t that after a round o f fruitles s auditions Mos s als o wo n th e leadin g role . Withi n a yea r the y woul d have a final cut that pleased the army, a black preview audience, an d a sampling o f reviewers. 17 Here black leaders picked up gossip about the movie and joined th e army in promoting its premiere. For example, when Walter White spoke to the Hollywood Writers Congress on the campus of UCLA in 1943 , h e told his audience he was "pleased t o learn that . . . Th e Negro Soldier' is now being completed [and ] .. . i s certain to be an outstanding contribution to the morale of Negro troops and civilians, an advance toward better understanding between the races, and a telling blow against Japanese race and color propaganda."18 Already he was turning over in his mind a n expansionary purpose for a movie the army regarded as merely a necessity. The Negro Soldier as released easily met the army' s modest goal, but by placin g black s a t th e cente r o f a n entir e movi e i t als o parallele d White's wor k i n Hollywood , thus linkin g a private black campaign t o changes in public policy that blacks had helped force . True, in making its soft ple a fo r black pride whil e sidesteppin g the persistenc e o f segregation, it was aimed at the political center. In typical Hollywood fashion it offered th e sor t o f flowing , seamles s story , modulate d lighting , an d smooth optica l effect s tha t ha d mad e featur e film s s o easil y digestible . The difference wa s tha t the studi o syste m (it had bee n sho t on th e ol d

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That th e wa r altere d racial arrangement s ma y be seen on locatio n wit h The Negro Soldier (1944 ) as Carlto n Moss, holding th e script , an d Stuar t Heisler, in captain' s bars , shared unaccustome d authority . Courtes y Carlton Moss .

Fox lot on Western Avenue) had been enlisted in a movie tha t had given African Americans the center of the frame and the action. An d following Donald Young' s prescription fo r fres h blac k iconmakin g an d th e sub stance of White's pledges , the arm y had provide d a mode l of a sobe r black bourgeoisie and its soldier-sons at war against America's enemies . Every performance , ever y stocksho t o f blacks in trainin g an d combat , every observanc e o f a patrioti c ritua l signale d th e relocatio n o f blac k visual interes t t o th e cente r o f the movie . Every image from main titles onward built expectations fo r the argument t o follow . Th e army' s ow n logotype , a n arme d eagle , dissolve s (unthinkably i n any prior year) to the title The Negro Soldier "presented by" the Signal Corps. A montage o f good, gray black churches carrie s the viewer int o a gothic edific e in which a soldier an d a reverent choi r ar e finishing "Sinc e Jesu s Cam e int o M y Heart. " A s th e hym n fades , a preacher (Moss ) put s asid e his sermo n t o introduc e th e soldier s i n th e flock, th e las t o f the m wit h a hin t o f feminism—"Private Parks , First Class," say s a female soldier in a closeup , t o whic h Mos s replie s wit h pride, "Firs t clas s indeed." Her e h e hammer s a t th e army' s angle : a reason t o fight . H e reminisces about Jo e Louis' s defeat o f the Germa n Max Schmeling (in voiceover to news footage) wit h his "American [no t

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black] fist, " a fight that, say s Moss, looms a s a rematch i n a far larger arena. Here Joe Louis is shown leadin g a training compan y throug h a n obstacle course while Schmeling goes through his paces as a paratrooper in "the Naz i army." Then, with the shot agai n favoring Moss, he hold s up a copy ofMein Kampfand read s its few references to blacks as "born half-apes." But more important, the wide shot of Moss's pulpit resonates with an angl e simila r to the on e th e viewe r wil l have glimpse d in Life magazine's coverage of the Luftwaffe' s bombin g of Coventry, the ruine d church i n Sundown, an d tw o othe r features , Mrs. Miniver (1942 ) an d Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943) , in each of which priests or journalists se t forth Allie d war aim s an d th e bette r worl d tha t wa s t o come.19 From Jo e Loui s as both triba l an d nationa l hero , Moss carrie s hi s viewer t o a history o f African American s in th e nation' s wars , a story never befor e spread t o a popula r audience . Antiqu e print s an d stock shots (o f bot h newsfil m an d Hollywoo d feature s suc h a s Griffith' s America and Victo r Fleming's The Rough Riders) punctuate d by reenactments carry the movie along in unruffled Hollywoo d style. Only the Civil War, the nation's still divisive Iliad, i s glossed by tightening dow n to the Lincoln Memorial an d the Gettysbur g Address. With the comin g o f the twentieth centur y th e actio n shift s t o librar y footag e o f World Wa r I combat, Croi x de Guerre s awarded t o blac k soldiers , an d parade s u p Fifth Avenue , wit h particula r attentio n pai d t o th e 369t h Ne w Yor k National Guard. The chronicle the n moves to World War II and a March of Time sort of reenactment o f Dorie Miller at Pearl Harbor, which was at once a central metaphor of the army's wished-for black dedication to the war an d a repudiation o f Japanese racial propaganda. 20 Of the m all , th e mos t compellin g visua l trop e offerin g a bluntl y racial basis for fighting was a shot of a patently prop-room-constructed stone cair n o n whic h a plaque i n Englis h testifie s to blac k heroism i n France in th e Grea t War. Then, i n a stroke of cutting-room cleverness , the boots of German invaders are supered ove r it, after which , a s Moss explains Naz i cupidity , an explosio n shatter s th e monument . Together with th e imag e o f Doric Miller, it offere d black s a motiv e t o fight . A s Moss says of Miller, so much fo r "Japa n [as ] the savio r of the colore d races," s o th e blaste d cairn , purportin g t o b e a testamen t t o Frenc h gratitude fo r th e blac k "hellfighters " o f Worl d Wa r I , i s show n a s a victim of German racism . Here The Negro Soldier shift s t o a huma n scal e b y takin g u p th e progress of a black soldier from basic training through officers' candidat e school and thence to combat. His story is told in voiceover by his mother, a trim , tailore d woman i n a smal l stole, th e perfec t mode l o f Donald Young's black bourgeoisie. She is pleased no t onl y with hi s soldiering but also with the Utopia that surrounds it in which blacks aspire to high rank, meet nice girls at dances, read Langston Hughes in the post library,

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and g o t o churc h o n Sunday . Th e opportunitie s see m limitless , eve n including West Point, as though th e army really believes it. Returning to Moss's church , th e movi e end s o n a chorus o f "Onward Christia n Soldiers" and a syncopated "Joshua Fi't the Battle of Jericho" played over a montage o f marching men an d women in a visual and aural coda of the army's best hopes . What now ? Th e army wishe d onl y tha t it s own troop s se e it, an d even then, gingerly and not as a mandate. Bu t the army's partners sa w in OF-51 (it s code number) muc h more . Base d upon the socia l engineers ' samples, the movie seemed to demonstrate tha t belief and ideology wer e open to persuasion b y film, a conclusion graduall y shared by OWI, who wished t o sho w i t t o civilian s an d th e NAAC P who sa w i t a s a visual hymn t o the Double V. At least it would be better than the tame stuff tha t Barnett had grumbled about, and it might in the minds of audiences fus e the government's an d the blacks' goals into a common cause . Moreover , the timing was right. The riots in Harlem and Detroit during the summe r of 194 3 ha d shattere d th e illusio n o f interracia l harmony , whil e th e army's ow n dat a culle d fro m it s Researc h Branc h confirme d th e ba d news in Hastie's clipping file. Still, the army dragged the film through a gauntlet o f federal agencie s tha t pore d over dailie s an d roug h cut s i n search of hidden tinder s that might se t off riots on it s own posts . In fact , when Moss, Heisler, and a civilian consultant ra n th e film for "a Negro camp outsid e o f Sa n Diego " th e commander , certai n th e fil m woul d provoke violence , calle d ou t hi s militar y police , onl y t o fin d tha t th e black troops seened pron e t o violence onl y if they were denied a look at it.21 At last , i n lat e 194 3 i t reache d th e Pentagon , wher e Marshall , Stimson, Osborn , Genera l A . D . Surle s o f Army publi c relations , an d Assistant Secretary John J. McCloy saw it and adde d suggestions to the growing list . Mainly, the y wante d a "toned down " recu t tha t showe d "that Negroe s di d somethin g [i n Worl d Wa r I ] othe r tha n engag e i n combat" and averted "a n erroneou s assumptio n o f the overall job of the Army"—presumably no t t o lead the natio n b y the han d int o racia l reform.22 Finally, in January 194 4 th e army decided to use OF-51 in training black recruit s whil e leavin g ope n issue s o f futur e use s an d editions . However, Research Branch continued t o poll the troops and found only sanguine projection s of future outcomes . I n on e sample, 9 0 percent o f black soldier s an d 8 0 percen t o f white s though t th e fil m shoul d b e shown to rookies of both races, seeming proof of the inference that racial attitudes were subjec t to revision through education . Despit e the persistence of army fears of a reaction to its "racial tolerance " angle , the social engineers prevailed. The film went into limited release to training cadres and b y spring 194 4 had becom e "mandatory " viewin g for all troops at continental America n replacement centers . Thu s for more tha n a year,

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until Augus t 194 5 when th e orde r wa s rescinded, almos t ever y soldier who passed through I&E's training programs saw the film. Hence in spite of institutiona l timidity , th e arm y ha d joine d wit h blac k activist s and white social engineers in tutoring its troops in an NAACP social goal that had al l but become a war aim—"racia l tolerance." 23 Civilian audiences wer e another matter . Conscience-liberal s itched for a civilian movie bedecked with an army eagle above its title, but OWI had alread y grow n leer y o f budget cuts threatened b y conservatives in the Congress . Black expectations ha d bee n raise d so high by the war as to cause jitters among conservatives , who feare d more o f the same afte r the war. They already knew that NAACP membership ha d risen tenfold during th e wa r an d blac k consciousnes s ha d rise n wit h it . White atti tudes, eve n i n the South , ha d als o begun t o change , i f only incremen tally. Yet the continuin g threa t o f outbursts of social antipathy deterre d OWI from plungin g int o civilia n bookings fo r fear o f the appearanc e of advocacy an d th e inferenc e o f allianc e wit h a n aggrieve d minority . Elmer Davi s himself sa w th e agency' s precariou s positio n and , caugh t between th e needs of national unity and minority interests, asked for yet another softenin g cut . A s i t was , h e though t i t "perfectl y passabl e in .. . th e North" and saw "risks" only in "Atlanta" or other Souther n locales.24 Of course , i n th e crisi s brought o n b y the war , Africa n American s constituted a swing vote between tw o countervailing white powers and thus might be able to dictate a cultural decision of far greater reach tha n any white man intended . From the whites' point of view the issue was the exten t to which African American s accepted The Negro Soldier as an affirmative sig n or a s "just 'icing' " on a stale cake . At last they too k a collective breath an d showe d i t to two hundred blac k journalists in the Pentagon; it received a glowing response that indicated a black tolerance for the "strategy o f truth" even if it glossed the reality of segregation. Not only the mainline NAACP but even the Marxist National Negro Congress (NNC) praise d i t a s "th e bes t eve r done " an d calle d fo r it s releas e t o civilians to which th e Arm y acceded i n April. 25 But it was one thing to release the film and quite another t o have it shown. Thereafte r the fat e o f OF-51 relied eve r mor e heavil y on black suasion, thi s tim e applie d t o exhibitors , wh o usuall y booked films for profit rathe r tha n causes . Moss , Truman Gibso n (th e lawyer wh o ha d replaced Hasti e i n th e Wa r Department) , an d Genera l Benjami n O . Davis, the rankin g blac k office r i n the army , personall y went t o Hollywood t o campaign. Luckil y for them, eve n when critics panned it s watery liberalism they balanced their opinions by quoting opposing blacks. It "suga r coats, " sai d th e Times man , an d "discretel y avoids . . . rac e problems"; i t wa s "pitifully , painfull y mild, " wrot e Jame s Agee . Bu t Agee als o reported that i t "means a good deal, I gather, to mos t of th e Negro soldiers who hav e see n it." Time played the sam e angle, quoting

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Carlton Moss receive s a civilian award—pinne d o n b y Frank Capr a himself — for hi s wor k o n The Negro Soldier. Courtes y Carlto n Moss. Moss himself, who sai d that th e picture would "mea n more t o Negroes than most whit e me n could imagine." 26 Drawn together as they were, these critics, the black promoters, an d the audiences bot h commercial and military forme d a n emerging docu mentary fil m culture , which wa s just beginning t o ope n t o the ide a of political cinema. User s of such documentaries, suc h as the Unite d Auto Workers, reporte d tha t th e fil m wa s "raisin g th e moral e o f the Negro people a s well as the white people " while nettlin g the Memphis censo r into banning it. 27 For an acute observer, suc h films thus anticipated th e arrival o f a postwar generation o f films of advocacy. Meanwhile, befor e that day arrived, OF-51 flopped in theatres, vic tim perhaps of mixed reviews, the dog days of summer, a tiff between th e army an d th e Wa r Activitie s Counci l (WAG) , a voluntee r agenc y o f professionals i n th e mas s medi a tha t helpe d distribut e arm y film s t o civilian theatres , an d finall y becaus e theatreme n preferre d a s thei r "duty" booking s th e classier , Technicolored , and apolitica l Memphis Belle, With the Marines at Tarawa, and The Fighting Lady, th e latte r tw o of which wo n Oscars . The hits routinely played twelve thousand houses as against The Negro Soldier's les s than two thousand . The only remedia-

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ble variable was the lengt h o f OF-51; it s forty-odd minute s eithe r pre cluded playin g it with doubl e feature s o r reduced it s number o f show s per day . S o blacks pressed th e arm y fo r a shorte r version , whic h in creased th e playdate s up t o Moss's reckoning o f five thousand houses , perhaps 8 0 percent o f them caterin g to whites. 28 Clearly, by the end of 1944 The Negro Soldier had becom e a monster unintended b y the army , a black-driven message o f "racial tolerance " that conscience-liberal s came t o regar d a s a weapo n fo r mountin g a postwar assaul t o n America n racism . B y then Africa n Americans , by welding a solid link between thei r ow n goal s an d th e wa r aim s of the Allies, ha d expande d thei r prospect s fo r a stak e i n th e outcom e o f the war , perhap s includin g a postwa r conscience-libera l culture . Tha t the allianc e o f blacks , thei r army , an d Hollywoo d sa w thi s prospec t became obvious when they joined in a suit to restrain the showin g of a rival documentary by a race-moviemaker. We 've Come a Long, Long Way (1944), b y th e evangelis t Elder Solomon Lightfoo t Michau x an d Jac k Goldberg o f Herald Pictures, force d the m t o as k whethe r rac e movie s were a black achievement o r a regression to Jim Crow . With the sam e lack of forethought that ha d guide d its racial decisions s o far, the arm y joined blacks in a thicket of intragroup black politics. The actual making of the Goldberg-Michaux movie will be taken up in the next chapter; for present purposes we need onl y know that it became a cause celebre that forced th e arm y to choose between propaganda tha t offere d a future o r one that invoked the past. The army's dilemma arose from its embarrassment a t having casually authorized the Signa l Corps to supply the filmmakers with stockshot s while borrowing footage from Goldber g for use in The Negro Soldier. Moreover, Milton Eisenhower, Davis' s associate in OWI, had actually abetted Michaux in a meeting arrange d through tw o of his servant s who belonge d t o Michaux's flock. Together the army' s assistance and Eisenhower's kindness compelled the Pentagon to choose one visio n o f postwa r racia l arrangemen t ove r another , Moss' s ove r Michaux an d Goldberg's. 29 The sui t ensue d fro m a Goldberg/Michau x injunction agains t th e War Department that restrained them from releasing The Negro Soldier to civilians withou t charge , holdin g tha t th e polic y amounte d t o unfai r competition arising from the army's joining its venture with the NAACP. Their shared goal, as Truman Gibson told a general, should be: "All races play ever y positio n o n on e bi g team," no t segregation . Thu s th e sui t would forc e th e arm y t o testif y i n ope n cour t tha t indee d the y wer e implicated in marketing a movie that amounted t o campaigning for the NAACP. Not that the army calculated this course; rather, they were caught up in the NAACP' s coast-to-coast campaign against the riva l film and carried along by its momentum. Roy Wilkins and Gibso n assembled a slate of worthie s t o "assis t distribution " o f OF-5 1 that include d Nelson

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Rockefeller, Mayo r Fiorell o L a Guardia and Franci s Cardinal Spellman of New York , Harold Ros s o f The New Yorker, an d a West Coas t wing. Then-NAACP counse l Thurgoo d Marshall , Gibson , an d WAC filed an amicus curiae brief in which they characterized "their" movie as founded "on th e premise that racia l prejudices which divid e our population wil l have thei r effec t minimize d b y th e disseminatio n o f facts," no t onl y a tenet o f socia l psychologist s suc h a s Gordo n Allpor t wh o though t o f prejudice a s curabl e throug h correc t data , bu t als o a n anticipatio n o f Marshall's later strategy of introducing sociologica l data into evidence in Supreme Cour t cases. 30 Thu s the NAAC P had enliste d i n its cause tw o federal agencie s an d a pane l o f urban conscience-liberals . I t remaine d only to avoid the suggestion of a "Jewish vs. Negro situation." With this in min d Walte r Whit e aske d Jewis h activist s to stan d wit h the m an d made certain that the press releases always contrasted th e movies and not their makers, th e on e "insultin g t o Negroes, " thei r ow n possesse d of "enormous potentialities for good in stimulating the morale o f American Negroes an d i n educatin g whit e Americans." 31 Anticlimactically , the y reached a settlemen t tha t allowe d We 've Come a Long, Long Way a fe w days' "clearance " i n which t o recove r it s "nut" unoppose d befor e th e release o f The Negro Soldier. With the suit behind them , th e blacks needed t o justify th e expens e by drummin g u p a n audience , a strategy that include d exploitin g thei r new ideological link with the army. With "everythin g . . . bein g don e that can be done fro m th e Washington end, " wrot e Edwi n R. Embree of the Rosenwal d Fund, a benefactor of black causes, i t remained onl y for "many of us . . .t o enlis t in the cause" with OW I "to help sprea d the news to commercial theatres." In Hollywood White had already plugged it befor e th e Writers ' Congres s an d bot h Gibso n an d Mos s spen t th e summer o f 194 4 i n galas , wringin g plug s fro m mogul s ("th e greates t War Departmen t pictur e eve r made, " sai d Harry Cohn) , proddin g th e black press and the leftish Hollywood Writers' Mobilization (HWM) into praising thei r movi e a s " a rea l contributio n t o nationa l unity " an d a refutation o f "racis t lies, " whil e i n Washingto n Phille o Nas h i n OW I sketched his own strategy. 32 Interracia l committees wrot e letters , spon sored previews, promoted th e shorter version, and roused local allies like Mayor Fletche r Byron' s Lo s Angele s Civi c Unit y Committee . Mean while, Mos s escorte d Genera l Davis through a round o f receptions pu t on by trade unions, civi c groups, and the HWM. The black press joined in, urging the National Council of Negro Women "t o rally the public and force th e specia l film , The Negro Soldier, t o b e release d i n ful l t o audi ences o f both races." 33 In this way, only a year from th e war's end , African American s and their allie s ha d breache d tw o redoubt s o f whit e privilege , Hollywood and th e Pentagon , an d turne d the m t o Africa n America n purposes. It remained no w t o se t going the hea t an d pressur e necessary to extrude

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the impac t o f their victor y int o peacetime ; tha t is , to expropriat e th e army's necessitaria n movie s a s vehicle s o f NAAC P goal s fo r year s t o come. Indeed, a s we shal l se e in chapte r 6 , OF-51 was first among th e films that outlive d th e wa r an d becam e a voic e i n a postwa r libera l culture based in schools, trade unions, and , mos t centrally , audiovisual libraries, the latte r an ar m o f film culture that had barel y existed before the wa r bu t soo n becam e a presence in national academi c life . Even as war still raged, American teachers and social workers, many of the m alread y devou t conscience-liberals , bega n placin g The Negro Soldier int o civilia n program s apar t fro m th e army' s ow n usages . Of course, their mentality, under the rubric of "fair play," had always been part of the furniture of American minds, but the war had strengthe d the idea by placing it on the agenda of federal agencies. In passing, it should also be pointed ou t that the movie gave liberals a voice in racial politics that before the war had reside d in more narrowly Marxist circles. Now, mainstream activists, through The Negro Soldier (with its army eagle over its main titles), possessed their own vehicle to carry wartime mentalities into peacetime. As early as the spring of 1944 they had begun using it to teach "inter-cultura l education " and "living together," to cite only two coinages that anticipated a peacetime conscience-liberalism. In one survey o f fil m users , OF-5 1 ranked thir d i n a lo t o f seventee n film s i n effectiveness. Moreover, the high esteem in which it was held reflected a movement amon g fil m user s themselve s toward , a s Irvin g Jacoby , a leader i n th e postwa r audiovisua l movement, wrote , "th e . . . us e of idea film s i n America. " No t onl y di d liberal s anticipat e thi s postwa r trend, one of their trade papers specifically linked the "great boom in the use of teaching films" to the predicted glut of "government and military films available afte r th e war. " Boldl y librarians began speakin g o f th e army as a sort of partner in social engineering—"attitude building," they called it—and a hero for its "courage [in ] presenting a 'point o f view'" on film . Casuall y they move d fro m vagu e hope s fo r " a bette r world " toward " a permanen t fron t t o ac t as a corrective democratic force," a s one librarians' guild put it. 34 The Negro SoWfe r bridged the gap between the army's needs in 194 2 and the politics of this emerging film culture. The play in the movie that had allowe d both the army and th e NAACP to claim it as a success thus led t o expectation s o f "enormou s potentialities " onc e th e wa r ha d ended. This reckoning of efficacy is , of course, a difficult poin t to make . As w e hav e seen , earl y o n th e Gallu p polls revealed a vei n o f whit e approval fo r publi c gesture s an d policie s suc h a s Eleano r Roosevelt' s response t o Marian Anderson' s contretemp s wit h th e DA R or the passage o f th e FEPC . Bu t apar t fro m thi s statistica l trac e evidence , i t i s possible t o discer n a seepag e of liberal rhetoric into ordinar y talk, th e way on e coul d spot a libera l becaus e he sai d "Negro " instea d of "col ored" or a Marxist because he said "the Negr o people." In October 1943,

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for example, as American bomber crews at an English base received their orders to bomb civilian targets, one pilot recalled cheerin g a chance t o kill "spawners o f race hatred and minority oppression," as though reading from a liberal tract. 35 Whether reflected in polls or not, film librarians presumed an evolving liberal, or as they ofte n pu t it , "thinking" audience. Jun e Blythe of the American Council on Race Relations, for example, not only believed the army's data on the impact of OF- 51 but embellished it, estimating an audience of twenty million already that could expand if , "like any othe r new market, " i t was "sough t ou t an d educate d t o th e valu e o f film." OWI's files confirmed the impending boom ; alread y their film bookers enjoyed a broad word-of-mouth following that include d variou s urban libraries, the Brooklyn Jewish Communit y Council , Parent-Teacher Associations, churches , a reformator y i n Virginia , an d Lati n America n agencies, al l totalin g perhap s seve n an d a hal f millio n spectator s i n 150,000 playdates. 36 The black and white liberal press provided a backbeat to which th e audiovisual librarians marched. "Hat s off! " PM had crie d at the releas e of The Negro Soldier. "It will educate every white American who see s it." At the same time another criti c claimed that in "building ou r democracy [it] is equal to thousands of soldiers, tons of material and volumes of the best anti-fascis t speeches. " The Peoples' Voice, Ada m Clayton Powell's paper, called upon women to "rally the public." Another asked that it be turned agains t "the disgracefu l condition s of .. . th e War Dept" itself . Moss himself caugh t th e swell ; h e ha d begu n th e film hoping, no t t o show "what's wrong with the Army," but only to "tell what's right with my people," but he ended the war feeling OF-51 had led white people to ask "what right [we have] to hold back people of that calibre."37 Clearly, as a result of these forces se t loose by the war—a "rising wind, " Walter White had calle d it—the courses of African Americans , social activists, social engineers, an d documentary film users intersected. However, even though The Negro Soldier took on a life of its own fa r beyond the army' s original narro w intent , i t coul d fee d it s audienc e onl y s o lon g befor e going stale, and it could hardly speak its piece alone without the ideological support of inventories o f similar films. And few titles in the govern ment's stoc k had eve r inspired the outpouring that had greete d OF-51. The Negro Sailor allowed ships ' companies to believe that the messman' s rating awarded to blacks was a permanent condition ; Welcome to Britain coyly told black soldiers that America n racial arrangements wer e t o be observed whil e residen t there; Westward Is Bataan caught fleetin g im ages of racial harmony, bu t onl y aboard a troop ship from which blacks and whites would disgorge onto separate beaches; the army's cautionary sexual hygien e movies were no t onl y segregate d into whit e an d blac k reels but wer e almost treasonous i n their portrayal of black lasciviousness; an d a s we have seen, Henry Browne, Farmer and Negro Colleges in

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Wartime were al l but shelve d for want o f a market fo r their undemand ing portrayal o f things a s they were. 38 Even th e mos t heartfel t attempt s t o addres s blac k sensibilitie s in these movies either misfire d o r were cancele d for want o f guidance. The worst o f them were th e sexua l cautionar y tales that no t onl y nauseate d generations o f rookies, but als o were ruine d b y some irreducible nugget of racism that the arm y seemed powerles s to dissolve. In Know for Sure, for instance , a black squad o n a pass follows a white squa d to the local black brothel, bu t back at the post onl y the blacks have picke d up doses of venera l disease , leavin g a n NAAC P corresponden t t o conclud e tha t "all Negroe s have syphilis " an d rousin g th e blac k troop s t o "indigna tion." Thi s touch y subjec t alread y nettle d blac k soldier s becaus e th e army pretende d t o hav e n o polic y towar d prostitution , whil e i n fac t practicing a policy that steered white soldiers toward relatively hygienic, safe sex and black soldiers toward th e seamiest "red light " districts, with the resul t tha t blac k troop s testifie d t o Arm y investigator s tha t unles s they riske d V D "we don' t have n o plac e to go." 39 The mos t blunderin g o f these movies , Easy to Get, depicted stereo types that either White or Breen had long since driven from the commer cial screen. I t opened o n "a whole stree t duplicating a section of a Negro quarter i n a souther n town" where i t blindly asserted tha t al l strata of black society were broadly painted a s the possibly infected population. A black soldier meets a prim maiden i n a picture hat whom he squires to a soda fountain, a dance, a n evening o n a porch swing , as though warnin g that on e migh t ge t a touch o f something eithe r fro m a sod a stra w o r a squeaky swin g that migh t hav e bee n touche d b y the blac k bourgeoisie. Later a "bad girl " is added (Murie l Smith in a lowcut blouse, as though a roadshow Carmen Jones), prowling the stags in a seedy saloon, "Blue s in the Night" moodily on the soundtrack, cool pimps cruising in and out of the beade d curtains , abandone d dancin g o n th e floor ; followin g is a n out-of-focus sho t of a pillow, and finally the soldier in bed, alone, spent , dreamy—and havin g forgotte n t o us e hi s prophylacti c kit . A s i f thi s caricature of how on e catche s VD in black circles were no t enough , th e denouement lef t ye t anothe r discomfitin g message: Th e fat e o f a sic k black soldie r wa s t o b e place d i n th e hand s o f white-coated , white skinned medica l saviors . Th e message wa s clear : Th e arm y wa s reall y two outfits , th e one , black , hedonistic , Dionysian , an d sick, th e othe r white, Apollonian , and healing . N o black worthies i n the las t reel—Joe Louis, Ralph Metcalf, Jesse Owens, o r Paul Robeson—erased the sharp edged imag e o f a declinin g blac k soldier , prematurel y old , alon e i n a darkened room , a victim onl y o f his ow n appetites. 40 Then ther e wer e th e movie s tha t neve r were . Th e arm y ai r force , following up Truman Gibson's call reminding them of the third anniversary o f Tuskegee airbase, started up tw o films , Red Tails an d Wings for This Man, th e forme r a probable abortion, the latte r a bland assertion of


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what ha d alread y been said . "Intended for public release to Negro motion picture theatres," said OWI's daily log. Yet Wings for This Man wa s marked by its calculated, sotto voce liberal argument fo r colorblind inte gration: I t celebrate d blac k fighte r pilot s withou t a singl e referenc e t o their race ! Th e film opened o n P-4 7 Thunderbolt s sweepin g th e skie s over Italy , thei r win g camera s recordin g th e shattered , burning , spinning-out-of-control Messerschid t ME-109 s an d Heinke l HE-lll s downed b y thei r machine-guns . Th e pilots touc h dow n an d cool y re count their exploits with the palms-down gesture s that only fliers use to illustrate thei r maneuvers ; th e voiceover describe s the m a s just folks , former students and mechanics (cu t to classrooms and shops), and welltrained fighters (cut to Tuskegee)—not once calling them black. After all, says the voice—Ronald Reagan—"you can' t judge a man by the color of his eye s or the shap e o f his nose." 41 And yet, even a s liberal rhetoric took th e lin e o f effacing blackness , African American s themselve s b y midwa r reache d ne w level s o f in group awareness . "Who' s go t th e Courier an d wha t di d i t sa y thi s week?" th e Tuskege e pilot s routinel y asked , knowin g i t nettle d thei r white superio r officers . "I neve r see any Col[ored ] Servic e Men in the newsreel," blacks grumbled to OWL 42 Clearly, the war had put an edge on th e presentatio n o f self in black circles. And in its last days, the wa r offered onl y a few more chances to imprint this sharpened sensibilit y on the racia l propagand a tha t black s woul d hop e t o us e i n th e comin g peacetime. For a tim e ever y agenc y seeme d t o offe r a n angle . Sau l Padover , before th e wa r o n the facult y o f the New School, proposed to Secretar y of th e Interio r Osca r Chapman a n extensio n o f the voic e o f The Negro Soldier: "tha t Negroe s hav e alway s bee n a genuin e par t o f America . . . workin g to . . . contribut e to the total picture of American life. " I n OW I Philleo Nas h toute d Moss' s ne w movie , Teamwork, which he "hope[d] . . . wil l be widely seen." As though preparin g the way fo r a politically assertive, war-trained documentar y film culture, a new Committe e for Mass Education in Race Relations, describing itsel f as "liberals o f social vision," joined with th e more leftis t America n Film Center in Octobe r 194 4 t o announce " a progra m o f educational films " designed t o pul l th e natio n throug h " a tim e whe n dangerou s racia l tensions threate n t o disturb profoundly the entir e structur e of our society."43 A t th e sam e time , Hollywood' s documentar y unit s remaine d fixed on half-measure s like Warner's ill-fate d picku p of Congo, the Belgian film that traced blac k Africa fro m canniblis m t o antifascism in less than a n hour . Although thes e improvise d gestures contributed littl e t o a libera l canon o f movies, they vibrate d with wishe s t o d o th e righ t thin g an d revealed a line of argument and a n emerging documentary film culture that, take n together , forme d th e contex t i n whic h th e arm y wa s t o

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commission it s sequel t o The Negro Soldier. Th e title of the projec t itself was enough to suggest that the army had been all but swept along by the momentum—Teamwork. The Allied invasion o f Europe in June 194 4 provided th e occasio n for Mos s to take a unit t o Normandy and, in the train of the advancin g armies, follo w a black angl e i n th e person s o f the Re d Bal l Express , a heavily black quartermaster uni t that became famou s for supplying the rolling front while often under attack. But in the face of a decision to cut back on such films, only the energies of a few influential advocates kept Teamwork alive : Gibson; Genera l Lyman Munson, a n earl y defender of The Negro Soldier; Anatol Litvak, a Hollywood colonel who ha d take n a liking to Moss; and Frank Capra, who, Moss guessed, would endorse th e film as lon g a s he fel t "h e i s carrying out Wa r Departmen t policy." 44 Even so, it stalled, slowl y slipped from Moss' s grasp into that o f Majo r Edmund H. North, a Hollywood veteran, and fel l victim to quarrels over new guidelines , stricture s on raw stock , and fea r o f celebrating the Express to o much . Th e shiftin g o f it s workin g titles , from The Soldier in Supply and Maintenance, ETO to The Negro Soldier in ETO and finall y t o Teamwork, testifie d to its shaky status as the end of the war approached . Not until July did they have a script, probably because it took that long to assemble footage and arrive at an "evergreen" angle that would retain its timeliness n o matter which cours e the war took. It might even hav e died but for a prodding letter from Ro y Wilkins to General Surles urging its completion an d distribution . By then, in late summer, a s the army' s attention turned to occupying a defeated Germany, a task that include d selecting film s fo r showin g ther e an d i n liberate d countries , respon sibility fo r suc h choice s bega n t o sli p away t o th e Oversea s Branch of OWI, the Librar y of Congress, the Museu m o f Modern Art, and Rockefeller's Offic e o f th e Coordinato r o f Inter-America n Affair s (CIAA). 45 Saving the film became a challenge a s the contac t points began to thi n out. Bu t eve n afte r th e Germa n armistic e wa s signe d i n th e sprin g of 1945, th e projec t survived, albeit contracted ou t t o 20th Century-Fox , and was in the can by November, long after the war that had impelled its making had ended . Eventuall y Teamwork (OF-14) , after a last spat over rights t o librar y footage, went int o civilia n release a s a sor t o f liberal moral victory , since the arm y no longe r had a use fo r it. More than any othe r war documentary , Teamwork i n every foot of its being—its title, visual rhetoric, imagery, texture, voice of patent advocacy, its singling out a black unit for heroic action—reflected its political origins, and its survival testified to the influence of the conscience-liberal coalition that had brought about its creation down to the last moment of the war. It set a black agenda in that it literally promised African Americans an enhanced statu s in the postwar world in return for their service during th e war. Every sequenc e glowed with th e message . It open s o n a vaulting,


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polished marbl e conference chamber, a caricature of the Naz i architectural monumentalis m tha t ha d becom e a fixture in Hollywood' s anti Nazi movies. On the soundtrack an almost metallic voice hammers, "a s on a broken record, " say s the script : "Divid e an d conquer , divid e and conquer, divid e and conquer. " Insid e th e roo m a meetin g o f glossily booted, highranking Nazis is in progress, presided over by a man with an angular face, a sneering mouth that is little more than a slit, and glinting eyes under enameled black hair. The cadenced words are his. The actor is Martin Kosleck, who had earne d a steady living during the war playing Nazi heavies who spok e in the clippe d accents he ha d learne d i n a childhood in Pomerania an d an apprenticeship in Max Reinhardt's theatre in Berlin. 46 His speech is a tidy summing up of Hitler's own injunction agains t "mongrel" races that h e had pu t fort h i n Mein Kampf, bu t with an American twist intended to divide black from white by "playin g on frictions that already exist" and by persuading whites that "the Negro is stupi d an d irresponsibl e [and ] unfi t t o handl e th e tool s o f moder n war." The goal, he says in terms that make clear the uses segregation has for Nazis, is no less than "splitting off the Negroes," thereby reducing the American army by 10 percent. Then an American voice takes over as the image shift s t o stoc k footage (possibly taken fro m Frit z Hippler's Westwall [1939] ) of German defenses intercut wit h shot s o f Allied convoys In contras t t o Allied racial propaganda , th e Germans , a s here in Sieg im Westen, portraye d African s as grinning French dacoits . Copyrigh t Transi t Films.

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steaming towar d th e D-Da y landin g i n Normandy . A s the tin y figure s advance across the exposed an d smoking beach, the voiceover says with exaggerated irony that they are truly a mongrel army composed o f "Protestant an d Catholic , Jew an d Gentile , ric h ma n an d poo r man , blac k man and white—they all hit the beach under the same enemy fire. When they ar e hit , the y fee l th e sam e pain. " Tha t i s t o say , th e voiceove r integrated the army before the Pentagon had, in a metaphor that reached beyond th e mere necessities of war an d i n fact pointe d towar d postwa r black socia l goals. T o clinch th e point , on e o f the shot s o n th e beac h depicted a bugbear that had nettled man y blacks—the early segregation of Re d Cros s bloodbanks alon g racia l lines . Amon g th e wounde d i s a black soldie r receivin g blood—"th e sam e kin d o f bloo d flowe d fro m their veins, " says the narrator . As th e German s fal l bac k t o th e Rhine , a stor y tol d i n a linea r montage o f stockshots , black s ar e wove n eve r mor e deepl y int o th e fabric o f the army: Without the Re d Ball Express, the movie argues, the advance migh t hav e bee n stalled , givin g th e German s tim e t o stiffen . Cutting bac k t o dramati c enactment , whit e an d blac k driver s o f amphibious lighter s ar e see n riskin g thei r neck s unde r fir e a s th e voiceover points ou t that the Germans had predicted that "each secon d boat would fail [an d that] this man [ a black driver] was a coward." Later the advanc e hinge s o n the driver s again: wil l this armored tan k ge t its fuel, this rifleman his fresh ammunition clips , and so on. In other words , integration i s shrewdly pu t t o th e audienc e no t a s a favo r black s ar e asking bu t a s a strateg y white Americ a need s fo r it s survival , a meta phorical stroke so unendingly usefu l tha t Sidne y Poitier, among others , would devot e a career to reenacting it in ever higher levels of status and accomplishment. Her e the thread o f the movi e becomes a voiceover list of Nazi predictions o f black failures counterpointed b y a visual repudiation o f each charge. "The y sai d he wa s shiftless, " says the voiceover as the shot tilts up to a black soldier "energetically" (the script says) stringing wire o n a pole, a sequence followe d by a dozen mor e accomplish ments of black quartermasters an d engineers, Midwa y through the film, the angl e shift s mor e starkl y t o integratio n b y focusin g o n mutually accomplished tasks—"teamwork. " Blac k and whit e engineer s togethe r lay pip e fo r fue l line s a s th e voiceove r say s "the y wer e bus y hatin g Germans—not each other. . . . Patton' s men needed gasoline." Thereafter, black s and white s operat e winche s i n Cherbour g harbor, unloa d cargo, and driv e the trucks of the Re d Ball Express together, a sequence that end s wit h Eisenhowe r himsel f awardin g medal s t o th e drivers . Raising ye t anothe r cavil—tha t black s could no t pilo t warplanes—th e voiceover introduce s a squadro n o f multiengine d B-17 s protected b y pursuit planes of the black 332nd Fighter Group, complete with closeups of a white ("Texan" say s the script) bomber pilot and a black fighter pilot ("from Alabama") . Throughout, the integratio n angl e i s argue d an d

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reargued i n bot h actualit y footage and dramatization s o f infantrymen, artillerists, armored units , and others . In a n entirel y dramatize d sequenc e Teamwork reache d a n integra tionist epiphan y tha t i s startlingly remote fro m an y messag e th e arm y may have wished t o send its troops; clearly the Pentagon wa s no longer in contro l o r n o longe r cared . U p to thi s moment , th e image s a t leas t purported t o be derived from actua l events, bu t her e i t is clear that th e audience is watching a totemic fiction designed to ram home a point. A German artiller y piec e i s firing leaflets tha t portra y th e wa r a s " a ric h man's war" an d a "poor colored man's fight." First white soldiers , then blacks pick up and read the fliers, then each tentatively looks off camera at th e ey e leve l o f the othe r a s thoug h th e assaul t wil l fai l becaus e of interracial mistrust . Afte r a suspensefu l pause , a t las t a blac k soldie r picks up his weapon an d advances , a cue for the entir e lin e to rise and move out . Afte r thi s fanciful triump h o f Hollywood actin g and editing , the fil m return s t o actualit y footag e o f yet anothe r compellin g image , that of General Mark Clark, a bete noir of blacks left over from when th e black 92nd Division had been attached t o Clark's 5th Army in Italy, and had been sen t to the rear with the quality of its soldiering in question. 47 He i s decoratin g a wounde d blac k soldie r i n a fiel d hospital , a sho t bracketed b y other s o f interracia l sacrifices : row s o f wounde d an d a cemetery o f serried rank s o f grave markers, an d finall y shot s o f surrendering German s and of a swastika atop Niirnberg stadium being blasted to rubble. The inference is clear: Nazism has been defeate d by the forc e of arms of a racially integrated nation. Bu t just to make certain, the coda combines a montage o f various units "of Negro troops and white troop s of all branches [and ] white WAC's and Negro WAC's" with a voiceover that invoke s a sloga n mad e famou s b y Jo e Louis : "There' s nothin g wrong wit h Americ a tha t Hitle r can fix. " Clearly, conscience-liberal s ha d stole n a march o n the arm y in asserting thei r ideology as officia l doctrine . I t remained onl y fo r them t o press thei r cas e fo r immediat e releas e t o postwa r civilia n audiences . Immediately, Walte r White, bac k from a long tou r o f the front s wher e black soldiers had fought , calle d for a preview fo r NAACP officers, afte r which h e judged that "a s far as it goes, it is a wonderful job, beautifull y done an d carrie s a messag e t o b e hear d b y man y American s whos e memory is shortlived." Othe r voices called for its distribution to schools and citizens ' groups, a cry heard almos t nowhere outside of New York. Nonetheless, Joseph Burstyn , a booker of foreign and othe r exoti c films for th e ne w "ar t house " market o f intimate theatres , picke d i t up an d touted it as "an importan t scree n record of the true role the Negro played in the winnin g o f the wa r [that ] can do muc h t o promote racia l unity now and for the future."48 Coupled with the efforts o f the growing ranks of media-conscious—indeed, media-prone—film librarian s eager to cultivate new audience s for their programs, which ha d becom e feature s of

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urban libraries, Burstyn's pickup constituted a liberal step toward a new film-culture draw n t o documentar y films of persuasion. Thus even though few theatrical audiences saw Teamwork, it formed part of the urban liberal film culture that had won a place as the natio n resumed it s peacetime footing . Teamwork was emblemati c o f a moo d that embrace d no t onl y th e freshl y minte d audiovisua l movemen t among librarian s but als o their versio n o f the socia l engineers' notio n that prejudice could be converted t o right thinking by means o f education, an idea seconded by the expanding corps of liberal critics who too k the trouble to review documentaries . These commentators ha d already praised The Negro Soldier as "a pioneer" in teaching "inter-cultural edu cation" and "livin g together"; now they saw the postwar ripening of its potential i n Teamwork. Typical was Ro y Wilkins's hop e tha t i t would "do much to promote racia l unity now and for the future. " In fact, eve n while Team-work wa s in production a few moguls and thei r black monitors met to discuss war movies as prospective omens of the future. 49 On the Marxis t left , critic s joined in , partl y t o reviv e ol d affiliation s wit h black causes. Mildred Fleming in the Worker, fo r example, predicted that films might make "the patche d up world hold together," whil e John T. McManus i n PM praised Teamwork fo r "th e bi g ingredient " tha t The Negro Soldier had lacked : soldiers "fighting, working, livin g together in mixed units " tha t migh t provid e a social metaphor t o help th e natio n through a postwar "developing period of unemployment an d economi c stress." Mos s himself joined in , urgin g a frien d i n th e NN C to tak e u p films as a propaganda medium. "Yo u ough t t o have a film program in every Negr o center i n America," h e wrote , predictin g that th e govern ment's films soon would become available cheaply or even at no cost. 50 In this way the Africa n America n propaganda movemen t outlaste d the ecumenical popular front tha t had animate d th e lef t o n the verge of war, and with the defeat of fascism it stood ready to collect its half of the Double V and to use films as a medium through which to clarify an d pu t forth it s objectives. And an y number o f prospective players shared their vision of the lat e war a s a wellspring of their own aims . A historian an d board member of the American Film Center, James T. Shotwell, though t the war had seasoned American audiences and prepared them for an age of "the thinkin g picture." Joseph Foste r of the New Masses attributed an improved imag e of blacks in othe r medi a to "the impetu s of war," a reckoning concurred in by George Norford, critic of the black Amsterdam News. And years later, the director Robert Wise remembered the war as a time whe n "black s an d othe r minoritie s [were ] involve d i n th e . . . whole thrus t t o put dow n th e Nazis , an d . . . mor e [interracial ] contact . . . undoubtedl y had a great influence" on the future. 51 Reinforc ing this mentality was a national trend toward wider use of audiovisual

teaching devices for advocacy and agenda-settin g by activists, and even-

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tually as free or cheap fodder for voracious, product-hungry early television. Not that the nation marche d a s one to this tune, even though it had become on e o f the centra l distinction s between antebellu m an d post bellum America. By 1947, conservative congressmen resumed the investigation of Hollywood politics that they had dropped at the onset of war, this time not in search of warmongers but "reds" who had infiltrated th e movielots. Moss himself felt thei r touch a s early as 1946 , when he wa s dropped fro m th e Teamwork promotio n uni t a s a result of, he guessed , "my un-America n past." Elsewhere, a conservative autho r i n New Orleans, Stuar t Landry, complained tha t race relations were going "not s o well," which he traced to the "cult of equality" that had mushroomed in federal agencie s durin g th e wa r wher e it s advocate s spen t thei r day s making "pure propaganda," o f which he singled out The Negro Soldier as the worst case. 52 Moreover, in weighing the succes s or failure of propaganda movies and th e prospect s for their affectin g th e futur e i t must b e see n tha t n o sweeping transferenc e o f hegemony ha d take n place . Rather , Africa n Americans had simply aligned themselves with a winner, fought well for it, and aimed to collect the reward that they had bargained for and tha t had bee n half-promise d by more tha n on e federa l agency . I t wa s thi s union o f likeminded, countervailin g force s brough t togethe r b y com monly felt aims that survived for its moment i n the sun . In more purely political terms, the surface of politics in the short term more resembled a thermidorean reactio n carried off by those who hoped for a return to the status quo ante bellum rather than a coup d'etat carried off by conscienceliberals. The reaction notwithstanding, a result of the war was that black ideas i n Washingto n an d Hollywoo d had foun d thei r way s int o bot h documentary and commercial movies, thereby holding ou t hope for the idea advanced by social engineers, tha t movie s mattered i n persuasion. That is, some change of collective mind had taken place, but not enoug h to chee r about . A s Walte r Fisher , a blac k office r i n I&E , recalled: Although The Negro Soldier ha d seeme d "on e o f the fines t thing s tha t ever happened t o America .. . w e knew . . . th e day of Jubilee had not arrived." 53

5 Hollywood Wins: The End of "Race Movies"

"Race movies" had no t merel y risen out o f segregation; they had been anointed b y it and, afte r a fashion, prospered from it . At their best as in The Scar of Shame (1927), a film by the Colore d Players of Philadelphia, they had provide d black audiences wit h a shock o f recognition of their plight and put fort h a group morale that called upon African Americans to striv e for, as one of the characte r says , "th e finer things. " At thei r worst the y fe d of f black misfortune rather tha n dea l wit h it , parodied bourgeois life rather than set it as a standard, an d gav e away credibility by setting life in a dark world unsullied by white people and improbably packed wit h blac k crook s an d cops , judge s an d doctors , moll s an d grandes dames, s o that the subsurfac e play of the text allowed the infer ence tha t black s had onl y themselve s t o blame fo r the han d the y ha d been dealt . Als o runnin g throug h th e wors t rac e movie s wa s a half hidden wis h t o b e whit e embedde d i n th e frequen t tale s o f garbled identities, lightskinned casts, and mannered behavior . All of these, to be sure, wer e th e outwar d sign s of the "twoness " of American life abou t which W. E. B. DuBois had written , but sometime s race movies teased and strumme d thes e feeling s rathe r tha n tak e the m u p a s part o f th e daily roun d o f blac k life . An d sometimes , almos t perversely , race moviemakers dre w attentio n t o th e unfai r compariso n o f their shoe string work with Hollywoo d gloss by billing their star s as "the colore d Mae West" o r "the colore d Valentino." 1 This i s not t o blam e rac e movies fo r their lo t i n life , bu t rathe r t o 126

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anticipate their eventua l irrelevanc e t o the black lif e brought o n by th e war. I n fact, Yiddis h filmmakers faced th e sam e critical problem, whic h stemmed fro m th e appearanc e o f advocating a trai t tha t th e fil m wa s merely portraying . Lik e rac e movies , fo r ever y Yiddis h fil m tha t wa s hailed a s "a n heirloo m .. . fo r posterity" o r wa s sho t i n religiously resonant location s suc h a s Palestine , ther e wa s anothe r panne d b y Jews as pejorativel y designe d to "injur e the reputatio n of Yiddis h theatre."2 Before th e war , critic s reviewe d rac e movie s onl y a s artifact s de signed to serv e a black clientele shu t of f from th e wellspring s of general American cultur e by a wall o f custom, law , an d privilege . Tradepaper s evolved a n ironi c voic e wit h whic h t o revie w the m a s "mad e ver y Walter White's campaign t o en d th e structure d absenc e o f African American s from movie s directl y challenge d socia l realities suc h a s the segregate d round of lif e reflecte d i n thi s Ne w Orlean s theatre front. Danie l J . Lea h Collection .

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Where segregation was no t a matter o f local la w it was define d onl y slightl y less stringently by custom, a s in Hazelwood , Pennsylvania. Farm Securit y Administration—LC. crudely" but , a s i n th e cas e o f Harlem Rides the Range, able t o "giv e colored audiences general satisfaction" ; or, critics patronizingly guessed that althoug h black s would tak e the films seriously, whit e kid s would enjoy them a s "parody." Even censors assumed an arch posture toward them, makin g allowance s fo r th e arcan a o f black culture . Whe n Jo e Breen cut a burlesque-type "bump," some "cooch" dancing, and som e black argot from Double Deal (1939), the president of the studio, Harwin Dixon, resorte d t o specia l pleading . "I t mus t b e born e i n mind, " h e argued, "tha t thes e lyric s are typica l negroid lyric s and certai n expres sions suc h a s are foun d i n al l Negro spirituals an d ho t numbers." 3 After th e war , a s we shal l see , th e toleranc e o f critics and censor s alike wore thin. Th e censors cut various oaths, curses , and bared limbs, along with line s lik e "Hello Eden , how's you r hammer hangin'," fro m Oscar Micheaux's The Betrayal (1948) , while the critics reported that the Apollo's toug h audienc e openl y "laughe d at " Miracle in Harlem an d predicted tha t "som e new departure s are necessar y if there's t o be an y respect from Negro audiences for film product with all-Negro casts." The race-moviemen emptily defended their work, claiming only they kne w the blac k "choic e i n film entertainment" an d wha t the y "d o no t car e

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for," or took extravagant credit for inventing cinematic conventions tha t blacks delighted in. 4 World Wa r II , having raise d the prospec t of a Doubl e V, rendere d race movie s a n anachronism , turne d blac k critic s agains t them , an d forced blac k audience s t o op t fo r joining or not th e spiri t of the times . After all , how coul d a segregate d movi e serv e th e caus e o f a war tha t slowly took on among it s aims the self-determination of all peoples an d the integration of the blacks into the fabric of American life? The answer to this question soo n set race-moviemakers apart from the centers of the prosecution of the war. With some blacks already in the corridors of the Pentagon, dinin g in the moguls' commissaries in Hollywood, appearing eye-to-eye with th e principals in Hollywood war movies , an d affectin g government propagand a at its source, race-moviemakers had simply lost part of their reason fo r survival and thu s their future plac e in American movie cultur e i n whic h th e wa r ha d begu n t o redefin e a blac k place . Not tha t Africa n American s electe d t o snu b blac k institutions ; rather, the war had opened up the prospect of redefining DuBois's "twoness." To take only tw o instances, th e black church woul d surviv e because entry to it began at birth and all blacks were nominally included in its client-population, but black baseball—the Negro National League, for example—would di e because its pool o f talent, an d it s number o f fans, were finit e a s wel l a s vulnerabl e t o proselytizin g by whit e paralle l leagues i n searc h o f both blac k players and fans . Clearly , race movie s were mor e lik e blac k basebal l tha n lik e blac k churches . Indeed , lon g before basebal l fan s turne d awa y fro m th e Negr o leagues, black mov iegoers all but cease d to suppor t rac e movies , preferrin g instea d the polish o f Hollywoo d couple d wit h it s freshene d use s o f black perfor mance. I n short , the y becam e "crossovers. " An d Hollywoo d soo n learned t o cate r t o the m b y mean s o f advertising, dual openings , an d cultivating black critics. The war undeniabl y ha d altere d a n America n taste-culture in a way that force d a reconsideration o f customary racial arrangements, an d i n doin g s o eithe r rebutte d th e notio n o f popula r culture as mouthpiece o f the status quo or spoke for a new statu s quo in which rac e movies had n o place . Thereafter, i n a curiou s reversa l o f roles , Hollywoo d race-angle d movies displayed the wit, spontaneity, and verv e that black performing culture had given its audiences, while race movies grew more ploddingly earnest (an d white). As to humor, fo r example, Dooley Wilson in Hollywood movies seemed a n earthy, richly "Elizabethan" emissar y from th e Apollo, while i n race movies Stepi n Fetchit and Mantan Moreland , th e former Hollywood specialists in stereotypical "business," landed starring roles. O f course, i n th e beginnin g no on e coul d hav e anticipate d this turnabout, and therefore race movies enjoyed a certain amount of cooperation wit h the army. In fact, whe n earl y in 194 2 race moviemakers began to feel a pinch,

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it followe d no t fro m a polic y directe d agains t the m bu t onl y fro m a colorblind decision to allocate raw film stock on the basis of prior con sumption patterns, which of course favored the major studios. Nonetheless, the effect o n race movies was dire, and their exhibitors complained of it to OWL "I recently noted a restriction . . . o n independent negr o production," wrot e on e o f them. "An d i n a democrac y suc h a s our s nobody has yet explained how come Metro went ahead and made Cabin in the Sky—an d is now makin g another al l negro pix . . . . Meantim e the indies whose ideas have always been stole n by the majors were in a position o f holding the bag." 5 By then the race-moviemen alread y teetered on the edge, having survived the Depression, the nagging hostility of black bourgeois parents fo r whom th e movie s were tras h mean t fo r the riffraff, an d the fratricidal competition brought by a prewar boomlet . Besides, th e growin g dominanc e o f white entrepreneur s wh o teame d with blac k performers had clouded thei r futur e as providers of specifi cally black entertainment. I n 1941 , o n the cus p of war, the to p o f their little world included Harry and Leo Popkin in Los Angeles, the feisty Ted Toddy and his Dixie National Exchange in Atlanta, Bert and Jack Goldberg an d thei r variou s firm s i n Ne w York , an d th e Dalla s dealmaker Alfred Sac k and his black director Spencer Williams. Occasionally a new firm entered the market, but only one, All-America, a promising underachiever composed of Hollywood veteran Emmanuel Glucksman, ambitious blac k apprentic e Willia m D . Alexander, an d th e founde r o f th e ANP, Claud e Barnett, actuall y survive d th e war . Som e o f them , lik e Toddy an d th e Popkins , ha d begu n i n "povert y row " i n Hollywood ; others, like cameraman Don Malkames, had staye d behind whe n moviemakers move d wes t fro m For t Lee , New Jersey; tw o o f them, Edgar Ulmer an d Josep h Seiden , als o worke d i n Yiddish movies; an d a fe w underemployed regiona l players, such as Hurliman in Florida, clung to life.6 Wha t the y all shared i n common wa s bleak prospects in a war i n which the y held a diminishing place. Few of them wer e known outsid e their smal l circle, and al l of them lived by their wit s between gigs . Alexander had com e t o Barnet t fro m the offic e staf f o f Morgan College . Georg e Rando l wa s a man-of-allwork wh o ha d onc e appeare d i n The Green Pastures, wrot e par t o f a n admired Hollywoo d short , and earne d a rave from th e trad e magazine International Photographer for his Dark Manhattan (1937 ) as the equal of "the 'B ' clas s pictures." I t had draw n blac k "crowd s . . . throughou t the east " perhap s attracte d b y hi s Hollywood-styl e social problem, i n this case the numbers racket, woven into a drama that was resolved by a lone her o an d starre d Harlem favorites like Ralph Cooper (a bandsma n and Apoll o emcee) and Clarenc e Brooks (who had playe d a docto r in John Ford' s Arrowsmith [1931]). 7 More rarely , Hollywoo d veterans crossed ove r int o rac e movies , a s B-movi e director Harry Frase r an d writer Be n Rinald o di d i n Dark Manhattan.8

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Obviously rac e movies , a t leas t th e fe w well crafte d amon g them , had mean t somethin g t o African Americans , to whom the y conveyed a sense o f self an d grou p that coul d b e ha d fro m n o othe r medium . Bu t even befor e the onse t o f war, critics had begu n to na g thei r maker s for more sophistication and to bristle at odd accommodations to racism that had marred some of them. Ever more regularly, critics moved away fro m hollow prais e o f weak material , sponsorin g gesture s suc h a s a "Grea t Negro Movie Month," and inflatin g blac k moviegoers into a n "insatia ble" marketplace . Instead they mourned the slipping away of an opportunity t o creat e a n indigenou s cinema . Fro m thei r pea k i n silen t day s when Charle s Gilpin and Paul Robeson had played in them, race movies had decline d so far that in 193 7 the Young Communist League picketed Micheaux's God's Step Children fo r it s "fals e splittin g of Negroe s into light and dar k groups " an d "holdin g them u p to ridicule," th e latte r a common complain t of critics who noticed the unintended laughte r wit h which audience s increasingl y draw n t o Hollywoo d glos s ha d greete d race movies. Even when a critic liked one, as when Variety judge d Cooper an d A . W. Hackle' s Am I Guilty? th e pee r o f "the B output o f th e major lots, " it s prospects were weakene d b y th e eterna l spli t o f audiences int o urban e Nort h an d th e rusti c South tha t wen t onl y fo r low On th e ev e of war, critic s thought tha t "rac e movies," such a s Harlem Rides the Range (1940), were stil l able t o "giv e colore d audience s genera l satisfac tion." SCRBC .

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comedy.9 The n ther e wer e th e whit e censors , eve r war y o f gangsters, jitterbugs, an d i n God's Step Children som e blac k homebo y cynicis m heard whe n a crook speak s of the nee d t o spli t booty with th e police . With so many forces at work, a fading genre was doomed during a crisis such a s wa r whe n th e bedroc k politic s an d moral e o f it s audienc e seemed poise d fo r change . As rac e movie s worsened , Abra m Hil l o f th e Amsterdam though t they wer e s o poor tha t a whit e conspirac y must b e afoo t an d black s should "squaw k t o th e hig h heavens. " Afte r 1939 , eac h on e seeme d more meretricious than its forebear. For each "Negro drama" set in "th e poor section " and ben t upo n rescuin g juveniles from delinquency , another, like Fred Myton's Harlem on the Prairie, played upon broa d dialect comed y o f "Jazzbos, " a styl e written i n Toddy' s Mr. Washington Goes to Town b y non e othe r tha n Walte r Weems , a gagwrite r for th e blackfaced vaudevillians the Two Black Crows. The press kit of the latter film proposed a stunt involving "a dusk y maiden overcom e b y laughter." Th e low point cam e i n a Micheaux film in which th e plo t too k a turn for which he had no insurance shot, a lapse he corrected by placing a parro t on the witnes s stan d in a murder case. 10 Obviously, if race movies clung to these low grounds as war came , their future woul d be clouded. In any case, most of their makers felt th e loss o f momentu m an d drifte d off , Toddy int o othe r entertainment , the Goldbergs into "ar t films, " Sac k into foreign films and "skinflicks, " the Popkin s into B-movies , and Alexande r an d Glucksma n into infant television.11 But not at first. Early on, race movies seemed to OWI a cheap access to blacks who were so appalled by lilywhite war movies such as Sergeant York a s to conclude that "it was a 'white man's war.'" Why not, said an agency report o n black morale, make a few "morale-building all-Negro films" and play them off in ghettos and "camp movie houses that served exclusively black soldiers." I n thi s way , said an OW I man, the y migh t exploit "all-Negro " theatre s an d thei r midnight show s b y engaging " a private compan y .. . t o d o film s glorifyin g Negr o militar y heroes , something in the manne r o f Sergeant York" o r even "Abbot t an d Costello" comedies "wit h an Army background." 12 For their part, the race-moviemen fel t as patriotic as the next American and wishe d t o be "doing something " in the war . Toddy carried to Washington a proposal for a "Negr o Newsree l of Victory" and a non committal correspondence with Paul Robeson about a movie of the 99th Pursuit Squadron . Osca r Micheaux wrot e directl y t o Elme r Davis , re porting that "we are never shown on the screen in . . . th e war effort, " which, couple d with lingering stereotypes, left Africa n American s simmering wit h resentment . Sinc e his own wor k "seemfed ] to please my race 100 % completely," he could do no les s than offe r hi s "little corporation i n th e interes t of the war, " failin g t o point ou t tha t he ha d no t

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worked on a movie in two years and had been peddling his novels door to door. 13 But a s OW I and th e Signa l Corp s drew close r t o th e NAAC P an d Hollywood, the race-moviemakers languished, onl y three of them actually seein g movie s int o release : Sac k an d Williams' s Marching On, Glucksman and Alexander' s All-Americ a newsreels, an d Goldber g and Michaux's We've Come a Long, Long Way. Eve n then , th e grainy , washed-out Marching On passed almos t unseen , All-Americ a lived al most entirely off the largess e of Signal Corps library footage, and Gold berg an d Michau x ra n afou l o f OWI' s decisio n t o releas e The Negro Soldier to civilians, thereby thrusting the two movies into head-to-hea d competition. Taken as a group, then, th e race-moviemakers live d out the war on the fringe s o f the action , coolin g thei r heel s i n Washingto n corridors, releasing movies t o theatre s alread y booked wit h Hollywoo d product , facing picket s wh o increasingl y resente d movie s tha t "disparaged " blacks, o r livin g of f inventory b y recuttin g an d retitlin g it . Osca r Micheaux gave up entirely and live d off hawking hi s books. Toddy scoffe d at demands for "pictures that elevate" and focused on recutting his titles to "giv e th e colore d wha t the y want" : action , broa d comedy , an d a wisp o f sex . "Title s subjec t t o chang e withou t notice, " warne d hi s catalogue, in whic h Len a Home's (an d the Popkins' ) The Duke is Tops became Bronze Venus and Cooper's gangland ouevre Gang Smashers and Am I Guilty? becam e Gun Moll an d Racket Doctor. I n additio n h e ha d picked up a run o f Eddie Green and Pigmea t Markham's broadl y comi c two-reelers. Goldberg, except for his and Michaux's documentary, fade d from hi s day s whe n h e ha d don e Bil l Robinson' s Harlem Is Heaven (1932); a World War I documentary, The Unknown Soldier Speaks; an d Paradise in Harlem (1940), one of a proposed cycle of "pride in our race" movies tha t feature d a jazz Othello. Instead , h e spen t th e wa r cobbling together short s fro m ol d Soundie s (split-reel s mad e fo r visua l jukeboxes), the most interesting of which was Boogie Woogie Dream with Home, Tedd y Wilson, an d th e duo-pianist s Alber t Ammons an d Pet e Johnson.14 Even th e Popkins , wh o ha d acces s to Hollywood casual labor an d studios, slumpe d afte r a goo d ru n throug h 194 1 tha t include d While Thousands Cheer, a n expos e o f fixin g footbal l games , complet e wit h newsfilm an d UCL A playe r Kenn y Washington ; Reform School, wit h maternal Louis e Beaver s i n a dram a o f "juvenil e justice" ; One Dark Night, whic h allowe d Morelan d t o ge t as close a s he coul d t o playing straight ("fa r more entertainin g tha n many Hollywoo d B's, " sai d Variety); an d Four Shall Die, with Doroth y Dandridg e in a repriev e fro m stock maids. And Sac k an d Williams , who i n 194 0 had mad e the most popular race movie ever produced, The Blood of Jesus, lapse d into idleness broken onl y by Marching On.15

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On the se t of a race movie almost al l eyes focu s o n Josep h Seiden , on e o f th e journeyman white directors who ha d com e to dominate the idio m in its latter days. In it s wa y thei r Blood of Jesus palpabl y illustrate d a wrenchin g change i n black ideology that dre w Africa n American s away fro m rac e movies. Befor e th e war , it s makers , Sac k an d hi s director , Spence r Williams—a blac k Louisianian , a write r fo r Christi e comedie s i n th e 1920s, and a journeyman actor in both race movies and in Hollywood— thought they knew their audience an d constructe d The Blood of Jesus t o suit it . Piou s an d rura l i n textur e an d voice , i t "possesse d tha t certai n chemistry required by the Negr o box office" (sai d Lester Sack, the firm' s accountant). Bu t its primitive salvationis m wa s pu t fort h in a morality play set in "those days . . . almos t gone " when a body could relax in the shade , pitte d th e Tempte r an d Go d i n a struggl e for th e sou l o f a humble countrywoman , an d ende d wit h rea l bloo d drippin g fro m a Sunday School picture of Jesus hanging above the woman's sickbed—all images that may have played in the prewar black South but earned onl y loud laughs in the Norther n ghetto s to which Souther n blacks had mi grated.16 In man y way s th e wa r ha d simpl y dilute d the chemistr y o f Sack's recipe. Th e homogenous Souther n audience ha d scattere d in searc h of war work; the Double V had calle d for an en d t o old ways; and th e wa r had stirre d blacks and thei r allie s as though organi c parts of a coheren t

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whole toward the evolving integrationist ideology we have been observing. Thus if race movie s had becom e th e OW I weapon o f choice, the y would hav e compromise d th e NAACP' s driv e fo r acces s t o center s o f white privileg e as well a s th e Courier's notio n o f a Doubl e V—a black investment in the outcome of the war to be earned by black participation in th e prosecutio n o f the war. 17 Moreover, the one race-moviemaker that OWI had encouraged, AllAmerica, was a flop, and in ways that allowed Washington t o take the m for a stereotypica l smalltim e colore d business . Eve n a s mainstrea m newsreels ra n their blac k staples—"Negroes doin g rhythmic drills " an d tributes to Carver "as a great American a s well as a great Negro"—AllAmerica muffe d ever y opportunity . A t firs t OW I had like d thei r stuff : FDR and th e president of Liberia reviewing troops, the impact of rationing o n blacks , a n antidiscriminatio n bil l i n th e Missour i legislature , Chandler Owe n o n hi s pamphle t The Negro and the War, a prom o of Negro History Week, the castin g of Porgy and Bess, and ne w housin g fo r black warworkers. Bu t toward the end of 1942, OWI began to complain that th e fir m "di d no t maintai n th e hig h standard s durin g it s first months," mad e poo r us e o f stoc k footage , los t it s "polish, " bega n t o settle fo r "repetitiv e an d undistinguished " potte d stories , an d suffere d from a "creaking " music track . Almost simultaneously , OW I monitors by January 194 3 reported that "the Negr o received more attention in the major newsreel s . . . tha n fo r many month s previously." I n fact , th e news footag e actuall y improve d i n th e way s tha t i t locate d Africa n Americans at the unaccoustomed center s of a few stories and sometime s framed whit e stories in a circle of the formerly unthinkable black supernumeraries tha t Walter White had been askin g for. When Genera l Mark Clark, fo r example , receive d a medal fro m Eisenhower , a black office r looked on ; at a midwar West Point graduation a cameraman picke d u p shots of black cadets; and in a staple image of Allied harmony, a n arme d forces boxin g tournament , a blac k fighte r knocke d ou t a Roya l Nav y champion. All of this, coupled with the ever more public awareness that these sequences had resulted from an actual policy of a federal agency, at once atone d somewha t fo r pas t erasure s fro m histor y eve n a s i t gave increased weigh t t o the image s tha t blac k an d whit e audience s saw. 18 Never a preponderanc e i n whit e newsreels , thes e image s nonetheles s reinforced the liberal line that Hollywood had begun to introduce into its features, thereb y diminishin g th e OWI' s need fo r race-moviemakers t o the vanishing point. Thus in February 1943 , when All-America tried to recover by proposing a documentary on Owens's The Negro and the War, the agency had all but turned its back on race movies and their makers. 19 By th e sprin g o f 194 3 th e race-moviemen , an d exhibitor s wh o sometimes played angel to them, had n o choic e but to pursue independent projects with onl y routine government assistance. Their concept of the wa r a s of all-black battalions arrayed against foreign enemie s lef t n o

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opening fo r an Africa n America n viewer to imagin e a differen t future . Not that their vision of a once and futur e segregatio n was off the mark ; self-evidently, as reportage it was far more on-the-nose tha n the emerging propaganda o f conscience-liberalism that OW I and th e NAAC P had been retailing . Indeed, tha t wa s the point . Rac e movies promise d onl y stasis, while Moss' s Teamwork, for instance, held ou t th e prospec t of a Double V. If we ma y us e a bit o f historical imagination, a case in poin t might be a piece of All-America film that an OWI monitor had marked as significant. I n i t a nava l office r says : "Man y [Negro ] soldier s hav e already left here and are in the thick of battle. . . . The y will leave this conflict far better equipped to take their place in society."20 Conceivably,

he single d ou t an d filed as "interesting " th e tur n o f phrase "plac e i n society" because it referred to a new place in society, while in the rheto ric of a race-moviemaker it might have referred to a place unchanged by the destabilizin g crisis of war, tha t is, to African America n life a s it had been. In this inching awa y from rac e movies as propaganda, we may see another sig n o f th e agency' s stil l timi d embracin g o f conscience liberalism a s the basi s for its "strateg y o f truth." The mos t compellin g instance o f thi s wa s i n th e Wa r Department' s decisio n t o protec t it s investment i n The Negro Soldier b y standin g u p t o a civi l sui t file d o n behalf of Goldberg and Michaux' s We 've Come a Long, Long Way (1944). The coincident releas e of the tw o movie s forced th e race-moviemaker s to seek relief by pleading for the right to an exclusive first run unrivaled by The Negro Soldier, o n th e groun d tha t releasin g the army' s fil m t o civilian audiences rent-free would constitute an unfair restraint of trade. In the ensuing legal debate over the fine points of marketing, the government necessarily , in spit e o f itself, hammere d ou t a clearer-cu t stance with respec t t o th e politic s of racial imagery o n th e nation' s screens . Simultaneously, a s i t woul d tur n out , th e government' s lawyer s an d their black amicus curiae would broaden the influence of a newly remade mirror of changing America n racial arrangements while extending that influence fa r into th e futur e beyon d th e army' s origina l narrow inten t and eve n beyond th e er a o f the wa r itself . On one sid e the arm y and OWI' s film, The Negro Soldier, stoo d as a hotly defended liberal icon of a future integrationism, while on the other Goldberg and Michaux spoke for a world that once had been. As early as 1919 Goldber g had splice d together a fe w fee t o f Signal Corps footage into a no w los t film , The Unknown Soldier Speaks, a chronicl e o f th e black role in World War I that he probably recut into yet another version called The Negro Marches On (1936), thereby establishing his credentials as a maven of African America n war movies . Michaux's own considerable fam e ha d sprea d beyon d hi s imposin g Florid a Avenu e churc h through th e mediu m o f his "Happ y Am I " chorus , which wa s hear d regularly o n a Washington radio station.

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When togethe r the y aske d fo r acces s t o th e stoc k footag e o f th e Signal Corps , they were treate d wit h th e sam e courtes y any filmmaker might expect . I n addition , partl y becaus e tw o member s o f Michaux's flock wer e servants to Milton Eisenhower, Davis's colleague in OWI, he interceded o n thei r behal f wit h th e resul t tha t th e tea m receive d th e requested footag e a s well as a trickle of scarce raw stock , consultations on technique , th e making s o f a music track , an d nonexclusiv e us e of Chandler Owens' s pamphle t The Negro and the War. Wit h a s ye t n o sense o f a rivalr y betwee n thei r movi e an d th e army' s ow n OF-51 , Eisenhower readil y reported t o Michau x tha t "i t seem s mos t unlikely that any other organization or film company would undertake a film of the kind you have in mind." But by the end of the year, the parties to the arrangement wer e brough t u p shor t b y th e shif t i n th e government' s posture toward racial matters symbolized by the decisio n to release The Negro Soldier t o civilia n theatres . I n thes e fe w months th e agenc y ha d moved from Eisenhower's easil y felt wish to cooperate with filmmakers whose marketplaces had been rooted in antebellum racia l arrangements to a poin t wher e th e arm y an d OW I had agree d t o releas e The Negro Soldier to a broad audience with the explicit awareness that the goal was to engineer change d racia l ideology. Goldberg and Michaux must have been shocke d a t th e tur n o f events tha t shattere d th e exclusivit y with which the y anticipate d th e releas e of their chronicl e o f "the advance ment an d achievement s o f the Negr o race."21 Their onl y hope was t o su e th e governmen t fo r its patently unfai r competition in hopes of either enjoining the release of The Negro Soldier or obtainin g som e les s satisfyin g mean s o f relie f suc h a s a coupl e o f weeks of exclusive "clearance" in which to recove r their "nut. " Their strategy consisted in demonstrating that thei r point of view made more civic common sense than did The Negro Soldier in the new racial circumstances wrought by the nation's war against foreign enemies whose own propaganda wa s s o patently racist . Whichever film won i n th e court s stood t o affec t futur e portrayal s o f Africa n American s o n th e screen . Either the court would rule that blacks in a setting in which segregation was a settled, normal convention reflected the government's will , or that its propaganda migh t reasonably point toward a future o f a more open , plural society. The lines were drawn by the films themselves, an d The Negro Soldier won. Bot h opened i n churches. But Moss's was merely the establishing shot fro m whic h t o spi n ou t hi s film; Michaux's wa s a n actua l pulpit from whic h he , dresse d i n forma l wear , drone d o n i n stilted , old fashioned elocutionar y style. Moss's flock were camerawise actors; Michaux's wer e hi s ow n clientele , made woode n b y stag e fright . Mos s hailed a pantheon o f black heroes; Michaux prayed over the remain s of a single aviator who was "a credi t to his race," the cant-phrase that had begun t o nettl e liberals . Mos s portrayed th e enemie s i n th e wa r a s of

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opposing cultures, one democratic , the othe r fascist ; Michau x sketche d Hitler a s ben t upo n a narrowl y specifi c assaul t o n Africa n America n culture an d it s "beautifu l houses o f worship," "thrivin g enterprises, " "famous Negr o publications," an d a roster of targeted musicians who m he named wh o would "n o longe r exist." Moss closed without promises, save those tha t might have been inferre d from th e optimisti c voice with which The Negro Soldier spoke ; Michau x baldly , even naively , gav e blacks a choice o f suffering unde r "barbarous " Hitler or takin g "God' s side" and fightin g fo r a "country that has bee n goo d t o us" eve r sinc e 1619! I n textur e an d styl e Moss's film unwound i n classi c Hollywood style, all smooth cuts, dissolves, and fade s in an uninterrupted narrativ e paid out in easy doses; Michaux was anything but smooth, fluffin g lines , stumbling ove r th e name s o f the even th e mos t famou s blac k artists, staring vacantl y a t a singl e camera setup . The Negro Soldier effectivel y told it s viewers tha t Africa n American s ha d arrive d i n unaccustome d seats of power; We 've Come a Long, Long Way promised only business as usual.22 In view of the aestheti c gul f between th e tw o films, the coalitio n of OWI, NAACP , and Hollywoo d liberal s had n o choic e but t o defend the right of The Negro Soldier to play civilian venues; no t t o do s o opened a vast market to a poor player indeed, and one that not only would reviv e the most old-fashioned, accommodationist definition s of good race relations bu t woul d i n it s threadbar e styl e confir m th e stereotyp e o f th e feckless Negr o incapable o f technical achievement . Blac k activists ha d struggled too long to reach the corridors of power tha t the war had given them acces s to, onl y t o ris k everythin g b y allowing Goldber g and Mi chaux t o speak for them. S o they quickl y circulated among themselve s and thei r politica l friends a batc h of negative review s of We 've Come a Long, Long Way. Accompanie d b y rave s abou t OF-51 . "Th e [former ] picture i s lousy, " sai d Wilkins . Michau x himsel f wa s it s mai n flaw , reported Juli a E . Baxte r o f the NAACP , becaus e o f his rura l preache r style. On the other hand, they elicited comment from the MPPDA, WAG,

and othe r agencie s o n The Negro Soldier a s a clea r voic e for "nationa l unity" against "racis t lies." 23 Next the NAAC P pressed Fredi Washington o f the People's Voice to denounce Goldber g as a longtime exploiter of black audiences, while Walter White brought the case to the attention of organized Jew s i n orde r t o hea d of f the appearanc e o f a n interethni c spat. Then, in a series of press releases, the NAACP marshaled a national liberal front (even enlisting the government) o n behalf of OF-51. In sum, The Negro Soldier was portrayed as "a super b document . . . wit h enormous potentialities for good in stimulating the moral e o f American Negroes an d i n educatin g white Americans, " besid e which We've Come a Long, Long Way seeme d "no t onl y fault y i n a technica l sense, but [i t preaches] th e theor y tha t Negroe s are muc h bette r of f here tha n the y

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The ad-copy for We've Come a Long, Long Way (1944) masked its absurd thesis that Hitler's ambition s wer e aime d directl y a t Harlem an d it s finest citizens. NR-LC .

would be under Hitler [and] insults the average Negro theatre-goer" b y raising that fals e dichotomy. 24 To spread thi s messag e amon g American s an d t o "assis t distribu tion" o f The Negro Soldier, th e NAAC P built a lis t o f influentials that included Nelso n Rockefeller, perhaps a s a patro n o f New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) , where The Negro Soldier enjoyed one of its best playdates, o r for his CIA A and it s power ove r film booking, i n Latin America; Francis Cardinal Spellman o f New York; Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia; and New Yorker edito r Harold Ross. Finally the NAAC P filed an amicus curiae brief in which the y argued that officia l firms provided "th e onl y availabl e medium " fo r treating th e "racia l prejudices which divid e ou r population." 25 I n effect , th e NAACP , usin g a mino r civil suit over two movie shorts, enlisted th e army , WAC, and a host of famous liberals on behalf of a propaganda movie that was their medium of choice for engineering change d racial beliefs. In th e end , a s we sa w in th e las t chapter, Goldber g and Michau x settled for a few days' clearance that helped the m recover their investment. But mor e importan t in the lon g term was the mileag e liberals

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derived fro m th e fil m an d th e contes t fo r its exhibition: I t rallied thei r constituency aroun d a substantiv e issu e rathe r tha n som e ceremonia l Brotherhood Week ; it contributed another prod to opening u p the army to th e issu e of race; an d i t serve d a s a mode l fil m o f advocacy, whic h social engineer s had proclaime d a viable tool. Thereafter, rac e movie s los t thei r plac e i n blac k popula r culture , having falle n pre y t o th e change d expectation s o f audiences wh o ha d used the war to break off from th e segregate d strictures that had gener ated Juke Joint, Beak Street Mama, and the rest. One by one the makers, as we have seen , san k into a slough from whic h the y never agai n rose, and almost all of them took up other interests. Rober t M. Savini, a New York newcomer , scavenge d hi s stoc k fro m oddment s th e major s ha d passed on , rangin g from reviva l rights to King Vidor's eccentrically socialist Our Daily Bread (1933 ) to pickups of art films, among the m Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) . The Sack s bought a list of "skinflicks"; the Popkins went bac k to B-movies; and s o on. Critics and audiences gave up on them, consuming the m as "camp" at th e bottom s o f double bills , warning thei r childre n agains t their ex cesses, complaining o f them i n th e press , and alway s voting with thei r feet fo r the Hollywoo d article. Less an d les s did journalists hold atten dance a s a hol y obligatio n o f al l "goo d rac e men. " Onl y th e "sur e seaters," a s Variety calle d th e faithfu l few , persiste d i n sittin g in dar k grindhouses, sufferin g throug h them. Blac k audiences had alway s been responsive to the screen, perhaps as a result of a cultural history that had included call-and-response church services and obligatory handclapping as a grou p respons e t o music , an d othe r expression s o f a communit y mentality, but a s far as movies wer e concerned , knee-slappin g amuse ment ha d replace d applaudin g enthusiasm . "The y frequentl y go int o spasms o f laughter i n th e mids t o f solemn scenes, " reported Variety a t the beginning of the decline. Among the black papers, Da n Burley of the Amsterdam lef t of f excusin g flawe d an d chea p wor k a s merel y goo d "colored folk s tryin g to get started" an d bega n insistin g that "th e low liest fan in the balcony" wa s entitled to black cinema tha t "lift s him ou t of th e commonplace, " transports hi m wit h a "thrill," and "show s th e Negro objectively. " Variety too k Burley' s point , excusin g a n Apoll o crowd fo r it s howl s o f derisio n a t th e Popkins ' "badl y written , badl y produced an d badl y directed " Gang War (1940) , an d chargin g race moviemakers with pandering t o the riffraf f rathe r than reaching for the black bourgeoisie , firs t b y usin g "se x bally " i n th e a d copy , the n b y settling "fo r sturd y reaction i n theatres suc h as the Apollo." 26 The blac k pres s had don e all it could : plugge d eac h new "majo r production" tha t "brok e a record " somewhere , eac h ne w "inspira tional" biopic , and eac h ne w releas e as "the greates t picture yet made with a n all-colore d cast." 27 Th e papers had ofte n joined in promotions such a s Greater Negro Movie Month an d pai d tribute to performers for

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their "roles depicting true phases of Negro life." In a dispute between th e Screen Actors Guild (SAG ) an d a maker of black westerns, fo r instance, the press took th e part o f the actor s who ha d resiste d th e guild's insistence on a union shop. "We never get any jobs to amount t o anything in white movies anyway," argued a black actor with the concurrence of the Afro-American. "[In ] thes e colore d picture s w e d o hav e a chanc e t o portray roles that colored America wants to see."28 But unavoidably, in the wa r cultur e Variety conclude d tha t thei r lo w aspiration s rendere d them "highly implausible" vehicles for conveying a "positive image," an opinion in which the Los Angeles Sentinel joined, reporting that "Negroes

are tire d o f being use d a s undesirable , lawles s thugs. " B y war's en d George Norford i n NUL's Opportunity too k the point. "I n term s of social content, rac e relations or even the advancement o f motion picture s as a medium o f education an d reform," he wrote, they were "negligible." 29 Contrast, for example, The Negro Soldier with Williams' s Marching On, a surviving race movie of the war period. Before the war, Williams's The Blood of Jesus had amounte d almos t to folk ar t amon g his Souther n rural clientele; its lack of artifice had seemed a charming flaw rather than a cripplin g wound. Bu t with th e comin g o f the wa r movi e genre , th e racial failings of all movies were revealed to be more clearly embedded i n the natur e o f their productio n rathe r tha n merel y i n thei r shoestrin g budgets. I n th e Hollywoo d libera l genr e blac k warrior s ha d com e t o occupy leas t som e center s o f dramatic actio n an d stan d eye-to-ey e o n equal terms with whit e roles, so that audiences could not hel p but perceive them a s in and no t merel y of American society, not merel y in th e movie but part of its outcome. In contrast with Moss's trotting Joe Louis into The Negro Soldier (muc h as Warner's had don e in This Is the Army), and watchin g hi s "America n fist " pumme l Ma x Schmeling , Marching On wa s sho t o n location s tha t looke d strikingl y like Fort Huachuca , a remote deser t post that was linked in black minds a s a lowly Jim Crow post. In Hollywood movies the contrast was the same: Black s seemed i n as well as of American life, while in Marching On they were imprisone d in a crumbling, segregated world. The plot, an engaging mystery in which soldier s of the 25th Colored Infantry use a tangle of coincidences to expose and apprehend the operators of a clandestine Japanes e radi o station , ha d bee n use d dozen s of times b y B-movi e writers , albei t Marching On use d th e radi o a s it s "weenie" rather than secret treasure, a lost mine, o r other goa l of stock "quest" tales. But its poor quality as against either The Negro Soldier or Metro's Bataan placed the film in a backwater of wartime filmmaking. 30 Particularly was this so with respec t to the politic s of movies. If the Double V had graduall y become an unspoken part of official propaganda and th e stuf f of Hollywood war movies, then what postwar role was lef t for rac e movies ? Certainl y not a s bearer s of th e conscience-liberalis m that would grow more programmatic as it anticipated the eventual civil

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In contras t t o The Negro Soldier, Spence r Williams' s Marching On seemed re mote, wrongl y costumed , an d supportiv e o f the government' s panicky "re location" of Japanese Americans as securit y risks . Universit y of Illinois Film Archive.

rights movement. Al l that was lef t t o the rac e movies was a thin lin e of rhythm an d blues music that crosse d over into whit e adolescents ' pre serves, much as Ben Frye's mid-1950s "r an d b" musical s crossed over into whit e neighborhood s throug h hard-driving , raucous act s that ha d once playe d onl y th e Apollo . An d eve n thi s thi n slive r of the marke t dried u p when , a s eac h successiv e wave o f black music—Swing, Bop, Cool, Modern—passed into whit e market s by rechanneling it s creative energy int o form s an d style s that embrace d whit e tastes . By war's en d i n 1946 , onl y an occasiona l race-movieman clun g to the prospect of matching th e slicknes s of the mainstrea m o f moviemaking. I n that year Savini told Walter White of his wish to resume makin g movies "i n th e prope r manner, " usin g "onl y th e bette r clas s sto ries . . . an d non e depictin g low standards, " an d offere d the m t o th e NAACP as fundraisers. Bu t the associatio n was having none o f it; someone i n th e offic e scrawle d across the proposal : "come-on a d & agreed not t o bother with." Ridin g the cres t of its wartime success, the NAAC P

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bet that the Hollywoo d majors, along with a still forming documentar y film culture, woul d bette r serv e the aim s o f the race . Wheneve r a staf f member reviewed a latter-day race movie, someone rule d it a "disgrace" and sen t a warning o f it to its "branches, particularly those in the Sout h where our member s atten d theatre s wher e [rac e movies ] ordinaril y would be shown."31 Thus as organized blacks anticipated a continuation of the wartime mentality, they turned awa y from rac e movies as a fossi l of a segregated time gone by . With less and les s reason for existence, the race-moviemen suffere d a slum p i n both qualit y and politica l thrust ; or , lik e Toddy an d Sack , lived of f retitling an d rereleasin g thei r inventories ; o r turne d t o th e blandly apolitica l format of the musica l revue, ofte n by assembling th e old Soundie s tha t ha d onc e bee n groun d ou t fo r visua l jukeboxes i n penny arcades. In a typical splicing job, Alfred Sac k atrung five Soundies into Solid Senders. Willia m Forres t Crouch , a directo r o f hundred s o f Soundies, stirre d togethe r a mixture o f Mantan Moreland' s wide-eye d humor an d tw o crossove r acts , Doroth y Dandridg e an d th e Mill s Brothers, into a plotless assemblage called Ebony Parade (1946) , a kind of hour-long, theatrical Soundie . Toddy focused on the broad comed y of his stable consisting of Moreland, Pigmeant Markham, Eddie Green, and John "Rastus" Murray in a cycle of two-reelers led by Mr. Adam's Bomb and Pigmeat's Laugh Repeats. Th e Goldbergs ' Herald Pictures took ad vantage o f their Ne w Yor k office s t o recrui t stron g bills of famous performers. Thu s the y move d fro m cannibalize d film s lik e 1950 Harlem Follies towar d a 195 5 crossove r cycl e o f rock 'n ' rol l revues featurin g Count Basic, Cab Galloway, Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Na t Cole, Honi Coles, Nipse y Russell, Dinah Washington , an d a leavenin g o f youth market star s suc h a s the Clover s and Marth a Davis. 32 Th e onl y over t political linkage the first cycle of crossovers could clai m was it s coincidence with Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education, the judicial overturning of th e lega l underpinning o f segregation. The confluence o f judicial activism and musical crossovers ended u p affecting th e politic s (an d economics ) o f tee n culture , bu t onl y i n a curious way that announced th e arrival of a new adolescent politics that was no t race-based . In forme r times adolescen t subcultur e had alway s been portraye d comically , as though to o volatile to be taken seriously. Tom Sawyer, Andy Hardy, the Dead End Kids, and Ou r Gang all teased and taunted the idea of rebellion against adult authority without overtly joining in the challenge. But after the Brown decision refocused national attention on race, the teenagers resumed and made overt an old form of rebellion: seekin g solac e an d friend s i n som e bohemi a suc h a s Green wich Villag e i n cellars where blac k jazz wa s played . At the sam e time, their taste s tempted recordin g firms t o mak e whit e "covers " o f black music, that is, to record white performers singing music made famous by

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blacks, a trend tha t reached its apogee in the career of Elvis Presley, who began hi s professiona l lif e coverin g blac k performance s an d adaptin g them to white teenage d tastes . But the mainstrea m o f crossover behavior cam e in the for m o f Rock All Night, Rock Around the Clock, and Twist All Night, three 1957 movies from Sam Katzman's B-unit in which white youths acted out their rebelliousness by taking up the black music of Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker, Fats Domino, and dozens more who were herded like cattle through th e thinly plotted revues. The height of their powers actually came with th e release of Richard Brooks's Blackboard Jungle (1954), which startlingly used Bill Haley's "Rock Aroun d the Clock" as theme music, even flood ing the set with it as mood music for the actors. Not only did it provide a sort of cultural/political link between whit e rebellion an d black culture, but it also earned a reputation as a "shocker" that led to an internationa l scandal whe n a n America n ambassado r se t out t o hav e i t withdraw n from th e Venice Film Festival.33 In any event, th e exploitation of such a narrow taste-cultur e ha d bee n a goa l o f race-moviemakers befor e th e war; now , a s they wane d i n creativ e energ y thei r styl e an d substanc e was "covered " by white B-moviemaker s in searc h of means o f teasing the new , raw , black-based , white , teenage d marketplace . Race moviemen wer e ou t o f the busines s fo r good. The few attempts o f race-moviemen t o contai n thi s energ y in thei r own idiom never worked. Savini gave it the best effort, signin g the black saxophonist Loui s Jordan a n accomplishe d musicia n wit h a flai r fo r crossing over and a taste for "nut jazz, " or music combined wit h exaggerated mugging and scattin g of lyrics. Into Jordan's brie f cycle of musicals were woven social angles such as a plot to keep a black college afloat during a crisis, a touch that moved black charities to use one of them as a fundraiser. Bu t the real star of Caledonia, Beware, Tall, Tan, and Terrific, and Reet, Petite and Gone was th e impis h Jorda n himself , with hi s sa x and hi s wide-eye d lin e o f patte r that—sai d on e puff—dre w "hug e crowds." He liked "jivin' around town " in search of "foxy" ladie s who did no t "tal k trash, " an d song s lik e "Wha m Sam , Di g Them Gams, " accompanied b y scatted choruses. 34 Savini's movies showed ho w t o get good mileage out o f a then ho t musician, bu t neither h e nor his rivals overcame th e fla w embedde d i n the genre : it s unfocused blackness that denie d spectator s th e deligh t of seeing African Americans either in alliance or conflict with white people, a promise held out by the coming cycle of major studio message movies. Instead o f the reviva l of wartime conscience-liberalis m embraced by the majors, the race movies filled the emptiness a t their centers with vaude ville turn s draw n fro m th e colore d circuits—Cri p Heard , Tondelayo, Deck Watso n an d Hi s Brow n Dots—alon g wit h a handfu l o f higherbilled star s from whit e media , suc h as Mrs. Joe Loui s o r Bab e Wallace (billed a s having "played opposit e Lena Home i n 'Storm y Weather'"),

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and oddly liberal twists of casting, such as white Freddie Bartholomew' s cameo rol e in Sepia Cinderella.35 There seeme d n o wa y ou t o f this thi n inventor y o f dramatic situations: a black college facing a fiscal crisis , a black achieve r i n danger of being pulled bac k down int o th e streets , a black woman wh o aim s to o high an d forget s he r friends , a murde r whos e solutio n wil l sav e th e hero's nightclub (o r medical career or business), all of them punctuate d by nightclub turn s that pa d too-thi n scripts , form a sort o f establishing milieu, an d sav e scener y costs . Bil l Alexander' s The Fight Never Ends (1948) tossed together Rub y Dee's ingenue, woodenl y sincer e Joe Louis, the Mills Brothers in a musical turn, and a dragged-in story about slums. Norwanda's No Time for Romance and Sun Tan Ranch were backe d b y Byron Anderson' s Detroi t capital an d starre d Willia m F . Walker, later the first black board member o f SAG, but neithe r receive d fai r distribution. An d sometime s terribl e materia l pulle d dow n a soli d crossove r performer who wa s working off a favor, as Alexander's Rhythm in a Riff and it s labored plot dragged Billy Eckstine down wit h it. The Goldbergs came clos e wit h Miracle in Harlem (1948) , a tal e o f blac k economi c nationalism i n whic h neighbor s sav e a strugglin g cand y stor e owne r from takeove r b y a chain ; however , th e stor y wa s los t i n a thicke t of suspense gimmicks , musica l turns, an d a cameo b y Stepi n Fetchi t i n a role tha t Fo x had fired him fro m te n year s earlier. " I generall y fall s t o pieces aroun d polices, " h e says . I n an y case , whethe r thwartin g th e heavies i n Miracle in Harlem o r savin g Mom s Mabley' s livelihoo d i n Boarding House Blues (1948), race movies had becom e blac k sideshow s to the cente r rin g in Hollywood, where mor e black s worked tha n eve r before.36 Worse than that—the y worsened, perhap s more s o than at any time in their history . Actors worked i n them because they had to on the way up, a s Sidne y Poitier di d i n Sepia Cinderella, o r o n th e wa y down , a s Fetchit had done. O r when they were at liberty: Moms Mabley between gigs a t th e Apollo ; Sheil a Guys e i n Miracle in Harlem whe n a roa d company of Memphis Bound folded and strande d her; Poitier fresh ou t of the army and sleeping on rooftops; Mantan Moreland because a lifetime in broad comed y ha d prepare d hi m fo r nothing else ; Bil l Greave s as a day job whil e on Broadwa y in Lost in the Stars, the musica l of Alan Paton's Sout h Africa n nove l Cry, the Beloved Country. "Jus t a caper , a spoof," recalle d Greaves of his movie. "[It ] didn' t attemp t to demean or elevate black people." Besides , he recalled, there was nothing i n Hollywood unti l its "sharp left turn " in the coming message movie era. Afte r seeing Big Timers Abra m Hill of the Amsterdam listed the symptom s of the race movies' malaise as though presiding at an autopsy: "amateuris h filming, ludicrous situations, lousy sound recording and willful violation of movi e techniques. " Thes e s o warpe d th e movie , h e wrote , tha t i t "should hav e been calle d LIF E i s A GREAT HUSTLE." 37

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The decline of the genre may be seen in its impact upon the old men of the tribe, Osca r Micheaux an d Spence r Williams. For the former th e end came swiftly. As usual, his soaring ambition and racial sensibility far outstripped his technical skill s and his bank account , not to mention hi s obliviousness to changes wrough t b y the war. Nonetheless , inspired by his fans, whose voices he thought he heard askin g him "why don' t you return t o makin g pictures, " i n 194 8 h e reentere d th e life . A s he ex plained, whe n audience s complaine d tha t "w e ge t so tired of foolishness, "he replied , "Sounded might y bad to me—yeah man!"38 But time and sickness and poverty were already eroding his chutzpah. As his wife reported t o her sister , "Dad ha s arthritis all over his body, but h e keeps going." I n pain , stiffened , swollen , h e plodde d on , seemin g t o liv e o n nervous energ y an d on the hope that a return t o Middle Western root s would restar t his engines. "Da d sa w that th e Boo k business was going down," his wife wrote, "so he decided that he would try to get back into Pictures. . . . Therefore , he too k al l his little money an d wen t t o Chicago."39 There, almos t home , h e took u p yet another autobiographica l novel, The Wind from Nowhere, imposing upon himself burdens that ha d spoiled every one of his most personal movies. The book was as big as a dictionary, an d invincibl y resistan t t o boilin g down ; inexplicabl y h e lifted hi s hero' s name—Marti n Eden—righ t out o f Jack London ; onl y two years beyond a war that ha d transforme d movies , h e reached back to one of his familiar dramatic devices, a mistaken racial identity. And he chose fo r hi s cas e a n uneve n mi x o f schoolteachers , a radi o actor , a dancer, an d a n understud y i n Anna Lucasta, thu s ensurin g tha t th e movie woul d wea r a caste mark peculiar to the genre—a n ensemble so varied in talent as to jangle against rather than complement eac h other' s work.40 The unpromising projec t in Chicago called for Micheaux to be at the top o f his form, bu t instea d he sprea d himself thinly , commutin g fro m there t o Ne w York with th e dailie s under hi s arm, strainin g hi s fragil e health, an d livin g o n th e brin k o f financia l ruin . "H e i s doin g i t al l alone," hi s wif e tol d he r sister . "Isn' t tha t wonderful? " Bu t th e star k reality was that th e picture was slipping from hi s grasp. When h e drov e the rushe s t o Midwa y fo r th e fligh t t o Ne w York , h e casuall y left th e direction t o others . "W e wer e havin g mone y problem s al l the time, " recalled a crew member, s o "on Sunda y we'd g o out and sel l books" or try to blindbook th e unfinishe d film in Peori a or Joliet. A s if the crum bling enterprise wer e no t dauntin g enough, Micheaux , a s was his custom, straine d t o kee p u p appearances , squanderin g mone y o n a lim ousine and driver to lead the crew to "think he was doing better than he was." Meanwhile , his failing healt h slowed him to an arthritic "wobbly walk." Towar d the end , h e spen t th e winte r i n Ne w Yor k cuttin g the film, matchin g negative , writin g a d copy , an d raisin g a las t five -

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It's on the way. What's on the way? THE GREATEST NEGRO PHOTOPLAY OF ALL TIMES! Gala WORLD'S PREMIERE at a leading BROADWAY THEATRE Soon! OSCAR MICHEAUX'S GREAT MOTION PICTURE EPIC (running time approximately three hours and 15 minutes)

The strangest love story ever told! Introducing and featuring LEROY COLLINS, MYRA STANTON. VERLIE COWAN, HARRIS GAINES, YVONNE MACHEN Based on the immortal novel — "THE WIND FROM NOWHERE" A Super Collosa! Photoplay Available (or Exhibition After March I. 1943

Produced and Distributed by MICHEAUX PICTURES CORP., 40 Morningside Ave., N. Y. 26

Oscar Micheaux' s The Betrayal (1948) , draw n fro m hi s ow n "immortal " novel The Wind from Nowhere, despit e its self-proclaime d "greatness " signaled th e en d o f the rac e movi e era. Lorenz o Tucke r Collection .

hundred-dollar shot o f completion money, al l the whil e aimin g for an April opening. 41 The result was an elephantin e flop tha t the distributor, Savini, premiered before an audience of black and white celebrities and critics who laughed i t ou t o f its Broadway theatre. Instea d o f being the hoped-for hardticket roadshow, it laid an egg that rolled to the bottom of a double bill i n Lo s Angeles. Black critic s almost wep t an d fel t "tha t th e fil m should never have been shown. " One of them wished to "snea k awa y and hide in a corner" rather than face its "acting worse than amateurish, the dialogu e ridiculous , th e stor y downrigh t stupid. " Th e white s o f course agreed . "Monumenta l incompetence, " on e o f them wrote , " a preposterous, inep t bor e . . . les s artfu l tha n . . . home-movies." 42 Micheaux, sic k and in pain, broke and without prospects—bu t worst of all, guilty of a travesty that had tainte d a lifetime o f hope and struggle — in the thre e years he had lef t neve r gav e it another try. Williams's fall wa s n o les s far; it merely took longer, and i t lacked the tragic coloring tha t Micheaux's hubri s len t t o almost everythin g h e did. After The Blood of Jesus in 194 0 his work lost its primitive integrity, partly because his angel, Alfre d Sack , linked u p wit h th e Goldberg s as though to serve two tastes—North and South—with a pooled inventory. His Go Down Death (1946) , a pale imitatio n o f The Blood of Jesus, at tracted attention only for its apparent plagiarism of the poetr y of James

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Weldon Johnson, the late NAACP leader. Williams's The Girl in Room 20 and Dirty Gertie from Harlem USA were flawed films noirs released a t th e height o f a rag e fo r th e genre . Bu t compare d wit h th e Hollywoo d article—Murder, My Sweet or The Big Sleep—Williams's blac k version s seemed fumbling , poor , ill-lighte d counterfeits . Dirty Gertie borrowe d heavily fro m Maugham' s Rain but stil l could no t sustai n a n audienc e through a n afternoo n fre e o f misplaced laughter . H e finished his career with Juke Joint an d Beale Street Mama, tw o witles s pastiche s o f music and slapstick, the latter a bungled stor y of two "whitewings," or streetsweepers (Williams and Juli Jones), who try to parlay a bundle of found money int o a career in the numbers racket . Onl y an onstag e plea fro m one of the actors saved its Los Angeles debut from closure under pressure from a local Interracial Film and Radio Guild that charged Williams with reviving the "razo r cutting , ey e bucking, Uncle Tom." Williams , like a clown weeping under his paint, ended his career playing Andy in CBS's TV version of its radio hit Amos 'n' Andy, whic h woul d als o face black protests o f its apparent perpetuatio n o f old stereotypes. 43 By thi s tim e critic s routinely joined Abra m Hill in denouncin g th e ineptitude o f rac e movie s tha t n o longe r commande d loyalt y "eve n among a yawning Monday morning audience of thriller fans." The genre had falle n s o fa r shor t o f it s forme r ideal s o f advocacy , heroism , an d cultural nationalis m tha t whe n distinguishe d Hollywoo d vetera n Clarence Brooks announced a new film, Jimmy Adamson of the Sentinel warned hi m off . "I hop e Clarenc e will surroun d himsel f wit h sensibl e people this time," he wrote, "and produc e pictures for the general public and not try to satisf y a few simple-minded color-struc k Negroes." 44 In other words, Adamson asked his readers to step into postwar life, build on th e integrationis m pu t fort h durin g th e war , an d abando n rac e movies a s an anachronis m incapabl e of engaging a broad audience . Gradually the middle class and its spokesmen in the press hardened their conviction that race movies belonged to the dead past. Ebony, the new gloss y magazine that define d and fe d the expectation s o f the ne w class, struggle d to break wit h th e mentalit y tha t oblige d unquestione d fealty t o rac e movies as black enterprises . O n the on e han d i t reported "hefty grosses " for "all-Negro movie s [that ] hav e suddenl y blossome d into a million-dollar business," while on the other i t dismissed them as "a fly-by-night precarious dream " of exploiters who had "cashed in on segregation." The choice seemed clear: Either race-moviemen woul d see "Jim Cro w slowly fading" and take up "making mixed movies," or they would cling to "crude, corny tales about gangsters and nightclubs " be reft o f "Negro uplift." 45 Ebony's formulation proved prescient; race-moviemen were trapped by the wanin g o f antebellum racial custom. By the earl y 1950 s its erosion ha d alread y weakened th e monopol y tha t ha d allowe d Souther n bookers to play, as one of Micheaux's cameramen recalled, "race movies

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good or bad." A s black viewers were drawn off to Hollywood's messag e movies, Lorenzo Tucker, one of Micheaux's veterans , felt that "our peo ple di d not suppor t thei r own. " I n Toddy' s more guiltfre e reckoning : "Integration cam e i n then, you know." 46 For thos e o f them wit h a n ey e for omens , Sepia Cinderella (1947 ) should have given them all the bad news they needed. Everything about it signale d its obsolescence i n a n ag e when the presiden t o f the Unite d States commissioned a study of racism designed t o introduc e it s reme dies into publi c policy and law . Its star was Bill y Daniels, who alread y had score d a crossover succes s with th e recordin g o f his signature son g "That Ol d Black Magic," a moody romantic ballad that would have been unthinkable for a black singer before the war. Its minor players included William Greave s an d Sidne y Poitier , whos e abilitie s carrie d the m t o award-winning succes s i n a n integrate d future . A t it s "wester n pre miere" In Los Angeles Sepia Cinderella calle d forth other racial ironies , such as the decisio n to use its opening a s a benefit for Jackie Robinson, who had only just cracked the color barrier to major league baseball. The emcee was Eddie Anderson, who already enjoyed a career in white radio as the foil of the white comedian Jack Benny. The gala was staged at the Lincoln Theatre on formerly prosperous blac k Central Avenue, a hous e that soo n woul d fal l victi m t o a blac k drif t towar d formerl y lilywhit e downtown theatres. The stage manager of the event was Wendell Franklin, wh o soo n woul d becom e th e firs t blac k membe r o f the Directors Guild. Finally, the promoters themselve s deleted the word "sepia" from the title in their advertising as though papering over the appearance tha t they wer e sellin g a Jim Cro w product. 47 In the ensuin g year s of an integrate d America n arm y in Korea, th e overturning of the lega l basis of segregation b y the Suprem e Court , th e grudging opening of a few institutions, and the gradual black shift from a strategy o f litigatio n t o on e o f nonviolen t direc t action , rac e movie s survived onl y a s campish curiositie s among suc h audience s a s derisive youth clubs in churches. Othe r blacks acquired the m a s fossils o f olde n times, much as current fans of "black collectibles," suc h as Aunt Jemima or Uncl e Be n advertisin g memorabili a o r Amos '« ' Andy videotapes , have take n u p thei r hobbies a s a reminder o f twice-told tale s of former bad times. 48 Thus, shu t ou t o f theatrica l markets , thei r productio n moribund , race movie s survive d fo r anothe r decad e o n late-nigh t televisio n i n Southern markets . Alon g wit h Soundies , propagand a film s lef t ove r from the war, Snader Telescription, and other sources of syndicated fare, they fille d th e yawnin g gap s i n th e dail y lo g o f a scor e o f Souther n stations strugglin g through th e first years of television broadcasting. In one instance Nate Zelikow, an enterprising young advertising executive

in Houston, packaged thirty race movies into his Ebony Theatre as a way, he recalled, "to cultivate and capture the lucrative Negro market" an d as

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a mean s fo r statio n manager s t o sho w th e Federa l Communication s Commission tha t the y catere d t o al l sector s o f their market . B y 195 5 Zelikow's package included black features, ten years of All-America and Edward W. Lewis newsreels, an d od d documentaries suc h as One Tenth of a Nation, and it played Houston, San Antonio, Galveston, Little Rock, and Jackson, amon g others. 49 None of this, of course, held out any hope for a revival of the genre . Zelikow turned a dollar on television because he bought titles from Sac k at distrain t prices . An d perhap s h e profite d becaus e a singl e night' s broadcast migh t reac h a n audienc e fa r greater than tha t t o b e ha d i n weeks o f booking s i n underuse d grindhouses , al l o f i t fre e fro m th e squabbles ove r percentage s an d gate-check s that marre d dealing s between bookers and theatremen . Finally , broadcasting race movies may have expande d th e audienc e t o include the blac k middle class viewers who woul d hav e avoide d exposin g themselve s t o th e indignit y o f a segregated balcony i n a squali d grindhouse . Somehow , watchin g th e movies in a primary social circle of friends o f family provided entertainment without th e appearanc e o f lending suppor t t o th e syste m of segregation. I n thes e privat e session s "fo r member s only, " rac e movie s survived a s a curiosity, like a buttonhook o n a knickknack shelf. 50 African America n audiences , mad e camerawis e b y the wa r movie s that had relocated blacks more to the center of movie life, knew that race movies had lost their raison d'etre, so that watching them accompanied a mood o f pervers e pleasur e i n calculatedl y laughin g i n al l th e wron g places—a sor t of black nationalist politics of inappropriate behavior. I n this sens e thei r laughte r was indee d politicall y purposeful , a way of telling each other that they knew not only the absurdity of racism but the absurdity of making movies to accommodate to it. Like the character in Amiri Baraka's one-act farc e Jello, the y ha d rituall y murdered Roches ter, Jac k Benny' s comi c valet, a reminder o f a racist past, an d thereb y purged themselve s i n preparation fo r whatever peacetim e brought .

6 Documentary Film Culture and Postwar Liberal Momentum

No one dare d guess the postwa r future o f American racial custom. Despite the fissure s that had opene d in the system as a result of the crisis of war, th e blac k penetration int o previousl y inaccessible seats of power, the signs that race had again become a national point at issue, there were conservatives afoot wh o expecte d a return to antebellum ways. Parallel to thi s lin e o f political change, America n filmmakers faced a n equall y uncertain future. O n its face, the situation promised only a thermidorean reaction, a return to a familiar equilibrium after th e dislocation s of war. But a t the sam e time, new condition s also invited a search for means of extending wartim e alliances . Suc h a strateg y seeme d compellin g be cause formerly stable Hollywood was so unsettled by soaring labor costs, the threa t o f war-deferred strikes, the buffetin g o f inflation, a bafflin g suburban migration by an audience seemingly bent on trying every new leisure-time activity that dre w the m awa y from th e movie houses they formerly ha d attende d twic e eac h week , an d a Suprem e Cour t tha t threatened to make up fo r years of wartime judicial peace by inquiring into antitrus t violations. Meanwhile, outsid e of established Hollywood, and les s threatened by thes e forces , ther e wa s a documentar y fil m cultur e that ha d bee n trained an d emboldene d b y the wa r and , b y the summe r o f 1945 , ha d already begun to set an agenda that far outreached the circumspect goals of thei r wartim e master s i n OW I an d th e Pentagon . Willynilly , i t emerged a s a political culture composed of filmmakers, film librarians, 151

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rental firms, and viewers whom war had taught new respect for and new uses of film. Joining with trade unions and liberal activists, they lobbied to free government films for civilian use even as they began making their own films. Hollywood eventually would resum e its own errati c liberal agenda, but fo r th e momen t th e studio s stoo d apart , momentu m lost , liberal thrust blunte d b y fears . On e o f David O . Selznick' s advisers expressed one such fear: tha t a campaign against Southern censor s might backfire by stirring sentiment for a widespread ban o n race-angle d movies. On the movielot s themselves , manager s fel t squeezed between risin g costs and raisin g ticke t prices. " A definit e trend downwar d i n attendance, " Spyros Skouras , presiden t o f 20t h Century-Fox , tol d hi s productio n chief, Darryl Zanuck. "We must reduce production costs or we will face inevitable ruin." 1 I n thi s mood , th e mogul s ha d littl e choic e bu t t o abandon politics to the newly forming film culture of Eastern documentarists. For a time, then, documentary filmmakers, less fettered by wariness toward box office or stockholders, not only took up racial political issues but renewed their faith in their medium as a tool of the social engineering they had learne d durin g the war . They joined wit h a circle of likeminded socia l scientists an d growin g circle s o f users o f film , man y of whose liberal politics had been shaped in the crucible of war. This loose network o f advocates fel t suc h a commonality tha t the y soo n acte d a s though in a movement, thei r efforts held together by their shared faith in the continue d efficac y o f film as a medium o f advocacy. Almost unnoticed because of the unhyped setting in which indepen dent filmmaker s an d teacher s di d thei r work , documentarie s ofte n passed unremarked i n the popular press although the y may have bee n seen by thousands o f both deeply influenced and deeply influential people. True, The Negro Soldier once made it into Vogue's "Peopl e Are Talking About" column, and Daybreak at Udi, a British quasi-documentary set in colonial Africa, won a n Oscar in 1947 , but al l in all the lack of star quality and publicit y was easil y taken fo r lack of impact. Nonetheless, documentar y fil m gre w int o a postwa r voice o f conscience-liberalism tha t persiste d i n th e fac e o f mor e famou s sign s of conservative reaction , an d eventuall y ma y hav e provide d Hollywood with th e mentalit y tolerant of , and even receptiv e to, messag e movies and on the lookout for the incidental politics embedded in feature film. Among intellectuals ther e seeme d no t onl y a rededication t o racial reformism, bu t a redefinitio n of it drawn fro m th e lore of social science, coupled with a renewed fait h i n film as an advocat e o f a remedy fo r it. Many of their most provocative ideas grew out o f Myrdal's An American Dilemma, which became a sort of Chilton's parts manual for the machinery o f racism; Logan's less famous What the Negro Wants; Allport' s The Nature of Prejudice, whic h portraye d bigotry as a correctabl e failure o f

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cognition; an d two books rooted in wartime experience , Rober t K. Merton's Mass Persuasion: The Sociology of a War Bond Drive an d Samue l Stouffer's What the Soldier Thinks. A s August Meier and Elliot t Rudwick observed of the historians o f the era , "a n awarenes s o f both the suffer ings of the nation' s dispossesse d an d th e enormit y o f Nazi crimes committed i n the name o f racial superiority . . . converge d wit h th e findings o f modern anthropolog y an d environmenta l psycholog y t o hel p undermine th e prevailing white belief in racial inequality." At the sam e time, thei r work began t o penetrate scholarl y conferences and intellec tual quarterlies. This sort of inquiry came strikingly from a group of, as Meier and Rudwick reported, "person s from conventional background s whose outloo k shifted considerabl y to the left i n the socia l and intellectual contex t o f the Ne w Deal an d Worl d Wa r II and .. . fo r who m military experience s durin g th e wa r provide d th e crucia l turnin g point."2 The early returns on their research not only seeped int o politics but enjoyed a degree of approval by the electorate . Although Harry S. Truman sometime s broke the hearts of liberals by joining in anti-red hysteria, in racial politics he commissione d th e stud y of racism that becam e the eloquent To Secure These Rights (1947), which called for nothing less than the abandonment o f racist behaviors that had become "burdens o n [America's] commo n conscienc e . . . an d a n issue in world politics. " Within a year of its appearance i t astonishingly grace d th e Democrati c platform callin g fo r a n en d t o segregatio n an d peonage , a peacetim e FEPC, federa l guarantee s o f civi l rights , an d immediat e settlemen t o f claims arising from wartime internmen t o f Japanese Americans . Southerners le d by Senator Stro m Thurmond (D-S.C. ) were s o certain that , unlike Roosevelt, "Truman mean s it, " the y bolted the party and force d Truman to win without them. As though cultivating the "aroused public conscience" that Justice Felix Frankfurter had onc e calle d for, the polls revealed a margina l wis h t o pass th e repor t int o la w "a s a whole, " a sense reflecte d i n Truman' s mail , whic h a staf f membe r describe d a s offering "mas s support" fo r FEPC. 3 A similar mentality leavened the school curriculum, particularly in a widely offered cours e called "Problem s o f Democracy" (POD , as pupils called it). A child of the "progressive " educatio n movement , i t empha sized "actual" living as against "dead classics," an d thus took up "cur rent events " an d "socia l studies " a t the expens e o f history. Th e tren d gave conscience-liberalism a place in the schoo l day , especially among teachers wh o "wante d t o kee p aliv e the boosteris m o f wartime," an d those ope n t o usin g th e "proliferatio n o f audiovisuals" tha t include d surplus films such as The Negro Soldier. Typically , suc h teachers might celebrate Brotherhoo d Wee k b y showin g th e film , singin g "Ballad for Americans," and hearing reports on black and immigrant worthies. That conservatives noticed may be seen in an American Legion protest of the

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film The Brotherhood of Man an d o f a "red" bulleti n board i n New Trier High School . Th e textbook s bor e title s lik e Good Will Days, promise d "the promotio n o f RACIA L GOO D WILL, " featured epigrams assertin g that "all American s ar e brothers, " use d ethni c poetr y suc h a s Langsto n Hughes's "Wear y Blues, " and include d an accoun t of the old natio n when "Americans wer e a terribly provincial and intolerant people." One book took up a racial incident in Massachusetts that Warner Bros, made into a movie. "I t ca n be done; i t is being done, " said A. R. Lerner an d Herbert Poster's boo k The Challenge of Hate (1946 ) on endin g racism. 4 Popular culture in all its forms picked up the theme as though ratify ing a ne w statu s qu o i n whic h conscience-liberalis m ha d becom e th e ideology of the moment. I n at least tw o comi c strips the change d racia l mentality appeare d starkl y o n th e lithographe d page . Befor e th e wa r Ken Kling' s racetrack stri p Joe and Asbestos an d Wil l Eisner's Sunda y private eye stri p The Spirit include d bug-eyed, liver-lipped comic black dwarves a s sidekicks, but by war's en d both ha d become mor e realistic. Coulton Waugh, who dre w a strip for PM, spoke for the trend, calling for "using th e medium t o further th e national idea l of tolerance an d justice for al l people, regardles s of race." Comic books took off during the war , rising t o a readershi p o f 15 0 millio n pe r month , an d o n arm y post s outselling Time, Life, an d Reader's Digest combined . Anxiou s parent s formed th e Parent s Institut e an d brough t ou t thei r ow n book , True Comics, whic h becam e ye t anothe r orga n o f liberal rhetoric , featurin g such stories as "They Go t the Blame" ( a series on scapegoating that wa s reprinted as a pamphlet) and "There Are No Master Races" (ye t another version of Gene Weltfish and Rut h Benedict's The Races of Mankind}. Th e Writers' War Board brought out Master Comics, which Waugh recalled as showing "Negroe s workin g with white s o n equal terms." The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the NUL, and others brought out their

own books . Ther e was even a n All-Negro Comics, which feature d a UN troubleshooter, "th e America n born, college educated, Lio n Man," wh o not only wore the obligatory leotard costume of the comic hero but also scouted for "sharp chicks." Th e books actually grew so competitive tha t an NUL officer boasted that "we 'scooped ' th e other race relations agencies on th e comi c book," and urge d entr y int o movies. 5 The trend i n sport s was more tentativ e bu t i n th e en d mor e cele brated, afte r th e Brookly n Dodgers signed o n Jacki e Robinso n t o play baseball. Althoug h befor e th e war , ther e wer e occasiona l integrate d events—such a s th e annua l Pen n Relays , which dre w s o man y blac k athletes tha t i t wa s know n a s "th e Negr o Olympics"—basebal l onl y belatedly caved i n t o pressur e from Sa m Lacy o f the Afro an d fro m th e Worker.6 In 194 5 Variety playe d this story of, as one historian described it, the "great assaul t on white supremacy" in a page-one banner: "GEA R SHO W BIZ v s RAC E BIAS. " A newl y describe d socia l type, th e "otherdirected "


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urbanite who derive d his or her sensibilitie s more fro m immediat e pee r culture tha n fro m tradition , becam e th e cor e o f a cul t o f the ne w tha t helped shap e a n urban cultur e in which performer s attended symposi a "on the status of the Negro in a fighting democracy," impresario s sometimes followed liberal leads in desegregating their theatres, and the rus h to smok y cella r clubs and blac k folksingers seemed s o hep tha t Jame s Agee grumbled a t th e glu t of "self-consciously niggery" singers. 7 Part of the mood stemmed fro m teenagers' rebellious fads, which w e have already seen in Don't Knock the Rock. If their parents were square , they were obliged to be hep; i f fathers wore polished brogans, sons wore scuffed loafers ; if mothers eschewe d smoking , daughters did not; and s o on. Unavoidably , then, i f parents wen t to hea r th e latinat e rhythm s of Vincent Lopez at the Taf t Grille , their children went for the black bands at Roseland . Abov e all , thi s politic s o f warring taste s oblige d kid s t o reach across racial lines, take up the cool patois of the hepcat, dres s a la mode in a "zoot suit with a reet pleat." Soon there were intersections of racial culture: Josh White in Village cellars singing "The Free and Equal Blues"; Norma n Granz' s "Jaz z a t th e Philharmonic" ; Duk e Ellington playing both Carnegi e Hall and the Apollo; whites taking the A train to the Apollo ; black kids catching Charli e Barnett and Loui s Prima a t th e Brooklyn Paramount. Moreover, every large city reflected a similar pattern.8 Optimistically, Ebony reported tha t white youth behaved this way not because "it was the thing to do" but because they had been raised up on a diet of wartime liberalism . In it s activist mode thi s warborn e mentalit y carrie d ove r int o th e business o f sho w business . B y th e en d o f th e wa r th e show s o f th e Hollywood Victor y Committe e ha d bee n integrated . Jac k Benn y an d Stan Kento n playe d o n integrate d bills ; Ernes t Whitma n move d fro m playing th e Colore d Elk s t o doin g a tuberculosi s benefi t a t th e Lo s Angeles Publi c Library ; Joan Fontain e okaye d a dat e t o pla y a blac k Women's Arm y Corps outfit ; Len a Home an d Jimm y Durant e played the Colosseum in a tribute to two California generals, Patton and Doolittle. Thus it was no t onl y th e contrarines s o f youth bu t als o a change d racial etiquett e that i n tur n promote d a high receptivit y for black performing idiom. 9 In the East a similar pattern emerged. Frank Sinatra not only made an antiracis m movie but afterwar d rushed t o Gary, Indiana, to help aver t a threatened racia l rumble. A t Lewisohn Stadiu m in Manhattan, Re x Ingram, Bett y Garrett, and Ca b Galloway appeared o n be half of a black man blinded in a scrape with Georgi a police; the Chicago Human Relations Committee sponsored th e concert "Jazz and the Negro People" t o promot e "tolerance " amon g adolescents ; Ellingto n an d others di d fundraiser s fo r th e "underprivileged " o r agains t "intol erance." Ma x Gordon brought the blues singer Chippie Hill out of retirement t o pla y the Villag e Vanguard; Lionel Hampton played the White House fo r th e firs t time ; Loui s Armstron g playe d th e Mard i Gra s i n

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New Orleans ; an d Josephin e Bake r brok e a barrie r a t Cop a Cit y i n Miami.10 Theatre, perhaps because it was a medium of words as well as action and becaus e it played cities , also played to th e ne w mood , combinin g racial politic s wit h showmanshi p i n way s tha t audience s an d critic s responded t o b y praisin g "socia l significance " an d damnin g th e od d "racial stereotype." Th e icon o f the er a was Edit h Isaacs's Theatre Arts magazine, whic h brough t ou t a hardbound issu e in 194 7 dedicate d to "The Negr o in the America n Theatre," a document o f such uncommo n graphic an d editoria l qualit y that i t remaine d a referenc e fo r decades afterward. Othello became politicized in a way typical of the age: During the wa r Pau l Robeson mad e th e role blac k for the first time i n recen t history and thereafter took it on the road on the straw-hat circuit, talked of a USO tour an d a Britis h movie o f it, and finall y brough t i t back t o Broadway in 1948 , trottin g onstage between th e act s to introduce Progressive presidential candidate Henr y A. Wallace. 11 Offstage , travelin g companies challenged loca l racial custom by refusing t o play Jim Crow houses. Even the musical form took up racial satire: in Finian 's Rainbow with its burlesque of Southern lif e an d it s drawling senator fro m "Mis situcky" who turns black; and South Pacific wit h its cadenced refrai n o n race hatred—"You've got to be taught, ver y carefully taught. " Topical drama included Richard Wright's Black Boy, Lillian Smith's Strange Fruit

(both take n fro m popula r fiction) , an d n o fewe r tha n thre e origina l works abou t returnin g blac k soldiers : Theodor e Ward' s Our Lan', a tragedy of Reconstruction, which a critic praised for its "contemporary relevance," and two stories of the postwar South, Kermit Bloomgarten's Deep Are the Roots and Rober t Ardrey's Jeb. Opportunists exploited it by ransacking th e publi c domain fo r blac k versions o f Pinafore, Carmen, Faust, Lysistrata, Pagliacci, The Beggar's Opera, an d eve n Uncle Tom's Cabin (wit h Martha Raye as a white Topsy!). 12 Audiences joined in no t only b y attendin g bu t b y becoming insid e dopester s to o "wit h it " t o accept ol d racism. Variety caugh t on an d warne d backers against a revival of The Green Pastures partly because "ne w audiences " in Boston made its tryout "anything bu t encouraging." An d on the left the Worker counseled its readers to see only authentic black drama rather than stuf f about the impact of racism on whites or on lone black figures with "n o roots i n the res t of the Negr o people."13 To take only one of the new dramas , Ardrey's Jeb created a tension between Southerner s who balked at change and those, black and white, who had been remade by the war. Jeb (Ossi e Davis's debut) was a black soldier who ha d los t a leg in the war. To the ol d men h e was no mor e than "an old field hand boy," while to younger whites he was "a colored boy who's lost a leg fighting for his country." Bot h soon learn the army made him an active agent on his own behalf by teaching him "to run an adding machine." "I f an ignoran t ol d colored boy lik e m e coul d learn


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somethin' fighting in this war," h e reckons , "the n I got faith an d trus t white folk s they'v e learne d somethin g too. " Thu s Jeb i n hi s way ha d taken o n the manner of the postwar liberal: magisterial and bent upo n carrying the "four freedoms" int o churches, schools , and union halls in the for m of , a s Sacva n Bercovitc h pu t it , a n "America n jeremia d . . . th e publi c exhortatio n . . . designe d t o joi n socia l criticis m t o spiritual renewal." 14 Hints of this actively tutorial role and th e fait h i n film to convey its substance have alread y been note d i n Sau l Padover's proposa l t o Agriculture fo r a film about th e Africa n America n a s "a n averag e huma n being," a project that implied a future liberalis m rooted les s in a temporary war footing. Less than a fortnight after D-Day in Normandy, even as OWI shrank i n wealth an d influence , Phille o Nash proposed a project that was aimed pointedly at postwar conditions, perhaps to be steered by some previousl y unthinkabl e peacetim e equivalen t o f OWI. Lockheed Aircraft, a bellwether i n the Californi a economy , ha d reveale d it s ow n alertness t o th e prospect s fo r a postwa r racia l refor m whe n i t invite d Nash to leave OWI for a project "to determin e objectivel y the result s of wartime experience i n the utilization of special labor groups; i. e. physically handicapped , mino r an d th e over-age , part-time workers , Negr o and Mexican workers." In turning down the offer, Nash looked ahead to a postwar militanc y tha t woul d carr y liberalism "awa y from th e toler ance and good will aspects of minority-group relations toward the man agement o f inter-group relation s a s an industr y an d communit y prob lem." A s we have seen, he was already a liberal mole within the agency, extending it s reac h beyon d th e narro w dutie s prescribe d b y missio n statements, volunteerin g his services, for example, i n composing list s of liberal movies for "citizens" and organizations . I t was onl y a small step for hi m t o regard his war wor k a s of "importance no w an d t o postwa r adjustment [that ] i s so great tha t I do no t fee l tha t I could leav e it." 15 Clearly, Nas h an d othe r libera l staf f wer e runnin g a privat e OWI within th e wall s o f the actua l OWI , and the y expecte d thei r wor k t o continue afte r th e war . No t onl y ha d Nas h bee n usin g th e agency' s resources to develop filmographies complete with addresses of distributors, a precursor of 1 6 mm marketin g techniques, he wa s solicitin g still more opportunitie s t o reach activist s and t o develop mailing lists while explaining awa y favor s a s derivin g fro m "m y friendshi p fo r Truma n Gibson, not through officia l channels." 16 Indeed, perhap s throug h Gibson, black activists learned o f Nash's covert activity and sense d tha t th e subtext t o th e officia l lin e ra n al l the wa y t o th e Whit e House . In an y case, the y aske d Truman for a "transitio n fro m wa r t o peace" that in cluded "vigorous remedial action" directed at racial problems. Not to do so, Lester Grange r o f NUL told the presiden t only two week s afte r th e surrender of Japan in the summer of 1945, was to risk the meretriciousness inherent i n standin g "before th e worl d a s a champio n o f the op -

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pressed people s unles s w e practic e a s wel l a s preac h th e principle s of democracy." Graduall y this link between blac k fortunes and th e role of America a s th e world' s rabb i becam e a conventio n o f postwar libera l advocacy, thereb y providin g a reaso n fo r the government' s movie s t o enter postwar civilian circuits and provide the nucleus of many inventories o f rental fil m firms. 17 In addition , a s we hav e seen , The Negro Soldier and Teamwork be came th e stake s i n a gam e playe d ou t i n th e agencie s over postwa r civilian access. Even as the thrust of their politics came to be seen as ever more "painfully, pitifull y mild, " the press on the lef t praise d one or the other a s " a pioneer " i n reflectin g the pluralis m tha t ha d bee n a t th e bottom o f wartime call s for unity, tolerance, an d brotherhood . Thi s liberal reading, carrying far beyond the army's original idea, surfaced in the letters o f Nash t o civilia n activists , the NAACP' s presentment s t o th e army, and the blurbs of both library and rental catalogues, which toute d them as formulas for "living together . . . no w and for the future." In a typical case, the CIO urged its members to attend a Milwaukee showin g of The Negro Soldier fo r it s tribut e t o "th e contribution s mad e b y th e Negro people throughout ou r nation's history in establishing the demo cratic principle s fo r which w e ar e now fighting, " a phrasin g tha t pre served a militan t edg e whil e altering th e film' s thrus t fro m militar y t o civil history. 18 In the sam e summer o f 1944, Nas h all but enliste d a s a press agen t for th e film. When Edwi n R. Embree of the Rosenwal d Foundation , a well-known ange l fo r blac k scholar s an d artists , aske d i f "ther e i s anything an y o f us ca n d o t o hel p sprea d t o commercia l theatre s The Negro Soldier,'' Nas h urge d a n interracia l pane l t o massag e pressur e points suc h a s Barne y Balaban' s chai n o f cavernous Chicag o theatres. Meanwhile, OW I agreed t o bring fort h on e hundre d an d fifty prints.19 The growing numbers o f educational film users rushed t o get in line for 16 m m versions . I n additio n t o th e OWI' s ow n distributio n t o PTAs , prisons, MOMA, and th e CIAA , totaling perhaps thre e millio n viewers, more patentl y activis t groups such a s the Unite d Auto Workers (UAW) and the American Counci l on Race Relations acquired as many as three prints each. 20 Far from bookin g th e film as a cheap filler or as a dutiful gestur e to the army' s narro w goals , liberals often presente d i t as, in a way, their film, a herald o f their ow n emergin g politics. By thus channelin g thei r members' zes t fo r a ringin g message , the y effectivel y italicize d OF-51 into a liberal tract that stoo d o n the army' s shoulder s to proclaim "th e contribution tha t Negroe s ar e makin g .. . i n thi s People' s Wa r for Liberation"—a visual pamphlet that the CI O urged upon its officers an d "their familie s an d friends." 21 No t merel y a piec e abou t th e colore d army, said the CIO News, i t "drives home th e point once and fo r all that Negro o r white , ou r me n an d wome n i n th e arme d force s [were ] th e


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same" in thei r desir e for "a bette r world fo r all of the people. " In thi s way, the army's modest littl e movie had become liberal labor's weapo n in "the battl e against bias" with suc h vigor that the CI O imagined itsel f in the van of an assault on "commercial movies " tha t had been "guilt y of man y act s o f intoleranc e throug h stereotype d characterization s of racial an d nationalit y groups. " "Perhaps, " muse d th e CI O reviewer, "the industr y itself ca n profit" from a look a t these films. 22 Was all of this mere liberal wish-weaving for a postwar moral equivalent o f war ? Certainl y conscience-liberalis m ha d gaine d legitimacy from th e war, if for no othe r reaso n tha n tha t Hitler had give n racism a bad name. Bu t war had also brought substantive wrenching o f old ways in th e for m of , t o us e th e can t phrasing , "cotto n movin ' west , cattl e movin' east , Yankee s movin ' south , nigger s movin ' north. " Indeed , blacks had move d north , worke d fo r wages (rathe r than cro p shares), sent their childre n t o schools, voted , an d returne d fro m th e army , like Jeb, wit h head s spinnin g wit h ne w ideas . Moreover, Souther n politi cians kne w thi s an d regarde d it a s "grave. " Indeed , on e o f Truman' s aides thought tha t the president "always di d feel tha t there shoul d be a civil rights bill" to attack the "mora l dry rot" o f racism.23 Tru e or not , liberals certainl y though t so. They lobbied Truman , gav e out "unity " awards, mad e Brotherhoo d Wee k a nationa l ritual . Everywher e committees forme d agains t "segregatio n i n th e nation' s capital " o r else where, an d editor s asked , n o longe r rhetorically , "Wh y don' t w e d o something?" Lik e th e media-pron e activist s the wa r ha d mad e them , they asked for signs and omens. They asked that the navy recommission the Booker T. under a black skipper , tha t a police presence b e used t o protect black voters and liberal judges, that someone make a movie of To Secure These Rights. In a typical letter to Truman, Walter White reported on how liberalism came to football in an interracial game that displayed only "the finest team spirit." And over at Interior someone began reporting on the ease of integration of the National Symphony in the capital's parks as a sign that segregation was far from a "community pattern " that gave theatres the righ t to exclud e blacks. 24 Meanwhile, documentar y filmmakers , audiovisua l librarians , an d teachers broke with their neutralist past, when they had feared "contro versy." Before the war, the American Council on Education (ACE) ha d limited films to only four bland subjects—voice, grammar, hygiene, and aesthetics—so tha t eve n th e famou s The Plow That Broke the Plains seemed usefu l onl y for its "mood of rhythmic beauty." 25 I n those days, even i f a brav e teache r pressed on , h e o r sh e woul d hav e foun d fe w catalogues or reviews, scant funds, an d most experts calling for restraint rather tha n boldnes s in th e us e o f film. "Most documentar y films are propaganda films," warned William H. Hartley, a cataloguer of national repute. I n a review of America's Disinherited (1938 ) h e quote d from a sharecropper—"yesterday w e aske d fo r pity , toda y w e deman d jus -

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tice"—but cautione d that "th e teache r shoul d als o see that the planter' s side of the stor y is told."26 In thi s prewa r neutralis t mode , racia l issue s wer e almos t alway s formulated a s betwee n whit e philanthropist s an d blac k mendicants . Hartley, fo r example , preferre d film s abou t "philanthropi c effort s o n behalf o f the Negro. " Like Tarzan movies tha t se t Afric a i n a timeles s primitivism, suc h movie s narrowe d th e rang e o f black actio n t o smal l folkish measures , a s i n th e Departmen t o f Agriculture fil m The Negro Farmer (1938), which linked black progress to home-canning, installin g flyscreens, diggin g privies , an d whitewashing , an d cite d Booke r T . Washington's call for putting "brains and skill into the common occupations o f life." Th e resultin g avoidanc e o f politics reduce d al l issue s t o efficient management and , as a reviewer put it, "constructive . . . step s being take n t o improv e livin g conditions. " I n thi s settin g a n Africa n American was "great" only if, like Carver, he could be portrayed "not a s an unusual Negro" but one who "i s offered man y position s but prefer s to devot e hi s lif e t o the stud y of the peanut." 27 Then came the war an d an end to, as Cecile Starr, an activis t in th e era, put it, "poor fact films that had neither cinemati c quality nor ideas." The war, said Irving Jacoby, had "been responsible for the great growth in the . . . us e of idea films," rousing an audience, thei r teachers, an d "a generation of film makers."28 Starr in a recent interview remembere d the high energ y of the era : the Scot s filmmaker John Grierson urging a cinema o f advocacy, the Carnegi e Foundation givin g seed money t o the American Library Association (ALA) to promote "films of social con-

tent" inspired by the "high idealism" inherite d fro m a war "t o mak e a better world," Iris Barry collecting such films for MOMA, a leftist distributor deciding to "woo" librarian s beyond the bounds of his prewar cells of the converted. Al l of it was bonded t o a national "fil m council movement" in a network o f associations: the Educational Film Library Association (EFLA) , bookers' guilds , the American Film Center, the Interna tional Fil m Association . "Th e whol e A V field was startin g u p fresh, " recalled Emily S. Jones, one of its leaders. "The people who had founded it .. . wer e now old-timers, and new people were appearing, many of them ou t o f service i n th e arme d forces. " The synergistic alliance gave new lif e t o conscience-liberalism . Eve n a s establishe d politic s seeme d poised to veer to the right, the ACE predicted a postwar "great boom" in documentaries grounde d i n th e "militar y film s [that ] wil l be available after th e war." 29 From 194 5 throug h 1948 , a s Hollywood cultivate d its first crop of message movies , thi s ne w film culture gre w no t onl y i n agencie s an d numbers bu t als o in it s new sens e o f mission. Wha t ha d onc e bee n a shared timidity had become a crusading spirit rooted i n the socia l engineers' fait h tha t films of advocacy truly could affect change . Supporting them wer e th e standar d work s i n socia l psychology, which regarde d


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bigotry as remediable flawed knowledge . I t was easy to infer, then, tha t sweet thoughts about one's fellow s could be generated by the flic k o f a projector switch . Th e sense o f mission wa s als o reinforced by manual s that taugh t specifi c strategie s on discussin g "ways minoritie s are being treated." By the opening of school in 1946, they began to speak boldly of reaching a "community" beyond the classroom through film forums on "problems o f inter-group relations" an d films on the "removal" of prejudice.30 A s a predictor of impending success they culled the army's ow n measurements o f succes s i n "attitud e building " an d it s strategie s fo r "presenting a 'point o f view,'" and ran the data in their tradepapers. In one story , for example, when soldiers were show n Capra' s The Battle of Britain most o f them go t its message that Britis h survival was owe d t o an unbreakabl e spirit , but amon g soldier s who liked th e film the mes sage cam e acros s at a rate 2.6 7 time s highe r tha n amon g thos e indif ferent to the film. The inference was clear: Whatever the efficacy o f army surplus film, continued succes s obliged the m t o mak e ne w an d bette r films.31 Thus, as befitting victors in a war against fascism)—a "double " victory in Africa n America n calculus—they moved fro m mer e scavenging of army supplies to manufacturing their own products custom-designed to solv e "broade r problems " o f "education .. . i n a democratic society." Th e idea, said advocate Charle s F. Hoban, was to replace "Kno w Your Enemy " films with "Kno w You r Neighbor " films . Thei r rhetori c rang i n tone s simila r t o a n EFL A resolutio n t o "spearhea d drive s t o broaden the place of film in the present social scene," a sentiment carried to local groups by giving awards for "fostering, i n its own community , the effectiv e us e of films." Another tactic combined film showings wit h panels of local worthies, as did a Film Council of America (FCA) meeting in Stamford, Connecticut, in which a lawyer, an FCA delegate, a Pitney Bowes executive, and a member o f an interracial commission discussed The Brotherhood of Man. B y early 194 7 Variety reporte d n o fewe r tha n fifty such group s linke d i n " a permanen t fron t t o ac t a s a corrective democratic force." 32 Their tradepapers promised to sharpen the voices of advocacy in film and t o reach broade r audience s wit h message s of "better huma n rela tions," "religiou s tolerance, " an d "brotherhoo d an d equality. " Jun e Blythe of the ACE, for example, urged a congress to make more films on "minority-majority grou p relationships" an d to include blacks in a national "pla n that will represent . . . al l users of the media." "Like any other ne w market, " sh e argued, "[they ] mus t be sought ou t an d edu cated t o th e valu e of the film. " O n their own behalf , blacks joined in . People's Voice, fo r example, called on black women t o "force" releas e of OF-51 to civilians; Ann Tanneyhil l of NUL urged her agenc y to take up films as a weapon ; an d th e NAAC P remade it s fundraising fil m t o in clude Len a Hom e assertin g that Worl d Wa r I I ha d bee n fough t "t o

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preserve an d strengthe n th e democrati c ideal, " whic h i n th e comin g peacetime mus t "stil l b e fought for." 33 Such purposefulnes s couple d wit h a risin g professionalis m pro moted a fevered sense of being an organic part of a vanguard that ranged through socia l engineers , filmmakers , an d user s o f film , unifie d b y a sense that the broad center o f American political culture stood in agreement that a Double V had transpired. All that remained, o r so it seemed , was for them to speak in concert, define the terms of a liberal hegemony, and gras p the proselytizin g opportunity tha t th e ne w film culture presented. Th e result would be , they thought, newl y elevate d standard s of film excellence far above those se t by old-style "educational" films, and eventually a fres h cro p o f film s capabl e o f deliverin g "a n emotiona l punch o f great intensity." 34 Take on e instanc e o f how thes e fil m advocate s expecte d t o work . Harry M. Lerner, formerly in I&E, a doctoral student in Teachers' College Columbia University , an d a membe r o f th e Nationa l Jewis h Welfar e Board, hit upon using "street films" as Reddick had done at the Schomburg during the Harlem riots. Tensions had rise n durin g the summe r of 1946 aroun d 161s t Stree t an d Broadwa y a s new blac k residents over flowed into the formerly white neighborhood. Lerne r coupled a rally on behalf of extending FEPC with movies thrown o n a screen hanging fro m the thir d floo r o f an apartmen t building . I n th e resultin g multilayered event, bot h wa r and postwar movies, an Adam Clayton Powell speech , and a presentation by the League for Fair Play dampened whit e resent ment by pointing out "the paralle l of Nazi racial policies" with their own behavior. Powell "leapt to the stand" and "soon multiplied the crowd," who quickl y caught the mood of the occasion, which, like so many such rituals, avoided root causes by invoking "the commo n enemy , Hitlerism, [as] th e catalys t for intergroup sympath y an d unity, " a n evasio n tha t disallowed mor e substantiv e inquiry int o th e nettl e o f racism. Yet the league reminde d participant s o f a paralle l t o a "Springfiel d Plan, " a wartime Massachusetts curriculum revision designe d to rout out racism in pupils before it put dow n roots, a program s o compelling tha t Jac k Warner bought it as the basis for a feature film. A heady mood o f victory prevailed, an d optimisti c reports o f th e da y appeare d i n Film Forum Review, an organ of Columbia's Institute for Adult Education, and othe r audiovisual tradepapers. 35 How t o channe l thi s fusio n o f militancy an d missionar y zeal ? An EFLA librarian called for a more aggressiv e posture by taking control of "the purs e strings" by budgeting for film acquisitions rather than relying on handouts from PTAs and Rotar y Clubs. For inspiration the New York Film Counci l asked the doyen o f documentarists, John Grierson , to ad dress the faithfu l o n "the plac e of film in the present social scene." An d by 194 7 Walter White s o sensed th e self-propelle d energy of the time s that h e calle d fo r cannibalizin g The Negro Soldier fo r stockshot s with


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which t o mak e a new NAAC P promo-film, an ide a embrace d b y thei r "PR" ma n Henry Lee Moon who hoped th e result might be good enough to serve not only "ou r branche s an d friends but something w e might be able to put o n television. " Th e outcome anticipate d b y White: a quan tum lea p fro m th e day s o f mere "opportunis m an d th e acceptanc e o f second clas s citizenship towar d a new concep t whic h th e lat e wa r ha d enormously advanced." 36 In the next few years not only did such rheto ric becom e par t o f a generalize d "Americanism, " bu t a n institutiona l system o f making an d distributin g its films fell int o place . As th e numbe r o f titles grew, activist s formed agencies suc h a s th e Committee fo r a Nationa l Fil m Cooperativ e or , lik e th e NAACP , col lected brochures of distributors and attended preview s of new films. One week it might be The Sydenham Plan (1948), a film on the "equa l life of health an d happiness " i n a n integrate d Harle m hospital, o r a reru n of Land of Liberty, th e ol d World' s Fai r film , o r La Montagne est verte, a biopic o f French anticolonialis t Victo r Schoelcher. 37 By 194 8 thei r catalogue s suggeste d use s o f th e films . The Negro Soldier, sai d the NAACP , told how "th e service s o f Negroes during th e war reveal to what exten t the y can and should participate in the civilian professions," an d th e weak One Tenth of a Nation became " a stron g plea for a fai r plac e for the Negr o in American life. " Other s evasivel y traced racism to foreign enemies: th e army' s Don't Be a Sucker told Americans "how German s destroyed themselves" throug h racism ; the British Man, One Family "contrasted ] fascis t an d democrati c view s [as ] th e lesso n learned in World War II"; an d The World We Want to Live In showed tha t "while racial hatred was being fostered by the Nazi, freedom of religion was being promoted fro m al l sides in our country." Ringing with active verbs o n film' s capacit y t o "foster " liberalism , "combat " racism , "ex pose" Nazi cant, "wor k to destroy prejudice," an d s o on, the brochures boldly set forth a program that linked liberalism to victory. As a blurb for The Highest Tradition, a film about black sailors, said: "Thei r contribu tion to the war once agai n shows them equall y eligible to fight in building a soli d peace." 38 Moreover , th e blessing s o f peace enlarge d t o in clude, as an American Jewish Committe e (AJC ) catalogue urged , "well paid, fre e an d informe d teac h [ers]" an d "bette r informe d youn g citi zens," an d a spiri t of "international cooperation " inspire d b y Wendel l Willkie's tract on collective security, One World. An d as in the case of The Challenge, a film based upo n Truman' s To Secure These Rights, agencies such as the AJC, UAW, and Internationa l Ladie s Garment Worker s (ILGWU) rushe d t o rave abou t eac h other' s offerings. 39 In 194 9 a Twentieth Centur y Fund stud y reckoned tha t th e move ment sparke d b y The Negro Soldier—one o f th e "monument s t o th e power of the educational and documentary screen," i t said—signaled a n era of film "as an instrument to be used systematically. " B y then Glori a Waldron, th e author , note d strikin g institutional growth, muc h o f it

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underwritten b y the Carnegi e Foundation: OWI' s civilian adviser s ha d become th e Fil m Counci l o f America (FCA) ; EFLA , founde d i n 1943 , entered peacetime a t the gallop ; th e America n Fil m Cente r (AFC ) had merged int o th e Internationa l Fil m Foundation ; Cinem a 1 6 added a n artistic dimension; th e ALA embraced film. To these signs of institutional growth mus t b e adde d indicator s o f booming number s o f conscience liberals as film users. Waldron cited an exemplary urban library that ha d acquired 25 5 titles , booking the m fo r 700 0 date s totalin g mor e tha n 250,000 viewers. 40 Unfortunately fo r African Americans , thei r underrepresentatio n i n these group s during the war was to last long afterward, the activities of Moss, Claud e Barnett, an d other s notwithstanding . A s the movemen t grew, blacks were advisory rather than active, as much a minority o n the left as in the nation. The documentaries abou t them from script to screen were th e product s o f whit e people . A s earl y a s 194 4 black s ha d at tempted t o penetrate th e system by gathering in New York to formulate an agenda. Horace Mann Bond, president of Fort Valley College in Georgia, and Charle s S. Johnson, presiden t o f Fisk University, met t o discuss a serie s o f historical film s o f "the romanc e o f old Methodis t circui t riding," blac k lif e i n "ol d fre e Charleston, " an d biopic s o f Toussain t L'Ouverture, th e heroe s o f the battl e o f New Orleans , an d moder n fig ures such as Duke Ellington and Mary McLeod Bethune. With The Negro Soldier an d it s "high degre e o f compression" of history a s their model , they imagine d a cinema tha t addresse d black s directly. Wit h thei r un avoidably white filmmaker, Donald Slesinger of AFC, they took "ai m a t reducing [black ] socia l isolation" by transforming thei r "speech , dress , and manners" into assimilable patterns. Apart from its accommodation ism, Bon d an d Johnson' s "committe e o f Negro mass education " pro posal seemed t o Slesinger an opportunit y fo r film to build on "it s grea t and apparentl y successfu l us e by the arme d forces." 41 Bu t sadly , the y never arrive d a t a fir m blac k stanc e apar t fro m th e genera l ru n o f conscience-liberalism. Eithe r they were scooped b y other agencie s (as in the cas e of a film based upon Gen e Weltfish an d Rut h Benedict's pam phlet The Races of Mankind, whic h ha d bee n issue d t o th e wartim e army), or they took u p problematic materia l (suc h as a biopic of James Weldon Johnso n o r a visua l poe m o f Langsto n Hughes' s The Negro Speaks of Rivers) o r curios a (suc h a s Bond' s proposa l fo r a histor y o f servants, to be sponsored, the y hoped, b y Household Financ e Corpora tion). But in the end, th e ideas fizzled, their $12,00 0 stak e from Rosen wald ra n out , an d th e project died. 42 The booming NAAC P did no better a t making movies , althoug h a s clearinghouse at the center of black activism it found it s role. Indeed, for more tha n a yea r Walte r Whit e an d hi s movielo t friend s contrive d a Hollywood bureau o f the NAAC P as a peacetime extensio n o f his wartime presence , althoug h the y eventuall y gav e up "Walter' s thing, " a s


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Wilkins calle d it , fo r a bas e i n Ne w Yor k documentary . A s Wilkin s argued i n 1947 , they should join a cooperative t o "figure ou t a n angle where we could get some benefit," a course of action that led them into film use rather than filmmaking. 43 But the lack of focus that he felt never quite zeroe d in on substantiv e projects: They filed clipping s fro m the trades and catalogues, mimeographed their own lists of "visual aids" for "teaching democracy, " previewe d th e curren t crop , frette d over thei r own worn and dated promo-film, debated hiring John Grierson to make another, an d b y 194 9 suffere d th e carpin g o f impatien t user s o f The Negro Soldier, which was quickly becoming a chestnut that was, said one user, "no t exactl y what w e ar e seeking," al l the whil e turnin g over in their minds improbable projects such as a Negro Educational and Documentary Fil m Organization , a remak e o f Land of Liberty, White' s pe t biopic of Felix Eboue, and eve n a n ide a entitle d Annie and the Hooded Klan.44 Somehow Whit e ha d no t kep t up wit h th e boom i n documentar y and it s break wit h wartim e clientage , perhap s becaus e Hollywoo d always remained his first love. In a typical instance, he pitched the idea of a movie based upon To Secure These Rights, but i t became a creature of a coalition o f unions an d libera l activists . Beginnin g i n th e summe r o f 1948, delegate s from textiles , meatcutting, the UAW , the AJC , and th e Anti-Defamation League (ADL) hammered ou t who "must be cut in on" the team that would do the "treatment"—they eve n knew the lingo. The movie-star Melvyn Douglas was their persuader; he was to wring $6000 from eac h o f them toward a n eventua l nut o f $40,000. B y mid-August their produce r though t tha t thei r documentar y wa s progressin g apac e and woul d eventuall y serv e as a rallying cry of American conscience liberals to support their on-going campaign to broaden civi l rights advocacy in their respective communities. By October they had settled on two active Hollywood figures, Maurice and Matthe w Rapf , t o begin formu lating th e idea s int o a dramatizatio n tha t simultaneousl y advocate d racially open housing and employment opportunitie s while , as the minutes o f a stor y conferenc e pu t it , playin g t o "th e self-interes t of th e audience." And yet. White could not entirely break free o f his addiction to Hollywood . Almost desperately, a s though no t willin g to stak e th e future o n mere sixteen millimeter documentarists, he thrust upon David O. Selznick a similar idea also grounded i n the Truman report. H e may also have hoped to make a place for black Carlton Moss whom he touted to Selznick as "the brillian t individual who mad e films for OWI during [the] war. " I n the end the Eastern group finished the movie. 45 The NUL was equally tentative, preferring radio or the printed word.

Among thei r unfulfille d project s was Eri k Barnouw' s The Story They'll Never Print, a revisio n of his award-winnin g wartim e radio scrip t de signed to promote "the wor k of the Urban League in a format tha t does not hav e a 'promotional ' atmosphere. " "Her e i n a factory , mankin d

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moved forward, " Barnou w had written . "Me n remembere d a war aim and acted to fulfill it. " Eve n such a mild urging to promote hiring highly screened toke n black s met resistance , first from CBS , which refuse d t o air it , an d the n fro m Arme d Force s Radio, which refuse d t o offe r i t t o soldier-listeners. WNE W at las t aire d th e pla y a s performe d b y th e American Negr o Theatre, a n even t tha t serve d NU L in tw o ways : b y providing a n entertainin g dramatizatio n o f a "pilo t program, " an d b y doing s o in NUL' s preferred mode, tha t o f avoiding controversy. Bu t it was not until 196 0 that NUL set forth its program o f vocational training and placemen t i n visua l format. Their film, A Morning for Jimmy, de picted a black boy's rekindled ambition to be an architect that had bee n dampened b y a "downtown" employer's rebuff. 46 Despite blac k distanc e fro m th e fil m culture , th e movemen t per sisted. Fro m documentar y circle s came IFF' s Boundary Lines ( a 194 7 animated film on "the ugl y realities of prejudice and intolerance") , the American Missionary Association's The Color of Man, B'na i B'rith's One People, an d UAW' s The Brotherhood of Man—almost al l o f them acces sions of the film libraries of the Leagu e of Women Voters , the National Conference o f Christians and Jew s (NCCJ) , and others . On e o f NCCJ's titles, The World We Want to Live In, reache d an imposing total of twelve hundred print s i n circulation . A speaker a t a 194 7 conferenc e o f labor leaders sensed the place of film on the left: a n attempt by "the America n democratic movement to make adequate use of this greatest of all means of mass communication . . . [which ] ha s been almos t completely monopolized by the commercial scree n o r by reactionary organizations." 47 Certainly it seemed so to the activists who lobbied Hollywood, predicted feature film s o f Howard Fast's novel o f Reconstruction, Freedom Road, and Richar d Wright's Native Son, took note o f Gallup polls indicating a tolerance of federa l interventio n int o incident s of racial injustice, and wrote tract s urgin g ne w tactic s designe d t o establis h ne w interracia l ways o f life. 48 Of all the films , The Brotherhood of Man an d The Quiet One permit u s access t o bot h 1 6 m m an d theatrica l markets . Th e forme r becam e a staple of classrooms and unio n halls ; the latter was a rare film of advocacy that di d well enough t o have influenced Hollywood's reentry int o the field. The Brotherhood of Man combine d conscience-liberalism, color, an d animation s o successfull y a s t o shatte r th e notio n o f documentar y a s "educational" film. The film was a creature of UAW and CI O sponsorship (their "contribution t o the American people"); o f animation artist s Stephen Bosusto w an d Joh n Hubley , whose UF A studio ha d broke n with Disney-styl e sentimental, anthropomorphic animals in favor o f an urbane minimalism; o f leftist screenwrite r Ring Lardner; and ultimately of Gene Weltfish's pamphlet version of Ruth Benedict's work on racism. In fla t primar y color s th e movi e offere d a simpl e parable against


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racism, wrappe d i n Boas's cultural relativism an d a thread o f Willkie's internationalism. A character a little like Mr. Magoo, one of UPA's commercial triumphs , appear s fuddle d a s a narrator spin s ou t a lesso n o n "one world, " teachin g that the earth is shrinking and our remote neigh bors will soon be in our backyards—a future that will require our "toler ance." Ou r hero waken s and , stil l in pajamas, checks hi s yard, where , indeed, ther e are igloos and tent s wher e onc e ther e had bee n a lawn . Torn between xenophobi a an d oneworldis m h e and his new neighbor s stand, appalle d a t each other' s differentness , each wit h a little gray demon on his shoulder whisperin g fears tha t soo n wil l send the m a t eac h other's throats. "Wait a minute," says an authoritative radio-style voice, "what about thi s business of brotherhood? " Taking this as his own cue, the voiceover tells a child's history of the world's racial groups and their once isolated homes "o n th e very edges of the world," set apart by the biological "frills" of skin color. "But wha t about brains?" whisper s th e hero' s inne r xenophobe . Bu t the her o i s having non e o f it : h e defend s the cultura l relativis m a t th e hear t o f conscience-liberalism, defining humanity a s an organic whole, a famil y with share d value s tha t includ e a suprem e being , a wis h fo r a stabl e home, an d th e traditio n o f a nuclear family. Clearly, the moment i s at hand fo r the debat e over "nature or nurture"; Herbert Spencer's socia l Darwinism confronts Boas's cultural relativism. I n thi s movi e a t least , Boa s wins hand s down , leavin g scan t room t o argue race as the basis for superiority. In the last moment, righ t where th e clinc h woul d b e i n a Hollywoo d movie , th e whit e her o (speaking from his porch) wins over his fears an d announces , "W e ca n learn eac h other' s way s an d liv e togethe r peacefully. " Wil d applaus e from th e world' s people s encampe d i n hi s yard. "Brotherhood " is the key, he says , along wit h equa l opportunity, education , an d jobs for all. Shoulder t o shoulder , jus t before th e credit-crawl , they marc h towar d the camera , echoin g th e ghostl y solidarit y of The Sullivans (1943) , a popular war movie. 49 The childlike images of The Brotherhood of Man wer e a n instan t hi t in their marketplace: the union halls, churches, and schoolrooms wher e brevity an d flashe s o f color helped sugarcoa t Brotherhoo d Weeks . The UAW's catalogue urged it upon the faithful a s a "basic tool" with whic h to mount a "doubl e barrele d promotion " within it s locals, and b y the end o f the yea r i t became "th e mos t widel y distribute d informational film" in the list and earned enough i n rentals that it matched th e contributions of ILGWU, AJC, and AD L toward th e movi e of To Secure These Rights.50 S o pleased wa s th e UA W with thi s succes s that i t planned a live-action prologue in which its chief, Walter Reuther, appears with his "Negro stenographer" in a celebration of the union's own effort s toward a peacetime FEPC for "all religions, races, and backgrounds"; campaigns against both firms and locals that closed doors to blacks; and promises of

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"aggressive action " to "ge t PREJUDICE S ou t o f people's heads. " The lef t everywhere too k to the movie: Moss urged his friends in the NNC to use UAW's filmography in "every Negro center in America"; th e America n Council on Rac e Relations called for its showing i n "enemy occupied" territory a s a n antidot e t o fascism ; an d eve n th e Worker praise d it. 51 Although we lack precise means o f measuring th e audienc e o f such movies, w e ca n sens e their impact fro m th e pitc h of conservative reactions to them. The films formed a stiffening fron t against the right, for not only did this film culture survive postwar reaction by placing its wares in libraries, programs, and curricula, but its success surely anticipated Hollywood's reentry into racial politics in 1949 . Conservatives could not let the films pass unchallenged. I n Peoria, for example, an American Legion post used its "Americanism Committee " a s a club with which t o force a library to limit The Brotherhood of Man to use only by "bona fide students of propaganda." Throughou t the summer o f 1948, th e decision rent th e library's board meetings and led to a report that the ALA had deleted the

film from it s Films for Libraries list, then covered its decision by labeling the film "out o f date."52 Liberals everywher e ros e i n protests—th e ALA , EFLA, FCA , an d others—all affirmin g firs t amendmen t right s o f free speech . Th e black neighborhoods o f Peoria joined in , claimin g tha t fa r from reflectin g a n alien ideology, the movie spoke for "the America n Way of Life." Chastened b y th e opposition , th e Legio n wavered, concedin g tha t Africa n Americans had take n a ne w plac e in postwa r life . Thi s lef t th e Legion only with a spurious defense of its highhandedness: tha t Lardner' s royalties wer e certai n t o en d u p i n th e hand s o f the CPUSA . Despit e th e UAW's entering and thereby nationalizing the debate, the board held to its limiting acces s to the film, but b y then th e libera l allies had show n that th e Legion' s actio n ha d bee n inspire d b y a n alarmis t magazine , Counterattack, whic h ha d describe d UF A as colore d b y "Communis t leanings and connections." 53 Eventually UA W won th e day , bu t no t befor e revealin g a stres s fracture withi n it s own locals . One office r i n Peoria Local 974, a library board member , brande d Counterattack's charge s a s "unfounded " an d the library' s actio n a s "unauthorized, " whil e anothe r unio n membe r charged in the loca l Journal that th e UAW itself had bee n infiltrate d b y reds an d tha t th e film had bee n designe d t o "create unres t an d dissatisfaction" in "th e Negro. " Bu t by the en d o f the year , the UA W closed ranks and reaffirmed it s wish "t o vigorousl y perpetuate th e widesprea d acceptance o f . . . THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN." 5 4 In the end , conscience-liberal s had fende d off a probing sorti e fro m the righ t an d give n a n importan t movi e nationa l attentio n amon g a n audience o f churched , schooled , an d laborin g Americans . As a resul t they ha d stoo d u p t o a postwa r thermidorea n reactio n that soone r o r


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later Hollywood was itsel f to face. Thus, movies like The Brotherhood of Man an d the film culture to which they played, coupled wit h the revival of Hollywood' s racia l politics in th e flurr y o f message movies i n 194 9 contributed to defining a peacetime equivalen t of the conscience-liberal morale an d o f the ne w blac k place it had urged . A muted ome n o f this confluence of parallel film cultures was The Quiet One, a sor t o f urba n Nanook of the North i n it s shrew d us e o f dramatization set in credible, even authentic , locations , al l of it held i n equilibrium by a cast of actors leavene d by acutely intuitive amateurs. More than any other theatrical movie The Quiet One (1947) introduced a programmatic scaffolding t o the loosely sketched outlines of conscienceliberalism. In this sense, the film was a bridge between th e cycle of war movies an d th e postwa r cycl e of message movies. O f particular weight was its understated advocacy coupled with the texture of documentary, woven so subtly that its use of playacting seemed organic. Together these traits portraye d a blac k child-protagonist , a socia l rui n forme d b y hi s squalid surroundings but salvageable through the intervention of a compassionate, ye t institutional, liberalism. The film grew ou t o f a circl e of old friend s an d lefties . Jame s Age e had only just finished writing the text for photographer Walker Evans's pictures of the Depression-ridde n South, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, an experienc e tha t dre w hi s ey e t o photograph s o f Harlem b y Helen Levitt, for whose work he wrote an introduction. Together they also shot film of Harlem, which became the one-reel In the Street, for which Agee wrote a voiceover. As they worked on this prototype they were joined by Levitt's friend Janice Loeb, a painter with an urge to make a movie about juvenile delinquency . The y went t o Wiltwyc k Schoo l i n Esopus , New York, with Sidne y Meyers, who had spen t the Depression shooting and cutting fil m fo r tw o radica l groups , th e Fil m an d Phot o Leagu e an d Nykino. Predictably , no angel s rushe d t o thei r doorstep , bu t wit h th e onset o f the postwa r film culture at least the prospect s for an audienc e were higher . I n this settin g they kep t a t it , added a scor e by the blac k composer Ulysse s Kay, and bega n bicyclin g it around th e distributors ' offices. Perhaps its most daunting liability was blunt unwillingness to resort to a Hollywood closure, a last-reel panacea. After revealin g the plight of a Harlem boy of the street s from a shattered family wh o sullenl y moves from pett y crim e t o th e institutiona l thicke t tha t juvenil e delinquent s often were snared in, they had no honest choice but to follow the logic of the situation . Besides , thei r sta r wa s Donal d Thompson , a blac k bo y whose ow n lif e paralleled tha t of the juvenile he portrayed. Not only is he allowed to fill the center of the frame a s the protagonist, an alienated, dis-integrated victim of a race-based social order, but th e centra l figures among the facult y a t Wiltwyck are also black. Therefore, thos e in com-

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mand of the situation are not hollowly black as in an old race movie, but firmly so as a result of their authority; yet we cannot know whether the y can win th e day. On its face the movie seems to be about a favorite charity of Eleanor Roosevelt's, the Wiltwyck School, but more than an account of an institution, i t is also an anatom y o f the underclas s of African America n lif e and the place of an actual black boy in it. In this "documentary" setting, Thompson's naiv e respons e t o hi s worl d i s strikingly revelatory, like a novel of coming of age. He grows and changes with changed conditions, but fitfully, erratically, maddeningly, and withou t fals e hop e o r empt y happy ending . Th e audienc e i s a t bes t lef t wit h th e prospec t tha t Thompson's heirs might find a place in American life that does not oblige them to steal or kill. In its way The Quiet One was a peacetime analog to the cycle of war movies, minus a gratuitous happy ending that promised more tha n lif e coul d deliver. Obviously the maker s were no t i n pursuit of a prototypal message movie. "Th e socia l protest facto r wa s very minor i n our thinking, " recalled Loeb; rather, with America "in a very sensitive stage of .. . th e Negro proble m .. . w e picke d a stor y commo n t o white s and Negroes." In other words, i n her way , although sh e did not compromis e the integrit y of her materia l or her visio n of it, sh e embraced th e racia l sameness angl e o f th e wa r movi e cycle . I n a rancor-fre e settin g sh e integrated her kid into the school (a surrogate of society), thus allowing white libera l audience s t o tak e wha t the y sa w a s a t leas t a sanguin e possibility in a liberal society. But she was no t followin g a formula; as she recalle d it , he r origina l focu s wa s vague . Sh e "wa s intereste d i n Wiltwyck Schoo l an d touche d b y th e sigh t o f al l thos e kid s runnin g around i n the countr y [and ] sh e thought the y woul d b e beautiful sub jects." Althoug h workin g i n a dramati c mode , i n orde r t o avoi d to o patently formulate d incident s the y sho t "vague " urba n location s an d "found" situation s that were intercu t with th e stuf f o f Thompson's en counters with his counselors: meetings that then combined spontaneit y with credibilit y while communicatin g a libera l hope tha t chang e wa s possible.55 Moreover, they asked their audience only to hope, not to hold out fo r a n improbabl e transformatio n o f eithe r Thompso n o r society . For the first time sinc e Warner Bros / socia l problem movies of the 1930s, audience s sa w childre n ruine d b y thei r surroundings . U p t o a point The Quiet One was i n tha t tradition , but onl y t o a point. True , it begins in the kid's rancid, life-deforming neighborhood , bu t breaks with Hollywood's convention o f the last-ree l salvation. Unlike Boys' Town i t ends only with "what they were trying to do at the school," not whethe r they woul d succee d i n Thompson' s case . Th e viewe r know s tha t th e school staf f coul d wi n b y keepin g hi m a t schoo l o r los e hi m t o hi s gloomy lif e i n hi s ratt y fla t wit h hi s defeated , somnolen t mother . Th e heads-or-tails prospects for the kid—th e chanc e for redemption i n th e


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Although a filmed drama, the Ne w Yor k locations and naiv e actors of The Quiet One (1947) gav e the film a documentary texture that attracted a n audi ence and ma y have draw n Hollywood toward a similar realist mode. Copy right Mayer-Burstyn. therapeutic bucolia of Wiltwyck as against his almost certain swallowin g up i n th e ruine d tenement s an d vandalize d stairwell s o f Harlem—is caught in striking style by two opposin g texture s of camerawork neatl y cut into a n either-o r story . Underlining the visua l tension i s the staf f a t Wiltwyck, daunte d b y the fragilit y o f their charge s and b y the endles s teetering between smal l gestures and words whose rightness or wrongness might und o week s o f work. Th e movie ends , then , no t wit h flags flying but onl y wit h a lif e i n th e balanc e betwee n Wiltwyc k an d th e streets, alon g wit h a hint o f "wh y the y wante d th e schoo l supporte d [and] why the childre n neede d help" : a far piece fro m prewa r Holly wood solutions to social dysfunctions, the closures in which the doomed are rescued by kindly judges, probing reporters , hones t prosecutors, o r wisecracking Irish priests. 56 More than an y othe r film , The Quiet One enjoyed an audienc e that extended acros s the gul f betwee n Marxis t an d liberal , and blac k an d white. The famous suc h as Eleanor Roosevelt—a patron o f Wiltwyck— actress Tallula h Bankhea d an d radi o personalit y Mar y Margare t McBride; academic s led b y Edgar Dale of Ohio State ; and reviewer s for magazines ranging from Redbook t o the Daily Worker, fro m Vogue to th e

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Catholic weeklies : al l testifie d t o a popularit y unmatche d b y a dra matized documentary since Nanook of the North in 1922. 57 Almost all of them caught the drif t expresse d by its makers, the wish to place a black kid a t th e cente r o f the actio n withou t makin g colo r th e centra l issue ; that is, to integrate him and his plight into a setting as a matter of course rather tha n a s a "mcguffin " plunke d dow n fo r dramati c effect . "Th e camera, as it explores the street s of Harlem," sai d one o f them, "inten sifies ou r vision , forcin g u s t o tak e cognizanc e o f a n environmen t t o which w e might otherwis e b e blind." Warren Miller , whose nove l The Cool World would grow into a similar movie fifteen years later, found the heart o f its liberalism in the political and aestheti c decisio n to advocate improvement i n the black situation while appearing to treat only a lone boy. "That th e bo y i s a Negro is not investe d wit h specia l significance; yet in our society," Mille r wrote, "th e choic e of the Negro child as hero has, inevitably, extensions of meaning that go beyond the framework of the film. " A n entire spectrum o f critics, ranging from th e connoisseur s who labele d i t "brilliant " t o th e black s who claime d i t as "ou r film, " sang it s praises. Bosley Crowther o f the Times reckone d i t " a genuin e masterpiece . . . comparabl e t o those star k film dramas we have had from Italy since the war," i n fact, no less than the "Shoeshine of American life." 58 Redbook, whic h name d i t "fil m o f the month, " th e Daily Worker, th e Catholics ranging from the legates in the Vatican to opinio n makers i n th e America n weeklies , eve n th e Soviets , al l treate d i t a s "universal." For the CPUSA this represented a retreat from the notion of a separate African American nation, a n idea lost in the muddle of a war against racism . Indeed , th e Worker anticipate d th e lin e eventuall y laid down b y th e libera l schola r Kennet h M . Stampp—tha t "Negroe s are, after all , onl y whit e me n wit h blac k skins. " I n th e Worker's words , viewing The Quiet One "could make whites identify themselves with th e movie, and show that Negroes are like everybody else." Not that a black critic would g o that far : "Universal," yes , sai d one, bu t i t "could onl y happen i n Harlem." 59 Clearly, The Quiet One spoke to a specifi c film culture, an audienc e prepared by conviction t o receive it, but i t also broadened th e prospec tive viewershi p t o includ e a n unexpecte d range . "Th e reactio n t o The Quiet One was astonishing—al l kind s of people relate d t o it, " recalle d Loeb. "Anybod y who' d had an y kind o f sad childhood, includin g very rich people , woul d sa y 'Ah ! Th e stor y o f m y life.' " I n documentar y circles i t prove d t o hav e remarkabl e "legs, " o r stayin g power; i n on e urban library as late as 1960, it played thirty-nine dates in a clientele for which thirt y constitute d a high-norma l circulation . I n thes e year s the documentary fil m cultur e grew from a smal l circle of leftis t advocate s who distribute d films—UAW, ADL, the libera l churches—t o include radical booker s lik e Thoma s Brando n an d commercia l house s lik e Teaching Fil m Custodians and McGraw-Hill , al l reviewe d i n th e fil m


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guides of EFLA, ALA, and others. By 1953, for example, The Educational

Film Guide: Classified Subject List recorded more than thirty titles devoted to rac e relations and a primer o n ho w t o link u p wit h th e networ k of distributors, libraries , an d reviewers . Periodical s fro m th e ne w blac k glossies t o Vogue covere d th e formerl y arcane worl d o f documentar y film. And soo n th e advocate s polished thei r ow n list s into highly tar geted filmographie s lik e UAW' s "Film s fo r U N Day " an d th e CIO' s "Films for Labor." Predictably, social agencies such as the National Probation an d Parol e Associatio n foun d th e fil m a usefu l too l i n dealin g with thei r clientele. 60 Obviously it cannot be argued that The Quiet One or, for that matter, The Brotherhood of Man singlehandedl y transforme d America n racia l ideology, but as part of an emerging, generalized film culture that offere d a menu o f conscience-liberal films of advocacy, such films were part of an insistent rhetori c directed at an audience for "the thinkin g picture. " In thi s sense documentarie s lik e The Quiet One, if Crowther wer e prescient i n linkin g i t to Italia n neo-realism , contribute d t o a moo d tha t prepared audience s for , perhaps eve n prodde d Hollywoo d toward, a n eventual reviva l of conscience-liberal theatrica l movies. Already by 194 6 Hollywoo d editoria l and stor y department s wer e buying propertie s dens e wit h th e stuf f an d textur e o f documentaries . Other hints of the drif t towar d social movies could be found in the rus h to shoot features on location in gritty offshoots of film noir, itself a genre that criticize d societ y b y focusin g o n a gloom y streetscap e i n whic h customary powers and social arrangements are turned on their ends and corrupted. Alread y a fe w oddment s o f socia l commen t ha d actuall y reached th e commercia l screen ; i n one , th e NCC J traile r The Drive for Brotherhood (1948), Gene Kelly uttered the nonceword togetherness, and with that term seemed to signal his trust that audiences woul d know he meant "integration " and, i f they were no t persuade d by the notion , at least woul d forgiv e hi m fo r it. 61 Amon g th e short films that bega n t o introduce int o studi o style some o f the trait s of East Coast film culture were Dor e Schary's The Next Voice You Hear (1945) ; Warners' It Happened in Springfield (1945), an account of the aftermath of an actual race

riot; The Burning Cross (1947) , an independentl y mad e B-movie ; an d Jammin' the Blues (1946) , Warners' one-reel homage t o the jazz demi monde b y th e Life photographe r Gjo n Mili. As political sensors The Brotherhood of Man, The Quiet One, and thei r East Coas t successor s testified t o a n emergin g moo d tha t Hollywoo d showed sign s of wishing to play to. The documentary mediu m seeme d on th e verg e o f repeatin g tha t recen t portio n o f its histor y whe n The Negro Soldier appeared to "show Hollywood the way." Hollywoo d filmmakers, perhaps prodded by these two documentaries and the film culture they were part of, appeared ready finally to rejoin the leading edge of a rollin g frontie r o f movies that were bot h politica l and profitable .

7 Thermidor

Did Sa m Goldwy n actuall y say, "I f yo u wan t t o sen d a message , cal l Western Union? " W e canno t kno w wit h certainty , bu t o n th e othe r hand, w e hav e hi s writte n professio n o f abidin g concer n fo r "socia l justice" in the NUL organ Opportunity, a concern that, he said, came as a result o f his readin g the charte r o f the Unite d Nations with it s call for international harmony . O f course, neithe r th e epigra m no r th e essa y spoke fo r th e inne r value s o f Hollywood, but thei r polarit y suggeste d that a wartime tactic—the use of popular culture as a vehicle of political expression—had survive d into peacetim e an d becom e entangle d wit h the wish to make money, resulting in, as James Agee put it, Hollywood's learning ho w t o have its liberalism land buttered sid e up. And yet from 194 5 until 1949, the movielots seemed to lapse into an apparent liberal hiatus over which conservativ e forces exercise d a loose hegemony. Ho w to account for this seeming failing o f wartime political energy? Certainly the war exhausted intellectual resources, but also the period lends itself to analysis as, rather than a political desert, a seedbed of wartim e racia l idiom redefined for peacetime consumption . During these year s the majo r studios , alon g wit h a fe w independents , mad e more tha n a half dozen self-consciousl y political films that kep t activ e the essential s o f th e wartim e mentalit y w e hav e calle d conscience liberalism. There were th e gemlik e one-reelers like Jammin' the Blues; animated cartoon s lik e Georg e Pal' s John Henry; a wartim e feature, Warners' It Happened in Springfield, whic h shran k to a short; persona l 174

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manifestoes lik e the Oscar-winnin g short The House I Live In; Marxoid allegories like Abraham Polonsky's Body and Soul; and genr e films like Cass Timber lane an d Rogue's Regiment int o whic h libera l bits—tes t swatches, really—ha d been woven . A s a Jewis h soldie r in Pride of the Marines (1946 ) says of liberalism: "Don't tell me we can't make it work in peac e like we do in war. " After all , why not? Th e war had habituated th e moguls to standing on th e goo d sid e o f a popula r issue , o f whic h racia l liberalis m stil l seemed a good example. Ther e was eve n a postwar equivalen t o f OWI pressure i n th e for m o f the libera l activists who gav e them citizenshi p and brotherhoo d awards . An d o f course the y kne w o f the libera l film culture o f the documentarist s an d th e boo m i n importe d Italia n neo realism and began to play to their markets, albeit circumspectly with a n eye on thei r stockholders . Of course , the y als o face d othe r force s tha t serve d a s a brak e o n activist films. They still lacked a generi c formula to introduc e wartim e idiom into peacetime; congressional investigators resumed thei r inquiry into Hollywood, this time in search of "reds"; stockholders and theatremen pressure d them fo r surefire pap ; regiona l censors, anxious a t their failing hol d o n racia l custom, steppe d u p thei r work ; blac k actors an d activists remained o f two minds ; th e judicially required breaku p of the vertically integrate d studi o system threatene d th e institutio n o f Hollywood itself ; militan t craf t guild s broke war-imposed silence s and drov e up labo r costs ; th e audienc e splintere d int o volatil e taste-group s i n search of undefined new form s o f movies as well as competing forms of recreation. Nonetheless, in the apparentl y quiescent period afte r 194 5 the studios' stor y department s spen t th e tim e i n ferment , refinin g idea s tha t might work liberal war aim s into a postwar ideology . That process an d its eventua l product s coincide d wit h th e persistenc e o f black activis m that was to carry over from th e war into the modern civi l rights movement. A t th e sam e time , thi s perio d o f adjustment ma y b e see n a s a classic case of thermidor, th e cooling of ardor that has followed every era of disquiet from th e Frenc h Revolutio n onward, th e moment when order seems to matter mor e than liberty, sameness mor e than novelty. In this mood i t was easy for Hollywood to retreat into familiar ways : cautiously pitching down th e middle, living off past successes, reviving the surefire, rewarmin g it s chestnuts . To date, however, historian s have studied only the latter half of this "twoness," th e preferenc e fo r safety first, perhaps becaus e th e stor y of ferment has been inaccessible in studio archives that have only just been opened to view. Their focus, then , has been on a lost moment "betwee n 1946 an d 194 9 [when ] proble m picture s wer e suddenl y fashionable [again]," or on a craven sellout to the seeker s after "red " moles on th e movielots. In hi s popula r The Liveliest Art, fo r example, Arthur Knight

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wrote that "the hearing s of the House Un-American Activities Committee, begu n i n Octobe r o f 1947 , sen t a chil l throug h th e studios," a n opinion joined in by the next generation o f historians, wh o described an industry "caponized " by fear , "contemptible " i n it s "unwillingness t o stand on principle," an d "engulfed" b y an "Inquisition." Of course they had thei r point, as Variety di d in 194 8 when it reported a rush "t o dro p plans fo r messag e picture s lik e ho t coals." 1 Bu t th e tradepape r als o missed th e cover t activity in th e stor y departments an d a t th e table s at Lucey's and the Derby where the writers hashed ou t new angles for new times. It is this backstory , the stor y that ha s alread y happene d befor e th e main titles begin to crawl, that will concern us here, rather than a reprise of the oft-tol d dram a o f congressional committe e rooms. Yet before taking up this quiet work, we owe some attention t o the substance s of the thermidorean force s tha t i n fac t contribute d a dampening inerti a t o th e process o f peacetime refocusing . First there was the changed relationshi p between Hollywoo d and its audiences. Unlike their Depression-era forbears, the y had wartim e sav ings to spend o n new house s with lawn s t o mow, weeken d boat s wit h hulls t o b e scraped , an d othe r diversion s fro m th e movie s the y ha d Postwar changes i n the distributio n system may have steere d Hollywood toward a thermidorean cours e as, on the on e hand, suburbanizatio n thinne d the audience . . . Quigle y Photographic Archive, Georgetown University.

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. . . whil e o n the other hand, new technology such as Cinemascope increased negativ e costs , leading toward a preference fo r less risky material that lent itsel f t o outsize d treatment. Quigle y Photographic Archive. routinely attende d twice a week. Their suburbanization took the bloom off "goin g downtown " t o movies . Highe r ticke t price s cause d secon d thoughts. I f old habits needed anothe r reaso n t o change , th e Suprem e Court revive d it s efforts t o en d blockbooking , blindbooking, an d othe r monopolistic tactic s that ha d define d a familia r formulaic market. Un avoidably, the resulting market woul d see m fickle, risky , and therefor e closed t o political new departures . A s Philip Dunne wrot e i n th e black press, "The wa r has taught us that th e motion pictur e is a powerful and persuasive vehicle o f propaganda," bu t als o "a very real financia l risk " at the mercy of a "boycott b y any group . . . [tha t could ] turn a legitimately anticipate d profi t int o a loss." 2 Politic s aside, the figures wer e alarming: declinin g grosses, rising fixed costs from advertisin g to rents, a thousand closed theatres since war's end, five theatre chains in the red in a single year, militant guilds driving up labor costs by a third in one fiscal year, while i n each year Americans spent a declining portion o f income on movies. 3 Two o r thre e major s barely survived , and the n onl y b y sellin g off their ol d title s t o television . A t Fox , as w e hav e seen , Spyro s Skouras predicted a "sizeabl e recession " signale d b y a n "alarming " declin e in Christmas-take couple d wit h a definit e "tren d downwar d i n atten dance," endin g i n "almos t inevitabl e ruin" unless they coul d retrench. The story was the same at RKO, though exacerbated by the changeover

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to Howard Hughes's ownership, i n which seve n hundred worker s wer e laid of f in a singl e year (1948). 4 Everywhere caution reigned, and gambling, Zanuck said, was to be limited t o "ne w stars " rathe r tha n ne w politics . "Giv e m e somethin' I can us e an d nothin ' controversial—lik e nigger s o r God, " sai d Harry Cohn at Columbia, a dictum echoed at Universal, where Richard Brooks heard a story conference end with an abrupt "Out ! No race problems"; at Metro , wher e Lewi s Milestone recalle d "yo u too k orders" ; an d a t Paramount, wher e th e "dye d in the wool conservative " Y . Frank Freeman san k idea s by warning , "I t woul d neve r g o in th e South." 5 The mood wa s infectious , eve n fo r Lyma n Munson , th e repute d "powe r behind The Negro Soldier,'' wh o ha d retire d to Fox. His prescription for Frank Slaughter's The Dark Garden, a tale of black and Jewis h doctors, for example , wa s shelving , becaus e i t ha d " a hackneye d . . . 'mes sage' . . . intende d t o b e th e brotherhoo d o f man " tha t no t onl y "would get Joe Breen's axe [but] . . . th e South would resent the Jewbaiting label." 6 Down South , two famou s censors, Lloy d Binford i n Memphis an d Christine Smith in Atlanta, provided their own brand of hedging against liberal politics by stiffenin g agains t challenge s t o thei r hegemon y ove r local racial etiquette. Binfor d cu t Eddi e Anderson fro m Brewster's Millions merely for "a too familiar way about him," Hom e from Words and Music onl y becaus e o f a persona l animus , a coupl e o f kid s fro m Ha l Roach's B-movi e Curley becaus e the Sout h denie d "socia l equalit y between the races even in children," Cab Galloway from Sensations of 1945 as "inimical to public welfare," and a number fro m A Song Is Born only because of "a rowd y bunch o f musicians o f both colors. " Nevertheless , change seemed in the ai r as a result of separate decisions by the NAACP to file amicus curiae briefs in censorship cases, the studio s to bring to a n end their acquiescence to local censorship, and eve n the Bree n office t o begin to leave off cooperating with it. 7 Indeed, everyone joined in hooting th e censors . Binford , a retire d railwa y worker an d salesma n wh o owed his post to the Memphis "boss" Ed Crump, faced hazin g from th e local press , wh o though t hi m "senile, " an d fro m showme n wh o los t revenue to competitors across the Mississippi. In Hollywood, Eric Johnston, th e ne w presiden t o f th e MPPDA , was joine d o n th e righ t b y Louella Parsons in branding him "Un-American." Studi o heads such as Gradwell Sear s als o stiffene d an d sough t judicial remedies, whic h h e linked t o FDR's "four freedoms. " An d the NAACP , reversin g longtime support of censorship, joined in three cases as amicus curiae, particularly against vague excuses that a scene might "stir up racial strife." Not to do so, sai d Thurgoo d Marshall, wil l rende r wartim e blac k gain s "com pletely nullified." In a Richmond case, in which an exploitation film, The Burning Cross (1947) , ha d bee n banne d a s stirrin g "animosities," th e

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NAACP successfull y insisted o n loca l releas e wit h onl y "certai n dele tions" of violence. 8 Another index of the persistence of a liberal mentality in the face of a thermidorean moo d wa s the willingness of the mossy Academy to han d out Oscar s suc h a s tha t give n t o The House I Live In, th e Britis h dramatized documentar y Daybreak at Udi (1947), and The Quiet One, capped by Ethel Waters's nominatio n fo r her role i n Pinky (1949) , the first black nomination sinc e Hattie McDaniel's Mammy i n Gone with the Wind. Th e liberal drif t i n thi s directio n wa s interrupte d onl y b y Hedda Hopper's successfu l campaig n for a posthumous specia l Oscar for Jame s Baskette's Uncle Remus in Walt Disney's backward-looking Song of the South (1946). 9 Another marginall y thermidorea n influenc e wa s i n th e person s of Hollywood Negroes themselves. Beholden t o casting directors, held captive b y thei r trapping s o f status , celebrate d i n th e ne w blac k glossie s Ebony, Sepia, Our World, an d thei r tow n crie r the Los Angeles Sentinel, they resente d th e NAACP' s "wrong an d ill-advise d tactics " despit e which, the y argued , "grea t strides " ha d bee n taken. 10 I n th e fanzines they wer e portraye d a s soarin g ove r adversity , kept alof t b y fait h an d white friends , relaxin g i n th e Sierr a o r i n blac k dud e ranche s o r a t "dansantes" at the Vernondale Countr y Club or "debuts" at the Marc h Club, living amidst their whit e pianos, tile d fireplaces, fake logs , plaster fakirs, Bo-Pee p cameos , lac e doilies , Orientaloi d tapestries , setting s of Spode o n damask , an d photograph s o f white friends . Onl y her e an d there a stres s fissur e opened , a s when McDanie l sol d he r hous e fo r a smaller on e an d announce d a lon g vacation. 11 Thei r struggle s wer e treated a s examples of civic virtue: McQueen brok e a n agreemen t wit h Jack Benn y rathe r tha n pla y an incidenta l maid ; Lillia n Randolph an d others fought racial covenants i n deeds on West Adams; their charities— McDaniel's Les Femmes Aujourd 'hui, Randolph's Benevolent Variety Artists, an d others—hel d fundraisin g "soirees " an d "affairs " tha t earne d them prais e a s "clubwom[e]n o f distinction." The men promote d thei r own communal activis m such as Muse's radio show on behalf of Bigger and Bette r Busines s Wee k o r Nic k Stewart' s lifelon g struggl e t o kee p alive his Ebony Showcase theatre.12 Belo w them were the scrabblers wh o met their postwar downturn b y teaching acting in storefronts or working in count y agencies , an d measure d ou t thei r career s i n bit s i n Congo Maisie, Tarzan, and Ramar of the Jungle. They reached th e glossie s only in pieces such a s "I Tried to Cras h the Movies " o r "Foot Doctor to th e Stars." "W e were hardes t hit by Hollywood goin g war conscious," on e of them remembered . The y avoided th e wors t indignitie s of cattle calls, and shapeups on the corner of 12th and Central , where the studio buses cruised in search of extras, only if blessed like Frances Driver, who live d the lif e o f a druggist's wife betwee n gig s in King Kong an d The Foxes of

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Harrow. Som e wer e dogge d b y ba d luck : Manta n Morelan d los t hi s steady rol e i n Monogram' s Charli e Chan serie s when th e lead , Sidney Toler, died; went on the road only to have his partners die or retire; took up wit h th e feckles s Stepi n Fetchit ; an d eventuall y caugh t o n i n Ted Toddy's race movie s suc h a s Mantan Messes Up.13 Gradually the black press turned awa y from them . Barnett prodded his stringe r Harr y Levett e awa y fro m studi o boilerplate ; th e Sentinel began a n acerbi c "To m o f the Week " column; Ebony, eve n a s i t gave them space to argue that "people want to be entertained, no t educated," began to give awards to social movies like The Boy with the Green Hair. Nonetheless, the y hun g o n lik e fossils fro m a n ic e age. 14 After th e war , SA G became their last platform upon which t o plead for slowin g the pace o f change, mainl y becaus e the guil d itself was tor n between promotin g chang e an d providin g fo r easin g th e pligh t o f th e aggrieved black actors. The result was that through Ronald Reagan's five terms as president from 194 7 through 1952 , SAG agreed onl y to encourage an en d t o stereotypical roles—itself a mild threa t t o the Hollywood blacks. Th e fissure widened durin g a debat e ove r a resolutio n to plac e "Negro character s on the screen in the true relation they bear to American life " an d t o creat e a standin g committee t o monitor th e goal , wit h the result that nothin g move d beyon d th e status quo following White's first visit in 1942. 15 The bes t o f them—Joe l Fluellen , Willia m F . Walker , an d Ernes t Anderson—built careers on trying to humanize th e old or by reading for new roles . For the rest, lif e became a round o f cadging bits, entering th e invisible medium of radio, and taking out "their hatchets" and attacking Walter White a t NAACP dinners an d variou s guild meetings. Wit h un disguised relis h Levette , LaMar , an d th e othe r reporter s wrot e o f " a whole phalanx o f featured players hopping al l over Mr. White," branding hi m a "red " whos e campaign s maske d hi s goa l o f promoting hi s daughter's career , an d callin g hi m " a nam e consciou s . . . Uncl e Tom." S o instead o f White's hoped-fo r role as a postwar presence , perhaps as boss of a Hollywood NAACP bureau, he heard onl y an incessan t "squawk" from those with, he said, "a vested interest in menial roles."16 Indeed, wha t o f the much-desired—a t leas t by White—Hollywood bureau? All of these conservative drags upon activism could be cut free if only there were a black presence exercising hegemony ove r the scene, a resident liaiso n with th e moguls , a counselor t o the aggrieve d blacks, a bargainer wit h th e guilds . In 194 6 h e propose d jus t suc h a n office — "something like the [Jewish ] Anti-Defamative League," a s a friend ha d dubbed it—a n idea that simultaneousl y chille d liberals, who feare d th e implied censorship , and th e black s wh o ha d ha d enoug h o f "Walter's thing." Non e o f his angel s woul d giv e him a nicke l to suppor t it , no t even fo r a n experimenta l year.17 Worse , the Marxis t NN C planned its own version , perhaps staffe d b y th e historia n Herbert Aptheker, Moss,

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and Joh n Howar d Lawson , wh o woul d monito r White' s propose d branch offic e "set-u p there " whil e poachin g o n th e sam e conscienc e liberals whom White counted amon g the faithful. 18 S o by 1947 , Whit e still lacked a base camp i n the West. One las t thermidorea n forc e warrant s attention : th e struggl e between HUA C and the CPUSA . The hysteria of which their strident combat was a part shoo k deepl y held conviction s of constitutional guaran tees of freedom o f thought an d spli t moviemakers (an d the nation) int o partisans of left an d right . A neglected sid e of the stor y is its impact o n African American s during the volatile time in which they searched for a peacetime equivalen t o f thei r ol d conscience-libera l alliance . Firs t i t must b e see n tha t apar t fro m th e heavyhandednes s o f not onl y HUA C but it s opposite number i n the Californi a legislature , the Tenne y com mittee, the Communist party was already losing the place that the popular front and the war had given it. Many members drifted fro m the party, having joined it during the Depression when it seemed the only hope for a "coherent " o r "humanist " lef t throug h whic h the y migh t hav e in fected movie s with, as Lawson had hoped, "some sort of" social texture in which "goo d people" struggled and "th e her o is the man who fights for society " rathe r tha n merely against "bad men." 19 Far from a disciplined red vanguard on the march, many in the party seemed a n intellectua l rabble , guiltridden , harrie d b y th e part y ideo logues, and allie d only in their contempt fo r HUAC. Odets felt ruined by Hollywood's "filth y money" ; Alber t Malt z suffere d throug h a part y "trial" for having labeled a tactic "economic nonsense"; Donald Ogden Stewart stoo d "read y t o join hand s wit h th e workers " bu t wondere d "how i n hell did you mee t them" in a daily round o f cobbling scripts, catching the Yale-Princeton game on radio, thumbing Trotsky's The Russian Revolution over coffee, catchin g a plane for a trade unionist's speec h in Sa n Francisco . Europea n Communists , mad e test y b y thi s ragge d American heresy , al l bu t rea d the m ou t o f th e internationa l party. 20 Meanwhile, th e Hollywoo d liberal s met a t thei r hangout , Lucey's , to hammer ou t a non-Marxist "liberalis m o f the heart," afte r whic h the y drifted fro m th e groups that ha d flourishe d during th e popula r front. 21 The moguls , caugh t i n th e hysteri a withou t a coheren t response , wambled and finally behaved a s badly as their worst enemies imagined they might. As the testimony of "friendly" witnesses mounted, revealing a tissu e o f association s tha t HUA C wishe d t o see m a conspiracy , th e committee shamelessl y le d witnesse s t o exaggerat e th e dange r t o th e republic: "reds " slippe d word s int o script s a s Lawso n ha d use d comrade onc e i n Action in the North Atlantic, they dodge d taxes, they con sorted wit h foreig n agents , an d s o on . Th e studio s rushe d t o mak e shabby cautionar y tales warning o f comicbook heavie s worming their ways int o seat s o f power . Eve n th e major s joine d i n thes e B-movie offerings, Zanuck' s ow n versio n being George Moore's alarmis t Behind

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the Iron Curtain. I n Ne w Yor k th e parago n o f liberals , Dor e Sehary , succumbed an d helped draf t th e famous "Waldorf statement " in whic h the mogul s appeare d t o defen d freedom of expression whil e promisin g to fire Communists o n ground s eventuall y als o agreed t o by SAG: that their politic s rendere d thei r movie s "unsaleable." 22 Th e result wa s a n apparent retrea t fro m politic s on th e screen—a t least unti l HUA C ble w over, th e mogul s seeme d t o say. Oddly, wit h respec t t o racia l issue s ther e wa s a certai n immunit y that protected Africa n America n theme s fro m th e genera l carnage , per haps becaus e whe n the wartime nonceword s brotherhood an d tolerance reentered postwa r politics they did so as heartfelt rather than ideological issues. A s the directo r Irvin g Piche l di d i n a letter , liberal s seeme d t o speak in slogans. "I have," he wrote o f Katharine Dunham, "firs t han d interest in contributing what I can to the advancement o f her race and of understanding betwee n th e races." 23 At the same time, blacks in general had stood apart from the CPUSA, while th e party, despite dramatic gestures of alliance with blacks, never fully agree d upo n th e natur e o f "the Negr o question." The blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, for instance, though t th e party's wartime postur e toward the Negro misguided, even a "great" error, in its decision "no t to fight for hi s employmen t i n pictures , no r hones t an d decen t presenta tions o f him. " Moreover , eschewin g followin g a Gramscia n lin e o f "class-collaboration," th e part y lef t specificall y blac k grievances hanging, an d mad e onl y gestures : recruitin g black s for its Hollywood Inde pendent Citizen s Committe e o n th e Arts , Sciences , an d Profession s (HICCASP); askin g Lancelot to speak o n "the politica l scene"; runnin g David Platt's essays on black movie history in the Worker; incorporatin g race into rhetorical flourishes , as in Fred Rinaldo's linking blacklisting to "a 30 0 year old blacklist against the Negro people"; and having Trumbo speak at the UCL A conference o n "caricature s o f African Americans." 24 But in the end the CPUS A lost blacks because none of its formulations of blacks—as separat e people , a s colony , a s oppresse d class—galvanize d the African Americ a that stood ready to collect the debt owe d unde r th e terms o f the Doubl e V . As Abe Polonsk y recalle d o f one CPUS A goal : "The ide a o f a black state was killed b y World War II." 25 This break in the tenuous lin k between blac k and whit e lef t coul d be seen as early as 1946 when Doxey Wilkerson, a black Communist an d professor of education a t Howard, lecture d whit e Marxist s in their ow n Political Affairs journal b y opting fo r the Doubl e V for blacks whom the wa r ha d scat tered, urbanized, an d opened option s for. This while the CPUSA' s white ideologues clun g to James S. Allen's hope for a black nation on Souther n ground.26 More tha n an y othe r figure's , Pau l Robeson' s fat e reveale d th e widening gul f betwee n Africa n Americ a and th e CPUSA . Robeso n lingered i n a sentimenta l embrac e wit h th e Sovie t Unio n lon g afte r th e

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excesses of Stalinism had driven off others, and his uncritical Russophilia soon isolate d hi m an d gav e th e righ t a nea t opportunit y t o discredi t blacks by linkin g hi m t o th e Sovie t bugbear. Hi s continued singin g of "Soviet lan d s o dear t o every toiler " gav e the part y a recruiter of "th e radical youth" that "idolized him" precisel y because he was "a figur e of greater trus t than wa s a part y functionary. " Bu t b y 1950 , HUA C de lighted in coaxing black witnesses int o repudiating him or confessing to falling prey "to groups fixed up to look like noble causes." The Republican basebal l playe r Jacki e Robinso n dre w congratulation s fro m th e black libera l cente r fo r hi s testimon y agains t Robeson , which , on e o f them said, encouraged black s to resume a liberal offensive agains t black Communists who entangled blac k grievances in Cold War snares.27 This public spectacle was, of course, the central tragedy of Robeson's life, bu t it wa s als o a reaffirmation o f the blac k allianc e with liberalism . So far we hav e see n a considerable burden o f thermidorean force s that might have stifled the survivals of wartime liberalism. But it must be borne i n mind tha t eve n as the dram a o f HUAC playe d out , a vigorous documentary fil m cultur e ha d persiste d whil e th e reactionar y force s crested and even waned. Certainly this was true of Southern censorship , which crumble d under the weight of judicial challenges, the Hollywood Negroes fo r who m eve r fewe r role s wer e available , an d eve n HUA C itself, which , despit e th e well-documente d damag e i t di d bot h t o th e Marxist lef t an d t o constitutiona l principles , wa s short-live d an d lef t a scant legacy, not even a martyr in the perso n o f its eponymous Senato r Joseph R . McCarthy. And as Fred Rinaldo had insisted , blacks had suffered relatively little from HUAC because routinely they had been denie d steady work anyway . The way therefor e was clea r for some resumptio n o f a conscience liberal cinema, at least with respect to African America. Although at first few film s emerge d fro m th e stor y departments , th e studio s acquired, optioned, o r otherwis e considere d dozen s of properties i n searc h o f a peacetime genre or formula. As a lot, the few released films attained only a low plateau of advocacy, but Ebony and the rest of the black press were grateful fo r th e favors . Moreover , B-movies , famou s fo r thei r inertia l sameness, accommodate d t o evolvin g racia l sensibilities , thei r power s derived, it seemed, from the very thoughtlessness with which the y wer e put together, which allowed subtextual images to seep through. As Barbara Deming , a n OW I reviewer , describe d them , the y wer e "th e 'quickies' [where ] th e realitie s o f socia l antipath y ar e likel y t o flar e through the fabric of the film [into] antipathies between rac e and race or class and class."28 But in this instance, B-movies responded t o the residual libera l moo d a s though leachin g through th e crus t o f convention . Despite the best efforts o f the studio hacks to contain them in the familia r formulas o f race , ne w element s bega n t o intrud e unbidde n int o th e frame.

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While, obviously , w e ca n hav e littl e acces s t o th e mentalitie s o f either B-moviemakers or their audiences, o f all Hollywoodians B-movie people wer e certainl y th e mos t distan t fro m politica l pressures . The y were least able, whether through previe w cards or box-office returns , to measure th e politica l tolerances o f their marketplace , an d sinc e thei r small budget s allowe d onl y minima l risk s i n reworkin g th e familia r formulas tha t th e habituate d audienc e kne w i t liked, mos t change s i n B-movies ha d t o b e lik e incrementa l change s i n al l form s o f popula r culture: gradual drifts of wellworn convention s to new forms . Yet each such chang e no t onl y inche d furthe r fro m th e mai n bod y o f older un questioned racism , but sharpened th e sensibilities of hookers, critics, and spectators. In small ways, trade, popular press, and movies themselves revealed a sor t o f normalized attentio n t o racial politics. Ebony i n a reference t o The Clock (1945 ) described black extras as "routine" as though drawin g the reade r towar d th e nex t step. A Times man predicte d a side-effect of The Burning Cross: I f movies wer e cheapl y mad e thei r backer s coul d "afford th e risk of alienating the Souther n market." Critics began to sort black roles into "an old-fashione d Samb o performance" o r a "very up to date part." On the screen, black players moved towar d th e center of the frame, sometime s onl y i n th e inflectio n o f a pronoun : "Mr . Chan, " Moreland says as Birmingham Brown, "there ain't no limit to the cleverness o f us detectives." Blac k actors tol d eac h othe r abou t thi s trend . "Play yourself," rather than slide into the stock role that Hollywood had once demanded , a black press stor y urged. 29 Even antebellu m Souther n movie s an d jungl e movies , th e tw o genres most addicted to archaic material, gave in to the times: the former simply b y sufferin g almos t tota l erasur e fro m th e canon ; th e latter , evolving by way o f World War II mutants suc h a s Sundown, b y relocating settings to exotic isles and lost tribes of bronzed but ethnically neutral peoples. Th e B-movi e serie s featuring Jungle Jim , Bomb a th e Jungl e Boy, o r Tarzan, along with the waning Saturda y morning serials , joined the exodu s t o a sor t o f evergreen Micronesia . A s early as 194 5 Tarzan and the Amazons relocated its hero fro m black Africa t o a nameless lan d ruled by a white tribe led by the doyenne of gothic Transylvanian movies, Maria Ouspenskaya . Othe r strategie s include d employin g surrogat e race-angles such a s the scientis t in Jungle Captive (1945 ) tryin g to give life to the offspring o f an ape and a woman, and casting latinate types in sarongs a s th e Bomb a serie s did , featurin g Laurett e Lue z i n recurring exotic roles. 30 Eve n so , th e reformulation s limpe d s o badly a s t o fac e hazing fro m Variety. O f Jungle Goddess (1948) , fo r instance , i t com plained o f "the sam e ol d whit e goddes s amon g th e nativ e tribesme n routine"; an d warned exhibitors that "there is no gold buried in this part of Africa." 31 Of cours e the blac k actor s took littl e hear t fro m thes e survival s of

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In the shor t run, as Hollywood reshape d traditiona l genres, black role s lapse d into structured absence , as here in Cannibal Attack (1954 ) i n which they have given way to ethnically neutral brownskinned people s on whos e behalf n o activists spoke . Copyrigh t Columbi a Pictures . wartime trends . On e by one those wh o ha d live d off the jungle pictures or filled the roles of sidekicks and servants in other series—Charlie Chan, the Great Gildersleeve, or Don "Red" Barr y westerns—or provided Hollywood's incidenta l porter s an d housemaids , o r even playe d th e oiled up voodoo dancers in zombie movies lost screen time , billing, and roles. The more fortunate passed into radio, the dyin g days of vaudeville, race movies, o r th e underemploymen t tha t th e journalis t Leo n Hardwic k thought the product of a "silent boycott." Th e apolitical reporters LaMar and Levette, doing their best to soften th e fall and to put the best face o n things, larded their column s with news o f "lucrative contracts " an d lists of "sepians" who cadge d gigs as extras or roles that "wil l swell pockets with a nice bit of cash." Or they claimed improbabl e influenc e over th e moguls, a s in reportin g " I a m ver y happ y t o hav e bee n agai n abl e t o convince Hollywood's 'power s tha t be' that they should" do this or that for blac k actors.32 The musica l genr e provide d considerabl y more wor k fo r Africa n American performers, some of it certain to b e cut ou t i n Memphis anyway a s subtl y subversiv e to th e statu s quo . Partly , thi s censorin g o f performance arose out of a romantic link between ballads and courtship;

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that is , eve n a sol o singe r of , say , "You'r e th e Top " wa s singin g to someone an d therefor e the numbe r wa s rendere d touch y i f done b y a black singer. Already, for example, blac k Billy Daniels had bee n singin g on radi o (safel y invisible ) "Tha t Ol d Blac k Magic," bu t i n movies , of course, such casually chosen materia l became visibl e and therefore took on an edge. As a case in point, in the B-western Cowboy Canteen (1945 ) the Mills Brothers sang their wartime hit "Paper Doll," a lyric brimming with adolescen t yearnin g fo r a complaisan t lover , " a [paper ] dol l tha t other fella s canno t have, " a sexual text rendered tolerabl e to whites by the backbea t create d b y th e nostalgi a o f thousand s o f whit e couple s who, wh o havin g been parte d b y the war, tenderl y regarde d it as "ou r song" that created a bond between the m across space. Unwittingly, and without forethought, then, the war had cas t black singers in the role of actors in the romance s o f white people . But what of movies that were more forthrightly political? On the lots those that were aborted were the subjects of intense ideological struggle, while thos e that survived to the screen drew either barbs for the archai c or overpraise for the no w normativel y liberal. Song of the South and Duel in the Sun drew protests; George Pal's cartoon John Henry wa s an atonement fo r hi s guil t ove r hi s misunderstoo d Jaspe r series ; Jammin' the Blues, a moody vignette of jazz cellars, became an ico n of hep bohemi anism. Togethe r suc h movie s an d th e audiences ' an d critics ' expecta tions of and disappointments wit h them revealed yet another seepag e of the racia l rhetoric o f a new film culture into Hollywood . In this time of a still emerging black movie politics, sometimes black activists rather than studio timidity blocked a film that had so split blacks into tw o mind s a s t o scar e of f studios eage r t o d o th e righ t thin g bu t unsure o f wha t i t was . St. Louis Woman shoul d hav e bee n Metro' s splashy, jazzy explosion int o postwar black popular culture. Arna Bontemps and Counte e Cullen, two alumni of the Harlem Renaissance, had adapted it to the stage from Bontemps's novel God Sends Sunday an d sold it to MGM as though obeyin g Abe Hill's goading to get "inside o f movie making fro m th e hatchin g o f an ide a t o th e fina l making. " Fro m th e spring of 194 5 onward , Metr o showe d it s faith i n the ide a by acting as Broadway angel and by developing it as a star-turn for its contract player Lena Home. 33 But here blacks split into two camps, led on the one side by the tw o writers, an d o n th e othe r b y Walte r Whit e an d Home , t o who m i t seemed n o mor e tha n a revival of an archetypa l colore d hussy . Maye r himself cam e dow n on th e sid e of doing the film, if only to recove r his already considerable investment. The black press quickly warned Hom e of her vulnerability: "Lena wil l regret [he r refusal ] whe n i t turns out t o be the sepian 'Oklahoma'"—without her. 34 Also at stake for Home wa s a longshot chance to play Julie the mulatto in Metro's planned remake of Show Boat and a more likely chance for a tab-show version of the role

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in a play-within-a-play in Till the Clouds Roll By, thei r biopic of Jerom e Kern.35 In any case , the debat e subside d after St. Louis Woman opene d o n Broadway i n 194 6 t o mixe d review s tha t chille d thei r plans . Bu t i t clearly revealed th e persistenc e o f the tw o mind s o f blacks, the tensio n between demandin g chang e as against resisting Jim Crow casting. Once again White too k th e brun t o f attacks, this time fro m th e Internationa l Film and Radi o Guild (IFRG) , which depicte d the clas h of principles as no more than a ploy to land his daughter a role and "to suppress Negro comment." Bu t Hom e als o fel t "caugh t betwee n tw o ver y importan t forces" and eventuall y "i n dry-doc k for a long time because I wouldn' t play a gambler' s floozy. " Whit e di d hi s bes t t o tur n i t into a political lesson, warnin g Culle n an d Bontemp s tha t "w e hav e a racia l stak e . . . whic h ca n b e los t o r tragicall y damaged i f we mak e th e wron g movies." Couple d wit h th e whit e liberals ' unwillingnes s t o suppor t White's Hollywood bureau, the incident set back blacks by revealing the extent t o whic h a n er a o f peace oblige d the m t o wor k ou t a postwa r formula to replace that which the war had induced, a formula in which otherness migh t b e redefine d a s a normativ e par t o f a large r polity. 36 In 1946 , i n the propwash o f war, African American s were a s ready as the y woul d eve r be : te n time s thei r prewa r activis t strength , wit h White bent upo n a new sorti e against Hollywood, th e socia l engineer s redoubling their studies of the impact of movies on audiences, and critics growing ever more alert to the politics of movies and of their audiences ' capacities to read into movies meanings beyond thos e intende d b y their makers. Barbar a Deming , fo r example , ha d alread y begu n he r clos e readings of actors who b y "overstepping th e bounds o f the script " con veyed "sharpl y eloquent " layer s o f meaning unintende d b y th e writ ers.37 Moreover , a s thes e change s wer e reflecte d o n th e screen , ofte n only i n the most fleeting breaks wit h convention , eac h cam e to matte r on a scale greater than it s own dimensions . Lik e each dail y victory in a baseball pennan t race , th e valu e o f each even t wa s weighe d partl y for itself an d partly fo r its place in a larger accretion, muc h as , to press th e metaphor further , Henry Aaron's seven hundredth homeru n derive d its value from th e si x hundred ninety-nin e tha t ha d precede d it . African American s neede d onl y a majo r movi e agains t which t o stake ou t a n ideologica l positio n wit h greate r clarit y tha n the y ha d brought t o St. Louis Woman. Already they had begun t o cooperate wit h the MPPD A agains t censorship , th e las t ditc h o f regiona l racism ; t o cultivate Eas t Coas t documentarists ; t o erec t a postwa r equivalen t o f White's presenc e in Hollywood. If only they could define an adversarial position agains t a majo r film , the y migh t begi n t o se t fort h a grou p aesthetic that define d themselve s within th e large r society. To a great extent, black activists looked t o a campaign against Walt Disney's Song of the South (1946 ) a s the even t tha t would clarif y thei r

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goals, mainly because its central "Uncl e Remus " characte r seemed no t merely anachronisti c but als o because he violate d canon s o f bourgeois behavior that White and the NAACP had been promoting ever since the summer of 1942 . At the sam e time , the line s wer e draw n becaus e the movie presente d a soarin g opportunit y fo r Disne y as well . Th e studio had been foundering ever since before the war, and its collapse had onl y just bee n averte d b y a timel y rescue i n th e for m o f wartime contract s with the army and the CIAA. Joel Chandler Harris's stories, purportedly told to him b y Uncle Remus, could become par t o f the scaffoldin g wit h which t o rebuil d th e Disne y enterprise : Th e animal s tha t forme d th e dramatic personae o f Remus's storie s were t o be drawn i n the conven tional Disney-styl e sentimental, anthropomorphi c cartoons , whil e th e human characters were to be portrayed in a reality mode, an innovativ e combination tha t might prove to be a winner.38 For their part, the blacks needed a major test of whether o r not th e Doubl e V had survive d postwar demobilization, whil e they also hoped t o broaden th e terms of new alliances t o counterac t th e dissolutio n o f OWI , the dimunitio n o f th e army and its mission, and the passage of Hollywood into new hands, no t the least of whom was Hays's successor Eric Johnston, forme r American Chamber of Commerce head. Only a month afte r th e invasio n o f Normandy in 1944 , black s ha d picked u p a rumor o f Disney's intentions an d sen t him a flurry o f mail that seeme d solicitousl y helpful bu t was easily taken b y the fieflike studio a s alarming an d unaccustome d meddling . Herma n Hil l of the Courier, Arc h Reev e (newl y arrive d i n Breen' s office) , Walte r White , an d even th e blac k Rhode s Schola r Alain Lock e of Howar d Universit y all weighed in with ster n warning s balanced by offer s of political and aes thetic solutions . Reev e acte d a s broker , pointin g ou t tha t th e blacks , although aler t t o racism , wer e mostl y friendly t o Hollywood , a poin t made i n thei r letters , whic h wer e phrase d a s plea s t o avoi d lowerin g black morale through a misbegotten movie or, failing that, risk an ener vating campaign of protest. Disney quickly saw the nee d fo r bargaining and offere d t o work wit h the NAAC P in person. Breen , too, wishe d t o avert trouble after thre e years of wartime good relations between black s and Hollywood , an d urge d Disne y to counse l wit h them . Meanwhile , two Hollywood blacks, Caleb Peterson and Leon Hardwick, sent off their own protests , which led Disney to investigate his adversarie s and tak e the measure o f their possible Communist affiliations—the Sentinel probably was no t CPU S A, his advisers said , but th e Eagle was indeed. 39 Clearly, th e postwa r er a was differen t fro m earl y Hollywood racial negotiations. Th e adversaries share d n o collectiv e vision that wa r ha d helped shape. Rather , the blacks seemed mere complainers at each presumed slight , which nettle d Disney who durin g the wa r ha d remaine d apart from domesti c racial politics because of his attention to The Three Caballeros, Saludos Amigos, and othe r CIAA propaganda as well as army

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training films . Onl y Lock e managed t o reac h Disney . H e had gon e t o Hollywood t o confe r wit h Walte r Wange r abou t step s tha t th e studio s might take toward a more contemporary imag e of the African American . Once havin g learne d o f The Song of the South, h e trie d t o us e i t a s th e occasion for converting Disney . Rather than th e stark rhetoric of protest, he praise d Disne y for a good ide a that might , i f augmented b y enoug h humane portrayal s of black Americans, offse t th e antebellum stereotyp e embedded i n Uncl e Remus. But by summer' s end , Lock e thought th e hour s o late that th e situatio n had turne d sou r enoug h t o leave black s only wit h som e sor t o f direc t actio n a s thei r tacti c o f choice . Disne y wavered between th e old and the new, first hiring a liberal script doctor in Mauric e Rapf , bu t the n blamin g th e intensifyin g debat e firs t o n a disgruntled blac k acto r wh o ha d los t th e rol e o f Remu s an d the n o n rising of the re d menace. 40 Rapf almost save d the situation from a bad end. With a sentimental , nostalgic treatment b y Dalton Raymond—"a professiona l Southerner," Margaret Mitchell might hav e dubbe d him—in hand, Rapf searched for blacker wellsprings o f Southern lif e b y breaking with Harri s as his sol e source an d turnin g t o B . A. Botkin , th e edito r o f the Federa l Writer s Project, particularly its oral slave narratives from which he culled a book, Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery, whic h had onl y just been published by the University of Chicago. Botkin had turned Remu s on his head. Remus's Br'er Rabbit, a cunning trickste r perhaps descended fro m African lore , ha d been n o more than , h e wrote, " a polite r form, fo r the entertainment o f whitesf , of ] .. . mor e causti c tales " o f outwittin g masters, sardoni c jokes, and account s of "how freedom " cam e an d was lost to "Ku Kluxes." Moreover , Rap f also went abou t elidin g the worst of Raymond' s eye-rolling , hysterica l blacks , wh o coul d hav e bee n played onl y by, a s even Disne y saw, Butterfl y McQueen . I f Rapf coul d accomplish bot h goals—openin g up th e readings of black roles and following Botkin's work, which had exposed the "picturesque stereotypes " that ha d maske d "th e no t s o pleasan t o r picturesqu e ethic s o f Ji m Crow"—he coul d creat e suc h a solidl y buil t argumen t tha t i t woul d undercut bot h Raymond' s nostalgi c versio n an d Disney' s sentimenta l recollections o f his ow n childhoo d reading s of Harris's Remus. But Rapf' s i s a stor y o f what migh t hav e been . Jus t a s Selznick' s white-columned Tar a overrod e Margare t Mitchell' s rough-timbere d frontier house , Disney' s nostalgia overruled Rapf' s and Botkin' s historical model. S o when a minor tif f se t Rap f an d Raymon d a t odd s it wa s Rapf who had to go, and with it his antidote to thermidor. B y September 1944, th e Ban k o f America pu t it s money o n nostalgia. 41 Even the Southerner s in the Bree n office fel t thwarted b y Song of the South; the war had taught them to regard black sensibilities as at least on a par with those of the white South. In fact, Breen offered on e of them— a nativ e of the "'Dee p South ' [who ] know s th e so-calle d 'negr o prob-

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lems' thoroughly"—to Disney, along with a black consultant as a sop to "our negr o friend s [who ] appea r to be a bit critical." Franci s Harmon, one o f the PCA's Southerners, eve n offere d a way ou t tha t rested upo n establishing Remus as of a specific "perio d an d place" in the 1870 s as a means o f "minimizin g advers e reaction s fro m certai n Negr o groups. " Furthermore, he even wrote a line to cover Remus's antiquity. "Me and my kind—we's outta date too," say s Harmon's Remus . "De parade du n pass us by." Bu t Disney gave little ground, and s o Clarence Muse, wh o probably yearned for the role himself, broke with Disney (or so reported the Worker) over the "'Uncle Toms' and handkerchief heads" who ha d overwhelmed th e "dignified " blac k roles . Disne y ended b y castin g a n old blac k vaudevillian , Jame s Baskette , as Remus , thereb y takin g hi s final step toward isolation from both the black activists and black Hollywood circles. 42 Predictably, no on e o n the lef t like d the film, but a t the sam e tim e blacks were demoralize d by its general sweetness an d faile d t o mount a response to it. After all , their tribal memory of the old South embraced a common stoc k of memories share d b y the whit e South ; th e differenc e was tha t th e pai n o f memories o f slave times provided lumbe r fo r th e construction o f a moder n blac k identity , whil e white s hel d ont o th e ideologically opposit e memor y o f the happ y darke y as an analgesi c to mask th e pai n o f the Los t Cause . The movie made onl y a quarte r o f a million profit , barel y enoug h t o mak e ban k interest , wit h blac k moviegoers giving it only a split week in Harlem on a bill with Mantan Messes Up. Th e Worker though t i t a "slander"; Ebony snappe d a t Baskett e for "blocking th e road that leads to the advancemen t o f minority groups" ; and Crowther in the Times spoke for the center in panning "the sweetes t most wistfu l dark y slave, " a n imag e formed , perhaps, fro m th e ante bellum textur e of a movie meant t o be post-Civil War . In any case , h e blanched a t wha t h e saw . "You'v e committe d a peculiarly gauche offense in putting out such a story in this troubled day and age," he wrote. "One migh t almost imagine that you figure Abe Lincoln made a mistake. Put dow n tha t min t julep, Mr. Disney!" ("Bravo, " someon e wrot e o n the clippin g i n the NAACP' s file.) 43 Indeed, Baskett e a s Remu s was th e cor e o f th e issue . H e wa s s o extravagantly "winsome," drawing on all the guile a career on the stage had taught him, tha t h e seemed t o overflow with charm , preternatura l wisdom, an d the unctuousness h e drew fro m th e deepest pool of white legend. Centere d i n th e fram e wher e fe w blac k actor s ha d eve r sat , flanked by two white kids, his woolly head forming a halo as though h e were a Tiepolo madonna, hi s hands gnarled around a crumpled hat, he dominated the scenes in which he taught the children the country ways their urban e parent s ha d though t old-fashioned . H e manage d t o giv e black viewers a tolerable dignity while playing to whites with a reading so densely packed with ancien t props and manner s that he transported

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Walt Disney' s winsom e Uncl e Remu s (Jame s Baskette ) split th e studio' s wri ters (a s well a s black critics ) with hi s charming performance tha t reveale d a gaping hol e i n postwa r conscience-libera l aesthetics . BFI . Copyright Wal t Disney Studios .

them into a rose-colored past. He lighted his balky pipe with a splinter of kindling, laughe d i n th e sexles s falsetto tha t white s ha d love d i n their blacks, and spun stories from a bottomless memory, many of them about Br'er Rabbit , the harmles s versio n tha t Harri s had learne d durin g th e Gilded Ag e in Fulto n County . Each story flowed int o a n animate d se quence that vibrated with lif e in the briar patch. Between tales he medi-

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ated conflic t betwee n paren t an d child , city and country , an d eve n pro tected hi s charge s fro m th e whit e tras h wh o liv e i n th e hollow . Hi s sprightly them e musi c wa s th e Oscar-winnin g "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da h (What a Wonderfu l Day)." How coul d anyone, blac k o r white , resen t this happy tale ? For African Americans, here was their main chanc e t o assert a postwar presence b y assailing a major, if not booming , movie . Bu t Baskette was too much for them. Despite a few barbs, Baskette's sweet reading of the part dampene d hardnose d critics , who waffle d an d credite d Disney with an honest effort t o portray the "extremely squali d and servil e conditions" i n the South , an d Baskett e with a job tha t merite d " a whol e basket ful l o f Oscars. " On e frustrate d criti c displace d he r rag e t o th e audiences, who , lovin g Remu s too much, wer e "laughin g an d chuck ling" even as , she guessed, the y hate d "thos e uppity darkie s who just because the y got a little more education an d wen t t o war, don' t kno w how t o stay in their place." 44 As a result o f Baskette's charm, no t on e grou p o f organized blacks mounted a coheren t campaig n agains t Disney's movie. No t only wer e they staggered b y his performance , the y wer e a t a los s t o defin e thei r objections excep t a s a sor t o f snobbery . Jun e Blyth e o f th e America n Council on Race Relations, a shrewd strategis t in the use o f film propaganda, urge d upo n th e NAAC P som e sor t o f response. Bu t eve n afte r White wangle d a previe w fro m Disney , th e blac k viewer s coul d no t agree on what they saw . Gloste r Current, a toughminded office r i n th e NAACP and knowledgeabl e abou t sho w business , seeme d take n i n by Baskette's "artisti c an d dynamic " Remus . "M y onl y criticis m is, " h e wrote, "the Negr o stereotype of docility . . . interwove n wit h the motif of satisfactio n with slavery. " "S o artisticall y beautiful," wrot e another , "that is is difficult t o be provoked over the cliches." 45 Hope Spingarn of the NAACP traced this mood t o Disney's being so "nervous about inter racial reaction" that he had lef t "nothin g obviously objectionable abou t the film [even though] i t perpetuates th e old cliches." An n Tanneyhill at NUL sketche d a similar dilemma : Sh e raged a t the stereotype—"black , fat, greasy, sweaty, laughing, grinning, eyes rolling, white teeth showin g predominantly, bowing , scrapin g hat in hand"—but admitte d to fallin g wistfully unde r th e spel l of "quite wonderful" flashe s o f animation, " a blaze o f color, " "excellent " music , and , fo r tha t matter , "clos e t o a million dollars " in exploitatio n money . Mar y McLeo d Bethun e o f th e National Counci l o f Negr o Wome n sa w th e sam e "stereotype " an d called upo n RK O for a broadening o f black imagery s o as to improve , as socia l engineer s believe d possible , "attitude s towar d minorit y groups."46 With organize d Africa n American s immobilized , knowin g wha t they hate d bu t unabl e t o propos e a ne w formulation , th e movemen t seemed powerles s to regain th e momentum tha t war ha d onc e give n it

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under White. In one instance, when White picked a quarrel with Catherine Edwards , editor o f Parents Magazine, whic h ha d give n a meda l t o Song of the South, sh e stoo d her ground , suggestin g on th e basi s of his clouded recountin g o f the film that he may not eve n hav e see n it , and charged him with crossing over into the camp of the advocates of censorship.47 But of all the forces that muddled the politics of movies, the worst was yet to come. Conservatives , of course, revelled in Baskette's performance an d throug h Hedd a Hopper began pressin g the Academ y for a special (an d eventually posthumous) Oscar . She touted his work in her column and stirred fans to write in, on the occasion of his illness, calling for hi s Oscar, a campaign that coul d not help but raise him up in white eyes and diminis h th e NAAC P to a fringe grou p of cranks.48 At leas t Baskette' s Osca r force d th e issu e b y proddin g black s t o formulate a more precise account of what was eating away at them an d to leav e of f empty protest s suc h a s the Worker's deman d "t o b e ster n with Negro artists" who took "degrading" gigs or Muse's nebulous plea that it was "high time that we at home did something about our cultural advancement." The conundrum the y face d was in admitting why they disliked Baskette's work while letting pass the similar work of McDaniel (who had wo n a n Osca r for it). A partial answer ma y be found in Ann Tanneyhill's precisel y aime d sho t a t Remus' s laughter , th e kind , sh e said, "whic h w e have al l learned t o abho r . . . loud , long , sustaine d and vulgar," and most of all, a cackling falsetto that some blacks in olden times had cultivated as a kind of aural metaphor for their powerlessness, as though the shrillnes s of a Florentine castrate persuaded whit e people that thei r slave s presented n o threat . A t the sam e time , Remus' s "vul gar" manne r may have uncomfortabl y reminded th e black bourgeoisie of how precariousl y close to the bottom any black, no matter ho w wel l off, resided . Blac k objections t o thi s behavior extende d a s well t o th e cartoon figure s o f Br'er Rabbit and hi s friends an d their raucous voices, liquid body English, slurred accents, and tricksterish cornerboy manner, which th e blac k middl e clas s had spen t year s trying t o trai n ou t o f its young.49 In this sense, Song of the South clarified movie politics as had n o other movi e sinc e Gone with the Wind. As Song of the South reveale d t o Africa n American s a truis m o f postwar life—tha t wartim e tactic s had thei r limits—so Duel in the Sun, King Vidor and Davi d O . Selznick' s overdrawn attemp t t o breathe lif e into the then fading genre of the western, revealed another. The movies' use o f familiar stereotype s sometime s ha d littl e t o d o wit h calculated wishes to ratify th e statu s quo o r to gull witless audiences int o th e fals e consciousness o f superior/inferio r relationship s tha t racis m taught . Rather, either because they feared th e new o r were soothed by the old, Hollywood moviemen preferred safet y a s against risk. Five months afte r Song of the South wen t int o release , alon g cam e Duel in the Sun t o demonstrate this truism. It had everything : a rousing conflict o f railroad

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baron an d cattlemen ; a lean, har d her o i n Gregory Peck; the most self conscious vamping sinc e Theda Bara in Jennifer Jones's halfbreed Pear l Chavez; highly saturate d Technicolor ; a chorus o f raw-edged, outsize d characters ranging from Lione l Barrymore as the crust y boss of Spanish Bit Ranch through Walter Huston as the jackleg preacher "Si n Killer" — plus Butterfl y McQuee n a s Vashti, the maid , actin g a s though nothin g had happene d sinc e 1939 , when she played i n Gone with the Wind. However muc h black s hel d hi m i n contempt , Remu s ha d hel d a historical plac e i n Song of the South, bu t Vasht i was n o mor e tha n a signifier of Hollywood's inability to cut free o f its racial history. Sh e was there because Selznick insisted on her; she was, as Wendell Green said in the Sentinel, an agent of "white chauvinism." Certainly she had no such place i n Nive n Busch's book . There , sh e wa s ol d an d cunnin g i n he r dealing wit h whit e people , possesse d o f a lor e a s timeles s a s tha t o f Hellman's black s i n The Little Foxes—"the old fles h knowledg e o f th e negro," as Busch had written . Whe n sh e thought o f whites at all it was with contempt : "Ho w di d whit e folk s ge t messe d u p tha t way? " sh e thinks while watching Pearl and the satyric Lewt McCanles (Peck) grope at eac h other . In McQueen's hands , however , she became yet anothe r Prissy, whining , prattling , empty , self-parodying—a s Selznick ha d in tended.50 An even worse role, from a racial angle, was Pearl. In Busch's book she merel y "stoo d a littl e wa y apar t no t wishin g t o see m curiou s o r forward." Bu t i n th e hand s o f Selznic k and Jone s sh e gre w seething , feral, instinctive, with lips and eyes that glinted with each change of light and a blouse endlessly slipping so low that it consumed th e attention of the PC A. Breen's staff did their best to point out to Selznick the obviousness of Jones's portraya l o f sensuality a s a racial trait o f halfbreeds bu t only succeeded in joining him in the mire of his own bad writing. At first they complaine d onl y that th e portraya l of a race with th e moral s o f a lynx was "dangerous" in wartime, particularl y in a war in which enem y national polic y wa s roote d i n racia l theories . (Th e wa r wa s a facto r because the movie began during it and would take three years to make.) In an y event , th e Bree n office , wit h astonishin g indifference , let i t all pass, claiming that there was no racial prejudice in America against th e group i n question anyway. 51 Actually, th e "play " i n th e broadl y painte d movi e allowe d th e viewer to shim u p Pearl' s role into a metaphor fo r the American racial condition. The movie became a n homage t o the capitalist buccaneering of a sort of rancher-imperialism, a saga of struggle between th e colossi of cattlemen and railroaders, the subflooring of almost every western. The n Pearl arrive s and th e movie turns on its celebrants, snuffs the m out on e by one, an d let s Spanish Bit pass into the hand s of the railroad , an epic event given stature by a vast outdoor scen e echoin g th e imager y of the Oklahoma lan d rus h o f th e 1880s . Thu s Pear l seeme d a sig n tha t

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Butterfly McQueen' s shril l Vashti (here with Gregor y Peck) in Duel in the Sun (1946) reveale d the persistenc e of old roles when in th e hand s o f all but un directable actor s who ha d a n investmen t i n perpetuating them . NSF . Copyright Selznic k Releasing.

America's racial heritage doomed its enterprise. Bu t little is made o f this trope becaus e Vashti, the Negro , remains a whining cipher , a n erasur e where Selznick , if he ha d ha d th e hear t fo r it , migh t hav e writte n a master scen e i n which Vasht i was a black witness t o whit e hubris . Black critic s wer e havin g non e o f it . On e o f the m foun d Vasht i "addlepated" and Pearl "a movie-Mexican touch customar y in the middle twenties," and the whites in the national weeklies joined them in the hazing. Fo r it s part th e NAACP , whil e notin g tha t i n th e movi e "th e colored race s ar e morall y an d intellectuall y inferio r [and ] canno t re strain their violent elemental passions, " an d perhaps guessin g that Selznick himself, knowing he had a turkey on his hands, woul d saturation book it , even i n Ne w York , and pla y it off as cheaply an d a s quickly as possible, opte d no t t o attac k i t i n public . O n it s fac e perhap s a mer e incremental gai n in tactical wisdom, th e decision based upo n knowin g "it ha s alread y been judge d a ba d picture " wa s indee d a ste p towar d learning a peacetim e allocatio n o f resources.52 In any event, blacks could claim at least incremental gains: an assertion o f a black position against dying Hollywood racial conventions, a n alliance wit h th e Motio n Picture Association of America (MPAA ) i n a judicial assaul t o n Souther n censorship , a boomle t i n shor t films that

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Pearl Chave z (Jennife r Jones) , her e wit h Lillia n Gis h an d Walte r Huston , seemed a tolerabl e racia l typ e bot h because o f her vagu e mestiz o heritag e an d her sexiness , t o which onl y th e PC A objected. BFI . Copyrigh t Selznic k Releasing.

traced thei r libera l pedigrees back to the war . Thu s the er a witnessed a prototypal inquir y int o postwa r racia l opinio n an d politica l culture . Moreover, thes e achievement s wer e no t onl y evidenc e tha t a for m of conscience-liberalism survive d th e wa r i n th e fac e o f thermidorea n forces, but also indicators of an incipient marketplace o f liberal ideas that the studio s might eventua l ai m majo r featur e film s toward . At firs t th e evidenc e o f thes e change s wa s smal l indee d an d to o Hollywoodish b y Easter n film-cultur e standards , rendere d blan d b y timid sales departments, too marked by tractlike OWI rhetoric, and ofte n so inchworm i n their gains as to seem hardl y worth th e bother. Indee d up t o 194 7 the y wer e al l shorts. Moreover, som e movie s prove d unusuall y resistan t t o pressure , partly becaus e blac k activist s coul d no t reac h a consensus . Cartoon s were a particular nettle. During the war the NAACP had built a file on a string o f raucous , hard-drivin g animate d cartoon s don e i n a nut-jaz z idiom tha t jarre d blac k sensibilitie s becaus e the y disconcertingl y ap peared in competition with other cartoons that were patently backwardlooking, namely , Hanna-Barbera' s and Metro' s To m an d Jerr y serie s

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with it s frumpy black housemai d an d Columbia' s Heckl e an d Jeckle , two black crows whose eccentric gait owed much to Jim Crow tradition. The jazzy cartoons boggled NAACP viewers because they were cas t in a specifically urba n styl e tha t flaunte d a mi x o f jive-talk, hepca t bod y english, and flashy zoot suits, in sum an exaggeration of the outrageou s behavior o f a pioneering urba n teen-oriented musi c culture that already was jamming the Brooklyn Paramount and Roseland to hear its heroes. Four o f them ha d prove n particularl y nettlesom e t o th e NAAC P filekeepers: Red Hot Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears, Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs, an d Uncle Tom's Cabana, each becaus e it s creators had caugh t the black idiom that had alread y crossed over into th e imaginations o f white adolescents , exaggerate d its style, and eve n celebrated i t in ways that rattled blacks ever war y o f white humor . While it was true that a climax of Uncle Tom's Cabana, the openin g of Tom's "chicken shack" on Hollywood and Vine , had alread y been a bit i n th e libera l revue Jump for Joy, blacks fretted ove r ho w i t woul d play Azuza (Walte r White's pejorativ e term fo r squares). Furthermore , what would Mai n Stree t o r Azuza think o f Red Hot Riding Hood's sex y caricature o f Lena Home wh o ha s lef t grandma' s hous e fo r a job a s a riveter at Lockheed and a jitterbugging nightlife? Or what would be the response to Coal Black, th e parod y of Disney's Snow White, transfigured into ye t anothe r sex y singe r wh o scat s he r song s an d talk s jive? Her associates were anothe r matte r entirely : a black witch who sell s apples from a pushcart , seve n liver-lippe d dwarfs as her court , Princ e Chawmin' dresse d i n a whit e zoo t suit , drivin g a lowslun g purpl e car , an d dealing in black market tires, coffee, an d sugar. Ambiguously, the dwarfs enlist to guard America, and the sleeping heroine i s kissed awake not by the prince but by a black soldier, whose kis s induces an aura o f waving flags in he r hair . Clearly , the NAAC P wa s trappe d b y th e ambiguity , complaining o f the seve n grotesqu e dwarf s but amon g themselves , a t least, joining in the humor by describing the prince's costume as "a zoot suit with a reet pleat and a reeve sleeve," and raising only a token protest before lettin g i t drop. 53 But the persistenc e o f rural racial idiom was another matter , an d i t nettled black s throughout th e war , particularl y in th e wor k o f a Hungarian immigrant , Georg e Pal, who ha d perfecte d a form o f animate d clay models, or "Puppetoons." Pal, with his European mind uncluttere d by American racial furniture, imagined that by creating a puffy-lipped , drawling black child named Jasper , with a mammy who bakes pies that are stolen by a fat, hustling scarecrow in a checked suit, and a wisecracking crow, he was making a kind of "Huckleberry Finn of black folklore." Perhaps in less touchy times black activists might have been amuse d by his whimsica l anachronisms , particularl y Jasper , a filiopietisti c bo y whose invincibl e rectitude enables hi m t o outwi t th e tw o connivin g marplots wit h suc h regularit y tha t eac h movi e seeme d a n homag e t o

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Br'er Rabbit. Certainly OWI had sense d th e ambivalence , admirin g Jasper 's Music Lesson (1943 ) for its "lighthearted . . . exciting " treatment of jazz while complainin g onl y o f "the assumptio n tha t Negr o accents are funn y i n themselves, " a wafflin g induce d als o b y Hot Lips Jasper (1944) th e soundtrac k o f which feature d the ecstati c trumpet of Rafae l Mendez laid over shots of the two black heavies dressed as bebop fans in search o f a mess o f spareribs and yams. 54 After th e war , however , black s not onl y seeme d les s patient wit h Pal, but als o possesse d a national pres s in which to complain . Indeed , with th e wa r ove r an d black s seeking a moral equivalen t o f it, Ebony, much t o Pal's surprise, took ou t afte r Jasper , reportin g a rising "protes t from Negro groups." Pal, as though respondin g t o Ebony, retreated fro m his misguided di p into folklor e and turne d t o John Henry and Inky Poo (1946), a straightforward child's tale of the legendary black gandydancer who challenge s an d defeat s a steamhamme r i n a spikedriving contest, and a year later produced an endearing tribute to Duke Ellington (1947). Afterward, Pa l and Ebony indulged in a journalistic lovefeast as a sign of mutual gratitude , Pal's fo r the tutelag e provided b y rea l organi c black intellectuals and Ebony's for a sincer e publi c cavin g in to blac k hege mony. As Pal said, Rex Ingram (th e voice of John Henry) was s o affect ing that "a t the end he was crying . . . [and ] everybod y was moved." Ebony praised Pal's "first," a movie "that deals with Negro folklore, that has a Negro as its hero and . . . ha s no Negro stereo types."55 The result was tha t no t onl y had Pa l learned th e lor e o f his adopted country , bu t Ebony ha d taugh t it s readers tha t togethe r the y ha d mattere d an d ha d affected movie s at their source, a major black social goal ever since 1942 . On anothe r occasio n th e broke r o f blac k cultur e wa s th e whit e magazine Life alon g wit h Norma n Granz , a whit e impresari o wh o fo r years had been promoting jazz among crossove r audiences—Jazz at the Philharmonic, h e calle d hi s shows . A n actualit y fil m rathe r tha n a n animated one , Jammin' the Blues (1946 ) wa s a jazz performanc e re corded o n fil m b y Life photographe r Gjo n Mil i a s thoug h a tru e ja m session. The combination o f the stylized , urbane milie u an d th e musi c and dance that moodily spun out from it sent a signal to Hollywood that an audience seemed ready for East Coast-style film culture. Never before had jazz been presented i n such an unadorned settin g undiluted by plot or artifice—othe r than fres h use s o f the smoot h suturin g o f shots int o sequences that formed the basis of Hollywood style. In other words, th e filmmakers ha d turne d classica l Hollywoo d styl e i n ne w directions , using i t t o trol l fo r a he p audienc e tha t neede d n o tutelag e i n blac k musical idiom bu t als o had neve r before see n i t in the movies . The audience was mean t t o fee l i t had walke d i n on a jam session, where i t felt welcom e and therefor e both libera l and hep . Curlin g cigarette smoke, the cigarette held between th e valves of a trumpet; porkpie hats cocked , seemingl y forgotten o n th e back s of heads ; ope n shirts ,

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loosely draped zoot suits; tired musicians, lidded eyes drooping; al l in a tight littl e se t broken b y geometri c shadows—ever y detai l mad e fo r a properly cellar y scene . Th e comb o drifte d int o "Th e Midnigh t Sym phony" on a liquid melodic line backed by softl y brushe d drums , the n into "Th e Sunn y Sid e of the Street " sun g b y Marie Bryan t while i n a languid jitterbug with Archi e Savage, and ende d o n a hard-driving ar rangement o f the title song. For the liberals there was even an inside joke in the presenc e o f the white guitaris t Barney Kessel playing his set in a darkened corne r o f the frame . More tha n an y othe r movi e o f blac k culture , Jammin' the Blues reached an uncommonly broa d audienc e wh o registere d its approval. It was an artistic piece of "excellent" stature, said Gordon Hollingshead as he sen t i t out fro m Warners . Walte r Winchell, b y then having merge d conservative politic s with conscience-liberalis m i n a fa r fro m uncom mon America n mentality , was so taken i n by it he though t i t had bee n shot with a hidden camera ; Time praised it; Life name d i t Movie o f the Week; Jame s Agee , despite a contempt fo r artiness, foun d it creditable; the Amsterdam News claimed so many soldiers—ten million, it said—saw it that all the prints were worn out; and Ebony concluded it was "artistic as well as commercial." 56 Parallel t o th e releas e o f Jammin' the Blues, a strin g o f dramati c shorts appeared , eac h on e a n unwittin g tease r fo r it s successor , eac h coyly weavin g racia l politic s int o it s storyline , eac h sloughin g of f its clunking OWI rhetoric in favor of a slicker Hollywood enamel. Together they displaye d a co y eagernes s t o proceed—eagernes s becaus e the y loaded their plots with indictments of racism, coy because each found a way t o blame evi l foreign agents for the sprea d o f it. One o f them, Don't Be a Sucker (1946) , had i n fac t com e directly from th e war b y way of Paramount, it s civilian Signal Corps contractor. Its racism was put in two forms, one Nazi, one American, the latter as a divisive kvetc h addresse d t o crowd s b y streetcorne r orator s wh o rai l against "peopl e with foreig n accents makin g al l the money " and "ne groes holding jobs that belong to me and you." Mike , a casually happy worker, hear s som e o f this "truth " an d accept s it until, first, he hear s himself, a "freemason, " lumpe d wit h th e "others, " an d second , h e learns from a refugee professor the horrors of Nazi anti-Semitism. "I saw it in Berlin," he says at the cutaway to brutish "Hans" who "pumped up his ego " b y bullyin g Jews. The n viciou s Sturmabteilungtruppen barge into hi s classroo m an d dra g hi m away . Mike' s liberalism , o f course , remains unsullie d i n th e las t reel , earnin g a plac e fo r th e fil m i n th e catalogues of distributors who overpraise d i t as "the backbone " o f the army's campaig n against racism in it s ranks. 57 In ye t anothe r instanc e that followed th e lin e of Teamwork i n layin g racism at th e fee t o f Nazis alone, Selznick' s The American Creed (1947 ) wor e homag e t o wartim e liberalism lik e a unit shoulde r patch. A succession of stars drawn fro m

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the studio s appears before the camera , eac h spoutin g a n unremarkabl e homily, excep t for, perhaps, Gen e Kelly, who i n the course of his, introduced the American neologism ' 'togetherness,'' and James Stewart, who set forth yet another veile d reference to alien source s of racism. He was "sore," he said, at crackpots who were promoting the very ideas the late war ha d opposed . Suc h movies , remarkabl e fo r their existenc e rathe r than thei r merits, served moviegoers as no more than chasers , but Selz nick too k hi s seriousl y enough t o giv e i t a preview , collec t respons e cards, an d finally send ou t hi s postproduction material s "extr a specia l rush."58 The best of these vignettes was the most self-consciously liberal and yet poorly aimed because of its writer's insistence on locating once again the germ of racism in foreign soil. The House I Live In (1946) grew out of a huddle of Hollywood's lef t at a party at Mervyn LeRoy's. More than in the others, politics were embedded in plot, character, and incident rather than "o n th e nose " rhetoric . LeRoy , whos e libera l pedigre e extende d back to Warner Bros, social movies of the 1930s ; Frank Ross, a producer recently arrived from th e East; Albert Maltz, soon t o be blacklisted; and Frank Sinatra , a youthful but accomplishe d singe r in search o f his ow n liberal politics, together wangled a studio from likeminde d Dor e Schary at RKO and turned ou t a little movie that so exemplified the absorptio n of conscience-liberalis m into th e mentalit y o f Hollywood' s establish ment tha t th e Academ y eventuall y gav e i t a n Oscar . But here to o th e liberals too k tw o step s forwar d and on e back , i n tha t Malt z began b y addressing racism as an issu e but earl y on shifte d to a generalized ple a for toleranc e fo r an unname d religion. Sinatr a as himself takes a break from recording , steps into a n alley to smoke, an d see s a gang of urchins setting upon a lone victim because, as one of them says , "We don't like his religion, see!" Sinatr a cleverly saves the kid from a licking, but onc e again it is clear that nameless , perhap s foreign , heavies are at work on America's fragil e liberalism . "Fellers , liste n to me, " he says . "Some body's been making suckers out of you." He restores their sense of ethnic tolerance with a retelling of the legend of Kelly and Levin, complete with a tankshot o f the sinkin g Haruna, thenc e t o a peroration o n the absurdity o f segregating bloo d plasma , a practice , h e says , tha t migh t wel l have cost the live s of the kids ' fathers . Like the Lon e Ranger riding off after a good deed, Sinatr a returns to his gig, but not before breaking into a choru s o f the libera l anthem tha t gav e the movi e it s title. 59 Driven b y th e logi c of his ow n role , tw o week s afte r th e previe w Sinatra rushed to Gary, Indiana, to mediate a racially heated high schoo l strike, the n i n Decembe r receive d a meda l fro m th e Hollywoo d Women's Pres s Club : tw o event s which , couple d wit h th e Osca r and quick acceptanc e by 1 6 mm distributors , suggested that al l that stoo d between Hollywoo d an d it s apparently liberal audiences was a studio with th e nerv e t o plunge in. Indeed, the time s seemed ripe for such an

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adventure, if the fitfu l outpu t o f the half-measure s we hav e see n wer e indicators.60 Of al l th e foreshadowing s before 194 9 o f an er a o f "th e thinkin g picture," the only one that commanded th e full weight of a major studio commitment wa s Warners' It Happened in Springfield (1946) . While not actually a feature, it had begu n during the war a s an OW I sort of film to be leavened by the production values of a feature, grounded in an actual incident, an d produce d b y a vetera n make r o f the studio' s trademark problem films . Althoug h th e en d o f th e wa r brough t a n en d t o th e government's investmen t i n such films, the studi o decided to carry it to full term , albei t a s a two-reele r rathe r tha n a feature . In thi s for m It Happened in Springfield allow s a glimps e a t ho w war' s en d induce d a thermidorean reaction , but on e whic h liberal s in a fashion weathered . The film actually began befor e th e war , whe n a racial disturbance wracked a Massachusetts town and shoo k th e citizens ' image of themselves as a melting pot. In classic liberal fashion they designe d a school curriculum t o inoculat e thei r childre n agains t th e viru s o f racism , a decision that earned them stories in Women's Home Companion, the New York Times, and two book-length photo-essays, not to mention the pamphlets an d mimeographe d handout s release d by the school s an d thei r consultants, on e o f whom, Clyde R. Miller of Teachers' Colleg e Columbia University, sent a packet to Jack Warner. 61 Fo r Miller, Springfield's dealing wit h racis m a s a curricula r matter seeme d a bol d wa y t o fac e what h e calle d "th e growin g challeng e o f nationalistic, religious , an d racial disruptions, " a s wel l a mean s t o "contro l prejudic e an d t o strengthen democratic rights" in a decade that may be "the mos t critical in America' s history. " Alread y Miller , a mode l wartim e conscience liberal, had pressed his own fraternity to open its doors to blacks and had monitored the spread of the Springfield idea to more than two hundre d school systems. 62 Warner like d the ide a an d i n th e summe r o f 194 4 assigne d it to a likeminded director , Cran e Wilbur, who ha d bee n raise d in integrated public schools, written a prewar script on "tolerance" for the radio series Big Town, and apprentice d on Warner Bros. 1930s movies such as Hell's Kitchen and Crime School. By summer's end Warner' s enthusiasm led to a rar e decision to shoo t o n location. 63 But something was missing. The crisis of war had passed, and with it the moviemakers ' stomac h for , the nation' s urgen t nee d for , and th e liberals' peacetime redefinitio n of their wa r movi e mentality. Even the easily digestibl e lone blac k figure that migh t hav e passe d most readily into a postwar genr e wa s gone . A s in a jarring number o f race-angled movies, Warne r retreate d fro m portrayin g even a shre d o f racis m as homegrown, insistin g instea d o n placin g i t onl y i n th e mout h o f th e town's scapegrace, who i n turn had culle d it from a "Nazi" propaganda leaflet. An d circumspectly , not wishin g to singl e ou t actua l victims of

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racism for fear o f arousing it as though a sleeping dog, Warner adopte d the sam e raciall y neutral castin g a s Tarzan movie s ha d done , an d h e insisted th e victi m shoul d no t b e show n a s a foreigner . Wilbu r als o sensed th e rule s o f the game , no t onl y a s a contrac t directo r bu t fro m having written Big Town, a similarly angled radio show in 194 0 in which the victim had no more than the faintest trace of an accent. 64 Th e resulting coyness, however kindly intended to soften the blow of racism, could not help but blunt the message and deny the audience the experience of implicating itself. Fro m the Africa n America n point o f view, the movie makers' indirection , thoug h calculate d to mut e th e animu s o f racism, not only precluded an assault on racism but serve d as an erasure of their otherness that galled racists. The subtextual result was yet another warp ing of the libera l notion o f sameness, muc h a s Wilbur recalled hi s ow n childhood: "blac k an d white togethe r [and ] no making [muc h of ] people because o f their color." 65 Such attitudes, in the absence of an alternative liberal rhetoric, soo n diminished th e project , renderin g moo t th e writers ' wis h t o avoi d th e flavor of an OW I tract.66 After weeks of second thoughts and fear s of lost Southern markets, It Happened in Springfield los t its nerve. A black pu pil's lines were given to a Chinese; a black teacher was erased; a riot at the dramati c cor e o f th e movi e wa s stoke d no t b y rac e bu t ethni c animosity against—unbelievably—a Swede! And all was stage-managed with a string o f remonstrating telephon e call s from Hollywoo d to thei r location in Massachusetts: Avoid beards, they said, not so hardnosed o n the colore d angle , and finally , sai d the cutter' s notes , wh y no t mak e a creampuff versio n fo r th e theatre s tha t erase s th e black s entirel y an d reserve them fo r a 1 6 mm classroo m print. At last, as Hollingshead told the Ne w Yor k office , al l the highl y charged shot s wer e cut , and every thing wa s ready for the releas e o f the mos t crave n two-reeler Warners ' had eve r put out. 67 If this seems a case of typical Hollywood evasion, it must be seen i n the contex t o f liberal thought o f the time, a sort of intellectuals' versio n of Israe l Zangwill' s old-fashioned "melting pot. " Th e libera l faith tha t embraced Wilbur' s childhoo d o f uneventful integration i n school , Allport's vie w o f racism a s a remediable ga p in knowledge, an d Stampp' s ideal o f treatin g black s a s whit e peopl e wit h dar k skin s ha d alread y colored hal f a doze n shor t movies . In th e sam e spirit , the studi o chief s proudly announce d tha t n o expens e ha d bee n to o great to make wha t they proclaimed as a great movie that was a monument t o Warner Bros.' undiminished commitmen t t o socia l reform. 68 Thu s wha t seeme d lik e corporate shrinkin g from dut y was only a reflection of a collective wish to approach the issue from the angle of consensus rather than confrontation. This fait h i n American goodwill at it s most pristine may b e see n i n the curriculum materials generated by the school s of Springfield itself. As

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early as 1940 , social workers had studie d "complex problems of [black] social statu s an d economi c opportunity, " whic h the y hope d t o solv e through " a constructiv e program .. . i n co-operation" wit h citizen s "in al l phases" of urban life. Thi s "Springfield Plan" was a curriculum that place d ethni c harmon y a t its center by promoting "respec t amon g the children for others" and combating "prejudice" by "making a search for the facts" (much as Allport might have prescribed). By 1946, the year of the movie, the program had achieved national fame , including a page in Vogue.69 But the movie as released was another story. It paid a high price for its goa l o f harmon y b y invokin g a classica l Hollywoo d closur e o n a happy note, whil e a t its core was a distinct lac k of faith i n its audience and eve n it s ow n principles . Racis m portrayed i n suc h grossl y Manichean term s falsel y set up a conflic t betwee n alien heavies and home town good guys, a formula that precluded showin g racism as toxic little cysts harbored b y otherwise decen t folk . Instead , in their edenic village Wilbur gives the audience a kindly storekeeper wit h a son in the army, the forme r playe d b y John Qualen , whos e Hollywoo d caree r playin g Swedes must have undermined th e credibility of his being marked of f as a victim of racists. One of the heavies—Arthur Hohl, who mad e a career of wild-eyed manics—enters the stor e dressed darkly, eyes set in a hard glint, canvassing votes ("if you know what's good for you"). In contrast, Knudsen th e storekeepe r i s a n amiabl e tinkerer , frien d t o kids , an d purveyor of tobacco and a little gossip. In classic Warners style an ensuing crescendo-montage o f violent rioting crackles with splintere d win dows and violate d churches, accompanie d b y a doomsday voiceover. It ends when flinty-faced heavies muttering ad-libs knock Knudsen to the floor and ransac k hi s shop . "Why him? " ask s his son , wounde d an d stil l i n uniform . Outsid e the shop , hi s budd y soberl y speak s t o tw o teacher s wh o carr y thei r dismay to a meeting so that we know that good people will not take the outrage in silence. Later one of the teachers leads Knudsen's son through her school full of pupils happily working at polyethnic living. Each child reports on his own subcultur e even a s a voice says they are "all American," an d in the end, the set awash in flags, they all sing "America."70 At this point th e formul a unavoidabl y erase s Africa n American s because many anecdotes begin with specifically Nazi oppression, which the children hav e fled , thereb y leavin g th e blac k kid s wit h th e unthinkabl y disharmonious tas k of indicting American racism. Thus the movie left its audience with a flag-draped ending that denied the audience an encounter with the specific racism that had motivated the school board, the city, and Warner s to act . Even then, th e studi o frette d tha t th e plethor a of interracial shot s surely would preclud e a run i n the South. 71 Few critic s reviewe d th e movie , bu t thos e wh o di d deduce d th e internal skirmishing that had softene d it s impact. Even OWI in its dying

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days though t tha t th e fil m inadvertentl y mad e mor e o f a cas e fo r th e fragility o f America n liberalis m than i t di d agains t racism . "Negativ e content," sai d their reviewer , an d a n exaggeratio n o f fascist influenc e that lef t audience s i n a mood o f "smug America n self-congratulation. " "Unsuitable," sh e said , for overseas viewing, "particularl y i n liberated areas" where Nazis m once ha d ruled. 72 Nonetheless, th e trade s and Africa n American s both wer e gratefu l for th e smal l favor . "Magnificent, " sai d Hollywood' s tow n crier , th e Reporter, eve n as it fretted over how "t o combin e goo d citizenship with good picture making." "Bravo, " said the PC A of Warners' "helpin g to increase harmony" that surely "will have a . . . valuabl e effect. "As for the classroo m version , a catalogue writer unwittingl y revealed the im posing odd s agains t such a valuable effect . " A natura l fo r your schoo l teachers," h e wrot e o f "the nea t stor y whic h . . . neatl y sidestep s a controversial issue. " Ebony, eve r searchin g fo r omen s o f "progress, " recounted the history of the Springfiel d pla n but let pass the erasure of a black teache r whil e cheerin g th e movi e a s "ti p top , [and ] no t to o preachy."73 In other words, Jack Warner had been prescient in his guess that racism was strong medicine that even liberals willingly averted their eyes from . Clearly, conscience-liberals were stumped by the problem of making the transitio n fro m the rol e of the nation' s partne r in a war agains t fascism t o tha t o f a loya l opposition ben t upo n perpetuatin g necessi tarian wa r aim s int o th e perpetuall y advancin g libera l futur e tha t th e documentarists had imagined. That is, from a wartime role as partner in the Doubl e V, when the y wer e coo l towar d voicin g divisive opinions , they needed t o move toward a willingness t o risk open fights over th e pace of change or the for m take n by the movie s that advocate d it. Like the mother i n the Jewish gallows-joke commenting o n her son's resolve to die killing a German rather than go quietly to the gas chamber, liberals had bee n admonished : "Don' t mak e trouble. " Soone r o r later , the y would nee d t o follo w th e lea d o f Variety's critic , wh o pointe d t o th e absurdity o f a Nordic victim after a world wa r ha d rage d agains t anti Semites and America had been rent by racial strife, a stance also taken by the Worker, which found the film provided "no bearing on the Jewish or Negro problem " an d therefor e le t th e viewe r of f scot-fre e wit h a "smug . . . attitude." 74 Yet thes e bland shorts , designed t o ensure tha t the buttere d side of reformism woul d lan d uppermost , di d breach conventio n an d di d test prospects for feature-lengt h films of advocacy. I n thi s context , It Happened in Springfield wa s a cautiou s gestur e founde d o n a hoped-fo r symbiosis betwee n idealis t makers o f films and thei r consumers , wh o were already open to new ideas such as location-shooting, psychological

sophistication, an d "neo-realism. " Take onl y on e instanc e o f their marketplace, Elizabeth Zut t o f Ev-

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ansville, Indiana, a moviegoer an d a n alumn a o f Wisconsin, where in digenous progressivism drew he r t o (once ) vote Socialist . In 1945 , sh e studied librarianship at Columbia and as a new Manhattanite embarke d on a rich round o f moviegoing that included It Happened in Springfield. Though movin g towar d th e politica l cente r b y then , sh e wrot e a fa n letter praising the "timely and needed fil m . . . whic h our whole country would do well to admire and follow, and [which ] is a fine example of what a determined democrac y can do." 75 In effect sh e spoke for a marketplace tha t th e author s o f President Truman' s To Secure These Rights sensed an d woul d play to. Together with other signs of change—the crumbling Hollywood oligopoly, the erosio n of censorship, the persistenc e of a "liberalism o f the heart" among writers, and the buying, if not yet the making, of political movies—these shor t movies kept open th e hop e o f reaching a film culture tha t seeme d read y fo r ne w things . Still , the y neede d a genre , a formula equivalent to the war movie and its lone black warrior. Selznick once wen t s o far as to us e Walte r White's colum n a s a classifie d a d t o recruit blac k me n an d wome n stor y editor s (eighty-fou r applied). Of course, no t al l mogul s behave d thi s way . A s on e o f White' s friend s reported: "Sinc e th e untimel y deat h o f Willki e th e movi e producer s have no t bee n s o eage r t o portra y th e Negr o i n hi s varie d an d tru e roles."76 Or as a tradepaper reporter asked: "Where does show business stand o n tolerance? " Nonetheless , despit e liberal skepticis m ther e re mained in Hollywood story departments, tradepapers, and independen t firms a predisposition to keep alive the liberalism that once had been a n official line . During th e summe r afte r It Happened in Springfield, fo r example , Sinclair Lewis settled on miscegenatio n a s the cor e o f his novel Kingsblood Royal, a fable that linked black and white lives and even included a black family that took up arms in self-defense, a n echo of an incident i n Detroit in the 1920s . Lewis, hoping to whet Hollywood's appetite, asked Hy Kraft (Stormy Weather] t o dramatize it even as Jerry Wald at Fox read it and asked Hopper to tout it in her column and Variety ra n on page one the story of the hot book whose race angle "hasn't dampened th e competition amon g th e studio s for a first gander." Perhaps displeased with Kraft's work or tepid black responses, Lewis let the idea drop in favor of a movi e o f hi s Cass Timberlane. In an y case , Lewis , no t Hollywood , seemed coo l to the idea. 77 But th e stor y department s presse d onwar d wit h al l sort s o f racial material: Lillian Smith's interracial melodrama Strange Fruit, Ci d Ricketts Sumner' s nove l Quality, Willia m L. White's Reader's Digest piec e about a "passing " blac k family , Ralp h Ellison' s complex anatom y o f black life The Invisible Man, on e o f them perhaps the first movie equivalent o f the punch y racial stuff o f Broadway plays like South Pacific an d Finian 's Rainbow.

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They were searching, but no one had ever seen the quarry. Was it an acutely sensitiv e blac k her o oppose d b y a gritt y cracker? Ye t anothe r folksy Remus ? A militant advocate of the race ? I f not a St . Louis fanc y lady, the n perhap s a n earthmother ? I n Selznick' s shop , fo r instance , nothing seeme d "right" ; everythin g snagge d between "to o ho t t o han dle o n film " an d merel y "interesting. " Som e proposal s almos t scored , particularly An n Petry' s The Street, a stor y o f "th e mixe d race s an d creeds in a Brooklyn street" that seemed "timely an d . . . worthy" ; o r the one about a white teacher in a black school where sh e learns "of race prejudice [and ] . . . plead s for [a] militant fight against color barriers," a story the reader thought "bear s watching"; or the "passing for white" story rule d ou t becaus e o f its "passive" Negr o who "remain s a victim rather than an actor in the tragedy"; or another rejecte d not so much for "the touch y subjec t o f miscegenation" a s it s "clums y handling " o f it. Some of course were dogs, such as the one reviewed as "a 20th rate cross between 'Uncl e Tom's Cabin ' an d 'Gon e wit h th e Wind,' " o r Angela DuMaurier's story of a blind pianist who marrie s a Eurasian, regains her sight, view s th e racis m around her , an d melodramaticall y restores her innocence b y surgically restoring her blindness! 78 Of course , thi s pursui t o f properties rarel y emerge d int o daylight, leaving th e impressio n o f a yawnin g gulf , a s Nive n Busch recalled it , between "ferven t attitudes " an d thi n "performance" ; an d betwee n manifestos such as Goldwyn's piece in the NUL' s Opportunity, i n whic h he claimed conversion to "social justice" a s a result of reading the Atlantic Charter, and Hollywood' s pitifully fe w films. 79 For the moment, then , the vacuum between wor d and deed lef t th e field to exploitation filmmakers who gauge d drif t i n order to cash in o n early returns of incipient fads. On e o f their products, The Burning Cross, appeared lat e in 1947 , an d no t onl y may hav e nudge d th e major s but drew black s into it s orbit both t o overprais e i t and t o defen d i t against censorship. It s makers , Walte r Colme s an d Aubre y Wisberg , patched together o n a $10,000 nut a team of underpaid actors, eight days' rental of th e ol d Chapli n studio, a kernel o f an ide a abou t a black man wh o infiltrates th e K u Klux Klan, and "a s littl e story as possible," creatin g a sensational movie that dre w the reluctant NAACP to its defense. "Tech nically we did not fee l th e pictur e was to o good, " sai d one office r wh o felt nonetheless compelle d to "support th e campaign to have the picture shown." Ebony, grateful fo r a sign , hyperbolically defined it as the an tidote to The Birth of a Nation that "movi e audience s have been waiting 30 years for," an d gav e the producer s a generous puf f i n which on e of them traced its source back to the lat e war an d hi s polyethnic guncrew who "mad e me reall y fee l wha t people coul d do when united." 80 Gradually, as the shorts units ground out their testaments to residual conscience-liberalism, the stor y departments riffled th e page s of properties in search of an angle, and the independents adventurously milked

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the so far untargeted marketplace, the majors returned t o their wartim e mode b y coyl y inserting racia l bits, al l of which libera l critic s spotted , called attentio n to , an d overpraised . Typically , in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948 ) Gussi e (Louis e Beavers ) wear s a unifor m s o antiseptic, so crisp as to suggest her workplace was a surgery rather tha n a kitchen. Moreover, sh e advances the plot when she comes up with the slogan her boss needs at his ad agency: "If it ain't Wham, i t ain't ham! " Indeed, al l maids seeme d more i n on th e action : I n Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) , she is among th e "littl e people" whose saving s are at risk; in Abie's Irish Rose (1946), she wishes the celebrants a "mazeltov"; in Cass Timberlane sh e i s Mrs. Higbe. What is more, Ebony and the press played up the trend a s though a continuum o r a movement. "Mrs . Higbe " go t two page s in which th e director Georg e Sidney said, "We didn' t wan t a Mammy o r a comedy character." A Southern child' s fable , Banjo, wa s praise d fo r its "intel ligent, adult, true-to-life Negro servants." And a musical turn i n A Song Is Born seemed " a lon g stride forward in bringing Americans of all races together." Moreover , th e principal s insiste d nothin g wa s a n accident . Anthony Quin n played an Indian i n Black Gold not becaus e a gig was a gig but "becaus e it' s abou t tim e we sho w tha t American s with darke r skins are humans"; Rex Ingram boasted tha t in Moonrise hi s black sage was "the bes t role ever written for a Negro"; and Robert Buckner, director of Rogue's Regiment, said he combined getting "away from the comic domestic role s [with ] . . . good , solid , equa l partfs ] . . . wit h n o preachment." An d always the movies seemed, as Ebony formulated it, a stride awa y fro m th e "prewa r ru t o f Dixie-minded presentation " an d grounded in "Worl d War II whe n racis m was mad e unpopula r by Hitler." Georg e Norford, writin g i n Opportunity, trace d i t t o firsthan d memories o f the war when movies like Lifeboat ha d don e "wonders for the morale of the Negro GI" while raising the black audience's expecta tion tha t "Hollywoo d woul d no t onl y continu e givin g Negroe s suc h roles, bu t i t would g o even further in terms o f film content."81 If this public utterance seems a little highflown, the link between th e war and politics colored even the most private thoughts of leftist moviemakers. Car l Foreman , wh o wrot e th e first of the impendin g messag e movies, alway s recalle d th e wa r a s a stag e i n hi s "politica l develop ment"; Abe Polonsky thought o f his own circl e as itching "t o def y th e conventions al l around us" ; Zanuc k admitte d t o Mos s tha t The Negro Soldier had helped point his own way toward "postwar change"; Robert Wise remembered that either his friends were "changed considerabl y by the war" o r they seeme d "old-fashioned" ; an d Irvin g Rapper remem bered Ronald Reagan on th e se t of The Voice of the Turtle predicting "th e day would come when we'd never use black men as 'help' i n movies." 82 The struggl e t o brin g forth substantiv e products from thi s ferment may be seen in the proces s of making several movies on th e ev e of the

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In Moonrise (1948) , Re x Ingram repeated hi s Sahara rol e as giver o f water t o white men, as though calculatedl y bearing wartime images of polyethnic harmony into peacetime. Copyrigh t Republi c Pictures . message movie cycle of 1949: Jules Levey and Herbert Biberman's homage to black music, New Orleans (1947) ; Fox's reworking o f the planta tion legend fro m Fran k Yerby' s book The Foxes of Harrow (1947); th e pacifist trac t The Boy with the Green Hair (1947) ; and Body and Soul (1947), Ab e Polonsky's boxing yarn as allegory for unrestrained capitalism. Each one o f these movies, save for Body and Soul, compromised it s race angl e o n it s way t o th e screen , bu t togethe r the y too k step s tha t stoked the libera l audience's hope s fo r a political cinema. In thi s sens e the y almos t constitute d a genre calle d Fain t o f Heart. New Orleans, as an instance, began well enough with a daring black cast of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, and Meade Lux Lewis, and a hidden agenda designed to "break some Hollywood . . . stereotypes," t o place "blacks and whites . . . together " i n dramatic exchange, and to have a final cut s o tightly crafted a s to leave "no footag e that Dixie can conve niently cu t out. " Indeed , thei r openin g montag e unde r th e mai n title s was probably the finest piece of black history eve r put int o a movie, a n evocative threa d tha t carrie d blacks from Afric a throug h th e ordea l of "the middl e passage" t o America , an d thenc e t o Storyvill e an d th e founding o f jazz.83 The Foxes of Harrow began with equal ambition, grounded as it wa s

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in a "first, " a boo k b y th e blac k novelis t Fran k Yerb y t o whic h 20t h Century-Fox gav e a big budget, massive advertising, and presold word of-mouth in the form of pickups by three book clubs, sales of a milliontwo i n its first year, and a rousing bidding tourney fo r its movie rights. The Boy with the Green Hair began even more auspiciously, albeit backed by more slender means. Its makers consciously set out to make a pacifist fable i n whic h gree n hai r wa s to b e a simile for brown skin . The RKO film came from no fewer than half a dozen lefties: producers Schary and Adrian Scott , writer s Be n Barzma n an d Alfre d Lewi s Levitt , directo r Joseph Losey, and likeminded actors. In their movie a new boy comes to town bearin g hi s stigmat a because , a s he says , "I a m a wa r orphan" ; thus, althoug h h e i s not specificall y black , nonetheles s he i s an Othe r capable of serving in two campaigns, against both racism and war. But as though lackin g fait h i n thei r thrust , th e fil m lose s itsel f i n sidebar s of xenophobia, conformity , an d zealotry , thereb y passin g u p a n oppor tunity much lik e that in the stagin g of It Happened in Springfield, a neat conflict o f ideas, i n thi s case perhaps a sor t o f children's crusade. 84 But somethin g happene d o n th e wa y t o th e screen . I n th e cas e of New Orleans th e stor y lapse d int o conventional , safe r Hollywoo d ro mance wit h marketabl e white s a t it s center an d black s shrinking int o atmospheric roles . At best its contribution t o keeping alive the politics of genre film came in the for m o f Ebony's obligator y overpraise, whic h a t least contribute d t o the pitc h o f audience expectation. 85 As for The Foxes of Harrow, almost fro m th e da y th e boo k cam e t o hand Darryl Zanuck saw it for its black angle embedded i n conventiona l plantation legend stuff . And from beginning t o end it was in the hands of race-conscious people, fro m th e writer Wanda Tuchock , who ha d written Hallelujah!, Joh n M. Stahl , who ha d directe d In Old Kentucky an d Imitation of Life, an d eventuall y Joe Breen , who remaine d a n imposin g arbiter of black material. In the beginning it seemed that they might tur n out a real black film. Knowing Yerby an d hi s book, blac k Los Angeles stood i n lin e a t cattl e calls o r rea d fo r the meat y part s o f Achille, th e rebellious slave, and La Belle Sauvage, who tries to drown her son rather than raise him a slave. And the n Zanuck began t o chip awa y a t its substance. I n a n earl y story conference in 1946 , h e brought the staf f u p shor t b y defining the theme as a struggle for happiness whil e drivin g ruthlessly to the top— a hot topi c fo r postwa r American s alread y readin g Sloa n Wilson' s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Thereafter , th e blac k stor y i n it s everdiminishing version s stirre d onl y a s thoug h behin d thi s whit e libera l scrim. Zanuc k already kne w th e PG A would requir e th e cuttin g o f an "octaroon" and her liaison with the rakish hero. And as the white story loomed eve r larger , one b y on e th e blac k part s shrank : Tant e Caleen because the PCA proscribed voodoo arcana, the slaves in order to reduce the tensio n betwee n black s an d whites , a slav e insurrectio n because

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interracial violence would not pass, and so on, all of it fully three months before Tuchoc k took u p he r work. 86 The Boy with the Green Hair suffere d no t s o much fro m artisti c cold feet a s from th e takeove r o f RKO by the conservativ e Howard Hughes, which brought in its wake the cutting of an already modest budget and a new produce r who , Levit t recalled, seeme d t o hove r "aroun d a lot. " Even before, the makers lacked faith i n their audience. As Paul Hollister of RK O tol d Scott , thei r pacifis t angl e woul d dra w fir e fro m "Mr . Smotcreck Wisenheimer , cryin g 'propaganda, ' 'documentary / etc. " I n the end, like the silent soldier playing pinball in Till the End of Time, their politics survived only in traces. True, Otherness remained centra l in that it motivated the heavies, but it surfaced only in the odd throwaway lin e as when a milkma n ask s the quer y tha t alread y mad e liberal s wince : Would you want you r daughte r t o marry one? 87 In th e en d al l o f thes e pressures—formula , marketplace, censors , and simpl y the boss' s taste—reflecte d the continuin g promis e o f raceangled films if not thei r imminen t arrival . In th e bi g scene i n New Orleans, what seem s like a tidal wave of white denizen s of Storyville being banished by the cop s is marked only by two black figures. In The Foxes of Harrow, Bree n had hi s way an d gon e wer e th e wisp s of anything tha t might have been a "Negro problem" or cause trouble in the South: no t only Caleen' s voodoo , bu t th e sexua l magnetism betwee n Achill e and Belle, and an embrace between a white mistress and a child-slave. And most politically weighty, "Little Inch," a slave who gre w into rebellious adulthood i n th e book , remain s a chil d throughou t th e movie . Thu s Yerby's outsized overturning o f the plantation legen d became a formula romance whose greatest accomplishment wa s its one hundred an d thirty black extras. Even so, a national weekly, Time, praised the surviving bits of "more than ordinary interest i n the slave s and thei r lives, " religion, firelight dances, the hawkers and "arabs" of the streets, and the peopling of a vast sugar estate. As for The Boy with the Green Hair, Variety greete d the remain s o f its original motif with a n arc h headline : "Bo y wit h th e Green Hair Given Shampoo." 88 This lef t Body and Soul a s th e sol e survivo r of a tentativ e effor t t o hold ope n th e doo r o f hope fo r politica l fil m o n th e cus p o f HUAC' s return t o Hollywood . Th e movi e ha d everything : a shrewdl y crafte d script fro m a n activ e lefty , a blac k ma n playe d wit h quie t strength , a John Garfield proletarian role set down in the sleazy cosmos of boxing, a film noir texture at the peak of its vogue, and a release date that scoope d the majors . More tha n an y othe r movi e o f its time it played a political angle with a minimu m o f compromise and , a t leas t for one bi g scene , with a black figure a t its center. It lacked only a denouement i n which a black characte r had a n investment . Not onl y di d th e movi e provide a tragic black man, but unlike many political movies its makers promoted it with bold directness. In fact, Enterprise , the smal l independent maker,

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Politically, The Foxes of Harrow (1947)—Fran k Yerby' s mauve tale o f the an tebellum South—suffere d whe n Little Inch, the chil d o f Belle and Achille , re mained a child on th e edg e of the fram e instea d o f growing a s he di d in th e novel, into a rebellious adult. Copyrigh t 20t h Century-Fox . seemed itsel f a sig n o f a ne w Hollywoo d i n tha t i n a departur e fro m custom, Ban k o f America len t mone y t o a politically focused indepen dent. Th e creative team—Charle s Einfeld , formerly a publicity ma n fo r the majors, young filmmakers such as Robert Wise and Don Weis, alon g with the me n o f the left , write r Polonsky an d directo r Rober t Rossen — did not fai l them in an age when, as Nora Sayre wrote, soo n "the topica l would b e profitable." 89 They began wit h the boxing racke t a s Polonsky's analo g t o capitalism, Garfield' s memory o f life i n th e street s of New York , and a share d fondness for Odets's Golden Boy, in which Garfiel d ha d onc e playe d an d in whic h Polonsk y sa w a n "origina l sense " underneat h it s venee r o f "literary" cachet . Ye t another perhap s unconsciou s memor y wa s Gar field's old performance i n Humoresque (1946), a Warner Bros , mixtur e of Fanni e Hurst' s nove l an d th e tailing s o f Odets' s biopi c o f Gershwi n into whic h h e ha d wove n thread s o f Golden Boy.90 For Be n Chaplin , th e worn , braindamage d blac k boxe r wh o ha s become trainer to Charley Davis (Garfield), they chose Canada Lee, who shared both their leftish politics and their New York roots, as well a sense of Stampp' s "white men wit h blac k skins. " A s Lee explained, h e like d

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the scrip t because not onl y did he no t nee d t o sa y "Yessuh, boss," but "nowhere in the entire film is the word 'Negro ' used." For Polonsky the Lee role provided an opportunity to use "a black man whose self-esteem is a t stake " an d a devic e "t o us e th e blac k t o def y th e convention s around us. " O n the se t the moo d wa s on e o f bright hope s tha t bot h Hollywood an d th e audienc e wer e read y fo r them ; a s thoug h fine tuning, Polonsk y lingered o n th e se t as a hedge agains t the residu e of Odets's "false notes" and to rein in any urge of Rossen's to tinker should he be carried away by the headiness of the "time of interesting ideas."91 As released Body and Soul remained true to its bleak urban landscape of pre y an d predators—boxer s an d thei r owners—i n whic h me n ar e used and discarde d like implements. Charle y Davis is one o f the boxers, clawing his way out of the Lowe r East Side, taking up the value s of the bigtimers and thei r har d women , discardin g family an d friend s o n th e way up. Only Ben, the black ex-pug, clings to him like a conscience that will no t b e stilled . Ben' s scene , th e centerpiec e o f th e movie , come s when Charley's owners arriv e at the darkened camp at the end of training, hopin g t o separat e Be n an d Charle y in orde r t o focu s th e latter' s attention o n the fight they plan for him to throw. Be n refuses t o leave, but under the stress he cracks and begins fighting a snarling shadow bout with himsel f an d som e long-gon e opponent , unti l h e set s loose i n hi s brain the embolus that will kill him. At last Charley learns integrity from the dying Ben, his "last tie with decency, " and wins rather tha n thro w his last fight, which woul d hav e enriched th e heavies . The movie end s on the archetypa l Garfiel d line . "What are you gonna do, kill me?" he asks. "Everybod y dies. " Obviousl y it wa s Garfield' s movie , bu t a t it s moral and dramatic center was the chiaroscuro performance by Canada Lee as Ben, dancing his ballet of death, the clarity of which provided th e ethical bridge between th e complaisan t Charley and th e resolute Charley. Without the sacrificia l presence o f the trainer , Body and Soul would have bee n onl y anothe r priz e rin g melodrama . Bu t a blac k role ha d made a movie work.92 What is more, moviegoers noticed. The makers, wondering whethe r the "progressive-minded" moo d o n the set leached into the movie, giddily heard tha t HUA C ha d brande d i t "subversive." The black press as well as Crowther in the Times caught it. "It is Canada Lee who bring s to focus th e horribl e patho s o f th e cruell y exploite d priz e fighter, " h e wrote. "A s a Negro ex-champion .. . h e shows throug h grea t dignity and reticenc e th e ful l measur e o f his articulat e scor n fo r th e gree d o f shrewd men who have enslaved him. . . . Th e inclusion of this portrait is one o f the fine r thing s of the film." 93 Even in a thermidorean age , one thing leads to another. Coincident with the release, RKO bought Joseph Moncure March's The Set-Up, an d Selznick weighe d th e purchas e o f Bud d Schulberg' s The Harder They Fall. Bot h wer e storie s o f boxer s wh o los e crucia l matche s an d titl e

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In Body and Soul (1948 ) Abraha m Polonsky's scrip t drew an aci d parallel between the boxin g gam e an d capitalis m by using th e falle n blac k Be n (Canad a Lee) a s its victim. BFI. Copyright United Artists . shots, th e forme r because o f his color , th e latte r becaus e h e i s a naiv e Argentine giant who might well have been better played as black. Particularly in The Set-Up, th e tension between politics and profit surfaced. At first its makers' goa l was a film noir that revealed the bigotry visited upon blacks because the y were black . As late a s the fal l o f 1948 , it s intended black star, James Edwards, was portrayed in the press puffs a s the star of Deep Are the Roots an d give n to p billing. 94 Then the y brushe d agains t th e fact s o f Hollywood life : Mor e tha n any othe r studio , RK O polled audience s i n searc h o f indicators o f star quality. Along came Rober t Ryan—Dartmouth alumnus, colleg e boxer , promising actor—wh o ha d rotte d i n B-movie s unti l a strea k o f goo d roles i n wa r movie s raise d hi s profile . Nex t t o thi s loomin g bul k wa s Edwards, no t onl y unseasone d bu t know n for his restraint rathe r tha n magnetism. Unavoidabl y the director , Rober t Wise, sa w no "blac k sta r with sufficien t nam e valu e t o carr y th e film " and , turnin g t o Ryan , changed the story into a restrike of Body and Soul.95 What an erasure: As written Edward s might hav e bee n i n Garfield' s rol e a s victim of whit e heavies, a situation painfully clos e to reality, and woul d hav e tossed off the maste r lin e "everybod y dies " o r somethin g lik e it!

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As i n Till the End of Time, a blac k literar y source o f The Set-Up (1947)— a Joseph Moncur e Marc h poem—gav e way t o marke t demands , resultin g in a starring rol e fo r Robert Rya n (right) an d a supportin g rol e fo r James Edwards (left), bot h here being addresse d b y thei r director , Robert Wise. Copyright United Artists.

Nevertheless, Polonsky's Body and Soul had introduce d a black protagonist to the cente r of the frame , an d give n him a moral authority to which whit e peopl e must respond. It remained fo r others to transform Ben's vignette into the centra l theme o f a genre. As Polonsky recalled, when Body and Soul scored a hit it "delivered int o our hands . . . tha t big Hollywoo d machine"—for a while , anyway. 96 Durin g which tim e the messag e movie cycl e was abou t to begin.

8 "A Pot of Message"

We have see n a n accretio n o f black figures intrude int o whit e movies , challenging th e thermidorea n inertia , keepin g ope n th e prospec t o f a moral equivalent of the war, erraticall y deconstructing the convention s that had located them on the margin of the movie frame, and providing a basis fo r th e PG A to challeng e Souther n censors . The y lacke d onl y a formula (an d perhaps a crisis to propel them), a voice of advocacy, a new calculus of dramatic questing and conflict , and o f course a studio willing to tak e th e risks , develop it within th e system , and provid e heroic op tions othe r tha n happy endings . The moguls, being wha t the y were—overseer s o f the stockholders ' profits—took t o hear t th e possibilitie s of The Quiet One and Body and Soul eve n a s the y searche d fo r a riskfre e mean s o f dramatizin g thei r political line. The vehicle they chose a s a prototype was a cycle of films that attacke d anti-Semitism , an unexpecte d tacti c for moguls avers e to treating th e plac e o f Jews i n America n life fo r fea r tha t t o assai l bigots would only stir them to action. As in their gingerly treating black properties, at first too many stor y departments followe d the line of a reader in Selznick's sho p wh o i n 194 6 reckone d Hug h Massingham' s nove l o f anti-Semitism The Harp and the Oak "a subject much too hot to handle." Yet within a year, as Garson Kanin recalled discussing with Goldwyn the future o f Gwethalyn Graham's Earth and High Heaven, "anti-Semitis m was in" and not only "saleable" but "fashionable."1 In that same sum-

mer, Variety reporte d the ambiguity, first praising Schary's Crossfire a s "a 215

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hard-hitting film whose whodunni t aspect s are fundamentally incidental t o th e overal l thesi s o f race bigotry, " whil e notin g i n passin g tha t RKO ha d decide d t o pla y i t of f "as whodunnit , san s an y anti-Semiti c reference."2 The mogul s ha d struggle d mightil y t o overcom e thei r customar y reticence towar d th e topic . Eve n Hitle r coul d no t brea k thei r silence . Zanuck's The House of Rothschild (1933 ) ha d succeede d i n renderin g Nathan Rothschild, the international Jewis h banker , a s a foxy grandpa , and Willia m Dieterle's The Life ofEmile Zola, as we have seen, managed to center its dramatic conflict on the anti-Semitism of the French army' s scandalous Dreyfu s cas e withou t onc e utterin g th e wor d Jew. U p t o 1940, the issue was left entirely to independents suc h as Charles Chaplin and hi s parody of Hitler, The Great Dictator. What is more, urbane critics such as Crowther of the Times caught the lapse as in The Mortal Storm, an anti-Nazi fil m tha t coyl y calle d Jew s "non-Aryans, " resultin g in , sai d Crowther, "a los t opportunity" to tell Americans "the ligh t in Germany went out." 3 Once the war began, of course, the rules changed and anti-Semitism became a s muc h a par t o f propaganda a s ha d th e cultivatio n o f black loyalty. Indeed , cooll y fightin g besid e Epp s i n Bataan wa s Corpora l Feingold; defendin g the Doolittl e raiders in The Purple Heart wa s Lieu tenant Wayn e Greenbaum ; fightin g besid e A l Schmid t i n Pride of the Marines was the legendary mortarman Le e Diamond; an d in Till the End of Time a Marine slugs a bigot on behal f of a dead Jewish buddy . Even after th e wa r the y survived , although i n maudli n formula s such a s Al Jolson's filiopietisti c biopic , th e assimilationis m o f th e remak e o f th e quarter-century-old Abie's Irish Rose, and odd recapitulations of the wa r such a s A Walk in the Sun an d Sands of Iwo Jima.4 But underneat h th e surfac e patho s th e reluctanc e t o corne r th e rough beast of anti-Semitism remained, alon g with th e fea r o f stirring it up. Tomorrow the World (1944) , The Stranger (1946), and The House I Live In (1946), all wearing their liberalism on their sleeves, all ducked its implications. A s we hav e seen , Sinatr a cut s of f a ki d i n hi s shor t fil m before he can say the name of the religion the urchins are persecuting. In The Stranger an escaped war criminal comes to a Connecticut village, but not a single citizen can cope with him and he finally dies impaled upon a clockwork condottier e i n a clocktowe r wher e h e ha s hidden . An d i n Tomorrow the World th e American s are s o daunted b y a refuge e Hitler Jugend i n their midst, so at a loss to win him over , so at risk of infection by his racism, that one character despairs. "If we cannot solv e the problem of one Nazi child now," h e says, "heaven help them afte r the war. " The restrain t was eve n agree d to b y OW I and th e AJC . When Lowel l Mellett though t i t "unwis e fro m th e standpoin t of Jews themselve s to have a picture dealing solely with Hitler's treatment of their people," th e AJC agreed upon a story of Nazi rapacity directed at "all civilian popula-

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tions" rather tha n the "particular traged y visited upon th e Jews."5 And when Jew s trie d t o creat e a Jewis h advisor y counci l i n Hollywood , Mendel Silberberg , a veteran studi o lawyer, warne d tha t "i t woul d b e unfortunate i f Hollywood were t o place too much emphasi s o n Jewis h issues."6 Even after th e brie f cycle of Jewish theme s ha d begun , Lyman Munson o f Fox urged a prologue for overseas audiences explaining that anti-Semites were "few" an d resisted by "unafraid champions." And in the stor y departments the y routinely asked, "Are audience s read y for it yet?" To which cam e the routine answer: " I don't think so. " O f course, critics noticed, as Variety di d in finding, for example, My Girl Tisa (1947) a "Jewis h 'Goin g My Way.'"7 The two most famous of the cycle almost died of institutional reluctance, coupled wit h th e objection s of the AJC , which allegedl y tried to steer Warne r theatre s fro m bookin g Crossfire, an d wit h unpromisin g audience samplings . Adria n Scott , th e producer , an d hi s director , Edward Dymytrk, had engaged John Paxton to adapt Richard Brooks's The Brick Foxhole an d it s homosexua l murde r victi m int o a fil m abou t a Jewish victim , to be produced at RKO under Schary' s domain for a lean budget o f $500,000. 8 Despite thei r fears , Crossfire a s release d showe d tha t th e marke t would bear a conscience-liberal theme if set in a familiar style, even if, as in this case, the AJC' s organ Commentary lashe d ou t a t its "half-bake d 'progressive' catchword s . . . slippe d int o a routine catchpenn y thril ler" tha t surel y invite d th e "boomeran g effect " tha t s o man y Jew s feared. Elliot t Cohen's Commentary notwithstanding , th e movi e turne d out a s a goo d film noir se t i n a darklin g urba n scen e wher e moralit y comes ou t o f a wallet, wome n hav e har d edge s and sof t hearts, snub nosed pistol s ar e th e onl y lif e insurance , an d th e saloo n pianoplaye r knows mor e histor y tha n Herodotus . A nameless , vaguel y Jewish , schnook, perhap s a slacker during th e war , ha s bee n bumpe d off . The shrewd co p assigned to the case surmises an acerbi c virulence as a motive an d engage s a slightl y cynical , modishl y libera l vetera n (Rober t Mitchum) t o trap the kille r by baiting him int o revealin g his hatred of Jews. Th e resul t wa s a nea t smal l victory : Scot t an d Senar y publicly rebutted Commentary an d th e urba n pres s agreed , th e Times awardin g them as "A for effort" despit e a wish for a still tougher line of argument. 9 They made som e money wit h a little movie about a social issue, earne d mentions i n variou s "best " lists , an d signale d t o Hollywoo d that , a s Variety phrase d it , "th e idea that pictures o n controversia l subject s are questionable a t th e b . o . [bo x office ] ha s bee n wel l beate n ove r th e head," a point extende d b y Schar y and Gregor y Peck, sta r of the nex t film in the cycle, Gentleman's Agreement, in Negro Digest pieces in which they invoked the war as the source of the trend and called for specifically black messag e movies.10 Like Crossfire, 20t h Century-Fox' s (an d Zanuck's ) Gentleman's

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Agreement began as a toughminded assaul t on bigotry that eroded in the process o f moviemaking an d wa s release d a s less "hardhitting" than it began. It was an A-movie from the beginning, under the personal super vision o f Zanuck , base d upo n Laur a Z . Hobson's Book-of-the-Mont h selection, wit h a script by the dramatis t Moss Hart, and directe d by Elia Kazan, a wunderkin d wit h tw o hit s i n tw o tries— A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Boomerang. They went after unusual sophistication, particularly in portraying subtle Jewish mentalitie s suc h as covert fears of "th e wrong kin d . . . th e kike y ones who'l l give us a bad name," intellectuals for whom Jewishness wa s no mor e tha n a state of mind an d per haps " a matter of pride," and even a character who voiced Hollywood' s fear tha t exposur e "wil l onl y sti r it up again. " The only thin g missin g was Jews; Fo x was the "goy studio, " and of the entire unit only Hart was Jewish.11 Never mind tha t the anti-Semite came across as so contemptibly oily that, as Senior Scholastic had sai d of Crossfire, "mos t semiconscious anti Semites will just comfortably set themselves apart from him." Th e movie as release d wa s slic k and star-lade n a s agains t Crossfire, a mer e genr e film, and seeme d a sig n that movie s coul d b e "significant " an d enter taining.12 Eve n Commentary liked i t fo r locatin g anti-Semitis m i n th e minds o f ordinary American s rathe r tha n making i t a tic of murderous crazies. Moreover , poll s reveale d tha t audience s displaye d " a signifi cantly more favorable attitude towards Jews," an angl e that mus t hav e prodded black advocates of message movies. Everyone loved it and found it " a credi t to th e screen" : Hedd a Hopper, Variety, PM, Hollywood Reporter, Crowthe r i n th e Times, an d th e regiona l press. 13 Award s an d honors followed : "ten best" lists, three Oscars , a On e World Award , a Unity Awar d t o Pec k b y Cale b Peterson' s integrationis t grou p i n Lo s Angeles.14 The impac t surel y wa s no t los t o n blacks , rangin g fro m thos e a t Peterson's affai r to those who read a Variety reprin t in the Sentinel warning that "i f race hatred grow s in America the foundation s of our society are weakened. " Insid e th e NAAC P flurrie s o f memoranda urge d ne w ideas and alliance s with mogul s from Zanuc k to J. Arthur Rank in London. George Norford summe d i t up for his Opportunity readers : "Havin g at last mustered the courage to do films on such a controversial issue, it is but anothe r ste p for Hollywood to tal k about prejudic e against the Negro."15 And Hollywood wa s watching. No t so much th e blacks but th e box office. An d fro m th e sale s departments t o the commissarie s th e studio s began t o buil d a fram e o f mind simila r to that whic h ha d guide d the m during th e war . Dor e Schar y phrased i t t o hi s salesme n i n it s mature form in late 194 9 afte r th e messag e movie cycle had move d int o its full ahead mode. As he greeted his conventioneers after takin g over production at Metro, he allowed the corporate cheerleading and the parading of

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Gentleman's Agreement (1948) provided a sor t o f shakedown cruis e for mes sage movies , even outreachin g th e eventua l race-angle d movie s i n their us e of a wider rang e o f Jewish characterization , caugh t her e i n severa l response s to anti-Semitism . BFI. Copyright 20th Century-Fox .

worthies to die down before introducing the new line, included in which was William Faulkner's racial morality tale Intruder in the Dust. "Don't be afraid o f that term—social background," h e warned. "'Crossfire ' ha d social background , an d di d fine. " I n othe r words , h e promise d the m both politic s an d profit s a s thoug h i n Culve r City , a t least , on e coul d serve the Lor d and ge t paid fo r it. 16 Later that summer, I. H. Prinzmetal, a friend o f Schary's in the legal department, summe d u p th e moo d i n a memorandu m t o Schary . "Things Ar e Improving at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer," h e wrot e as a pref ace to retellin g a meanspirited even t i n 193 9 whe n he invite d a classmate named Ralp h Bunche to lunch at the commissary an d was turned away. "Wha t the hel l is the ide a of inviting a nigge r to the Commis sary?" aske d its manager o n the telephone. "Ho w woul d yo u like to see the Commissar y ful l o f niggers?" 17 Perhap s Prinzmetal' s reminiscenc e was triggere d b y th e new s tha t afte r fiv e year s o f postwa r tinkering , Hollywood, including his own studio , had entere d upo n the 194 9 message movi e cycle . Fro m sprin g throug h autum n o f 194 9 th e studio s brought forth Stanle y Kramer's Home of the Brave, Louis DeRochmont's Lost Boundaries, Darry l Zanuck' s Pinky, Clarenc e Brown's Intruder in the Dust, and Josep h Mankiewicz's No Way Out. Together they signaled

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the openin g o f an er a warme d b y a sens e o f urgency arisin g fro m no t only the mone y being earned by Crossfire o r Gentleman's Agreement but also a sense that the four years of maturing since the war placed them o n the verg e o f the mos t importan t peacetim e er a o f race relation s sinc e Reconstruction. Indeed, that these movies grew so quickly to seem corny and date d testifie d t o their arriva l early on i n the ne w age . These films became th e cycl e that carrie d the centra l metapho r o f integrationism int o th e civi l rights movement: th e lon e Negro , or small cell of them bein g introduce d int o a larger white grou p who woul d b e told tha t the y wil l be bette r fo r the experience . Thu s the metapho r o f lone blac k warrior thrus t amon g a white platoon , whic h had been put forth a s an icon of a multiethnic war effort , an d blossome d into legend s such as those of Colin Kelly, Meyer Levin, and Dori c Miller, was revived on th e nation' s screen s in 194 9 i n a peacetime version . Although w e shal l tak e the m u p a s the y appeared , th e messag e movies wer e i n n o wa y par t o f a time d o r planne d pattern . Quit e th e opposite; thei r release s wer e coincidental , ofte n rushing , eve n stum bling, into the theatres. However, as an evolving genre they acted like a collective solutio n t o a n aesthetic , commercial , an d politica l problem . Although the y learned little from eac h other , the y half-forme d th e ag e they wer e half-forme d by . They had i n common onl y a hero who wa s unobtrusive, unthreatening, muc h lik e the lon e westerne r o r film noir private ey e wh o i s in societ y i f not alway s of it, wh o alter s societ y by compelling its facing up to a character-defining incident, and who leaves them th e bette r for it. The writers , o f course , ha d thei r hand s full , adaptin g a formul a familiar t o generation s o f moviegoers an d dime-nove l readers ; tellin g audiences that, much as the Metro commissary sensed itsel f "ready" for Ralph Bunche in 194 7 when in 193 9 it had no t been so, they too wer e "ready." And finally, they neede d t o create a black culture and famil y into whic h t o wra p th e her o wh o ha d stoo d alon e i n 1944 . N o mor e melting pots : tosse d sala d perhaps , o r a paint-spattere d floor , o r eve n black an d whit e pian o key s playin g i n harmony , bu t n o crucible s of identity. Ye t another matte r o f public policy—veterans' benefits—had already begun to alter the place of African American s in the society and to provide heretofore unthinkable opennes s o f opportunity. Even as the movies presente d black s as paragons o f heroic virtue , th e so-calle d GI Bill o f Rights, through federa l housin g program s an d it s provisions for access t o educatio n an d training , admitte d black s t o a meritocrac y i n much th e manne r tha t Ardrey' s Jeb had dramatized . Thu s the movie s paralleled actual social change to which Americans would need to adjust even as the movie changes half-formed othe r social changes yet to come. Between th e sprin g of 194 9 an d earl y 1950 , one b y on e th e film s enacted shard s o f thi s libera l politics. I n eac h th e plo t unfolde d i n a cleanlined narrativ e that too k th e viewe r b y th e han d throug h issues ,

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conflicts, an d denouement s betwee n insisten t black s an d thei r moss backed white adversaries. At the center were ordinary folk who, lik e the audiences, were obliged to make up their minds by the last reel. Replacing th e platoo n o r the submarin e i n thi s formul a was th e smal l town, hospital, o r othe r socia l circle . Se t dow n i n it s mids t wa s th e blac k protagonist, ofte n s o laden wit h virtu e as to invit e carping fro m critic s who thought he tainted the message, yet, as Kramer said, so decent as to oblige the viewer to regard race as the only reaso n fo r discrimination. In this mode th e movie s aske d audience s t o raise their fait h onl y a notc h higher t o include a black hero wh o teache s the m tha t h e i s entitled t o intrude o n thei r monopol y o f privilege, tha t h e ha s bee n harme d b y people like themselves, bu t tha t n o grudg e will intrud e o n thei r prospects for interracial harmony, an d tha t th e white s wil l be the bette r for the experience . Of the m all , the first into releas e most calculatedl y drew upo n th e war movi e genre as a basis for its inclusion of African Americans , while carrying it further into th e psychi c damages of racism and a n anticipa tion o f black entry into economi c sector s of American life : Home of the Brave was it s ironic title. The second release , Lost Boundaries, extended the formula to embrace an entire black family by setting them down in a sleepy whit e village . Pinky, th e thir d o f them , se t fort h th e term s o f integration as a Gramscian bargain in which both blacks and whites had a stake. The movie of William Faulkner's race relations fable Intruder in the Dust define d blac k experienc e a s bot h entwine d wit h whit e an d morally superior to it, so that a conflict in which the attainment o f black dignity i s at stak e could en d wit h whit e recognitio n tha t a n inflexibl y honorable ol d Negro becomes "th e conscienc e o f us all. " After thes e film s ha d thei r brie f day , the y ha d helpe d defin e th e terms of almost every B-movie and programme r tha t followed, some of which introduce d ne w an d interestin g complexity . On e o f th e goo d B-movies, The Jackie Robinson Story, trace d its hero's intrusio n into th e lilywhite preserve of major league baseball, "the nationa l pasttime." Bu t it also dug more deeply into black and white fears of change offset by the comforts of holding onto things as they were. A major movie of 1950, No Way Out, personalized the issue by hanging the dramatic conflict o n th e obligation o f black an d whit e middl e classe s to ac t o r ris k leavin g th e field t o eithe r whit e racist s o r blac k revanchists . I n thei r way s the y proposed a libera l maturing towar d a health y regar d fo r ster n conse quences rathe r tha n sweetl y turned endings . As thoug h reviewin g plane geometr y befor e introducing pupils to solid, Stanley Kramer's Home of the Brave arrived first and recapitulated the ideology of wartime conscience-liberalism with its central configuration, th e whit e comba t platoon into whic h i s dropped th e lon e Negr o who set s in motion the socia l drama, challenges the whites' complacent racial ideologies, marks their lives by his black presence, and i n the las t

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reel brings out, fo r better or worse, wha t the whites have within them selves. By means of his fable, Kramer linked the conscience-liberalism of the war wit h its extensio n in the age of To Secure These Rights. An entrepreneurial, inventiv e produce r o f New Deal-is h leaning, Kramer had learne d a bit of the busines s in the Signa l Corps and i n mailrooms and office s o n th e movielots , but entere d productio n onl y through th e ranks of the proliferating independents. Joining with Enterprise, the firm that had don e Body and Soul, he bought a property he hoped t o ride in the slipstrea m of the cycl e of anti-Semitism movies. 18 His company resonated with a leftist sens e of mission inherited fro m the war. The writer, Car l Foreman, spen t the wa r maturing from Dead End Kids B-movies like Spooks Run Wild t o working on Capra's Why We Fight, durin g whic h h e sometime s "sa t aroun d th e researc h depart ment" o n Wester n Avenu e wit h Carlto n Moss ; later , a t Astoria , h e would become "good friends" with Kramer. 19 Mark Robson, the director, ha d com e fro m Va l Lewton's uni t a t RK O to Kramer' s firs t hit , Champion, his family's conservative upbringing already leached away by his drift toward Marxism and the NAACP's "concept of fair play." Other leftists include d Georg e Glass, who woul d appea r o n on e o f HUAC' s lists; Lloyd Bridges, a lapsed Communist; and Jef f Corey , an acto r wh o made the list s of no fewe r than three HUAC witnesses. Their financing came from a private investor, Robert Stillman, rather than from conven tional Hollywood channels. They would shoot their movie in the slightly outlaw atmosphere that tight budgets demanded an d in the secrecy that Kramer required both t o scoo p th e competitio n an d t o generate atten tion a t the right moment. 20 But wha t o f the script , which was , afte r all , Arthur Laurents's play about anti-Semitism? "Why don't we turn him into a black?" someon e asked a s they began t o adapt Laurents to the screen . "Anti-Semitism' s been done." From this perhaps too-good-to-be-true beginning, Robson and Foreman "prett y muc h di d the script without [Kramer], " Foreman playing lefty t o Robson's mediator. The script thus negotiated the rapids between th e "blatan t propaganda " favore d by Foreman an d Kramer' s standing wis h fo r a Hollywoo d ending—the classi c Hollywood hedg e against alienating the audienc e fro m it s wish for the familiar . Foreman contributed a combat-shocked black soldier who spill s out a lifetime of repressed rag e a t th e clima x o f his "cure, " whil e Krame r insisted o n using the therapy to semaphore th e liberal notion tha t all men are "th e same." Foreman' s lin e anticipate d a futur e o f not readil y assimilated black militants, while Kramer's wrote in an escape clause through which the black hero could be integrated, a new edition of the liberal line taken during th e war—tha t the blac k presence , if troublesome, was als o susceptible t o integration.21 With a script in hand, they cast James Edwards, a Knoxville College alumnus, vetera n of the 92n d Division i n Ital y an d soli d experienc e in

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Deep are the Roots. Fo r tw o weeks , a s planned , the y sho t i n secret , concealing Edwards from view in the guise of a sleep-in janitor, rehearsing at home, viewing army propaganda films, waiting for their moment to expos e thei r plot . Finall y a flurr y o f stories on th e impendin g cycle goaded Krame r into trumpetin g thei r movi e wit h "guts, " while racin g to bea t "Pink y . . . th e enemy " an d othe r rumore d rival s t o th e screen.22 By Marc h 194 9 Variety ha d broke n th e stor y o f "th e yea r o f th e problem pic, " wit h Home of the Brave in th e lead . Bu t Krame r frette d over the final cut. At last he played it "cold" to a preview audience in the academic ghetto of Westwood nea r UCL A and go t a four-minute standing ovation. Foreman had taken Moss as a guest to surprise him with the name o f "Mossy" tha t h e ha d give n th e her o i n hi s honor, t o whic h Moss responde d wit h a plu g i n th e California Eagle. Finally , Kramer thought he ha d something , create d a black press campaign, arrange d a Harlem openin g a t Loew' s Victori a (whic h ha d bi d $100,00 0 fron t money agains t th e gross) , and se t i t afloat . Blac k and white , lef t an d right, praised it, the Amsterdam taking it as no les s than "a new era for Negroes in Hollywood," a point take n by the "Hollywoo d Reporte r in predicting that "the whol e futur e o f the motio n pictur e industry" rod e on the "courag e an d ingenuity that went into the making of Home of the Brave.' '23 The reason fo r the cheer s wa s eviden t fro m th e first glimpse of the rehabilitated war movie; there at the center of the action was Mossy, the exemplary blac k intrude r wh o splinter s whites int o pola r opposite s of liberals an d racist s who debat e hi s presence. Hi s passing through thei r lives at a moment of profound crisis in combat forces them to encounte r their racis m an d choose , o r not , a redemptive , progressiv e outcome . Never mind, fo r the moment , tha t i t would see m to o on-the-nose . In flashbacks evoked b y narcotherapy intende d t o restore his traumatically paralyzed legs, Mossy's splintered memory dredge s up a mapmaking sortie to a Japanese-held island , a tale broken by fragments of an adolescence spen t wit h Finc h (Lloy d Bridges) , anothe r squa d member . On the beach, the stress of combat releases feelings long held in check by Mossy—of otherness , o f indignatio n a t offenses , rea l an d imagined — feelings tha t threate n th e unit y an d succes s of the mission . Th e whit e soldiers represent a spectrum of folkish racial politics: TJ (Steve Brodie),

the brittl e racist; Finch, a wellmeaning clod ; an d Ming o (Fran k Lovejoy), a voice of liberal optimism . At a staccato pace they complete their mission on the island, only to leave behind thei r map case . Mossy and Finc h return fo r it but quarrel , with Mossy preferring to leave without it. Angrily Finch blurts, "Yellow bellied . . . " nigger, he means to say, but slurs it to nitwit. Finc h is shot, captured, tortured, and left for dead as Mossy retreats alone to the beach. Later Finch crawls to the rendezvou s and die s in Mossy's arms. As their

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boat pick s them up , Moss y slip s into hysterica l paralysis and mus t b e carried of f the beach . The rest of the movi e is taken u p i n therapy conducte d by a baffle d doctor (Jef f Corey ) who i n desperation taunt s him into walking by calling hi m "dirt y nigger, " thereb y freein g hi m als o t o revea l wha t ever y liberal sensed: A lifetime of bigotry has mad e Moss y feel guilt y of some nameless sin , which become s intolerabl e whe n combine d wit h Finch' s death an d th e har d littl e nu t o f guilt that ever y soldie r feel s whe n h e survives and a buddy does not. I n the end , i n a too neat wrapping , th e formula offer s u p racial integration as an antidote to Mossy's Angst. In a value-laden two-shot, Moss y and Ming o wal k awa y fro m th e camera . Mingo by then has lost an arm, and Mossy helps him shoulder his duffl e as they wal k towar d a n interracia l future i n which , together , the y wil l open a diner. Apart from the queasy equation tha t the imagery invites— a one-armed whit e man equal s one whole Negro—the shot marked th e first postwa r instanc e o f a visuall y argued assertio n o f a socia l need for "integration. " Indeed, i t anticipate d th e actua l course o f American racial arrangements : toke n black s in th e collegialit y of the workplac e marked America n lif e long before social distance narrowed i n any othe r setting. The readership of every black newspaper, i n cas e they misse d it in the movie, fel t thi s political angle thrust upon them. The black press ran every puf f tha t Georg e Glas s fed them ; Walte r Whit e calle d th e fil m "photographed livin g [that ] woul d fin d a n audienc e i n mor e enlight ened areas" ; Ebony gave i t fou r page s with still s an d praise d i t fo r it s ploughing "ne w groun d [and ] pioneering" ; th e churc h pape r Dallas World brok e custom an d endorse d it ; an d writer s to the NAAC P said it was "fou r star " an d promise d t o "recommen d i t highl y fo r it s artfu l gilding o f the messag e i n entertainin g terms." 24 On the left, among the ruins of the idea of a black nation, it was easy to snee r a t Kramer' s eventuall y famou s obviousness , hi s straigh t lin e drawn fro m first reel t o last-reel fulfillment, hi s commercia l sense , an d his flawless black token whose rectitud e was said to garble the issue and who lacke d a single link to, as Marxists said, "the Negr o people." V. J. Jerome, th e rankin g CPUS A cultura l critic, for whom integratio n wa s mere bourgeois reformism that diverted energy from specifi c black grievances, thought th e movie faile d fo r the precise reason that liberals liked it: Moss y was "n o different " from th e whit e soldiers . This eve n a s h e enjoyed Mossy' s assertiveness, which seeme d t o erupt organicall y from "the pressur e o f the Negr o people's movemen t fo r equality." I n a twist on the same theme the Worker ran a letter from Mel Williamson arguing that TJ's uncritical hatred of everyone undercut the statu s of the Negro as a specia l case. From another leftis t angl e came the complain t that racial problems seemed solved whenever, as Manny Farber wrote, blacks were tamed by "the rule s of the stuffies t whit e gentility," or, as Warren Miller

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In th e las t reel o f Home of the Brave (1949) , a s a sign o f recovery, Moss y (James Edwards) joins his white amputee-buddy (Fran k Lovejoy ) i n a partnership, inadvertently invitin g a reading that on e complet e black soldie r equaled a damaged white one. BFI. Copyright Unite d Artists . put it, "once the Negro can be made 'to understand' tha t the color line is artificial, [and ] h e ca n therefor e forge t it s terribl e reality. " Neither , of course, converte d th e other, althoug h Glas s had solved it in the press kit, at least , b y having i t both ways . "Mossy, " h e wrote , "understoo d th e sameness of men, and in understanding the samenes s was prepared to fight the artificial barriers." Bu t the left stuc k to its point that the "sameness" angle made "it easier for an audience to ignore the special character of the oppression o f the Negro people." Of course, this insular debate passed unnoticed in the general press, which tried on for size its new suit of civilia n liberalism , a s Life di d i n chidin g Kramer' s "unconvincing " tone bu t likin g his liberal epiphan y whe n "Moss y realize s that despit e his colo r he i s no differen t fro m othe r men." 25 Americans everywhere , Nort h o r South , blac k or white, urban e o r folkish, generall y liked th e movie . Southerner s approve d becaus e it s generically American soldier s allowed viewer s to see racism as nationa l rather than Souther n i n nature. According to the Defender, moviegoer s from Texas to Richmond in a hundred towns saw it in record numbers, a trend reflected i n an Amsterdam News stor y of a wire sent by a Souther n booker to UA: "Sensational result s in spite of terrific heat wave." And as though ratifying the message, conscience-liberals everywhere from Jewish Wa r Veteran s t o th e Canadia n Menta l Hygien e Assoicatio n gav e

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Home of the Brave a shel f full o f award s fo r "outstandin g achievemen t in .. . rac e relations." 26 But apar t fro m it s independent sourc e an d it s booming reception , the mos t importan t ne w trai t that marke d th e movi e wa s it s classical Hollywood pedigree. All along the lin e from scrip t to scree n it bore th e marks o f institutiona l life : th e Bree n office , th e tradepapers , regiona l censors, preview respondents, distributo r feedback, critics. In effect, th e entire infrastructure of the industr y signaled its readiness to resume th e retailing of race-angled material the war had onc e made necessary. Not that thi s wa s th e blindl y courageou s strok e the y soo n woul d credi t themselves with: They had alread y made richly promising test-drillings during the cycl e of anti-Semitism movies. I n other words , thoug h the y were on an uncharted cours e that required new ways of doing business, they kne w wha t the y were doing . Joe Bree n himself spok e from th e sam e mentalit y rathe r tha n customary wariness. Cutjigaboo an d shine from the script, he told Glass, not for the simplistic reason of avoiding affront, bu t to build tension through insult ye t "no t offen d b y th e quantit y o f insults. " Indeed , th e PG A wanted its share of credit for striking a blow for liberalism by persuading Glass to cu t from th e a d copy a headline tha t charged Hollywoo d with having no "Guts." The local censors also went along : in Memphis in a "surprise move, " in Atlanta because the movie was a story of universal decency rathe r tha n a specifi c ple a t o en d Souther n custom , an d i n Maryland becaus e th e boar d followe d th e lea d o f a pane l o f advisers drawn from interracial commissions, the rabbinate, the NAACP, and the NUL. Reinforcin g th e relaxe d censorshi p wa s a brochur e sen t ou t b y United Artist s with thei r pres s agents , wh o ha d "specia l training " i n selling the new line. Furthermore, a t the top of the MPAA Eric Johnston committed hi s offic e wit h suc h effec t tha t a n earl y report cite d onl y a single censor i n Capetown , Sout h Africa , wh o balke d at playing it. The thin sampl e o f surviving preview response s confirm s the timelines s of these departure s fro m pas t practice: More than half praised th e movie , and onl y one-tenth sai d "it stinks." 27 By any measure , then, Home of the Brave had becom e a beau idea of the ne w Hollywood . I t ha d spoke n no t onl y fo r th e libera l center , thereby achievin g th e goal s o f it s makers , bu t als o fo r conservative s groping toward adopting their own version o f Stampp's hope that "Ne groes are, after all , only white men with black skins." That is, Kramer's group attaine d wha t Hollywoo d stor y editors had bee n tinkerin g wit h for fou r years: a commercial movie laden with racial politics in an entertaining formulai c equivalen t t o th e wa r movi e genre , thereb y sidlin g toward defining the imagery and agenda of the integrationist generation to come. 28 Not that every formulation o f the emerging genre was fated t o be an apt one . Loui s DeRochemont' s Lost Boundaries (1949 ) fo r example ,

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strayed from th e formul a adopted by Home of the Brave. DeRochemont, already taking up feature s in th e las t years of his March of Time series, chose an impossibly ambiguous Reader's Digest condensed boo k about a family tha t ha d "passe d fo r white," a cover t practic e that ha d alway s raised mixed feelings in both races. Fortunately Walter White, seeking to keep u p momentum , praise d the scrip t as "one o f the fines t . . . an d certainly the most courageous treatment of the Negro in motion pictures to date." 29 The idea bega n just afte r th e wa r wit h a chance meetin g betwee n DeRochemont and a lightskinned student in the former's hometown i n New Hampshire. After th e studen t confesse d to only just learning of his Negro ancestry after a lifetime of passing, DeRochemont took th e stor y to Reader's Digest, wher e writer William L. White put i t into an inspirational magazin e piec e an d the n a thi n book . DeRochemon t thu s pro vided an ideal link between journalism and Hollywood, where hi s firm had recentl y joined wit h Metr o t o make modis h drama s in the styl e of neo-realism. H e lacked only a liberal amanuensis, sinc e DeRochemon t seemed t o a clos e associat e "no t a crusade r bu t a newsman " whos e conscience-liberalism extende d mainl y t o a vague sens e o f "fair play. " At best they might get only an OW I tract done i n the mock-journalistic style of a current cycl e of location-shot films like Naked City.30 By May 1948 , wit h their rivals already under way, they had a script that reveale d th e dramati c enigm a a t th e hear t o f White's boo k tha t militated agains t goo d cinema . Passing , afte r all , wa s a passiv e even covert ac t rathe r tha n a heroi c gesture , a poin t strongl y take n i n a n advisory lette r fro m Ralp h Ellison whose nove l The Invisible Man wa s soon to appear. How could their protagonists act heroically if they lacked the will to assert their own identity, asked Ellison. Things merely happe n to them, he pointed out. Only a tougher hero, a doctor who is forthright, energetic, and clearl y the maste r of his milieu, an d willin g to make th e decision to break with passing could save the movie . Onl y then, wrot e Ellison, might the audience feel the ambiguity with which racism tinged all social intercourse. Othe r correspondent s agreed , including one wh o asked i f it wer e no t bette r t o sho w tha t white s contribute d t o blac k malaise b y mean s o f thei r ow n racia l exclusivity . As th e scrip t draft s inched towar d a mor e activ e voice i n orde r t o accommodat e t o thes e suggestions, they revealed fissures within the company that the comforting passivity of White's boo k ha d masked . Two trusted Southerner s in DeRochemont-Reader's Digest (LD-RD ) reveale d th e stakes . Johnn y Barnwell fretted over a more accusator y script, feeling i t would "dam age . . . [white ] people you will never know," to which Borde n Mace, the firm's North Carolinian vice-president, replied that "the 'damage ' in my opinio n might be beneficial." 31 In October, Metro turned to Leo Handel's opinion-sampling firm for guidance and , despit e hints that cit y dweller s might accep t thei r film,

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early in 194 9 broke off with LD-RD over, as Ebony reported , "th e han dling o f the Negr o theme." Coinciden t with thei r newfoun d indepen dence, Walter White pressed upon the m hi s own wis h for a movie that would become a "desired yardstick" against which to measure the forth coming cycle . H e even predicte d succes s despite th e South' s lingerin g objection t o "th e Negr o in other tha n menial o r comic roles." 32 Lacking a leftist of Foreman's ideological rigor, they plugged away at it through th e spring, struggling over the details of black bourgeois portrayals. The script passed through no less than three writers, each in his turn softenin g the line of argument at the behest o f the various readers. By the time shooting starte d they had picke d as director Alfred Werker, who ha d onc e don e a neat biopi c of Disraeli but wh o cam e chea p i n 1949 and promised at least a sincerely honest picture. By then they had scraped together a nut o f less than $500,000 fro m thei r new distributo r Film Classi c an d abou t $30,00 0 fro m LD-R D an d othe r sources. 33 Bu t they had lost benefits such as the cash crop that the connection with the Loew's theatres branch of Metro would hav e give n them—not to mention th e fruit s o f a high-energy Leo the Lio n ad-campaign. Undaunted, b y May they manage d a rough cu t an d hope d t o mix and score in time for the Cannes Film Festival and a playoff in the heat of August. Then, to o late to matter, they showe d i t to Walter White, wh o gave them a lesson in racial politics that harked back to his meagre goals of 1942—h e aske d onl y fo r "decen t area s an d people"—rathe r tha n forward t o th e impendin g cycl e of race-angled movies . Too full o f Harlem squalor , h e wrote , symbolize d b y " a zoot-suited , shift y lookin g character paring his finger nails in fron t o f the boardin g house." 34 As released, Lost Boundaries seemed sincere but detached, centering on a lo t o f white peopl e ennoble d b y th e decen t blac k fol k thrus t by circumstance into their midst. Coming as it did fort y day s after Home of the Brave, i t suffere d b y comparison , it s lib/whit e Negroe s rendering moot an y substantiv e issue of racial politics, its own cutte r still wishing for meatier stuff that would wrench an audience out of complacency. Yet blacks, as White had done, fretted ove r portraying black and white life as polar opposites—staid , white Ne w Hampshir e an d sleazy , black Harlem.35 Implicitly, Lost Boundaries slighted the ideolog y that White and hi s circle had cultivate d during the war: admission of African Americans to full citizenship by portraying them as rooted in society in a range of roles and entitle d to their Doubl e V—a victory over homegrown racis m as a result of victory in war. Instead, the war propaganda had been turned on its end . Whit e forebearanc e wa s aske d onl y towar d peopl e a s lightskinned a s themselves; blacks were mere cipher s with n o stak e in th e game, whic h the y had alread y won b y acting white ; al l the black s too dark to pass seemed heavies bent upon blocking Dr. Carter (the hero) on his wa y t o lilywhiteness . The scene s tha t carrie d these burden s were

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Lost Boundaries (1949 ) manage d to be abou t rac e relations while placing blacks (Willia m Greaves , here ) o n th e ri m o f the action— a blockin g made possible by focusin g o n "passing " rather than race. Copyrigh t Fil m Classics / Louis D e Rochemont.

startling in their usurping the asserte d goals of its makers. To account for the Carters ' Ne w Hampshir e residence , fo r example , ther e i s th e bi g scene o f the doctor' s rejectio n a s resident i n a Souther n black hospita l because he i s too light an d Yankeefied . A Harlem sequence designe d to depict his son's search for roots is little more than a descent into hell that visually echoes th e red-ligh t district in th e Army' s V D film Easy to Get. And finally, in New Hampshire in the las t reel the white people are th e central figures , fount s o f Christia n virtu e wh o ar e s o war m an d wel l meaning tha t black s los t thei r plac e a t th e cente r o f th e movie . Th e resulting revers e spi n put o n th e them e blunte d DeRochemont' s goo d intentions: Th e tru e protagonist s ar e whit e peopl e whos e virtu e i s merely toleratin g thei r "white " neighbor s upo n learnin g the y ar e "black"; the blacks might as well have been dents in a fender—rendered acceptable when smoothed and repainted; the denouement blinks at the politics of race, leaving the point only that white people are gatekeepers and non e but th e mos t stuffily "white " Negroes may pas s their admission test . Indeed, the latte r notion i s the topi c o f a last-ree l sermo n a s they wal k dow n th e aisl e o f a churc h in al l their whiteness: "Citizen-

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ship," the preacher says, is "henceforth extende d t o all qualified citizens regardless o f race o r color. " Yet critics hungry for the lates t in the messag e movie cycl e cheered loudly, perhaps mor e tha n for any othe r film in the litter . Life name d i t Movie o f the Week , settin g of f a roun d o f raves, brotherhood awards , and hope s b y DeRochemon t tha t independent s a t las t woul d receiv e recognition fo r showing ho w t o introduce lo w budget pictures into th e Hollywood system. The Cannes festival, the Los Angeles NUL, seemingly

everyone joine d i n praising, as the Writer s Guild said, its "ably dealin g with th e problem s o f the America n scene. " Partly, it must b e said , this praise ma y hav e arise n fro m th e liberals ' sens e tha t the y wer e quietl y winning agains t striden t enemie s an d therefor e "prejudic e [was ] . . . not a subjec t for harangue." On the lef t the y were les s sure. Crowther in the Times, for instance , wrote that "i t touches th e immediate anxietie s o f only a limited number of Negroes [and] it may even be regarded by some Negroes with a certain distaste." Th e Communists pounced upo n th e same point, Jose Yglesia s grumbling at the "most conventional, the most unreal middle class people" wh o le d audiences t o a "sentimenta l an d shallow " empathy tha t excluded ordinar y blacks, a point take n b y V. J. Jerome i n arguing that the Harle m sequence serve d onl y a s background agains t which t o contrast th e virtu e o f the fairskinne d elite. 36 Blacks were als o uncertain o f their critica l ground. How could they praise Hollywood for small favors whil e pointin g ou t th e irrelevanc e of the movie to the general case? Predictably there were raves: ANP found it a "classic"; a n Afro executiv e said it "brought tear s to my eyes." But Home of the Brave had raise d hope s fo r a toughe r politic s o f movies . Lillian Scott in the Defender, fo r example, made sure to praise the "excel lent" actors who carrie d the movi e beyon d "Hollywoo d boundarie s of mediocrity and fear " but chide d DeRochemont fo r his "less tha n pain fully honest " Southern sequenc e an d his failure t o "grapple to o strenuously with th e issue s raised." Eve n Bob Ellis in the Eagle, ofte n a flack for Hollywood , demande d blac k character s "lik e everyon e els e . . . bobbysoxers and young puppy lovers and respectable community mem bers and church-goers. " Tha t is, he fel l back to White's position of 194 2 and aske d for inclusion, not fo r hothouse plant s living in isolated splendor at the pleasure of whites. It was left to the actual doctor on whom th e original stor y wa s base d t o suppl y Elli s wit h th e only-then-surfacing missing ingredient : th e stuf f o f blac k life . "I n spit e o f al l tha t I hav e accomplished a s a white man , I have, mor e o r less , an empt y life, " h e said.37 O n the blac k left, Fred i Washington, wh o ha d interviewe d fo r a role, told her friends t o expect nothing from Werker , who seeme d uninterested in serious readings, nor from DeRochemont , who seeme d disingenuous i n claimin g he wa s doin g a "documentary. " A s release d th e

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movie merel y confirme d for her tha t Werke r had bee n prejudice d especially fo r "hi s handlin g o f th e Harle m an d Souther n Negr o hospita l scenes."38 But th e attack s suddenl y los t thei r sting . A s though destiny' s toy , Lost Boundaries, became a point a t issue between Souther n censor s an d the od d coupl e o f the MPA A and th e NAACP . Thus n o matte r tha t it s theme spli t th e audience s i t ha d se t ou t t o reach ; whe n Southerner s attacked it there was little choice but t o close ranks and accep t it as the prize i n a struggl e against politica l censorship . A t first , when Borde n Mace o f LD-R D too k i t to th e PG A in Kramer-lik e secrecy , Bree n ha d found i t a "pleasure " tha t require d no t a singl e cut. Therefore , when Memphis an d Atlant a insisted on cuts , LD-RD found itself in the va n of the PCA, the ACLU , the NAACP, jurists led by the New Dealer Samuel I. Rosenman, an d th e Societ y of Independent Motio n Pictur e Producers. Its movie ha d becom e th e centra l issu e in a debate over fre e expressio n versus th e righ t t o suppres s i n th e nam e o f "peace, morals , an d goo d order."39 The case dragged on into the 1950s , when Lost Boundaries opened in the last of the markets to which i t had been denie d acces s and as a result earned a viewership fa r in exces s of its modest pretentions . LD-R D an d its allies had aggressivel y charged th e censor s with "oversteppin g thei r police functions, " thereb y denyin g movie s "th e basi c guarantees " o f freedom o f expression. Neve r mind tha t eventuall y the Suprem e Court let stand the decision s of Southern court s that ha d foun d in favor o f the censors. Th e notoriety certainl y mus t hav e booste d sales , raise d hope s for punchie r racia l stuf f i n th e future , an d draw n th e blac k pres s bac k into a concer n fo r movies . "Despotism, " crie d on e editor . Fa r fro m "good order" being the issue, said the Afro, i t was really Southern fea r of "social equality. " Thereafter , the pres s all but mad e censorshi p case s a regular beat, reporting o n ever y fissure in the syste m suc h as whenever Christine Smith' s bosse s o n th e Atlant a Librar y Board overturne d he r decisions.40 As a result, the fame of Lost Boundaries not only persisted but probably enhance d th e prospect s o f it s successor s i n th e cycle . Certainl y it added t o it s lists of "bests," its fans wh o wrot e letter s commending it s "brotherhood o f man" argument , an d even its fair to good grosses. Even in the South it earned its keep, going five days in Raleigh and si x in West Memphis, where Matt y Brescia, a Memphis theatrema n an d membe r of the Tennessee Civi l Rights Committee, played it just out of reach of "this whacky an d screw y censor—Binford. " Elsewher e i n th e Sout h the y played it off gingerly against "local disapproval" o f the "ticklish picture " or, lik e th e manage r o f the Carolin a Theatr e i n Chape l Hill, playe d off hoping it was the last of its genre. At LD-RD they bubbled, congratulat-

ing themselve s o n thei r courageou s wor k tha t had , a s Borde n Mac e

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wrote: "helpe d condition people t o se e injustice." 41 Hyperbol e aside, a little movie , partl y because o f circumstances outsid e o f its not entirel y clear text , ha d mad e a point o f sorts. Not unti l Pinky (1949 ) late r i n th e yea r woul d th e ful l forc e o f a major studi o b e applie d t o th e genre . Darry l Zanuck, Fox, an d down town movie palace s all would b e marshaled i n the trend tha t s o far had the claustrophobic look of B-movies. With Pinky, liberalism entered the big time. "Let' s give 'em controvers y wit h class, " sai d the boss, Spyros Skouras. "Shock America , Darryl." 42 An d s o they did , to applause, still more awards and honors, an d the first systematically reasoned criticism of the undemandin g minimalis t change s pu t fort h by message movies . For the first time a message movie would ow e its substance to direct black interventio n o n th e lot , a n outcom e praye d fo r by Walter Whit e ever since 1942 . The result was th e stiffenin g o f a politely liberal novel, Cid Rickett s Sumner' s Quality, int o a n intricat e fabl e o f integrationist politics. At the center of this tempering process was Walter's own daughter Jane White, a n aspiring actress and, as it turned out , a forceful scrip t doctor wh o wit h Phili p Dunne , a vetera n conscience-liberal , shape d a story o f Souther n rac e relation s int o a depictio n o f a cohesiv e blac k community tha t ha d no t been see n sinc e th e wa r o r perhaps even Hallelujah! An d over Zanuck's resistance Dunne an d Whit e injecte d a frag mentary blac k positio n wit h respec t t o integration . Th e scal e o f thei r project, it s probe int o center s o f black though t an d character , an d th e risk involve d i n bunglin g a lightskinne d heroin e wh o migh t see m a patch o f pure whit e pain t spoile d by a dro p o f black, led t o a chai n of rewrites beginnin g i n 194 8 wit h Richar d G . Hubler' s merel y faithfu l draft, othe r page s b y Oscar-winnin g Dudle y Nichols , Zanuck , an d White, an d finally , i n the fal l o f 1949 , Dunne' s shootin g script. 43 At firs t the y wer e yoke d t o Sumner' s characters , eac h o f who m spoke for a point of view: Jake, an older black New Deal-ish sort; Arch, a radical journalist from the North who drives a car, wears a beret, and has a well-modulate d voice , ligh t skin , an d a writin g styl e that set s alight black political demands; Mis s Em, a dying white matriarch with a maternal respect for "colored people" and a n old woman's sense of the rightness o f old ways; Pinky , a lightskinned nurs e who feel s trapped amon g them but who may opt out of the debate by marrying white and moving north; Dicey , he r dar k grandmothe r wh o know s ancien t things ; an d various blac k doctor s an d whit e judges , an d townspeopl e wh o len d variety an d spic e t o th e politics . Of course Arc h an d Mis s E m ar e th e polar opposites, and in the early drafts Pinky brings them face to face in a master scen e intende d t o focu s their debat e an d sharpe n her politics. In the origina l an d i n th e earl y drafts th e rightwinger s have al l the good lines . Jake swagger s about, boasting of the comin g jobs and integration, and o f an end to servile manners. Bu t when Pinky asks how, h e lamely replies that he and his friends u p North were working on it. Then

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under he r withering gaz e he admits he is merely runnin g hi s mouth t o no purpose. Later he is shown t o be even more of a scapegrace when he is tried for bilking Pinky out of money, an d plays a shameless "Tom" t o a white judge who lectures him on the need for black leaders who are able to cooperate wit h white people . Arch , at least before he slowl y evaporates in the ensuing drafts, speak s out for federal agencies sent to protect the civil rights that he had fought for in the late war, but in the end he is as impotent a s Jake. O n the right, both Dicey and Miss Em stand up for the old ways. For Dicey, dependence o n the New Deal was only a return to slavery, while for Miss Em the antidote to the plight sketched by Arch is a Booker Washington solution to raise up blacks chained by ignorance and poverty . As Miss Em says , Pinky is trained t o d o somethin g usefu l for a futur e blac k society , whe n black s wil l hav e thei r ow n schoo l boards, police, an d hospitals . In the end , sh e delivers her theory i n th e form o f a legac y wit h whic h Pink y i s expecte d t o creat e "Mis s Em' s Hospital and Nursing Home for colored people"—an institutio n change d in th e fina l draf t t o a clini c an d nursery , complet e wit h blac k staff. 44 How coul d Zanuc k sav e thi s creakin g property , particularl y afte r having hired Nichols , a frequent collaborator wit h th e Catholi c conservative, Joh n Ford , who m h e ha d engage d a s director ? The y seeme d baffled b y the problem o f adapting Sumner to the racial politics of 1949 . Their best idea was a courtroom scen e i n which Pink y contends fo r her legacy, which i s challenged b y Miss Em's family ; i n thi s wa y th e tria l becomes a test of Southern justice and it s impact on skeptica l blacks. If she wins, she has the means to work withi n th e system; if she loses, she joins Arch' s radica l party. 45 Good , clearcu t cas e an d a soli d cente r o f dramatic conflict. Bu t by June 194 8 the y wer e stil l snared i n Sumner' s Jeffersonian liberalis m tha t require d fro m th e blac k character s mor e forebearance tha n choice . Moreover , Zanuc k and hi s trusted stenogra pher Marilyn Mandeville stil l saw two line s of converging conflict: th e struggle ove r Pinky' s inheritanc e a s wel l a s a fraterna l blac k debat e between Arch and Pinky , not t o mention a sidebar argumen t betwee n Arch and th e fading Miss Em. If for no othe r reason , Zanuc k liked Arch as Pinky's agent provocateur withou t whom she lacked a debating partner. I n fac t b y July he hope d t o toughen Arch' s lin e because Miss Em was winning thei r encounters. In the ensuing draf t the y actually part as respectful adversaries , he claimin g he woul d rathe r di e than submi t to humiliation, sh e insisting tha t h e demande d everythin g to o fast . Unfortunately, this promising electric exchange was dropped and its substance remaine d a s no more than a throwaway line , because Pinky wins i n court no t onl y without Arch' s intervention bu t solel y as a vindication o f Southern whit e justice. By September Nichol s and Zanuck, having no mor e us e for Arch's radical black nationalism, gave some of his lines to Pinky so as to sharpen the conflict between her and the white litigants seekin g t o recove r Em' s legacy . I n thi s way , the y focuse d

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Pinky's politic s o n a rea l issu e an d gav e he r a nugge t o f inne r rag e without referenc e to Arc h the outsider . Sh e is even mad e witnes s to a near-lynching complet e wit h bayin g hounds an d vigilante s breaking in her door as a source of a keener black consciousness. Her line expressing her rising social vision is uttered as she slumps on Miss Em's now empt y bed, pleading with he r memory fo r help—help, sh e asks, in how t o use this house fo r "my" people , for "all" people. 46 I n the releas e print, the line is even better used by making it the clincher i n the debat e with he r suitor wh o ha s aske d he r t o d o a s h e ha s done : ru n fro m racis m t o Denver where n o one will know an d "there will be no Pinky Johnson." As though a t the en d o f his tether, Zanuc k sent this draft of f to New York to be read by Jane and Walter White, the NAACP staff, an d Walter White's fiancee, the journalist Poppy Cannon. White quickly gave political perspective to this gesture in a note t o Zanuck: "It begins to look as though wha t yo u an d Wendel l an d I have bee n workin g fo r all thes e years i s beginning t o sho w results." 47 A t firs t the y li t int o th e script , White hoping t o steer them towar d a recognition o f the war as a source of change, indee d a n "important revolutio n in the thinking of Southern white people , particularly students and veterans." But Roy Wilkins and the others , les s aware o f changes alread y made, bristle d a t it s "femal e Uncle Tom " an d th e "underlyin g them e tha t agitatio n i s wrong . . . [that] good-wil l will eventuall y correc t matters , and—mos t dangerou s of all—[that] segregation shoul d be accepted." Onl y ruthless rewriting, Wilkins insisted, could stiffe n Pinky' s "lack o f militance."48 O f course, he had misse d previous draft s that had puffe d Pinky' s rising racial social conscience, bu t s o too woul d a n audience . In any case, Zanuck was at a loss, angry, and torn among th e script, the NAACP's "militant propagandis t attitude," an d the stockholders and theatremen wh o held the real influence and power. H e lashed out at his New York polemicists in ten densely packed pages in which h e snappe d at thei r "poisonous " rhetoric an d "impatien t an d scornful " barbs , bu t left ope n a fain t hop e tha t Jan e White' s "experienc e i n th e theatre " would restor e thei r balanc e an d for m th e basi s for "constructiv e criti cism" that woul d sharpe n Pinky' s urge for "militant action " as against Miss Em's stand "fo r 'slo w reform,' " thereb y shortenin g th e odd s tha t their pictur e migh t b e complete d an d "prov e beneficia l to th e caus e of the American Negro." 49 Zanuck persisted , remindin g the m tha t th e conscience-liberalis m that ha d rise n durin g th e wa r ha d bee n a n organicall y white-angle d phenomenon an d tha t white s wer e th e targe t o f hi s Pinky. Succes s would com e onl y i f the movi e made "th e whit e majorit y of the United States experience emotionally the humiliatio n and hur t and evi l of segregation an d discriminatio n . . . [and ] carr y awa y a sens e o f sham e [so] . . . thei r feelin g an d thinkin g wil l be changed. " T o accomplish this whe n the y resume d wor k i n th e fal l o f 1948 , Zanuc k droppe d

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Nichols an d too k o n Dunn e an d Jan e Whit e a s scrip t carpenters. 50 Working separately, Jane mainly on weekends, they saved Nichols's best stuff: hi s Souther n texture ; hi s drawling , untidy , querulou s folk ; th e peeling wallpaper, shabb y coaches, an d dir t roads that contraste d wit h glimpses o f a clean , well-lighte d North . A s fo r Pinky , the y a t onc e brought her into sharper relief while enfolding her in a wider black circle (minus Arch). She is given a line of development. A t first not allowed to feel anythin g for the ol d black woman, Dicey , she soon draw s closer , a visual imag e sharpene d b y her encounte r wit h tw o blac k kid s on th e road to darktown to whom sh e forthrightly identifies herself as colored. And later, like Saul on the road to Tarsus, she cries out her conversatio n to Miss Em: at last she has begu n thinking black! 51 By Ne w Year' s 1949 , Dunn e ha d trie d tw o drafts , whic h please d neither Zanuc k nor the blacks, who had been shaken by the "Dixiecrat " movement and Truman's near-defeat in November. Indeed, the industry itself fretted ove r Truman's increasing racia l activism. Two Breen offic e men early on discussed the script on the telephone an d whether "some might accuse the industry of lining up with" the sentiments expressed in To Secure These Rights, resulting in an anti-Hollywoo d "agitation [that ] might endur e fo r several years" and implicat e the industry , an d invit e Southern reprisals in the form of renewed censorshi p and even Ku Klux Klan activism. Petrified at the thought of giving comfort to censors, they considered advisin g Fox to avoid "trouble spots" in booking the Sout h as a hedg e agains t "th e dange r o f censorship," a n importan t tacti c to weigh i n their view because the y guesse d (erroneously ) that women' s clubs that had provided word-of-mouth for Gentleman's Agreement had no counterpart in black circles or (even more erroneously) in any urban, liberal or Jewish networks. 52 O n the Fo x lot itself , unknow n t o eithe r the blacks or the PCA , they were equall y petrified. First, there wa s th e conservative Ford and what might become of Pinky's black sensibility in his hands. In this political setting Dunne readily saw Jane White's arrival as "valuable insurance, " an d apparentl y so did the studi o if its whirl of welcoming delights— a shopping tour , a liveried driver, and a room a t the Sunse t Towers—wa s mean t a s a sign . Fo r thei r part , th e White s regarded th e invitatio n t o Jan e a s a vindication o f Walter's decad e of campaigning agains t a n arra y o f ideologica l enemies . I n a whimsica l letter t o Popp y Cannon , Walte r teasingl y hope d Hollywoo d glamou r would no t tain t Jane's judgment, but i n a more sombe r voic e feare d a script tha t migh t displeas e everyone : th e Hollywoo d Negroes , th e CPUS A, and th e Africa n America n press. 53 On paper , a t least , th e collaboratio n wen t swimmingly . A s Jane White an d Dunn e worke d thei r wa y throug h th e pages , anonymou s marginalia testifie d t o thei r littl e victories . "Good point—shal l be covered," someone , perhap s Dunne , woul d say . "Than k you, " sai d th e scrawl. "Change d . . . Guilt y a s charged," an d s o o n dow n th e mar -

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gins. And not merely on bits of local color, but substantive points such as the tension between Pinky' s blackness and her Southernness. The points grew even finer : "N o matte r ho w educated sh e is, she is still colored. " "Exactly," concede d th e voic e in the margins , a s they pressed t o finish by February in time for Ford's scheduled star t of shooting. B y then Jane White had done all she could and wished only that she might have saved some "dark-skinne d Souther n negr o characters " t o manifest the forth right militance that Arc h had onc e brough t t o th e script. 54 Even so , inertial forces chivvie d the work . Bac k east, the Dixiecrat movement had not healed, and Truman, as yet unsworn, barel y survived the election . I n th e Bree n office , the y stil l presse d fo r accommodatio n wherever the film might be "unacceptable" to the South. And on the lot there wa s Ford , wh o alread y size d u p Pinky' s rol e a s "a n arist o i n a tumbril" goin g to her doom an d her Aunt Dicey as an "Aun t Jemima" ever read y t o burs t int o song . H e wa s a "shoc k treatment, " recalle d Waters, an d s o cruel " I almos t ha d a stroke." 55 Zanuck, protectin g hi s investmen t i n th e wor k Whit e an d Dunn e had achieved , decided t o replac e For d befor e his politic s colore d th e ideas of the others. Allowing the famous, almost sacred, veteran to plead illness, Zanuc k turne d t o Eli a Kazan , a produc t o f th e radica l Grou p Theatre and Frontie r Films , and a tyro who ha d t o his credit four soli d movies i n fou r attempts : includin g Zanuck' s ow n Gentleman's Agreement. Kazan's only—at the moment, inconsequential—liabilit y was that Jack Warner i n 194 7 had tol d HUA C that h e was a "subversive." Wit h respect to Pinky he was pragmatic, at best hoping onl y to avoid "taking a subject whic h ha s go t dynamite in it and castratin g it, " bu t als o feelin g he had inherite d "crap " and a star who seeme d no t onl y whit e bu t too white—"white i n her heart" even. 56 Despite Kazan' s wors t fear s Pinky turne d ou t a s a passabl y goo d commercial expressio n o f the conscience-libera l formula , an ideological heir t o th e wa r movi e genre , an d a n extensio n o f it deeper int o blac k circles. I n fact , long befor e th e NAACP' s Brown vs. Topeka Board cas e called attentio n t o the courtroo m a s civil rights arena , Pink y spoke fo r her black community by carrying its interests into the dramatic setting of a Souther n courthouse . Moreover , sh e di d so without trottin g ou t th e gothic stereotype s tha t passe d fo r whit e Southerner s i n mos t movies . And thoug h the y did not shoo t o n locatio n a s Kazan, for one, wished , they neatly caught a Southern moo d i n everything fro m dres s extras to local color sets . More tha n anything , Pinky offere d a plot in which somethin g black was at stake: the core-conflict in which Pink y struggles to bring a black clinic into being. This dramatic center is given deeper meaning by having Pinky retur n t o th e South , undecide d abou t remaining , indee d unde cided about marrying into the white world, an d s o untutored in Southern racia l arrangements that she is at a loss as to who sh e is and wher e

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Of al l the messag e movies , Pinky (1949 ) cam e closes t to facin g up t o th e gul f between th e race s an d blac k strategie s fo r dealing wit h it: th e option s repre sented her e b y Ethel Waters , Jeann e Crain , an d Willia m Lundigan—image s of tradition , blac k consciousness , an d "passing. " Copyrigh t 20t h Century Fox.

she fits in. It is here tha t he r white suito r (Willia m Lundigan) pleads for flight t o th e Wes t wher e "ther e wil l b e n o mor e Pink y Johnson, " t o which sh e counter s i n a closeup , "Yo u can' t liv e withou t pride. " Old Aunt Dicey wishes her to nurse the dying Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore) in her bi g hous e i n a n almos t ritua l farewel l t o th e patricia n South , t o which Pink y agrees afte r establishin g a coolly professiona l rathe r tha n servile association . Fro m he r blac k connections—old , handkerchief headed Dicey , the unctuous petit bourgeois Jake (Frederic k O'Neal), the knife-toting, wench y Rozeli a (Nin a Mae McKinney) , th e cerebra l Dr . Canady (Kenny Washington)—she learns the variety and shrewdness of black tactic s for dealing wit h th e dail y grind o f racism an d choose s th e courthouse pat h tha t th e NAAC P had com e t o prefer as a strategy. As sh e studie s her options , Pink y nurse s Mis s Em t o th e dignifie d death tha t earns her a place in the ol d woman's will: the inheritanc e of the big house that she will transform into "Miss Em's Clinic and Nursery School." First , however, sh e mus t wi n th e hous e i n cour t agains t th e challenge of Miss Em's greedy relations, a drama often rea d as the assertion of white paternalism rather than black resistance. In any case, Pinky

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understands that even if Miss Em's legacy echoed a white noblesse oblige it also allowe d he r t o creat e wha t wil l becom e a blac k and Souther n institution under the tutelage and control of black Dr. Canady and nurs e Pinky Johnson. A last reel, sweeping crane-sho t pullin g away from th e house, it s identifying sign , and it s happy children affirm s thi s essentially black solutio n o n Souther n ground . This reading of the film takes a black nationalist line , a n angl e no t always seen by critics, even those who had been made sharply attentive to black politics as the message movie cycle matured. The more popula r centrist reading of the film as a plea for racial harmony, couple d wit h its being a big, plump major movie by the most major of the oldline studios and it s rapid obsolescence a s a result of the pac e of the impendin g civil rights movement, shoul d not be allowed to blur the accomplishment of Pinky's makers . The y ha d take n u p th e abrasiv e issu e o f racism, an d given it a dramatic conflic t wit h rea l black stakes in its outcome, se t in real courtrooms , centere d o n a character wh o engage d th e loyaltie s of both blacks and whites who togethe r acte d out plausible futures o f race relations withou t rubbin g th e nose s o f the loser s i n their defeat. Given this complex fabric, almos t all critics missed something , par ticularly those whose antenna e locke d onto signal s of Hollywood's traditional cupidity. Crowther, ever in search of a flash of liberalism, liked "all it s virtues" bu t wince d a t th e "passio n fo r paternalism" an d th e " 'old mammy'" that it "extolled" under its breath. Othe r liberal voices found i t affirmed Souther n resistance to change, a Sout h African pape r judging it an "endorsement o f apartheid." Th e black press took the same course, findin g it , a s th e Defender did , "'meaty ' entertainment " bu t mounted o n "shoc k absorbers, " o r a s ha d th e Eagle, a "fals e pictur e which had good scenes in it." Thus for every viewer who regarded it as a sign o f Hollywood' s "growin g up, " anothe r suc h a s Ca b Galloway thought i t s o opaqu e tha t "al l to o fe w whit e peopl e wil l realiz e it s purpose .. . o r sympathize with it. " Ebony, taking int o accoun t suc h misgivings, reckone d tha t o n balance "th e ke y to th e Pink y role i s the growth o f racial awareness " durin g the film. 57 Althoug h whit e critic s were friendlier, lik e Crowther even as they praised it as "socially signifi cant" the y damne d i t wher e i t "shirk s th e tru e colou r problem. " A s Elspeth Gran t archly put i t in the London Graphic, "Havin g taken [rac ism] up, Mr. Zanuck seems to put it down again exactly where he found it."58 Apart from needlin g a n industr y "that doesn' t emplo y Negroes, " even the Marxist left followe d the sam e line, V. J. Jerome, fo r example , admiring the ominou s Souther n ambienc e a s "the sharpes t o f its kind" in the genre , an d delightin g in " a great , overpowering momen t o f film realism" when tw o cops learn that Pinky is colored and reprogram their etiquette accordingly . But Mis s Em an d th e fairminde d judge seemed figments o f "the goo d white fairy o f Hollywood." Variety like d th e wa y its "Americanism" fough t racis m without resort to "th e slim y tactics of

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Communists," mos t certainl y a n incantatio n t o war d of f the fea r tha t HUAC woul d tr y to lin k al l reformism to th e cunnin g o f the CPU S A.59 The uneven critica l response aside, Pinky mor e than any other mes sage movie had taken on a mantle of dignity derived from both its source in a major studio and it s playing off in the picture palaces, an aura that may hav e benefite d the libera l cause tha t ha d face d a bit o f a scare in Truman's narrow victor y on a platform that had included th e substanc e of To Secure These Rights. Even the censor s treated Pinky wit h circumspection; the PCA simply let drop a suggestion by its house Southerner , Francis Harmon, that Pinky be related to a known whit e ma n as though conforming t o ol d Southern etiquett e obligin g decent treatment o f colored offsprin g o f miscegenist unions . Paralle l t o it s release, th e MPAA had already decided to challenge in court any cuts by state censors based upon race. And as to the PCA's own code, studios began arguing that its own miscegenation clauses were unenforceable. And in New York, Walter White offere d th e NAAC P as yet another amicus curiae in the man y cases making thei r way s to the Suprem e Court . For her part , Christin e Smith i n Atlant a caught th e tren d an d eve n joine d it . " I kno w thi s picture i s going t o b e ver y painfu l t o a great man y Southerners, " sh e said, "but a t the same time it will make them realize how unlovely their attitudes are." Eve n in Memphis i t suffere d th e los s of only a few mo ments of impending violence. Thu s cuts were made in only a few places where, sai d th e Defender, "illiterac y rules " and eve n thes e wer e over turned by courts that upheld the right to show films "which are in aid of better race relations"—as th e NAAC P described a Marshall, Texas, decision.60 Pinky an d it s cohorts ma y eve n have , lik e all movies, half-formed the socia l behavior the y wer e half-forme d by. In Atlanta, for example , exhibitors weighed highe r grosse s over racial etiquette in declaring formerly white-only seat s "open to Negroes." Indeed , i n the Sout h and in the natio n Pinky boomed , earnin g fou r millio n dollar s b y year' s end , much o f which cam e fro m black s who ha d broke n famil y rule s against sitting in Jim Crow houses. Some theatremen reporte d tha t black audiences gre w mor e truculen t an d eve n vandalisti c after seein g messag e movies. "Sinc e playing Pinky an d Home of the Brave we have noticed a n increase i n belligerence o f our colore d trade, " complained a California exhibitor o f a trend o n th e heel s o f the cycle . More politicall y focused, Atlanta's blac k leader s predicte d a different , i f not entirel y unrelated , mood: "Th e pictur e wil l inspire Negroes to do bigger things tha n the y have in the past because of the effor t Pink y made for her race." 61 As for the white South , Zanuc k expected t o "break dow n taboo s an d ge t our picture booked in practicall y every city below th e Mason-Dixo n line," which, h e thought, "every citize n should cheer about. " And if the film seemed s o sof t a s t o allo w conservative s to "gloat," Zanuc k reminded White, as though taking over leadership of their warborne alliance, that

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in the midst of rising expectations "sometimes th e aim is more important than hittin g the bull's eye." 62 Less than tw o month s afte r this , i n late November, Metro contrib uted it s own movi e t o the cycle , adding still more prestige by drawin g upon a distinguishe d nove l b y William Faulkner , wh o soo n woul d b e awarded a Nobe l Prize. Thus i n ye t anothe r case , literar y sourc e an d wartime Hollywoo d mentalit y imparte d a high glos s to th e ideolog y of integration. Muc h a s Zanuc k had steere d Gentleman's Agreement and Pinky, Dor e Schar y assembled a grou p le d b y Be n Maddow , a radical shaped by the Depression, and directo r Clarence Brown, a Tennesseean and make r o f MGM's mos t prestigiou s films who ha d neve r forgotte n witnessing the Atlanta race riots as a child. Together they might override the conservatis m o f Faulkner's regionalis m a s well a s persuade Mayer that th e film' s "prestige " shoul d outweig h hi s misgiving s towar d th e liberal work of his son-in-law Schary. 63 The idea for the movie came to Brown afte r readin g Faulkner' s Intruder in the Dust i n galleys. But th e book that to him seemed "a s little as I could do to make up for Atlanta" and the property with which to be "the first of its kind," to Metro was a sleeping do g bette r lef t undisturbed . "Maye r though t I wa s crazy, " Brown recalled years later, and he overheard someone sneer : "We don't want to make that goddam thing." But with Schary' s arrival from RKO (where h e ha d don e Crossfire], Brow n gaine d a frien d a t cour t whe n Schary chos e th e boo k a s a contractually guarantee d persona l production. Eve n then, Brow n recalle d tha t "instea d o f helping yo u the y d o everything i n Christ' s world t o hinder you." 64 At first glance it seemed to o Southern , wha t wit h Brown' s roots in Atlanta and Tennessee, his decision to break MGM custom and shoot on location (i n Faulkner' s Oxford , Mississippi) , and hi s rappor t wit h th e mayor and townspeople . Indeed , the editor o f the local paper imagined the film as "the mos t eloquent statemen t o f the true Southern viewpoin t of racial relations . . . eve r sent out over the nation." Faulkner himself, ensconced i n his nearby house, offere d aside s on castin g and locations . Ben Maddo w se t asid e hi s Yanke e radicalis m and , wit h scan t inter ference fro m th e others , finishe d a draf t b y Christma s 194 8 tha t froz e Faulkner's regio n i n time , caugh t it s ancient guil t ove r miscegenation , yet inched toward some fairmindedness toward Africa n Americans. Still without alterin g the socia l order, h e reordered som e o f Faulkner's indirection, opene d u p th e action , an d cu t severa l regiona l apologi a an d racial epithets. 65 By then, with rumors flying about soon-to-surface message movies, Schary brok e th e parochia l Souther n spel l an d submitte d Maddow' s work t o th e NAACP , whic h gav e i t a blac k imprimatur , perhap s i n exchange for a sermonic coda tacked on t o hammer hom e it s message. Henry Le e Moon , th e NAACP' s publi c relation s man , judge d i t "a n excellent script , o n th e whole , th e kin d o f film we ca n endorse, " an d

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urged Walter White "to give Hollywood the 'Go' sign." Despite an internal split—Jane White tolerated "nigger" for credibility's sake while Walter predicted its setting off resentment—Moon predicte d a movie "more satisfying than any of its forerunners," partl y because its "suspense an d action" would mak e th e "messag e acceptable t o th e masse s o f moviegoers."66 Clearly, Hollywood and the NAACP still clung to their wartim e union an d hope d tha t it s magic would stil l bring i n both convert s an d cash. Meanwhile, i n Oxfor d throug h th e sprin g o f 1949 , the y sho t thei r movie, so careful no t to violate racial etiquette that the locals gave them a farewell fishfry. The harmony cracke d only once, when Brown asked the blac k juvenile Elzy Emmanue l t o play a cemetery scen e with suc h oldtime eye-popping fea r tha t Maddow was amazed. Emmanue l at first refused, althoug h "finally, " said Ebony, he was "forced to do the stereotype." O f course, th e poin t her e i s not Brown' s laps e int o shootin g a black figure whom he recalled from Souther n lore. Rather it was the shif t in cultural politics that the war had brought and that had prodded Maddow, Ebony, an d fo r anothe r instance , Bo b Elli s i n th e Eagle to angril y respon d t o wha t wa s "crue l o f producer Brow n t o jockey the youn g Negr o player . . . int o a Willie-Best-Eye-Rollin g comedy part."67 Nonetheless, unifie d i n thei r cause , Brown' s tea m turne d ou t a movie o f striking acuity, though lik e the othe r messag e movies, i t ha d parts that eventuall y wore thei r age awkwardly. Lik e the others , too , it used a lone Negro in a white setting as a dramatic device through whic h to enmesh black s and white s i n a mutual fate. However , Maddow ex tended th e ide a throug h Faulkner' s metapho r fo r th e collectiv e guilt with whic h th e novelis t seeme d possessed : blac k Luca s Beaucham p (Juano Hernandez) , owlish , cold , wit h a deathl y pallo r who , i n th e establishing shots, i s led by police through a rough, sullen , almost porcine mob , t o jail, where he wil l be indicte d fo r the murde r o f Vincent Gowrie, scio n o f a clan of poor whites . "Tel l you r uncle I wants to see him," h e says to young Chick Malleson (Claude Jarman, Jr.), thus tying his lawyer-father and the Malleson family to the fat e of a Negro. At first, almost flippantly , Chic k says of the proud , aloo f Luca s that the y wer e "going to make a nigger out of him once in his life," but soon remembers the ol d stor y o f Lucas's kinship t o hi s grandfather , a lineag e throug h which Lucas acquired the farm that sets him apart from most blacks. The meaning o f th e stor y sharpen s a s Chic k recalls fallin g int o a stream , drying ou t befor e Lucas' s fire, and eatin g a mea l fo r which h e rudel y tried to pay as though avoidin g the role of guest and its implied equality. The memory i s the first of several through which Chic k begins to learn that on e coul d be "sad , o r proud, o r even lonely , insid e a blac k skin, too." Lucas i s in jail a s accuse d murderer because o f his ow n antipath y

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Lucas Beaucham p (Juan o Hernandez ) i n Intruder in the Dust (1949) called forth whit e resentmen t by not "playing the nigger. " Here he walk s int o th e general store—i n hi s elegant attire : hat , mornin g coat , cravat , an d wit h a gold toothpick , iconicall y "white. " BFI . Copyright Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .

toward Cowrie , wh o resente d hi s wearin g o f whit e cast e marks : a widebrimmed slouc h hat, a big .41-calibre revolver, and a gol d tooth pick. T o save th e ol d man , Chic k and tw o cohorts , blac k frien d Ale c (Elzy Emmanuel ) an d th e oldes t whit e woma n i n town , Mis s Habersham (Elizabet h Patterson), set out to exhume Cowrie' s corpse to compare bullets (Lucas's pistol being a rare .41). Miss Habersham, as though sharing Chick' s link to Lucas , guards the jailhouse door agains t a mo b until the kids return with their evidence. Here Maddow, more than any other writer of the genre, implicates his audience by making his mob not salivating geek s nor , a s h e wrote , a crue l o r ugl y crow d bu t rathe r a group remarkabl y like the audience . It is Chick's uncle wh o hammer s the point : Th e killer, he says , easily should hav e bee n abl e t o pi n th e crime on Luca s because o f the tw o hundre d year s of racial history tha t welded th e plai n people o f the mo b (an d the audience ) into on e i n its hatred o f Lucas . Bu t whe n Chic k an d Ale c brin g i n thei r bulle t an d expose the kille r (anothe r Cowrie), the lawye r sets forth Schary' s liberal coda: We were i n trouble , not Lucas , h e says , looking dow n o n th e quietened tow n square . But i t wil l b e al l right , h e muses , if only a fe w

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refuse t o ru n fro m history . Luca s i s himsel f t o th e end , unchanged , wearing hi s arrogant badges—toothpick , watchfob , hat, strin g tie, an d pistol—as he pays his two-dollar fee to the lawyer and waits for a receipt. It is the whites who have been changed by his presence i n their lives. As Malleson says, watching Luca s cross the square, there passes the keeper of his conscience; then , turning as the script directs, into the camera as if toward the audience , h e takes a beat and says : "ou r conscience." 68 No vehicle could have done greater justice to the emerging notion of a common conscienc e across racial lines. From the first glimpse of Lucas from a high angle, followed by fleeting takes of his face through the mob, then i n the half-light of his cell, thence t o his rising to full heigh t i n th e square, the whites are not free to ignore him or set him apart. He became what th e wa r movi e genr e an d it s "unity" propagand a ha d begu n t o assert, the cente r o f a conscience-liberal consensus . Not tha t liberal s considered thi s metapho r o f common conscienc e powerful enoug h t o solv e all their problems . It s acceptance in theatre s was never take n to mean tha t white people would brea k of f from thei r racial history. Rather, except for a few who though t Intruder in the Dust too on-the-nos e i n it s rhetoric, the y almos t unanimousl y rea d i t as its makers intended: as an assertion of the thrust of liberalism in a particular time, and on a human scal e that avoided the purely political and therefore offere d chang e a s a prospect rathe r tha n a program. Fo r example , the Oxford Eagle and the California Eagle, the former white and rural, the latter black and urban, agreed on the movie, the former for its "groping for fair play and tolerance" whil e avoiding mere "indictment," the latter calling it "a smashin g weapo n agains t intolerance." Together they constituted a strikin g consensus o f black an d whit e agreemen t o n newl y defined term s o f postwar racia l arrangements roote d neithe r i n empt y nostalgia nor interventionism, but rather in the shared nonceword tolerance, which bot h must have learned durin g the war. Othe r papers were less rhapsodic but a t least cheered: rangin g from th e Times's clai m that "here, a t last , i s a picture tha t slashe s right dow n t o the core, " to th e Memphis Press-Scimitar's reckonin g tha t "becaus e i t i s entertaining, it s argument wil l b e heard—understood—perhap s heeded. " Eve n th e Communist V. J. Jerome, thoug h skeptica l of reformism, thought Lucas "towers easil y over all" an d sa w "poetic justice" a s one o f the results. Dissenters nagged onl y a t particulars , as Jose Yglesia s di d i n findin g i t "curiously neutral " i n th e wa y i t hinged o n tw o kid s an d a geezer. 69 Intellectuals placed i t a t th e to p o f the genre . On e o f them, Judg e J. Watie s Waring , was a libera l scio n of an old Charlesto n famil y in whose cour t the NAAC P in 194 7 won a landmark cas e involving black voting, a decisio n o f whic h h e said , "I t i s time fo r Sout h Carolin a t o rejoin th e union." He praised Schary for "all th e beauty and intangible essence w e hav e misse d i n s o man y Hollywoo d productions. " Eve n Ralph Ellison , n o frien d o f the genre , reporte d tha t i n Harle m at least

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they di d no t laug h i t of f the scree n an d though t i t promise d ensuin g changes. In the industry , Eric Johnston spoke of threatened censorshi p as "a perversio n o f the educationa l process," an d Senar y tried to boost Brown's spirit s following the film's slow start. "I know ho w depresse d you are about the lack of business," he wrote, "but don't let that destroy the fac t tha t you'v e mad e a grea t document . . . . Whil e w e ar e i n a profit business , we occasionally must be prepared for a commercial loss as long a s we know w e have gaine d in dignity and stature." 70 Slow business notwithstanding, by the end of 1949 the genre promised enoug h o n th e whol e tha t th e B-moviemake r Eagle-Lion signed Jackie Robinson to do a biopic about his 194 7 entry into white baseball, an even t that itsel f ha d conforme d to the plot s of the war movi e genre and anticipated the theme of the peacetime message movies.71 Robinson played himsel f wit h winsom e sincerit y a s a dutifu l chil d o f a gentee l family. Despit e its comicboo k styl e and familia r device s (lik e its calendar-leaf montag e o f time passing), it outreached th e major s in its showing th e tensio n o f integration a s well as the ambivalenc e of some blacks. Bu t it s adversarial core mad e i t work. O n on e sid e Robinson's preacher prods him "for the whole colore d people," while on the other stands farm team manager Cla y Hopper (Richard Lane), who i s made to ask o f Branc h Rickey , boss o f th e Brookly n Dodgers, "Do yo u reall y think he is a human being?" In the balance is acceptance by the fans and players, an outcome signifie d b y a trope of Moss's Teamwork, black and white hand s i n closeup , and b y Hopper who i n th e en d says , "He's a gentleman." Too pat? In actuality, either the Dodgers learned to behave like Hopper , o r Ricke y traded the m awa y an d th e fan s readil y were converted. I n fact, actua l audiences a t ballgames are used s o that, as in no other message movie, moviegoer s can watch people like themselves do the righ t thing, a device that increase s the politica l weight of a thi n B-movie. Lik e mos t B-movie s it please d it s fan s mor e tha n it s critics, who eithe r patronized it as "sincere" or carped at its "overtactful" an d "corny" story that was inlaid with "half truths." "Just a second feature, not too well made," said Variety, an d with a "quicky flavor." 72 Bu t more important tha n connoisseurshi p wa s th e blun t introductio n o f racial politics into B-movies, perhaps helping turn popular taste away from the surviving black flunky roles in B-westerns and thrillers . Ensuing from, if not caused by, The Jackie Robinson Story, a genre of B-movies celebrated folk heroes, some of them drawn from sport s and som e o f them including Africa n Americans , a sor t o f tal e o f unbridle d succes s tha t late r became a staple of movies-made-for-TV. Indeed , suc h messag e movie s reached into the reputedly staid Eisenhower Republican years and kept open a t leas t a storybook movie politics as well as meatier fare . One of the best of the continuin g cycle, both on its merits and i n its influence o n th e times , was Josep h Mankiewicz' s (an d Zanuck's ) No Way Out (1950). It pressed its point the hardest , literally threatening the

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viewer with the prospect o f race riots if America remained raciall y inert, and introducing a foreboding future i n which the muted rag e at the core of man y socia l transaction s betwee n black s an d white s break s lik e a festering sor e an d threaten s t o infect a larger secto r o f the community . What i s more , earl y o n Zanuc k kne w h e wante d a tabloi d style : He replaced hi s blac k lead , Jame s Edwards , with Sidne y Poitier , a n am bitious newcome r whos e barel y controlle d styl e seeme d righ t fo r th e film. It was to be, Zanuck hoped, as real as blood and guts in its raw racebaiting, without a trace of treacly Negrophilia. As though smellin g a hit, all of the Fo x producers known fo r topical movies volunteered t o mak e it, save for two holdouts who warne d o f its hysteria and its sure defeat a t the hand s o f Southern censor s an d bo x offices. 73 As earl y a s Christma s 1948 , lon g befor e th e cycl e ha d begun , Zanuck, along with Phili p Yordan, author o f a black version of a PolishAmerican melodrama, Anna Lucasta, began a script from a treatment b y Lesser Samuels about a black intern who must treat a virulent racist who has bee n wounde d i n a gunfigh t with police . At first, before the cycl e became a trend, the y wer e snare d i n liberal cant, unabl e t o have thei r white docto r play martinet t o Poitier, unable t o see an endin g tha t di d not includ e the deat h o f the black intern a t the hand s o f a crazy racist, and chaine d t o th e notio n tha t contac t wit h liberal s should teac h th e heavy "something." 74 But b y spring 1949 , a s they sa w how goo d o r bad messag e movie s could be, they relented an d began to create their own libera l cliche and the kerne l o f Poitier's lifelong role : the restraine d blac k who withhold s himself from whites until they accept him on his merits, who command s the fram e b y standin g apart , wh o demand s neithe r her o worshi p no r condescension, no r eve n t o enter th e white world , but onl y th e civility due an y professional. Yordan also went for the complexit y of black life : there i s Dr . Luthe r Brook s (Poitier) , struggling achiever; th e accom modationist Negr o who refuse s treatmen t b y an y bu t a whit e doctor ; Brooks's sociologically plausible family an d hi s wife, a sensible woman but wracke d b y deeply rooted fear s o f white peoples ' capacit y for mischief; an d hi s extende d famil y wh o hol d hi m i n aw e a s the on e tha t broke th e barrier to medical school. 75 The final ingredient was cool, brown Poitier himself, fresh fro m Lost in the Stars on Broadway, thence t o tests, interviews with Mankiewicz, a berth on the 20th Century , an apartment i n white Westwood, a soaring boost in income, and a career in the movies. He would play the simmering heale r agains t Richar d Widmark' s cornered , hur t racist , Ray . Together the y provide d a n adversaria l resonance tha t carrie d th e movi e into combativeness that put at risk the genre, its box office, the rearming

of retreating censors, and th e audiences and critic s who s o far had foun d it eas y t o marc h wit h them alon g this rolling frontie r o f melodramatic portrayals o f racia l integration . Th e complexitie s grew exponentially.

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For example, Brook s will determine no t onl y to treat the racist but tha t in the coming racial clash he will join the defenders of the ghetto; that is, he wil l act out DuBois' s "twoness" and have both blacknes s and entr y into white circles. Crowther saw this as a neat challenge: " 'No Way Out' poses th e proble m an d say s in effec t 'Wha t ar e yo u goin g to d o abou t it?'"76 That this angle—blacks as a combative collectivity against rabid racism and quiescent white tolerance of it—marked a coming of age may be seen i n th e debat e i t provided censor s alread y in retrea t unde r judicial pressure. In fact, th e studio called upon Walter White to plant a piece in the Times in which he granted the stridency of the movie but came dow n on th e sid e of freedom o f the screen . I t would hel p th e pictur e off to a good run , the y said , and encourag e Hollywoo d to keep at it. White did his duty and sent circulars to his NAACP branches urging local resistance to censor s "t o achiev e maximum success." 77 What White and the studio feared, of course, was timid black leaders who, lik e Jewish opponent s o f Gentleman's Agreement, feare d tha t b y exposing virulen t racism the y riske d poking a stic k at a dozin g beast. Signs that they were correc t in their reckoning ranged fro m th e PG A to local boards . Bu t whe n Bree n argue d tha t it s "inflammator y flavor " particularly it s "race riot," might brin g o n carpin g fro m "specia l plea ders," the studi o countered wit h a copy of a fan letter that angril y took issue wit h th e movi e a s the lates t in a lon g lin e o f the "nigge r lover " studio's wor k tha t spok e wit h th e voic e o f a to o libera l governmen t propaganda movie . I n th e fac e o f such a blun t challeng e t o th e entir e movement, whic h ha d begu n withi n a setting of government interven tion, Jason S. Joy, speaking for Fox, insisted on a fight against the racism that clearly existe d and a public revival of the ol d alliance with White . Indeed, fo r his part Whit e leap t t o th e renewa l o f the fight, urge d th e branches t o tak e action, and personally too k up individua l cases. As he told a critic, the Hollywoo d cycle plus The Quiet One "mark a great step forward i n the motion pictur e industry," addin g that "the eve r increasing nationwide concer n abou t huma n right s is in par t du e t o the ne w type of pictures which Hollywood is making about the Negro." 78 T o take only on e outcome , i n Baltimor e Car l Murphy , publishe r o f th e AfroAmerican an d a familiar figur e o n interracia l commissions , brok e wit h White i n demandin g cut s o f references t o riots , bu t th e censo r boar d chair, a s though recognizin g White' s standin g i n th e matter , reporte d directly t o hi m o f th e decisio n t o sid e wit h Murph y rathe r tha n th e NAACP. Clearly, even i f picking a course through th e intricacie s of race and censorship was difficult, blacks had become an imposing presence in the lobbie s and boardroom s of state houses. 79 Finally No Way Out lost to censorship only a few references t o "niggers" an d revenge , bu t Mankiewicz' s glossy , brittl e styl e survived . A polished, soundstag e variant on The Naked City genre , i t opene d o n a

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No Way Out (1950) di d it s best to "shoc k America" epitomizing racis m i n th e person o f a lon e psychoti c criminal (Richar d Widmark ) wh o taunt s a dutiful black docto r (Sidne y Poitier), thereby freein g th e "average " American fro m such feelings . Copyrigh t 20th Century-Fox .

routine change o f shift in an urban hospital . The daily round i s shattered when two thieves, each wit h a gunshot wound , are brought int o Emergency wher e Dr . Brooks, a black intern, i s on duty . Unde r a torrent o f racial abuse he not only examines thei r wound s bu t routinely checks for other symptoms, amon g which h e spots signs of a tumor i n one man. I n testing fo r i t h e take s a spina l tap , followin g whic h hi s patien t dies , setting loos e anothe r roun d o f racist rage an d threat s o f revenge upo n not only Brooks but als o Beaver Canal, the black ghetto. Brooks calls for an autopsy , which woul d confir m his diagnosi s as well a s head of f the threat o f violence , bu t th e famil y member s refuse : th e mos t vengefu l among the m specificall y becaus e he wishe s t o stoke the passions in th e streets. Sign s o f th e stree t fightin g mount—anguishe d families , ter -

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Although rabi d whit e racis m seeme d a tolerabl e them e i n No Way Out, th e black organize d resistanc e demande d b y thi s exhorte r (Dot s Johnson) dis comfltted stat e censor boards. BFI . Copyright 20th Century-Fox .

rorstricken bystanders—and th e wounde d drif t in , includin g a woma n who spit s ou t he r veno m a t Brooks . Th e onl y remed y loom s clear : Brooks must surrender himself as the "murderer" of his patient, thereby forcing a n autops y that woul d confir m his finding, discredit the surviving racist, and plac e a lid on th e rioting . The film was strikin g in its resistance to a happy closur e that was a reprise o f The House I Live In. Ray , the racist , goes unrepentant t o th e end. Bu t there is also a credible slack in the racism of his slatternly sister (Linda Darnell) , wh o i s les s willin g t o hav e he r racis m serv e a s th e motive for a pointless riot . Her wambling open s th e way to the autops y that vindicate s Brook s and head s of f violence. Her e the firs t roun d o f message movies would have ended—in the restoration of harmony. Bu t Mankiewicz ha d pressed forwar d as though i n a van . Hi s blacks were seen a s prepare d t o ac t communally , almos t militarily , o n thei r ow n behalf withou t a Lincol n figur e wit h whic h Yorda n ha d begun . Th e "Lincoln"—the chie f resident—merely backs Brooks's play. Moreover, black Beaver Canal debates its options within realisti c family circle s an d other socia l settings absent from th e firs t o f the genre . Despite its touchy violence, the metropolitan press, black critics, and

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many donors of awards praised No Way Out and refused t o flinch from its harshness. The y seemed t o accep t its veiled libera l faith i n th e correc tability of racism and i n the eventua l overriding of divisive and destructive force s i n th e society . Witnesses reported everythin g fro m stunne d silence to frequent applaus e at its compelling bluntness. White preferred it eve n t o hi s daughter' s movie , Pinky, an d followin g his lea d critic s bubbled a t "Hollywood' s mos t powerfu l anti-hate film, " toutin g i t as "the greates t step forward in the fight against prejudice since the nickelodeon." As to its forwar d thrust, the siste r of a feature d player, Dots Johnson, love d it because i t signaled "tha t th e colore d race is fighting back." Years later, Ruby Dee recalled it as "a ste p forward, revolutionary, really," compared with its forebears, which had seeme d a collective "liberal compromis e wit h truth." 80 Unavoidably, of course, the play in the movie allowed less sanguine readings. Anticipating the thrust of Poitier's career, Gavin Lambert spoke for thos e who foun d "an unblemishe d Negro and a vicious white neu rotic is an extreme and rather narrow dramatization of the general problem." Thi s "unbridled smackin g of the lips" in a "supertabloid geeklik e style," accordin g to some, merel y invited audiences to "si t back , relax, and feel that their conscience is now clear." Indeed, two social scientists, Martha Wolfenstein and Nathan Leites, probing "a deepe r level" found a "boomeran g effect " roote d in the image of a competent Negr o doctor surrounded b y signifier s o f his tentativenes s and perhap s malevolence . Others found a backbeat in of f camera riot, a throb o f an olde r bugbear: anguished "'whit e womanhood ' assaulte d b y th e 'bestia l Negroes.' " And t o stil l others , a bargain seeme d t o have been struc k tha t sai d " a white corpse must be 'violated'" in order to admit blacks to their circle, a dilemma fro m whic h ther e seeme d "n o wa y out." 81 Whatever their obviou s flaws, these message movies effectively se t before popula r audience s a racia l agend a tha t ha d followe d fro m na tional goal s that ha d take n for m i n durin g the wa r an d ha d struggled through a thermidorean peacetime period marked a s much by To Secure These Rights as by conservative HUAC. While it cannot be shown that the mentality o f the ag e o f integration tha t followe d derived directl y fro m the movie s that ran fro m Bataan through The Quiet One and beyon d t o No Way Out, we d o kno w tha t thos e wh o sa w th e movie s an d wrot e down thei r response s ha d internalize d a racia l ideology that no t onl y clashed wit h antebellu m racial practice but i n th e nex t generatio n became a par t o f a "Secon d Reconstruction. " I n fact , measure d b y bo x office succes s i n th e South , th e myt h o f a n intractabl y conservativ e Southern mind itself had com e to an end. Much as George Norford ha d seen Lifeboat a s a harbinger of postwar liberalism, so Lillie M. Jackson of Baltimore NAACP saw a similar link with the past in No Way Out, which she likened to a war movie climaxed by a "victorious battle .. . b y our boys."82

9

Settling In, Settling For

The movies throug h whic h a liberalism of conscience wa s retaile d t o a broad audience hav e suffered a t the hands of historians wh o hav e been unimpressed b y thei r apparen t lo w voltage , thei r messag e tha t ha d grown quickly old hat, thei r limiting of racial discourse to the admissio n of a single iconic black into a white circle (platoon, courtroom, surgery , and o f course, o n televise d new s afte r 1954 , school). Bu t thei r formul a had bee n uncannil y prescien t i n anticipating , eve n half-forming , th e shape that racial integration would actually take. That is, as surely as one black figure entered th e circles in Sahara and No Way Out, so in actuality the Suprem e Cour t obliged voting registrar s and schoo l board s t o give blacks access to the ballot box and th e classrooms , formerl y whit e pre serves o f privilege, a patter n followe d b y America n busines s circle s in engaging what came to be known a s token Negroes. Certainly the mainline civil rights activists adopted such strategies as their own, an d almos t as certainly , whit e American s wh o tolerate d o r eve n welcome d th e change di d s o accordin g t o th e formul a tha t movie s ha d provided — taking an initiatory black figure into a professional or institutional circle, a bank or school—while fudging the issue as it applied to primary groups such a s church, neighborhood , an d famil y circle . In addition to this limit on collective social imagination, movie s as a medium fo r anticipating chang e faltere d fo r their ow n interna l reasons : Success o f movies, eve n messag e movies, oblige d Hollywoo d t o repea t itself simpl y a s a matte r o f knowin g whic h sid e it s brea d wa s t o b e 250


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buttered on. As we have seen, only the crisis of war an d the dislocation s that followe d it shook th e socia l equilibrium enoug h t o tak e eve n th e minimal risk s tha t wa r movie s an d messag e movie s ha d represented . This built-in thermidor tha t i n the absenc e o f crises guided Hollywoo d may b e followe d in th e career s o f two fin e actors , Sidne y Poitie r an d Harry Belafonte , the forme r circumspect , overcontrolled , th e latte r th e product of bohemian cellar s where folksongs were sun g to leftish audi ences. I n th e decad e o f th e 1950s , a s w e shal l see , Hollywoo d chos e Poitier and elected to exclude Belafonte, to repeat itself rather than break new ground—a t leas t unti l th e crisi s of the civi l rights movement pro vided i t with th e occasio n t o restar t it s stilled engines . We began by taking up movies as ritual that codified values and also happened t o maximize studi o profits an d wi n Oscars . In seekin g thes e badges of approval, moviemakers created the stuf f of value-impregnated myths, ofte n a t thei r mos t ritualisti c i n th e replicate d formula s o f B-movies and genre movies. Thus in dealing with racial issues before the war they ofte n preferred erasing blacks or at the very least treating the m as the different Other , i n keeping with their actua l social status. But the war ha d brough t decent , self-effacin g black s int o th e circle , an d thei r place in it was enlarged in the message movie cycle. Enter Poitier, whose performance person a len t itsel f t o a gentl e politic s o f th e center ; exi t Belafonte, whos e edg y intensity did not commen d itsel f to conscience liberals in searc h o f riskfree formulai c reprises of battles already fought. Poitier's perennial her o we might like n t o Gawain i n the medieva l legend: At first he knows nothing of the nature of his quest, but only that he must make it; only later does he come to understand that his object is the Hol y Grail. And wit h Poitie r as with Gawain , i t turns ou t tha t th e stakes i n th e searc h ar e a s much politica l as individual. Gawai n learns that his behavior forms some vital link with th e healing of the mythica l Fisher King, and that , in turn, both th e quest and th e restoration o f the king to health and potency have a bearing on, as Jessie L. Weston had it in From Ritual to Romance, healing "th e misfortune s of the land. " Poitier, the latter-day Gawain, will always be met on the screen facing tests and trials that have such universalizing consequences. Lik e Lucas Beauchamp i n Intruder in the Dust, he i s "the conscienc e o f us all. " Belafonte's fewe r heroes, o n th e othe r hand , ar e mor e clearl y Byronic, doome d outlaws . Whethe r i n Carmen Jones o r i n hi s ow n Odds Against Tomorrow, they see m hellbent for outlawry an d thenc e to their deaths. I n brief, Poitier' s character worked th e center s o f the America n ethos; Belafonte' s played its rimlands. I f this seems t o reasser t a determinism at the core of popular culture that dooms it to promote the status quo, i t must also be seen that the racial status quo, or its ideology at least, had been transformed b y war. But more than that, chance and accident also matter in the unfolding of history, and by chance Poitier was technically readie r for hi s rol e than wa s Belafont e fo r his , th e latte r not ye t

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having used hi s loosely worn singin g style to free hi s tense acting style. So it was Poitier who dominated th e racial politics of the ensuing quarter of a century of black movies, and in doing so doomed himself to a career of brilliantly acted ritua l repetitions o f Bataan. The resulting genre o f liberal movies wa s ful l o f obligatory closures in whic h th e heavies—whethe r flint y banker s o r sneerin g crackers — came t o a bad en d brought o n by the resolv e o f the hero , who wishe d only for fai r play . Life, o f course, wa s different : ful l o f ambiguities an d snares—and n o dissolves . Moreover, i n lif e a n accomplishe d goa l onl y exposed the next goal to be striven for, while in movies it might end only with exhibitor s callin g for more o f the same , muc h a s King Kong wa s followed b y Son of Kong. As a result, for many years , until the nationa l crisis over civi l rights in th e 1960 s intervened, America n racia l politics easily outran th e movies' feebl e attempt s to keep up . Withou t wa r an d crisis t o provid e thrust , Hollywoo d wa s lef t wit h onl y it s sens e o f th e marketplace a s a guide to conduct . The era began with John Garfield's urge to remake Hemingway's To Have and Have Not, this time with a black character a s chum t o Harry Morgan rathe r than the elfin rumm y who had replaced hi m in Howard Hawks's version i n 1944 . Th e result wa s The Breaking Point (1951) , a bold strid e toward a humane portrayal of interracial comradeship . Th e era was to end, however, wit h Jules Dassin's Up Tight (1967) , a restrike of Lia m O'Flaherty's nove l o f the Iris h risin g i n Dublin , The Informer, which John Ford had made into a movie in 1935 . This time it was about a black insurrection in Cleveland in which white liberals were placed on the margin of the action, prattling, overdressed, irrelevant, as a guerrilla war rage d about them . Between thes e tw o movie s wa s th e ag e o f Sidne y Poitier , whic h reached apogee in 196 3 when he won a n Oscar in Ralph Nelson's Lilies of the Field fo r hi s lon e blac k protagonist , thi s tim e droppe d amids t a klatsch o f nuns rathe r than a squad of ragged soldiers. It was a n ag e in search o f a libera l energ y tha t th e wa r ha d onc e provided , a sens e of adventure tha t rivale d th e customar y relianc e o n th e prove n an d th e normative. Th e result wa s a rising pitc h o f criticism directe d a t Poitier and th e keeper s of his image, as though blamin g Poitier for the coolin g down o f the passin g er a o f liberalism. In muc h th e sam e way , historian s hav e settle d upo n rabi d anti Communism a s th e nutrien t o f th e era , whic h seeme d adrif t t o th e political right, but the era was more profoundly marked by its preference for th e virtue s o f consensus an d restrain t tha n it s preference fo r rightwing extremists . No t that critics of Senator McCarthy were no t entitle d to thei r rage . Th e urg e fo r consensu s tha t wa s accompanie d by , an d perhaps wa s i n par t cause d by , a sens e o f havin g misse d ou t o n th e benefits o f a victorious wartime alliance that quickly broke apart into a "cold war" le d to a mood of meanly seeking out and blaming those wh o

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had covertl y sold off the fruit s o f victory to their Communis t master s i n Moscow. I n suc h a mood McCarth y was no more than a symptomati c pimple rather tha n a lethal cancer. Thus, although hi s committee i n the Senate, HUAC , an d th e FB I recklessly injure d innocen t person s an d violated thei r right s to privac y and freedo m o f expression, th e dimin ished drive of liberal politics derived more from broader shift s in generational style . This cooler politica l idiom wa s drive n les s by fea r o f reactionaries an d mor e b y th e diminutio n o f the , a s Siegfrie d Kracaue r wrote, "progressiv e attitud e which undoubtedly owe s much to wartim e experiences." Nonetheless , visible causes attract more attention than less sweeping, les s focuse d circumstances , s o tha t a coole d leftis t politica l ardor wa s readil y attribute d t o "a blacklistin g o f ideas " arisin g fro m reactionary hysteria . Thus for every observer who, wit h Arthu r Knight, thought "groundless " th e fea r tha t "Un-America n trial s [sic] woul d drive al l progressiv e thinkin g of f the screen, " ther e wer e Hollywoo d liberals who overvalued "this Red Menace" that Hedda Hopper, for one, thought would destroy America, and who therefore signed "the Waldorf Statement" and other devices for denying employment t o known Communists. Othe r Hollywoodians of the cente r and righ t attended lecture s on "Hollywood commissars, " snoope d fo r HUAC, combed scripts for red cant, pai d fo r so-calle d "clearances " o f suspected re d performers , an d began to sound lik e secret agents: "Destroy these wire s when you hav e finished," wrote Lyma n Munson t o a colleague after discussin g a movie about th e FBI.1 The short-term effec t i n Hollywood drove the mogul s much a s any market forc e woul d hav e done . Leftist s foun d everythin g fro m assign ments to golf matches canceled ; even "friendly" witnesse s who testifie d before HUA C a s atonement fo r their "un-American" pasts felt hobble d and severe d link s to anythin g political ; an d everyon e kne w a stor y of aborted projects , recut films, or a "terrified" studio. 2 In the blacks' case, victimization was less obvious because so few of them worke d anyway . HUAC' s boldes t target , Pau l Robeson , serve d poorly a s a sig n o f th e stiflin g o f movie s becaus e h e ha d lon g sinc e foresworn Hollywood . As for the Hollywoo d Negroes, they eithe r too k out tradepape r ad s testifyin g t o thei r Americanis m an d urgin g black s "not t o be deceived by Communist doubletalk"; or , like Harry Levette, warned agains t "so-called libera l interracial groups"; o r on th e lef t ad mitted to being "duped"; or, like Canada Lee, confessed that opposition to lynching drove them into the arms of the CPU S A. Of course one never knew wh y thing s happened . Claud e Barnett's proposa l t o th e Unite d States Information Agency (USIA ) i n 1952 , The Negro in America, ap peared t o di e o f th e agency' s fea r o f the hol d Souther n congressmen exercised over thei r budget , but unknow n t o Barnet t ma y als o hav e suffered fro m hi s cultivatin g Reed Harris, a civi l servan t who onc e ha d been cruell y grille d b y McCarthy. 3 Bu t i n thi s whit e man' s squabble ,

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blacks seeme d n o mor e tha n pigeon s i n a confidenc e game, muc h a s they were portrayed in an anti-red quickie, / Was a Communist for the FBI in whic h Red s speak o f tremendous profit s draw n fro m "niggers " as a result o f the party' s defens e of accused rapists in the Scottsbor o case in the 1920s. 4 But a look at the movies themselves reveals not so much a waning of politics as a change in style to accommodate to what the comedian Bob Newhart referre d t o a s a "buttoned-down, " circumspect , gray-suited taste-culture. True , th e Fun d fo r th e Republic' s Report on Blacklisting (1956), drawing onMPAA data, concluded that "problem" pictures had slipped fro m a quarte r t o a tent h o f output ; Alle n Rivki n noticed a waning "populis t spirit" ; an d Joh n Stone , a watchdog o f Jewish roles , foresaw a n avoidanc e o f movies "dealin g wit h racia l and religiou s relations." Bu t thes e observer s ma y hav e merel y note d a fadin g o f th e "geeklike" tabloid styl e of message movie s i n favo r o f a genre o f "se rious" films with social themes tha t ranged from Broadwa y adaptations like Come Back, Little Sheba to westerns like High Noon. S o routinely did blacks begin to appear in normative roles in these movies that the older style of message movie would have seemed strident. They were cops and judges i n None Shall Escape (1944) , Trial (1955) , an d Detective Story (1951), a fisherman in The Breaking Point (1951), a wounded vetera n in Bright Victory (1951) , and others . Indians also received liberal attention in a cycle of movies such as Hall Bartlett's Oscar-nominee, Navajo, an d Delmer Daves's Broken Arrow. Thu s American society at large seemed either a "prosperous, stable , bland, religious, moral, patriotic, conservative, domestic, buttoned-down " happ y nation , o r a "bleak an d disillusioned age" that sharply assailed itself in books like David Riesman's The Lonely Crowd tha t gave their name s t o the period. 5 It wa s thi s settin g fo r which Poitie r an d Eisenhower , eac h i n hi s field, became eponym s wh o conveyed—no t invented—th e spiri t of the times. The complex president played political naif: shrewdly bumbling, calculatedly garbled in public, hard a s flint within hi s circle, capable of seeing "either " and "or, " impatien t wit h blac k "second-clas s citizen ship" but put of f by "social mingling. " Eve n when "justly aroused" h e seemed to prefer "working lik e yeast, quietly."6 Poitier' s autobiography, This Life, reveale d a simila r circumspection . Encounterin g frictio n i n a strange town: avoi d trouble by using "my 'cool'"; facing dow n a critic: "cool out o n him"; an d s o on. Eve n in analysis he fel t "uptight , silent , and sullen " wit h "m y psychologica l guar d . . . up, " an d i n fea r o f a meltdown that "I might not be able to control." Indeed, his career rested on it : "I f ever I can contro l tha t 'control, ' then I will be an actor." 7 Of course, the president and th e acto r were not alone . In similar style Mel Torme sang , Lauren Bacall acted , the Moder n Jaz z Quartet played. At the end of the era in 1960 , even the Greensboro students in the first "sitin" behave d a l a mode in nea t shirt s an d ties , coo l masks, and crypti c


5

rather than expansive oratory. This is not to reduce politics to shtick, but rather to see that political limits were defined by a self-imposed taste for the coo l and a n avoidanc e o f declamation . Yet behind thi s cool facade, a certain amoun t o f racial ferment persisted. Urba n an d educate d white s tolerate d th e ide a o f an integrate d society. And teenaged children—blac k and white—gre w into a distinctive "crossover" taste-culture that was loud, truculent, clannish, as they "hooted and scoffed" a t square culture. Soon they became a target audience wit h a taste fo r Rock Around the Clock an d othe r movie-ritual s of rebellion, which ofte n included black acts in their casts. Blacks weighed as a market factor not onl y because of rising incomes but because of the portions o f it—hal f agai n greate r tha n whites'—spen t o n immediat e gratifications rather than on powertools and lawnmowers. B y 1950 their numbers alon e presse d agains t customar y barrier s o f segregation tha t began t o giv e way, aide d by a combinatio n o f direct social action an d judicial remedy . Meanwhile , a s suburbanizatio n thinne d th e poo l o f moviegoers, exhibitor s built, as Variety pu t it , "modern nabe houses. " Coupled wit h ar t houses , thes e neighborhoo d theatre s serve d newl y selective audiences rather tha n habitua l ones. 8 New condition s require d ne w practice s suc h a s grantin g blac k neighborhoods first-run movies, exploiting the "unusually high " impact of black press previews, advertisin g in th e blac k press , consulting wit h black ad-men, an d othe r mean s o f taking into accoun t th e black audience. Al l of this ease d th e threa t of , said Variety, a "class y suburbs vs. 'Rundown' Rialto " patter n an d inspire d a ras h o f bot h redecoratin g downtown house s an d shuttin g Ji m Cro w theatres , whic h take n to gether nurtured a n urbane audienc e read y for new things. 9 In one Baltimore instance, the Fulton, the Bridge, and the Met were, respectively, a grindhouse, a "nabe, " an d a forme r Loew's first-ru n house , al l struggling to survive a black migration into their market. The Fulton became a supermarket; the Bridge revived Cabin in the Sky, doubling it with a race movie, Boarding House Blues; and the Met played first-run black product like The Jackie Robinson Story. Olde r black theatres quickl y responded, the Harle m revivin g Imitation of Life, th e Roya l (th e las t vaudeville house) counterin g wit h a Carve r biopic, The Peanut Man, whil e th e marginal houses along the main black drag withered an d died, resulting in a net gain of two refurbished black houses and an enhanced imag e for the ol d black Rialto. 10 Soon th e trade s reporte d "Negr o clientel e i s an importan t factor " and "Negro-theme Fi x Return to Vigor," although sobering their readers with storie s of bafflement a t black preferences for King of Kings but no t for The Intruder (about a racist rabblerouser), and o f "wariness of southern theatremen" face d wit h a rise in vandalism and violence . Black fan mail expressing "great pride" in new wa r movie s like the stor y of black quartermasters, Red Ball Express, a story of the all-Nise i 442nd Regimen-

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Local 18 1 (Baltimore ) o f the projectionists ' unio n a t th e Fulton , a white "nabe" that quickl y becam e black an d the n a supermarket in th e postwa r rush t o brea k ou t o f old ghettos—a migratio n that, couple d wit h the Para mount case , altere d th e socioecomoni c basis o f movie distribution. Collectio n of Dr . Rober t B . Headley.

tal Comba t Team, Go for Broke, and others , wa s sen t t o th e press , th e studios, an d eve n th e Bree n office. 11 A lively corps of critics attentive to the audience lectured the moguls. As their dean , Leste r Walton, wrot e i n 1949 , h e "hope d big box offic e business and favorabl e reviews have full y convince d th e producers that the progressiv e ste p wa s worthwhile , an d . . . lik e 'Ol e Ma n River / will keep o n rollin g along." They peppered thei r storie s with gossi p of impending "realistic " race-angle d material , a Scottsbor o expose , an d other project s o f benefi t t o "Sepi a Artists, " hectore d Lydia Bailey fo r leaching ou t th e blac k elemen t o f th e Haitia n revolutio n an d Battleground tor its lilywhite treatment of the Battle of the Bulge, goaded black writers into "channeling " their ange r into scripts , and hailed eac h ne w casting twis t suc h a s blac k Fran k Silvera' s Genera l Huert a i n Viva Zapata.12 Amon g th e whit e serials , the Reporter predicte d "the whol e future o f the motion pictur e industry is dependent o n th e kin d of imagination, courage, and ingenuity that went into the making of Home of the


7

Brave,'' o r like Variety, linke d liberalism to the bo x offic e i n reports o n "great" business here and "spotty " business there, o r like Crowther in the Times, praise d the "educationa l impact " o f message movies . Eve n V. J. Jerome of the CPUS A joined in, despite ideological fears that refor mism coul d onl y "retard " genuin e politica l consciousness . I n Holly wood itsel f in 1951 , Ralph Bunche, who onc e had been denie d entr y to the Metr o commissar y bu t b y the n wa s a Nobe l laureate , presente d Oscars t o Zanuc k an d Mankiewicz . B y the en d o f th e 1940s , Variety thought race-angle d movie s had reache d th e to p o f genre films, just as Poitier began to think the m "repetitive." 13 Meanwhile, th e fading censor s contributed t o the persistence o f the liberal ideology by consulting black s an d b y sharing eac h other' s deci sions amon g th e stat e boards , thereby keepin g in touc h wit h nationa l trends.14 At first the black consultants mainl y took u p jungle movies— "goona goona" epics, in Variety patois—th e grindhouse staple s assembled fro m barebreaste d anthropologica l footage , intercuts o f burlesque queens, stockshot s o f rainforests, and fak e horn y gorill a surrogates for the blac k brutes of American folk lore . In Maryland , fo r example, Car l Murphy o f the Afro wa s calle d in t o advis e on / Married a Savage, The Bride of the Gorilla, and others , in the process establishing a black stake in issues other than the use of "nigger" in the dialogue. In addition, the local board s subscribe d t o th e trades , whos e report s o f the "word-of mouth" that might "build" Bright Victory or the "ready-made audience " for The Jackie Robinson Story kept the boards aware of their own parochi alism.15 Taken together, thes e institutiona l forces wer e a "cultural system, " which forme d a sor t o f "intellectual framework " tha t American s ha d inherited fro m the war years and that persisted in halfway definin g bot h life an d th e movies . And yet without th e wa r a s driving engine, Holly wood struggle d t o kee p pac e wit h th e schoolboo k Americanism , th e Gallup polls that credited all but the most uneducated Southerner s with liberal thoughts, an d th e increasingl y activist and liberatin g court decisions that marked the era, all of them, i t must be recalled, arising from a culture fo r whom buttoned-down coolnes s wa s th e preferre d mode. 16 The struggle s of individual movies t o prevail agains t the nationa l wis h for a deadpan exterio r reveal both th e persistence o f liberal politics and its circumspection. The best of them was The Breaking Point (1950), Warner's neglected remake o f Howar d Hawks' s To Have and Have Not (1944) . Fro m th e beginning it was John Garfield's project, the latest in a career marked by conscience-liberal gestures that include d Pride of the Marines, in whic h he playe d opposit e a Jewish veteran , and Body and Soul, i n whic h h e played opposit e Canada Lee' s tragic black boxer (h e late r wrote about the experience for NUL's Opportunity). H e wished to merge two o f Hemingway's characters: Eddy the whit e rummy who , wit h Hawks's inter-

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Two version s o f Hemingway's To Have and Have Not provided th e hero , Harry Morgan , wit h tw o variation s o n th e sidekic k role : here a s feckless white rummy (Walte r Brennan wit h Humphre y Bogar t an d Laure n Bacall ) in Howard Hawks' s 194 4 fil m . . . BFI . Copyright Warne r Bros .

cession in 1944, had been played with impish charm by Walter Brennan , and Wesley , a blac k deckhan d wh o i s bolder an d mor e reliabl e i n a shooting scrape , bu t missin g fro m th e 194 4 movie . Oddly , Willia m Faulkner, wh o wrot e Hawks' s script , might hav e mad e muc h o f him , perhaps anothe r Luca s Beauchamp. I n an y case , Garfiel d i n 195 1 in sisted tha t h e shoul d b e "kicke d up " (hi s argot fo r "accented"), mad e black, and brought closer without bein g too maudlin. The result was an interracial, egalitaria n refinemen t o f th e classica l Hollywoo d sidekic k role, a relationshi p i n whic h eve n thei r familie s ar e draw n together . Moreover, no t onl y di d Garfield' s idea prevail , bu t i t heightene d th e tension betwee n th e tw o me n an d th e circl e o f cops, loansharks , an d smugglers who threatened them . And viewers, at least on the left, caugh t its sense. "We are especially grateful [for ] the relationship between thes e two men," wrot e Seymou r Peck, even as Juano Hernande z as the deckhand wo n a plac e i n th e pres s blit z a s "Hollywood' s Hottes t Negro" actor.17 As t o th e rest , the y wer e gem s of conscience-liberalism enameled over with the racia l ideology and agend a that ha d bee n se t by To Secure


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These Rights. Young Man with a Horn (1951 ) wa s th e firs t o f them t o wear its garbled liberalism on its sleeve. It had begun as Dorothy Baker's homage-novel t o the trumpeter Bi x Beiderbecke, thence t o a script that in Walter White's mind woul d make up fo r canceling St. Louis Woman, and finally into a vehicle for a hot ne w sta r (Kir k Douglas) in an eroti c triangle tha t diminishe d Baker' s black parts . Survivin g wa s on e goo d role, tha t o f Ar t Hazzar d (Hernandez) , a fatherl y tuto r t o th e whit e hero i n searc h o f " a not e nobod y eve r hear d before, " bu t a sideba r to the mai n storyline . Ebony, like much o f the black press overplayed it as a onc e "to o ho t t o handle " sig n o f "substantial progres s fo r Hollywood."18 Kenneth Roberts' s Lydia Bailey (1952 ) suffere d a simila r fat e a s Zanuck shifte d it s center fro m Toussain t L'Ouverture's Haitian revolution t o romantic whit e story . The black politics should onl y be a background for the personally scale d story, Zanuck told his writers, who , h e said, shoul d no t fo r a moment follo w th e intricacie s o f a "cause." The . . . an d i n Michae l Curtiz' s The Breaking Point (1951 ) as Hemingwa y in tended, a s a black ma n wh o i s an activ e agen t i n th e plot , a role insisted upon b y John Garfield , a leftis t ben t upo n a postwar conscience-libera l agenda. BFI . Copyright Warner Bros .

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Darryl Zanuck' s fil m o f Kenneth Roberts' s Lydia Bailey (1952 ) retained its high adventure bu t she d it s Haitian politics , transformin g Kin g Dic k (Willia m Marshall i n white ) fro m a revolutionary into a mere rogue. Copyrigh t 20t h Century-Fox.

only black survivors were in a shadowy backstory in the hills above Portau-Prince an d i n the perso n o f King Dick (William Marshall), a white suited gian t wh o know s all , has a strin g o f "talented" mistresses, an d carries a cocomacaque—more as a scepter than a club. Again, Ebony had no choice but to overpraise Dick and portray the Haitian angle as "glorified," whil e o n th e lef t the y sneere d a t Zanuck' s willfu l retrea t t o th e safety o f romance. 19 In Zanuck's and other cases, such backsliding can be followed in the paper trail in th e archives , but sometime s the softnes s o f racial politics was owe d mor e pointedl y t o th e intercessio n o f cautious censor s an d their guarde d blac k counselors, a s though th e censor s wer e mor e mis trustful o f th e audienc e tha n o f Hollywood . I n th e cas e o f The Well (1951), th e Popkins ' reentr y int o th e Hollywoo d system , th e black s feared "me-too " violenc e tha t migh t follo w a B-movi e about a n im pending race riot. The Well wa s a minor hit sho t on location with a low nut, enhanced b y a distribution deal with UA, and a spate of tabloid ads that teased: "Maybe you haven't foun d hi m because he's a WHITE man,


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Sheriff!" I t wa s abou t a blac k girl who ha s falle n int o a disuse d well , setting off rumors of kidnapping by whites; a crescendo o f tension lead s up to her rescue by a white drifte r (an d backhoe operator ) who dredge s her from the well in a circus of television coverage that might have cued a riot . Fortunatel y fo r it s backers, many critic s saw i t a s a fabl e abou t harmony, bu t i n the censo r boards cautious blacks fought every one of its dramati c sequences. 20 I n anothe r instanc e o f retrea t fro m obviou s implications, Arch Oboler's Five (1951 ) teased around th e sexua l center of prejudice in a cautionary tale set in a post-thermonuclear holocaus t in which th e pointlessnes s o f racism is tossed asid e by killing off the lon e black survivo r of the disaste r (a timidity echoed i n 195 9 in The World, the Flesh, and the Devil), whic h seeme d t o critics "monumentally silly " in it s picking at th e pimpl e o f racism while th e eart h slowl y became a barren rock. 21 And yet if retreat from loft y goals and restraint in style characterized movies with a self-consciously racial thrust, almost an y genr e film preserved residues of oldtime OWI tracts such as the lon e black figure who lends dignity and color to the proceedings. The result was a steady flow of films but froze n a s though sequel s to Home of the Brave. No longer a structured absence nor an erasure from history , nor for the most part an exotic Other , th e black s in them , however , seeme d doome d t o be th e eternal subjects of a tale of an already attained goal—one black figure per group. And there was no war or crisis as yet to create the disequilibriu m and loosened bonds of custom that would allow blacks to reopen nego tiations begun durin g the war . The list of releases seemed a t once admirable for its scope and damn able for its reluctance t o press beyond wha t th e supercoo l postwar er a would tolerate. Eac h jungle movie had its Oxonian docto r or sage, each adventure its obligatory blacks. Joe Walcott's trainer in The Harder They Fall (1956) ; Do n Blackman, who help s Alan Ladd "free Cuba " i n Santiago (1956) ; Edric Connor a s Daggoo in Moby Dick (1956) ; James Ed wards's supernumerary in each new war movie, and his luckless parking lot attendan t i n The Killing (1956) ; Frank Silvera' s "chameleon-like" (said Ebony) co p i n Crime and Punishment (1959) ; Geofrre y Holder' s "erudite leader " in Dr. Doolittle (1968) ; the templ e dancer s o f Carmen DeLavallade an d Isabe l Coole y i n The Egyptian (1954 ) an d Cleopatra (1963); Woody Strode's roles in John Ford's westerns ; Poitier' s Simo n the Cyrenia n in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) ; Cole y Wallace a s Joe Louis in yet another biopi c (1953); Lena Home as Julie the mulatt o in Show Boat performed a s a play-within-a-pla y i n th e Jerom e Ker n biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (1952) ; and th e familia r black s in moder n classics suc h a s Ethe l Waters' s Berenic e i n Member of the Wedding ("earthy an d warm-hearte d an d wis e cook, " sai d Ebony dutifully). 22 For th e moment , o n th e edg e of the acceleratio n of the civi l rights movement fro m loca l issue s i n Montgomery , Alabama , in 195 5 an d

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Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960 , into nationally focused campaigns that enjoye d dail y exposure t o a television audience , i t seemed tha t th e only missing ingredient was the domestic crisis that might redirect some attention t o Hollywood. Indeed, tha t woul d com e t o pass, but no t unti l 1963 when Herbert Hill, labor secretar y o f the NAACP , went t o Hollywood t o resum e Walte r White' s campaig n (Whit e ha d die d i n 1955) , this time in the aggressiv e style of a labor negotiator. Bu t that is anothe r story that led to outcomes i n the 1970 s and after . Into this hiatus of leftist pressure cam e studi o chief s bent upo n promotin g ne w convention s of racial drama . Th e icons chose n t o serv e thi s er a wer e Harr y Belafonte and Sidney Poitier, the former a sort of Dionysian figure ever on the edge of throwing over the traces, the latter more in control, mor e the Apollonian Negr o whose inne r resource s assur e his survival. The proble m fo r Belafonte' s wor k wa s tha t Hollywood' s wa y o f taming unfamiliar and outla w material was to treat it "warmly" or lay it into reverentl y treate d classics , or, once made , t o play it off quietly as a "prestige" picture . Belafont e suffere d al l three . H e began wit h Bright Road (1953) , a produc t Charle s Schnee' s B-uni t a t Metr o dre w fro m Elizaberth Vroman' s stor y o f a black teacher (Doroth y Dandridge) in a rural schoo l wh o struggle s to reac h a ne w an d alienate d pupi l (Philip Hepburn). His coming-of-age scene and his acceptance by the class come after h e save s them fro m a swarm o f bees by cleverly finding the quee n and usin g he r t o lea d the m away . Poo r Belafont e had littl e to d o bu t render hi s approval . Critic s yawne d an d nobod y wen t t o se e it . Bot h blacks an d Metr o wer e a t a loss , th e forme r trappe d int o to o loudl y praising it, the latter burying it. Metro sales, fearing both its nonmagnetic low-key mod e an d th e prospec t o f a hostil e souther n greeting , "brushed" i t of f in allotin g exploitation budgets , and playe d it of f as a "warm an d tender " Christophe r Awar d winne r tha t disdaine d "ra cial . . . propaganda. " Th e Urba n Leagu e trie d t o sav e i t b y urgin g members t o promote i t and heap award s upon it . At the same tim e they disagreed with MGM , sensing its greatest appeal would b e in the South , a judgmen t share d b y Vroma n herself , who trie d t o arrang e a n inte grated premier e o n federa l ground a t Maxwel l Ai r Force Bas e in Alabama. Bu t nothin g coul d sav e it . "W e coul d no t ge t anyon e i n t o se e [it]," said Schary ; "commendable " anyway, sai d th e Defender.23 A yea r late r Belafont e appeared i n Carmen Jones (1954) , a film of Mike Todd' s prewar all-blac k version o f Bizet's opera Carmen. Once a freakish hit , b y th e 1950 s i t seeme d merel y a projectio n o f Spanis h stereotypes onto black s and therefor e an eas y target for critics in searc h of backsliding . It s earth y raffishness , saturate d color , an d humorles s literalness "whipped relentlessly [said Robert Hatch in the Nation] int o a Hollywood pattern," invite d critical zingers like James Baldwin's report that i t looke d lif e "straigh t i n d e eye. " Simultaneousl y it scare d th e trades into fretting ove r "the reactio n of the South " an d rankle d blacks,


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even thoug h Fo x had promise d Bree n to cu t it s "vampy" aspects. The result was a creaking anachronism that earned dutifu l praise as "another great step forward" an d faint hopes by its director Otto Preminger that a strong European box offic e migh t sav e it. 24 Thus b y mid-decade Belafont e had violate d tw o taboos : making a "warm" little picture and making a revered classic . Either he had twic e blundered i n his choice o f material, o r the racia l politics of the nation' s cities ha d simpl y outru n th e movies ' capacit y for change . Tha t Hollywood may not have been up to handling the rising pitch of racial politics may b e see n i n Belafonte' s next movie , Island in the Sun (1957) . It s author, Alec Waugh, intended i t as a Caribbean metaphor fo r American racial tensions , an d 20t h Century—Fo x ha d purchase d i t i n th e sam e spirit—as much a crusade as a moneymaker. Indeed , Zanuc k had suc h faith i n its political impact that he sa t out the publishing season of 1955 (the year of Martin Luther King's Montgomery bu s boycott), hoping for a hot boo k tha t woul d overrid e resistance in the Sout h an d fo r time t o disarm th e PCA' s wish t o softe n a n interracia l lov e story , perhap s b y having a mulatto woman learn that afte r al l she was, a PCA memorandum said , a pur e whit e girl. 25 Als o a t issu e were thre e o f the book' s voices o f change, tw o black , on e white . Ther e wa s Grainge r Morris, a black lawye r muc h admired , eve n loved , b y Mavis (Joa n Fontaine) , a highly placed , libera l whit e woman . "Grainge r wa s wonderful, " sh e thought. "H e wasn't mil d an d meek . .. . I t was onl y wit h th e . . . underprivileged tha t h e wa s . . . infinitel y tolerant. " The n ther e wa s the Belafont e role: Davi d Boyeur, th e rabblerousing , cynical , cricketplaying trade union boss. 26 At las t i t seeme d tha t a studi o woul d le t sli p Belafonte' s tether , which had rendered him wooden an d wasted in Bright Road and Carmen Jones. Zanuc k seemed delighte d t o be agai n tweaking Souther n whit e sensibilities, an d Rober t Rossen , th e director , appeare d excite d b y th e prospect of returning to issues he had first encountered i n Body and Soul. Then th e textur e softened . A t th e heigh t o f tensio n i n Montgomery , Zanuck emerge d fro m hi s firs t stor y conferenc e stil l certai n tha t hi s theme was social change but in good order, he said, and with civility. For example, i n on e o f Belafonte's big moments Boyeu r snap s a t a whit e adversary that "color " is at th e politica l center o f every even t o n thei r island of "Santa Marta"; Zanuck insisted that they play the scene ever so lightly.27 Worse than playing Belafonte's Boyeur lightly, as though an echo of Harry th e smoky-cella r folksinger, was th e decisio n t o cu t the militan t lawyer Grainge r entirely and t o give his softe r line s to Boyeur. Truman Gibson, once the ranking black in the Pentagon and by 195 7 consulting for the PCA, was puzzled by the erasure. Nothing wrong, he thought, but by cutting a role he "identified with . . . som e of the basic reasons why [West Indians were] . . . pushin g toward dominion status " were lost.

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All that remained was a movie bathed in color and filled with stars, each entitled to a big scene through which they swirled as though in a Restoration comedy . O n cue , conservative s in mustache s harrumphe d thei r speeches, Boyeu r twitte d Governmen t House , an d politic s remaine d where Zanuck had droppe d them i n Pinky. "We ha d t o fight to say the word love," recalle d Doroth y Dandridg e as a shopgir l i n lov e wit h a British lad with whom sh e chastely elopes offcamera t o London. Mavis and Boyeur end a cool love affair with a parting played as though carved in stone. "He was black and I was yellow," Fontain e told her friends. 28 What wen t wron g wit h thi s grand , near-operatic epic? Surel y the makers were made skittish by the balefu l ey e of the PCA ; and a s surely Gibson was no Walter White; besides, there was no war whose slogans might have guided them. Certainly Ebony thought that "th e Hollywoo d censors had mad e thei r pressure felt." Indeed, it gave Zanuck credit for the "seethin g mas s of black people strainin g against the dominatio n of these few whites" that had been his goal, and even credited Breen with a In Island in the Sun (1957 ) Zanuck sa w a reviva l o f conscience-liberalism bu t gave i n t o pressure to lower th e pitc h o f both politic s and passion , includin g this scen e betwee n Harr y Belafont e and Joa n Fontaine , whic h di d not surviv e the final cut. Copyrigh t 20th Century-Fox .


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A mor e politicall y tinge d cu t wa s tha t o f a radical lawye r whos e softene d lines wer e give n t o Boyeu r (Belafonte) , a rakis h labo r boss , thereb y diffusin g Alec Waugh's alread y thi n book. BFI . Copyright 20th Century-Fox .

wish to avoid "an unfai r portrayal [that ] . . . coul d inflame Negro people."29 In an y case , perhap s fo r the las t time, censor s neutere d a politica l film, albeit so brassily that it escaped no critic's barbed wit. Belafonte and Fontaine agree d tha t i t ha d becom e a "terrible " cas e o f "what migh t have been." Nunnally Johnson reported tha t in the preview "every time the stor y came t o a big dramatic climax , the hous e roare d with laugh ter."30 " I a m black," wrote Phili p Roth o f the film , "bu t o my sou l is Technicolor." Th e rest of the weeklie s agreed , tweakin g Zanuc k for his "camouflage fo r [a] hot issue " that made it "the wors t o f the summer' s 'adult' films. " A s Variety said , it was onl y "enoug h to offen d th e Sout h and disappoint . . . [the ] North." However, their fan mail reflected the depths o f racial antipathy that the PGA had urged them to dampen. For every letter that praised it as a means t o promote "brotherhood, " there were a dozen that spat against it as "propaganda" o n behalf of an even tual "mongrel" nation . Oddly , audiences must have loved it for its tropical setting ; it earned 20th' s biggest profit sinc e The Robe.3} Belafonte di d not wor k in Hollywood for months, an d onl y then in two movies, one of which was his own: Metro's The World, the Flesh and

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the Devil (1959) , a film noir o f th e post-Maye r era, an d Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) , a creature of his ow n Harbel . The contrast was startling. The former film was a preposterously paltering retreat from racia l issues that any TV viewer had com e to see as urgent. Echoing the forced harmony o f wartime movies, the interracial platoon of 1943 had becom e three survivor s of a holocaust that emptie s Manhattan. A t first, writer/ director Ranal d MacDougall teased aroun d th e edge s o f the blac k survivor's entry into a white world. Emptily, Belafonte plays with their toy trains, eats and drink s their provender, lives their lif e (withou t them), at last discoverin g on e o f thei r wome n (Inge r Stevens ) wit h who m h e carries o n a witt y telephon e flirtatio n whic h end s i n a menage a deux fully a s chaste as that i n Island in the Sun—until th e las t white ma n o n earth (a s far as they know) turns up! Then the men danc e on the cusp of taking direc t actio n agains t eac h othe r (a s though th e woma n ha d n o investment i n th e outcome) . Creepily , while th e plane t ha s becom e a vacant mot e i n th e galax y they ac t out a racial etiquette invente d a s a social control ove r nineteenth centur y slaves. For Belafonte it was "on e of the worst experiences in my life." At first "an incredibl e opportunity, " its soft endin g "upset " him enoug h tha t h e fel t "stilte d an d ver y stiff, " but to o fearfu l o f Hollywood's "sealing" its doors to future blac k material i f he walke d awa y fro m it . Five month s later , Belafonte' s own firm , i n associatio n with Ma x Youngstein, a young produce r a t United Artists with a yen fo r backing politically challengin g independen t films , release d it s ow n revisio n of the war movie , this time with a n edge on it: a theme o f integration—or else. Al l seeme d copacetic . Youngstei n liked Belafonte' s activism—"a real schtarker and h e paid for it," h e recalled of his black partner whos e career had already , he guessed , been blighte d by his politics. Belafonte had com e t o Unite d Artist s wit h Willia m McGivern's novel , whic h h e pitched a s a cautionary tale about the racism that might "rip apart " our "destiny together. " The y too k thei r boo k t o Ab e Polonsk y wh o eve r since Body and Soul, had bee n blacklisted, and t o Robert Wise for whom it provided a return to the little RKO-style movies such as The Curse of the Cat People wit h whic h h e ha d begun . By the en d o f 1958 , Polonsk y gave them a draf t mad e problemati c only b y a "coda " (Polonsky' s term) tha t perhap s compromise d Bela fonte's sense that "racism kills in the end" everyon e it touches. And yet, they sa w themselves a s a likeminded circl e united by , a s Belafont e recently put it , "a grea t sense o f community" capable o f "a lo t of discussion" without rancor, and in the end secure in their faith that UA would offer "absolutel y n o interference. " B y then the y needed only som e on e to "front " fo r Polonsk y and turne d t o th e blac k novelist, John Olive r Killens, wh o prove d a trebled asset in tha t he provide d a mask fo r th e ostracized Polonsky , a blac k logotype for Belafonte' s Harbel company, and a loya l frien d who , fo r th e res t o f hi s lif e remaine d resolut e i n


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claiming authorship "unless, " as Belafonte recentl y put it , "he wa s released fro m hi s oath." 32 Thereafter, the y sho t exterior s in rura l Ne w Yor k an d the n i n th e streets of Manhattan, an d then cut and mixed in time for a release in the fall of 1959. In one o f those rare marvels of a confluence of complementary ambitions, everyon e received a payoff o f sorts. Youngstein and UA broke even in the short run and made an eventual profit, not to mention an enrichmen t o f thei r reputation s fo r blendin g politic s an d quality ; Polonsky grasped an opportunity t o do work he coul d fee l goo d about ; Killens by fronting earned a welcome screenplay credit and added to his reputation a s a politicall y aggressive black writer ; Wis e reasserte d hi s reputation fo r turning ou t smal l gems o f genre film ; an d Belafont e b y hanging out "the shingl e of producer," the only African American to do so at th e time , successfull y circumvente d th e Hollywoo d politesse tha t had hobbled earlie r black material, including his own few films. Indeed, decades later, Belafonte still thought o f Odds Against Tomorrow as one of a growing canon of realistic genre films meant to win back audiences by offering the m socially significant movies as against bland television; "it changed th e fac e o f Hollywood forever," h e proudl y remembere d it. 33 Odds Against Tomorrow came at its viewers from a half-toned, graying screen as at first no more than a conventional "caper " movie such as The Asphalt Jungle. Bu t i t was als o a criminal' s versio n o f a medieva l quest. Belafonte' s character i s a musician strugglin g to kee p his famil y together while scrounging to pay off gambling debts owed t o a group of coolly ominous creditors . At this vulnerable moment he is recruited by a team o f bankrobbers , a disgruntle d an d dishonorabl y discharge d co p and a weathered, inwardl y raging, perhaps impotent Souther n racist. In this wartim e platoo n movi e stoo d o n it s end, it s character s draw n t o each other b y the commonalit y o f bitterness and failur e rather tha n th e holiness of their cause, the thrust is more urgent, more insistent on a bad end unless they can live in enough harmon y t o pull their job. In bleak film noir style, the su n neve r shine s an d a heavy casually bursts a kid's balloon with his lighted cigarette. Perhaps there is a neat, sane life somewhere, bu t Ingram (Belafonte' s character ) cannot hav e it. Indeed, he is hostile t o it , a loner, an d suspiciou s of, as he tell s his wife , "you r ofa y friends wh o ar e goin g t o sav e the world. " His only cod e i s that o f th e horseplayer: If you lay five hundred on a horse and lose, you always pay, never welsh . He lives at night rathe r tha n i n sunlight where bad thing s happen, building s ar e angula r an d threatening , policeme n feckless , crooks threatening. With evil prowling the sunny streets, plots are made only in seedy , dark room s ove r whiske y i n jelly-glasses. The trio knocks over a small rural bank, but nothin g goes well, and as their plan unravels, the racism at the cor e of their group eats away at their cohesion . As their botched job tighten s the suspense , they crack; the racism takes over their plan and eventually kills them as they strug-

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Harry Belafonte' s own Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) reopene d racis m a s a n issue by reinventing th e platoo n movie , thi s tim e a s a team o f bank robber s whose jo b i s spoiled b y racial antipathy . Copyrigh t Unite d Artists .

gle atop an oil tank that explodes, charring them to ashes—moving a cop to remark dryly, and too on-the-nose fo r Polonsky's taste, that you ca n no longe r tell the blac k corpse fro m th e white . Here someon e a t U A wambled. I n th e ad s th e racia l wa s playe d down, a sig n that the y ha d decide d t o pla y it of f without th e politica l urgency with which they had begun. Not only did they play it off as part of a double bill, they saturation-booked it in major cities like Los Angeles

and headlined the ad copy merely "This is real . . . thi s is raw" withou t specifying what "this"—th e racism—was. Nonetheless, critics and audiences behaved well toward th e movie and caught the importance Belafonte ha d wishe d i t t o convey . Generally , dissentin g critic s balanced their cavils with friendly cop y as well. In Variety's view , for example, its "allegory about racism" an d its uncommonly goo d focus on a "normal, middle-class Negro home" were balanced by its too-pat ending, while to the Saturday Review it s commendabl e them e wa s "hardl y a breath taking ide a thes e days. " Eve n amon g blac k critics , bifurcation ruled : Almena Lomax, for example, loved its "foreign" mood , but Belafonte's


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radical "nappy loo k . . . w e don't dig." 34 Thus even when the circumstances o f production wer e i n th e hand s o f a certifie d lefty , marketin g and receptio n migh t stil l scare off future investors , particularl y a t tha t moment i n 195 9 less tha n a yea r awa y fro m th e nationall y arrestin g Greensboro sit-ins. In the meantime, Hollywood faced the same thermidorean pressure s that ha d alway s dampened it s ardor fo r risk an d guide d i t toward cir cumspection. No t tha t th e studio s casually elected t o repea t a tamel y liberal cinema; rather , the interna l crise s of the impact o f television, th e breakup o f th e verticall y integrated system , th e threa t o f takeover b y conglomerates, and the evolution of segmented and fickle markets drove them toward , a s Variety reporte d i n 1953 , "fewer an d bigger pictures, " selling off disuse d realty , dumpin g film archive s to TV stations, and taking austerity measures such as making "runaway" films abroad. The resulting mood o f caution edge d th e mogul s toward a compromise be tween leadin g "a revolution in the imagination an d behavior o f Americans," a s Martin Dworki n put it , and merel y retreating int o wha t Rin g Lardner, Jr. , calle d th e "'Cain e Mutin y Effect,' " th e profferin g o f a liberal goa l in ree l one onl y t o late r invoke "reality " as a barrier t o its attainment.35 The cautionar y endin g o f Odds Against Tomorrow promise d onl y conflic t an d tragedy unles s American s faced u p t o domesti c racism (th e thieves : Belafonte , Ed Begley , an d Rober t Ryan) . Copyrigh t Unite d Artists .

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The resulting movies marke d th e decad e an d i n effec t fe d straightlines to a generation of waggish critics. As early as 1951 in Bright Victory, the theme of the message movies seemed safe only in a gimmicky plot in which a veteran must be blind in order to learn that all men are equal. In the sam e year, an anti-KK K tract, Storm Warning, could play only if its locale, Vicksburg , and it s black victim s were bot h erased , an d a cod a provided in which th e hero sees that the evils of the South can be rooted out onl y by Southerners. The most warped instance o f such indirection was John Ford' s Sergeant Rutledge (1960) . In thi s courtroo m drama , a black soldier on the frontier is exonerated by a jury of good white people, but th e evidenc e against him i s so stacked and hi s innocence s o trickily proved that, in this decade in which Eldridge Cleaver described rape as a political act, the stereotype d black brute reasserted itself in white mem ory.36 In anothe r case , a sweet , well-receive d movi e o f Fanni e Hurst' s Imitation of Life (1934) , a story of life on the edg e of passing, was remad e by Ros s Hunte r an d Dougla s Sir k int o flashil y Technicolore d melo drama. I n the origina l film, black and whit e mother s ar e partners i n a pancake flou r busines s an d thei r daughter s ar e friends—a t leas t unti l Peola (Fredi Washington), the black girl, decides to pass and becomes an obligatory tragi c mulatto wh o watche s he r ow n mother' s funera l a s a weeping outsider, but signifies her coming to terms with her ethnicity by attending a "colored" college in the South. But in 1959, the two women are merely mistress and servant and the black daughter (Susa n Kohner) is played a s a Tondelayo sitting at th e en d o f the bar , fracture d b y th e angular ligh t tha t Sir k gav e her . Th e melodramati c convention s tha t often awarde d little dramatic victories to powerless women did little for the blacks , sav e t o falsel y plac e hop e i n th e perso n o f gospe l singe r Mahalia Jackson , wh o san g at the last-ree l funeral. 37 Almost an y movi e migh t b e grace-note d wit h fain t echoe s o f ol d liberal victories: In The Young Don't Cry (1957) a black woman takes pity on a white delinquent; in Wild River (1960) a white New Dealer defends black workers on a TVA dam; in Your Cheatin' Heart (1964) singer Hank Williams had a wizened black tutor; The Eddie Duchin Story (1955) , said the Sentinel, had a "number of atmosphere players" ; i n God's Little Acre (1958), said Variety, a black farmer was "the onl y sensible human being of the lot" ; i n Spartacus (1961 ) Woody Strod e played a black gladiator; in The Last Angry Man (1959 ) a n angeli c Jewish docto r take s a blac k street kid under his wing; an d i n dozens of movies black fonctionnaires speckled th e squadrooms , hospita l wards, an d socia l agencies. 38 Southern genr e film, good an d bad , bore the sam e trai t of indirection. In Kazan's Baby Doll (1956), it was well used in the form of "scornful," wizened blacks who acte d like a Greek chorus in commenting o n a decadent, gothic South under whose "onionskin thi n surface" was, said Kazan, "a titani c violence." Ebony trained itself to praise such slivers of


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meaning a s Dilsey , the servan t i n Faulkner' s The Sound and the Fury (1959) wh o seeme d a bedrock o f "strength an d skil l . . . supportin g the troubled, decaying [white ] clan." 39 In the year s following the war, American urban audience s also received a strea m o f foreign movies, mainl y neo-realistic , mainl y i n ar t houses, and therefore meant to be taken as art. And yet, with respect to racial ideology the y wer e a s bese t b y indirectio n a s America n films , perhaps mor e so , a s thoug h Wester n intellectual s awaite d som e sig n from blacks pointing the way to the next goal. In fact, in the 1940s , they were startlingl y like their America n cohort s i n thei r insistenc e tha t all people were one under their multicolored skins. In the French case , the blacks wer e eithe r fortunat e colonial s fightin g side-by-sid e with thei r "old friend " the French army or beholden to French abolitionism, as in Duvivier's The Imposter (1944 ) an d La Montagne est verte (1950) , th e latter a biopic of Victor Schoelcher, a French abolitionist who helped end slavery in 1848 . Whe n the y took u p American racism , as Sartre did in The Respectful Prostitute (1947), they were s o off the mar k tha t booker s played the m of f as "sexational " pornograph y rathe r tha n polemics. 40 The Italians cam e ou t o f the wa r politicall y leftist bu t ambivalen t toward Africa n Americans . On th e on e hand , a s Raymond Borde and Andre Bouiss y wrote, "th e Lef t discovere d i n th e wa r a kin d o f antiFascist golden age," whil e o n the other , Cesar e Zavattini wrote: " I defend th e Negroe s but I would neve r giv e them m y daughter. " A t their best th e resultin g movies admitte d blacks into Marxis t theoretical sys tem; at their worst they killed them off for trifling with Italian women. In the first instance, Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946) , a black soldier in Naples ha s a drunke n reveri e whil e seate d o n a pil e o f rubble i n th e company o f a wai f t o who m h e describes , increasingly hollowly, th e extravagant welcome home that soon will be his. Coming to his senses, he breaks off and describes the "shack" he actually lives in and the slim likelihood of any sort of welcome for a black soldier. Later, the waif, wh o has been stealin g and supplyin g the black market with American military materiel, is caught by the soldier, who in a shattering scene is struck dumb b y th e povert y o f th e defeate d Italian s wh o liv e i n caves . As reported in Masses (9-Mainstream, th e scene indicated that "as an American Negro he understands only too well the plight of the Italians," or , in other words, in the Marxist formulation, the black soldier is as one with the whit e masse s of the world. 41 The othe r neo-realis t films , a t leas t thos e tha t reache d America , played the sam e angle, albeit less well. Luigi Zampa's Vivere in Pace (To Live in Peace] use d a black soldier in a drunken circle of allies and former enemies who convey the absurdity of war. "The onl y pure presentation of a ma n o f his race, " sai d Jame s Agee , "tha t I hav e eve r see n i n a movie." W e cannot know precisel y what Age e meant, but because the role was the first since Stepin Fetchit to use clownishness to undercut the

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Italian Marxis t film s linke d racia l issue s to th e clas s struggle a s in Paisan (1946), wher e Dot s Johnson catche s a scuggnizzo wh o ha s stole n hi s boot s but come s t o regar d himsel f an d th e bo y a s proletarian victims . NSF . Copyright OFL/Capiton i Film.

stolid rigidity of white dominance, he may have found in Zampa's movie a smal l instance o f a leftist us e o f clowning t o challeng e th e surviva l of antebellum racism in postwar movi e culture. More i n keeping with the American gangste r formula , Albert o Lattuada' s Senza Pieta (Without Pity] offere d anothe r raffis h Negro , this time one who ha s taken up wit h Italian blac k marketeers . I n a last-ree l chase , MPs , Italia n police , an d gangsters pursue him an d his woman through a ruined Livorn o streetscape unti l a t las t their Jee p crashe s and overturn s o n a beach where , with th e upturne d wheel s stil l spinning , th e them e music tha t ha d ac companied thei r scene s in search of freedom from thes e snare s change s to "Al l God' s Chillun Go t Wings." Corny , but th e poin t i s the same . I n death the y are only people, no longer separate d as in life by the biological trivia o f race. Not onl y di d these Italia n movie s follo w precisely th e sam e cours e and derive the same political sensibility from the war as had the Americans', Italian movies of the 1950 s regressed into the sam e sort of stasis as American films had done . A t mos t they reinforce d the PCA' s an d th e NAACP's challenges to state censorship, on one occasion being attacked by th e PG A for thei r unrelentin g portraya l o f "America n Negroe s as


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simple childre n o f nature." Black s wer e particularl y nettled by Angela (1951), a movie abou t " a littl e Italian waif whose fathe r wa s a Negro GI." Th e ad s fo r it aske d "coul d thei r lov e overcom e thi s barrier," t o which th e movi e replie d wit h a thumpin g "no" : Th e mother die s i n tragic childbirth. Thereafter , Italian movie s forgo t th e wa r entirel y an d returned t o staple black exotics and entertainers . I n Anna's Sin (1954 ) and Mambo (1954) , Katharin e Dunha m wa s th e doyenne o f an exoti c dance troupe who appeared i n the latticework between white plot incidents; in Fellini's La Dolce Vita (importe d in 196 0 by the ol d race movie firm, Astor) black s were only fe y props symbolizin g decaden t modern ism; an d i n th e Macist e series (1960s ) whit e bodybuilder s stood i n for the erase d legendary Carthaginian. 42 Leftist internationalis m also embraced Africa n American s in Italia n movies , as in Vivere in Pace (1946 ) i n whic h John Kitzmiller join s i n a pacifis t spre e with a Wehrmacht soldier . Copyrigh t Lu x Pao Film.

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Of al l th e Europea n moviemakers , th e British , strugglin g as the y were bot h t o overcom e th e dominanc e o f Hollywood imports an d liv e down th e conservative films made by the Empire Marketing Board and the Post Office film unit, offered Africa n Americans the least. At best they struggled t o shif t th e Britis h mentality fro m paternalis m towar d "ou r African colonies" t o the sort of "partnership" sketched in W. H. Auden's God's Chillun.43 O f course, fe w suc h films played American dates, no t even My Song Goes Forth, a celebration o f the Jubile e o f Johannesbur g featuring Paul Robeson's talking head. As to the features, they were torn between Harr y Watt's 1950 s movies that pitte d pristin e Afric a agains t European despoilers and poachers, an d other s tha t formulate d a them e of modernism versu s primitivism personified by colonial commissioners and halfcaste Tondelayos who drive men to "go native." Among the best were Michae l Powel l an d Emeri c Pressburger' s The End of the River (1948), in which Sab u opts for a "simple life " far from " a civilization he cannot understand," an d Carol Reed's film of Joseph Conrad' s Outcast of the Islands (1952) , in which a godlike white trade r (Ralp h Richardson) fails to save his protege, a petty criminal (Trevo r Howard), from following a brown girl (Kerima) up an opaque Malayan river to his fate. In one film the "natives " are timeless, in the other they ar e a threat, muc h a s they would hav e been i n Trader Horn i n 1931. 44 No Britis h movie , even thos e tha t mad e som e mar k i n America , entirely brok e wit h its colonial sources . In 1947 , Daybreak at Udi, an Oscar-winning product of the Crow n Film Unit done i n a March of Time style, was about Ibos in the upper Niger who, sai d the voiceover, yearn for "communit y development , publi c hygiene , an d literacy " throug h which they "are startin g to bridge the centuries dividing their way of life and ours. " Colonia l commissioners ar e see n a s mediators i n a debat e between " a highe r standar d o f living" a s against "traditiona l ways, " a conflict paternall y resolve d whe n th e Britis h modify a triba l dance s o that it ends with village males helping found a midwives' clinic . Despite its Oscar , exhibitor s playe d i t of f i n midtown , i f a t all , o n bill s wit h anthropological films and away from black audiences. As though fearfu l of black audiences, exhibitors gave similar treatment t o Donal d Swanson's South African film, Jim Comes to Jo 'burg, perhaps because it resembled a n oldtim e rac e movie, stringin g together act s such a s the Africa n Ink Spot s an d th e Jaz z Maniacs into a sor t o f quest movie . "Impishl y wistful littl e story," said Crowthe r in the Times.45 Even whe n the mise-en-scene so resemble d tha t of an America n movie, the imports lacked an edge. Variety presume d that Pool of London (1950) had been made "with an obvious eye on the American market" made hot by message movies. A good little film noir that, as many Baling films had done , embrace d London and it s folk, Pool seeme d s o "taste fully done"—no t t o say bland—that Variety, th e Marylan d censor, and the Bree n offic e agree d o n it s suitabilit y fo r Americans : thi s despit e


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Colonial officer s an d tribesmen , ofte n a s themselves, includin g her e Ibo elde r Oso Anibbebe i n Daybreak at Udi (1947)—a dramatized documentar y o f th e tension betwee n th e modern and th e traditional—taugh t postwa r audience s to reexamin e colonialism . BFI. Copyright Empire Marketing Board .

Maryland's fea r tha t i t might "insit e [sic] t o racia l riot," and th e PCA' s fretting ove r it s physical intimacies. It s Jamaican sailor , Johnn y (Ear l Cameron), has a brush with th e law ove r casually smuggling cigarettes as a favor to a pal, passes into the East End underworld while on the run , and meet s a whit e movi e cashie r (Susa n Shaw ) wit h who m h e ha s latenight coffee , a dance date, and a predawn walk in the rai n past th e usual sights (salvaged from a stalled documentary) to his ship, where his hasty sailin g mercifull y (fo r the censors ) break s off the liaison. 46 Of the m all , Thorold Dickinson's Man of Two Worlds (1946 ) dre w

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Earl Camero n an d Susa n Sha w i n Pool of London (1951) , playing with a re straint tha t anticipate d censors ' fear s o f "racial riots." BFI. Copyright Haling Studios.

the best analogy between a dying colonialism and the shifting American racial scene—s o muc h s o tha t th e NAAC P briefl y considere d a tie-in . Despite a scarcity of color film cameras and stoc k made worse by allocations to Henry V, it had begu n i n 194 4 when the Colonia l Office pulle d Dickinson of f an Arm y fil m t o wor k o n a n expressio n o f hope fo r a postwar successo r t o colonialism. 47 Th e "man " o f the titl e i s Kisenga (Robert Adams) tribesman, physician , an d concer t pianist , who break s off a concert tou r to return t o Afric a t o take up th e struggl e against th e tsetse fly—and against Magole, the triba l elder (Orland o Martins) wh o resists modernity because it places his ancient powers at risk. "We don't like a white man wit h black skin," he tells Kisenga. Following a climax in which a colorful ritua l all but subdue s Kisenga and hi s sciences, th e villagers harr y Magol e fro m thei r mids t an d permi t th e Britis h to hau l them t o safet y i n the highlands . No othe r movi e s o clearly set forth the notio n o f postwar partner ship, an d thu s offere d a n analogu e t o th e America n driv e fo r racial change. And yet the response of blacks to it revealed a gap between warheightened expectations and th e buttoned-down politics of the postwar era. What seemed to Dickinson "all th e Negr o students in Britain" rose


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and attacked the film in forums and in the Times, while in America black activists debated, then rejected, it. At first Walter White saw it as a useful parallel t o th e America n case , bu t poe t Langsto n Hughe s reckone d i t Magole's, no t Kisenga's , movie becaus e i n blac k term s h e wa s "reall y the hero , an d th e onl y on e who seem s t o understand wha t the Britis h colonial syste m i s all about. " I n th e en d th e NAAC P cam e dow n o n Hughes's side , eithe r becaus e o f the presumptio n o f a "savage-under the-skin" wh o wil l revert a t the first drumbeat, o r because "th e fat e of Imperialism throughout th e world is being decided" o n terms that wer e already outreachin g th e modes t proposal s o f Man of Two Worlds (an d Daybreak at Udi). In any case, reviewers in America yawned an d gauged it "watery propaganda" an d at best "honest [and] dull."48 Most bookers let i t pas s a s thoug h sensin g a broa d compas s o f liberals share d som e sentiment aki n t o Hughes's. At issue here, o f course, was not th e fat e o f a few movies, but how a postwar Africa n America n an d libera l fil m cultur e perceive d them . Heightened expectation s stiffene d resistanc e t o al l sort s o f film s tha t might have been praised before the war. Even Ebony, which wa s friendly In Thorol d Dickinson' s Man of Two Worlds (1946 ) th e straggl e between mod ernism an d tribalis m is in the hand s o f Kisenga (Rober t Adams), a black Albert Schweitzer , and Magol e (Orland o Martins, right), th e heav y whos e traditional authorit y is at stake . Copyrigh t Two Cities .

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to almost any apparently sincere cinematic effort, though t Pool of London "dodges the implication s o f the situatio n i t has created. " An d by 1950 , the NAAC P revealed it s growing coolnes s toward movie s from abroad , first by conferring with Hughe s before using a film as a fundraiser, and second b y th e staff s reluctanc e t o atten d previews : Mor e tha n hal f of them sen t regret s i n repl y t o a n invitatio n t o scree n Pool of London.49 This gulf betwee n past an d presen t mentalitie s ma y b e see n in th e reception accorde d Richar d Wright's Native Son (1951), a famed prewar novel, a Broadway play produced by John Houseman and Orson Welles, and a postwa r movi e produce d b y Jaim e Prade s o f Buenos Aires , directed by a leftist Frenc h director , Pierre Chenal, an d writte n an d acted by Wrigh t himself . "Movie s wer e hi s dish, " a frien d onc e said , an d Wright's lif e confirme d it : H e was a n addicte d moviegoer, interrogate d Welles for inside dope, followe d Steinbeck and Herber t Klein to Mexico to shoot The Forgotten Village, offere d himsel f to OWI, and pitched black ideas to the National Film Board of Canada, Columbia, and anyon e else who listened. By 1947, Native Son was in process despite being ten years old i n a worl d change d b y war . Undaunted , it s maker s saile d fro m France fo r New York , then Chicago , cutting a long scrip t as they went . Unhappy with their locations, they departed and recreated a South Side slum i n a Bueno s Aire s suburb , coaxe d blac k Englis h fro m a partl y Hispanic cast, and los t touch wit h Wright' s roots. The result was a strident, off-the-mar k script i n whic h stree t black s are mad e t o sa y "ho t diggity dog" an d "yo u blokes, " women hav e "scantil y cla d bosomfs]" and dresse s "pulle d taut, " an d a voiceover i s t o spea k i n ponderou s travelogue tones . B y the en d o f 194 9 wit h a ful l cas t signe d on , the y were stil l rewriting an d reshooting ; b y spring 1950 , they wrappe d fina l shooting $200,00 0 ove r budget, with editin g yet to be done, an d quar rels over style still clouding the final cut. In the en d Wright, as his frien d Welles sometimes did , left th e cuttin g to others an d le t the film slip into the hand s o f a smal l distributo r tha t assure d it s burial . "Stand s littl e chance i n the US," said Variety o f a movie meant to please both postwar America and Marxist Europe by coupling racism and class conflict, a link few African Americans would have wished to make. Censor s added their own resistance , particularly out of fear of "racial misunderstanding" an d "friction" arisin g from it s shrill ad copy such as : " A dea d white girl—a nigger runs—what d o you think happened?" 50 As released th e movi e hammere d hom e it s points lik e a tract, and the actor s declaimed thei r line s as though the y wer e stum p speeches . It also revealed th e exten t t o which a foreign political voice, might sound off-key fo r having missed the shiftin g racial mentality of black and whit e Americans. Instea d o f incisiv e cinema , the n i t strov e for obviousness. How shal l w e portra y a whit e woma n whos e socia l conviction s extended to racial issues? Easy. Put her i n bright colors, dangle a cigarette from he r wanto n re d mouth , giv e her taste s that ru n towar d sweat y


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prizefights, jazz , an d negligees—al l codified i n Hollywoo d lexico n a s signs of deviance. Her mother's liberalism rises from the same metapho r that ran throug h Bright Victory whos e blin d veteran i s able to see racial equality a s sighted persons neve r will ; he r blindnes s accounts fo r "he r deep interest in colored people." In contrast, her father has his sight but is capabl e onl y o f "doin g missionar y work. " Afte r Bigge r Thoma s (Wright himself), the hero, inadvertently in a panic kills his liberal benefactor Mar y Dalton , he i s lef t wit h onl y on e real friend , Jan, a radica l lawyer who drink s Cuba Libres and, lik e the othe r lefties , trie s too har d much a s Mar y ha d done : The y hea r a blac k singe r an d "al l colore d people ar e s o gifted"; the y hir e Bigge r as chauffeur, the n rid e up fron t and urge him to join a union; an d always they insist "I'm o n your side." The movie comes to life only after they are offscreen and Bigge r is on th e run fro m a crim e h e ha d no t committe d an d a world h e neve r made , hiding in ruined slums as the police ransack his haunts, and as the streets throb with the rhythm of the chase. In contrast, the trial that should hav e been th e clima x of a crackling story slip s through Wright' s finger s an d trails of f into Marxist cant spille d by Jan, th e lawyer. 51 "It wa s the damnedes t thin g you'v e eve r seen, " recalle d Wright' s friend Horac e Cayton of the movie , whic h arrive d o n th e heel s o f th e message movie era that had helpe d sharpe n blac k moviegoing. Bookers and ad-me n wer e confounded , eventually playing it off as an apolitica l "Dynamite Loade d Story of a Negro and a White Girl. " Reviewers , th e few wh o sa w it, labeled i t "awkwardly amateurish " or impolitely said, "I think it stinks." The NAACP, ever in search of a fundraiser or a sign of progress, pleade d "disgust " a t it s "sordi d details " tha t migh t serv e a s "propaganda t o continue race prejudice" and "damage ou r cause." In a national moo d i n whic h Walte r White's ne w boo k wa s title d A Rising Wind, th e NAAC P took credit for driving Amos 'n' Andy fro m networ k television, an d Poitie r ha d finishe d No Way Out and signe d fo r Zoltan Korda's Cry, the Beloved Country t o be sho t i n th e hear t o f apartheid i n South Africa , Native Son coul d no t hel p bu t see m a n anachronistic , shoestring race movie. 52 For th e res t o f the decad e no t a singl e Europea n impor t deviate d from th e patter n o f shril l rhetorica l promis e i n th e establishin g shot s from whic h th e last reel retreated. Simba (1955), a lone British attempt to treat Kenyan nationalism, dug no more deepl y than the daily press's reportage o f Maumau terrorism . Te n year s afte r Pool of London, Jane t Green's police-procedural Sapphire (1959 ) wandered throug h th e sam e London underworld , thi s tim e i n Technicolor , an d thi s tim e bolde r i n depicting the racis m of thugs and cop s alike, perhaps, sai d Variety, "in spired by " recen t race riots in Nettin g Hill Gate . But Gree n thought its race angl e "watered down " fro m he r origina l scripts, and indee d rac e seems no mor e tha n a quir k o f taste much lik e Mary Dalton's through which Scotlan d Yard infer s tha t a murde r victim i s black from he r re d

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underwear! I n turn, the y ar e led to the murderer , a n owlish , gra y sor t who, lik e the killer in Crossfire, kill s to sate an inner racist demon.53 The Woman for Joe (1955) was a carney melodrama wit h Ear l Cameron in a small role that, said Variety, "break s little new ground." Sea Wyf(Wife i n the Unite d States , 1957 ) featured Cy Grant a s "Numbe r 4, " th e blac k member o f a shipwrecked part y who ha s no more t o do than had Canada Le e i n Lifeboat a doze n year s earlier . Calypso (1959) , wit h Gran t again, a folkis h tale se t i n Trinidad , tease d aroun d a mulatt o family' s search for a white husban d t o enhance their daughter' s socia l standing. Others offered n o more than walk-ons: Pau l Danquah's sailor in Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey (1962) ; Johnny Sekka' s cynicall y wise servant i n The Woman of Straw (1964) ; boxer Hoga n Bassey's appearance as "himself " i n The Heart of a Man (1959). 54 Even at their bes t thes e movie s ran u p fals e colors . I n Flame in the Streets (1959) , for instance, Ro y Baker's idea had been to test glib liberal politics insid e a famil y circle , th e conflic t her e issuin g fro m a libera l union leader (Joh n Mills) facing his daughter's marriag e to a black man (Sekka). Bu t the poin t i s lost not i n kitchen tabl e debate but i n a wild, overblown Gu y Fawke s Da y rio t an d i n re d herring s i n th e for m o f a black slumlor d i n a bi g ca r wit h it s seat s covere d i n leopardski n an d carrying hi s pregnan t whit e wife . A t home , Mills' s wif e (Brend a DeBanzie) is waspish, tautl y fearing for her daughter , an d spittin g out he r anger a t an African mask . By tossing aside the genuine debat e to which Mill and DeBanzie were entitle d and closing on upbeat music the movie ended as , Variety said , a "no t highl y origina l pec k a t th e colo r prob lem."55 Why shoul d such retreats characterize s o many movies ? Broc k Peters, wh o ha d playe d a fe y Wes t India n i n a menage a trois i n The L-Shaped Room (1962), traced i t not s o much t o over t racis m but t o a need for "palatable" black characters who avoided "too muc h of a virile black image." Even when British movies led with a known American, as in The Hill (1964 ) wit h Ossi e Davis a s a colonia l soldie r jailed i n a disciplinary camp, the point was sometimes so preciously drawn as to be lost on Americans. Davis's form of striking a blow for equality, for example, i s to demand equal punishment, i n this case in the for m of a man made hil l in the deser t tha t the prisoners , lik e Sisyphus , are oblige d to climb over and over to exhaustion. "Permissio n . . . [to ] run ove r the hill with the white men," h e asks as though integratin g a lunch counter . Few othe r nationa l cinema s too k u p th e slack . Marce l Camus' s Orfeo Negro (1959 ) was startling in its rich color, carnival setting in Rio, harddriving Samb a beat , blackenin g o f the myt h o f Orpheus an d Eurydice, and th e decisio n o f Loper t t o brea k ou t o f th e ar t hous e circuit , bu t unfortunately ha d s o little impact that its American star, the singer Marpessa Dawn , coul d no t us e i t t o hyp e he r caree r i n eithe r singin g or film.56


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In a n ag e o f indirection , t o wha t di d audience s tur n fo r meatie r politics? One classic periphrastic ploy was to elect a stand-in fo r Africa n Americans, mainly Indians. The decade opened with Broken Arrow an d closed wit h Flaming Star, bot h o f which mean t somethin g t o blac k moviegoers, th e latte r film so much tha t on e criti c reported i t had "a n underground reputatio n i n blac k urba n hig h schools." 57 No t that thi s was s o new . Eve r sinc e Griffith' s Broken Doll (1909) , filmmakers ha d sentimentalized Indians , s o much s o that Zanuck once cautioned a writer against "the ol d familiar theme of the poor, downtrodden Indian. " In a typica l wartime expression , Buffalo Bill (1944) , the scou t and show man Willia m F. Cody , morosel y surveyin g th e carnag e afte r a battle , answers a n officer' s query , "They wer e al l my friends." An d in generations of westerns, mutua l respect between cavalr y and Indians was preserved b y findin g cupidit y i n whit e renegade s i n India n muft i o r i n crooked India n agent s rather tha n in the policie s of the governmen t o r the army. 58 Broken Arrow possesse d mor e impressiv e credentials: i n Elliot t Arnold's nove l Blood Brothers, which ha d appeare d i n th e sam e yea r a s Gentleman's Agreement, and a director, Delmer Daves, who in conversation revealed "a special interest in the American Indian since childhood" and spok e o f summer s spen t i n Hop i "hol y weeks. " Thei r wis h fo r authenticity extended t o casting only one recognized star (James Stewart). And , seein g a n obviou s parallel i n black an d India n plights , they played in the press and the ads Walter White's blurb: "I t packs a terrifi c wallop against prejudice."59 Th e hero Jeffords, a classic liberal, is caught between revanchis t whites and Indians . He is even a stereotyped sacrifi cial liberal in that th e deat h o f his Indian wif e i s the occasio n fo r peace and a conciliatory speec h b y the Apach e chief, Cochise . "As I bear th e murder o f my people," he says , "so yo u wil l bear th e murde r o f your wife." O f course, anothe r readin g might b e tha t al l of the dea d i n th e movie ar e Indians, a s though a warning tha t enterin g whit e circle s can only resul t in death. 60 The success of Broken Arrow stirred a cycle with racism at its center. Typically, as Selznick told Senary in weighing a biopic of the athlete Jim Thorpe: " I lik e th e potentia l fo r makin g a pictur e tha t woul d tak e a roundhouse swin g at prejudice." An d in the same vein, in considering a remake o f the old chestnut Ramona, Zanuc k asked his writer to "elimi nate mos t o f th e ol d fashione d stuff. " Variety routinel y reviewe d th e products a s to their succes s at "takfing] the redskins ' side " or teachin g "a salutar y lesso n i n tolerance." 61 Towar d th e en d o f the decad e th e tendrils o f culture, clan , an d trib e gre w s o intricate , eve n tortured , i n their view of race relations that the y seemed mannerist . The Spectator, for example , thought Joh n Huston' s The Unforgiven (1960 ) s o "odd looking and odd-feeling " that it could only speculate that it was nettled by some nameless "bee i n [its ] bonnet."62 But so hot wa s the topic that

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all th e network s starte d India n series . A s Sa m Mar x sai d wit h unin tended oxymoro n afte r a pol l take n b y th e a d agenc y Youn g an d Rubicam, "Th e publi c love s th e India n stuf f [so ] .. . w e inten d t o portray th e India n a s a huma n being , despit e hi s bein g a savage." 63 Of the m all , Flaming Star ma y hav e mean t th e mos t t o Africa n Americans. Like Broken Arrow, it set out to use the western idiom to deal with racia l politics, but unlik e most of its peers it eschewed obliquenes s and lai d into a melodrama a story of ethnic tension . I t began a t Fox in 1958 wit h a draf t b y Nunnall y Johnson an d wa s pitche d t o th e Ne w York offic e a s a universa l essa y o n racia l tolerance . Bu t fro m to p t o bottom, n o produce r picke d i t up , a t leas t unti l 1960 . The n Davi d Weisbart, who liked it as a social document, was assigned to produce just as the studio cast Elvis Presley in the role of Pacer, a mixed-race cowboy who live d wit h hi s whit e fathe r (Joh n Mclntyre ) an d India n mothe r (Dolores Del Rio). They engaged a western write r then on a hot streak , Clair Huffaker , t o giv e bul k t o Pacer' s par t withou t diminishin g th e brotherhood angle . Lat e in 1960 , the y chos e a n action-director , Do n Siegel, which, couple d with a decision to lay in songs to take advantage of Presley's shtick, seemed t o promise a contradictory goal : a movie i n the traditio n o f Pinky an d Broken Arrow but wit h music. 64 The result was a movi e tha t succeede d i n way s non e o f them ha d expected, certainl y fa r mor e tha n anythin g tha t Belafont e ha d bee n allowed t o do and more than the common ru n o f interesting sequence s in movies. Black youths took to it, perhaps because Pacer's mixed iden tity replicated their own tensions between goal s and ghettoes, or perhaps because of the voice of Presley's own identity as poor white who brough t black musical idiom to a white audience . Fro m reel one, th e intergrou p tensions tighte n a s Kiowas raid a farm , forcin g white neighbor s t o de mand o f Pacer's mixed family a declaration of racial loyalty. At first his father insists on the right to choose peace rather than sides, but his wife's death a t the hand s o f bushwhackers render s th e issu e moot an d drive s Pacer int o th e arm s o f the Kiow a sid e o f his pedigree , where hi s half brother Buffal o Hor n (Rodolfo Acosta) again demands tribal fealty. Each ensuing inciden t become s a matter o f blood tha t demand s choice s tha t Pacer refuses unti l a t last, mortally wounded an d incapabl e o f fighting, he lead s on e o f his whit e half-brother s t o th e safet y o f the ranc h bu t returns t o th e Kiowa s to di e as an Indian . Th e forked path o f the plo t ended a s a neat an d surel y unintended analogu e for the blac k sense of the "twoness " o f America n life . B y avoidin g a falsel y eas y solution , Siegel ha d signale d a n importan t brea k wit h Hollywoo d formul a i n a popular movi e o f this sort. Thus Flaming Star capped of f the decad e by reaching beyon d th e stati c frontie r lef t b y th e messag e movi e er a an d probing the prickly matter of ethnic pluralism. No other genre could say as much throughou t th e cal m before th e Greensbor o sit-ins o f 1960. 65 As we have seen, the era of conscience-liberalism from wa r through


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the messag e movi e cycl e was followe d by , i f not a politica l ice age, a t least a politics of cool, buttoned-down style . But it is important t o not e that parallel to this apparent calm , a range o f critical voices persisted i n expressing a wish for a break through th e cooled crust to the still-warm film culture beneat h it ; th e popularit y o f Flaming Star itself testifie d t o the young audience' s willingnes s to watch fo r it. Doc Young and othe r black critic s grumbled a t th e practic e o f casting famous blacks suc h a s Archie Moore an d Althea Gibson from the sporting world "i n degrading roles [as ] par t o f a plo t t o maintai n th e ol d racia l status. " Th e trade s joined in , complainin g o f residual "familia r bwan a monkeyshines." 66 But no liberal consensus emerged to define the goals that had seeme d so clear whe n guide d b y war aims . O n th e on e hand , a s see n i n a 195 3 report by Edward Madden o f NBC "to th e Negro community," th e net work boaste d o f a ne w polic y t o cas t role s accordin g t o "integratio n without [racial ] identification, " a s thoug h legislatin g th e notio n tha t under th e ski n all Americans were alike . On the othe r hand , fea r o f the new grippe d everyone : Black s feared movies focuse d on "miscegena tion" rather than racial politics; the studios still fretted over the Dixiecrat movement an d it s impact o n Hollywood . A s the produce r Alber t Zugsmith recalled , Hollywoo d wa s faithfu l t o "equalit y an d al l that" bu t paradoxically "scare d shitles s to try a really black picture." 67 The tension between coolness and ardo r ma y be seen i n four faile d movies of 1958-1959, the eve of the "freedom rider" summer and a year from Greensboro . The Night of the Quarter Moon, St. Louis Blues, Anna Lucasta, an d Take a Giant Step eac h reveale d th e problem s i n deal ing wit h th e interior s o f African America n life . St. Louis Blues suffere d from a fear of depicting black conflict as though a biopic of the compose r W. C . Hand y foreclose d writin g i n blac k heavies . Moreover , castin g musical figures—Na t Col e and Earth a Kitt—le d to th e storylin e bein g reduced to a string of vaudeville turns. And rather than seeking universal themes in black culture , it s makers enamele d o n a coa t o f "common, human problems." A twenty-two-day shootin g schedule , couple d wit h the obligatio n the y fel t t o ensur e a crossove r audienc e b y squeezin g i n twenty-six of Cole's recording-hits, required juggling the stars' nightclub gigs. Th e strai n ruine d th e movi e and , accordin g t o it s director, Allen Reisner, le d them t o quickl y "get th e pictur e ou t an d [not ] worr y to o much abou t th e concept. " Variety foun d th e resul t s o "genteel " tha t "you migh t wonde r why " black s bothered t o sin g Handy's blues. 68 Down i n Culve r City a t Metro, Zugsmit h set about makin g a n ex ploitation movie that teased around th e sensational aspect s of race relations whil e a t th e sam e tim e tweakin g th e studio' s reputatio n a s " a bastille [sic ] of conservatism." Bu t th e wea k script , unfounded i n an y core of actual black life, doome d the eventua l film, Night of the Quarter Moon, t o th e exploitatio n grind houses . Throughou t its hasty shooting schedule, the actors tinkered with it, director Hugo Haas tossed into it his

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familiar wome n place d i n degrading jeopardy, and th e studi o played it off in a shrill style. Its defining scene was a courtroom sequence in which a judge requires a woman t o disrobe as proof of her racia l identity. The result was a lost opportunity to play honestly to an increasingly apparen t attention bein g pai d b y Americans to th e nationa l racia l crisis in thei r midst.69 Even prospective movies that were pedigreed dramas such as Louis Peterson's Take a Giant Step (1959) , Phili p Yordan' s Anna Lucasta (1959), an d Lorrain e Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun (1961) , faced th e problem o f Hollywood timidit y and th e resultin g wish t o launde r th e more striden t aspects of black culture a s a devic e for assurin g broade r appeal t o whites. Al l thre e blac k movie s (Yordan' s wa s actuall y a veneered-over, ten-year-ol d melodram a abou t Polis h immigran t life ) seemed tor n betwee n plungin g int o th e incipien t marke t an d alterin g themselves to fit outmoded racial ideas, between reachin g for values that television coul d no t handl e an d adaptin g themselve s t o TV' s blan d tastes. All were cluttered, naturalistic, busily detailed looks at the husk of black life, but each of the independent movies—Giant Step and Lucasta— were onl y superficially so, having "perversely, " said one critic, chewed on more tha n they had bitte n off. 70 Onl y Raisin in the Sun, b y a major studio with a major star and supportin g cast, dared to portray a genuine core of black culture (albei t minus a few shards of black politics). In th e end the n the y please d n o one—whites , blac k nationalists, or black assimilationists. Through thi s pri m er a floate d Sidne y Poitier, a blan d antidot e t o racial tension . Beginnin g with hi s restraine d inter n i n No Way Out he adapted hi s controlle d person a t o hi s craf t muc h a s Eisenhowe r ha d done t o his. Next he wa s a Sout h African pries t in Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country, a sentimentall y hopefu l treatmen t o f aparthei d i n which teemin g blac k Jo'burg wa s mor e o f a heavy tha n wa s th e Boe r racial system . In th e gossi p that flowe d bac k fro m Africa , Canad a Lee complained of "degrading" treatment, while, in keeping with his emerging film persona, Poitier was quoted as accepting indentured servitude to Zoltan Korda as a means o f entry into the country , sloughin g it off as a case of taking "a punch i n order to land a harder one." I n a movie more about racial amity across barriers than abou t the barriers, Poitier played a pries t caugh t betwee n th e cultures , th e role tha t woul d becom e hi s property i n th e ensuin g decades . A black critic pronounced i t " a fres h wind," liberals agreed, and th e NU L used i t as a fundraiser. 71 Thereafter, almost all of his roles bore the same burden o f restraint in the service of harmony, wit h himself as the honest broker torn betwee n polar loyalties . Red Ball Express (1952 ) combine d barrackroo m rivalry with a tribute to th e black role in the invasio n of Europe. "A littl e step forward," sai d the Eagle, and don e with "dignity and a good amount of equal treatment. " A yea r late r h e wa s i n no t a platoo n bu t a black


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basketball team led to victories by its white founder. "Okay," said Variety, wit h a minimum o f "soapboxing." In Willia m Wellman' s Disney like dog-movie Goodbye, My Lady (1956 ) he had th e Remu s role in Song of the South, retoole d int o self-possessed , educated farme r "from acros s the river" who becomes a force in the coming of age of a white boy. In a bigger, bette r messag e movi e i n th e gran d styl e of the genre , Richar d Brooks's fil m o f Robert Ruark's Something of Value (1957) , Poitier wa s again caugh t betwee n culture s i n th e struggle , as Brook s said , t o ge t whites "t o relinquis h th e rol e of masters an d becom e allies " in Kenya. Everyone suffers , o f course, fo r th e poin t i s that racis m hurts . Bu t i t is Poitier's wif e an d eventuall y himsel f wh o di e a s hi s friend , a whit e farmer (Roc k Hudson), swoops u p hi s son , his stak e in a better future , and saves him from death. Brooks himself saw the irony in this revival of the "white man's burden" and in spite of himself found it a "laughable" foreshadowing o f the chain that literally bound Poitier to Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones (1959) . Four year s later Poitie r repeated th e rol e an d the messag e in a Presbyterian tract, The Mark of the Hawk, i n which h e steers African nationalis m awa y fro m "th e desire t o destroy " and t o a happy end . Sometimes , a s i n Band of Angels (1957), a misfire d film of Robert Pen n Warren' s book , Poitier' s maturin g craf t almos t save d a movie from itsel f (and , in this case, a fading Clar k Gable and a "bored" director). Bu t i n the end , althoug h Poitie r emerge d unscathed , Arche r Winsten i n the Post thought th e movi e ha d don e littl e "to elevat e itself above soap opera," and Ebony reckoned i t only an also-ran in the "race relations derby." As each succeeding movie aimed ever more predictably down th e middle, Poitier's hopes for a breakthrough this time would be, as in Paris Blues (1961), dashed by a case of studio cold feet. That movie, about tw o jazzmen who mee t tw o schoolteacher s o n vacation in Paris , begins as a bohemian stor y of interracial flirting, but b y the secon d ree l the four merge unremarked int o color-coded pairs (Poitie r and Diahan n Carroll, Pau l Newma n an d Joann e Woodward) . Thre e year s later , h e appeared i n a costum e melodram a o f Vikings versus Moors, The Long Ships. Variety reporte d Souther n pressur e to tri m Poitier' s harem o f its white odalisques , but th e scrip t saved them th e troubl e by having him , blessedly fo r the censors ' sake , tak e a n oat h o f chastity for th e whol e movie. In 1960 , the keeper s of his image cast Poitier in a retread of the World Wa r I I genre , All the Young Men, thi s tim e se t i n Kore a an d intended "t o presen t th e Negr o in a positio n o f leadership," a s i f th e army ha d no t alread y don e so. 72 This unfai r chronicl e o f a caree r wa s no t mean t t o blam e a fine , disciplined actor for an exhauste d ag e that had ru n dr y of ideas even as the civil rights movement began to heat up in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa,

Greensboro, Littl e Rock , an d elsewhere . Rather , event s provide d Eisenhower wit h a n openin g t o ac t boldl y i n usin g federa l power s t o hold ope n th e school s o f Littl e Rock , fa r earlie r tha n the y provided

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At first blush Poitier sa w Paris Blues (1961 ) a s a chance to giv e movie politics another spin , but a case of studio cold fee t resulte d in the conventiona l on e black pai r an d on e whit e pair, as acceptable in Paducah a s in Paris . BFI. Copyright United Artists. Hollywood wit h a crisi s it could understan d wel l enoug h t o formulate into politicall y engagin g o r eve n informativ e movies. Nonetheless , i n three goo d movie s tha t spanne d th e decad e Poitie r used hi s emergin g screen presence t o a t least make a few attempts . As i n th e past , such materia l owe d it s being t o liberal s whose re formist politics made them prone to respond t o crises in ways that dre w them to Poitier as their instrument. Suc h a moment cam e in 195 4 with Evan Hunter's The Blackboard Jungle, its audience readymad e by teen agers raise d u p o n roc k 'n ' rol l an d rebellion , adult s mad e tens e b y crumbling cities, disaffected youth , Brown vs. Topeka Board, an d serial ization in the Ladies' Home Journal. Th e story of redemption in a slum school was also an event in a struggle in Culver City among Mayer, who once ran Metro as a fief, Schary, the no longer young Turk, and Richard Brooks's tabloid mind. To the oldtimers , Schar y and Brook s seemed " a little red," obsesse d with "dirty fingerprints" in their projects, and in this case, hellbent on placing an "arrogant [black ] smart ass" at the center of their movie. 73 These force s easil y inspire d th e disma y o f Eri c Johnsto n i n th e


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MPAA, Senato r Este s Kefauver, wh o use d i t as the pretex t t o "probe " Hollywood again , Mayer' s cronie s o n th e lot , an d Ambassado r Claire Booth Luce, who woul d squelc h its showing a t Venice. The slum classroom wa s like the wa r movi e platoo n i n it s polyethnicity, bu t fa r fro m being soldiers , th e student s were castoff s o f demoralized societ y repre sented b y the beleaguered , cynical , burned-ou t teachers . I n the centra l trope a young teacher i s reduced t o tears when he offer s t o play for his class hi s collectio n o f jazz masters , whic h the y gree t wit h a spre e o f giggling, howlin g vandalis m whil e th e soundtrac k override s th e jaz z with Bil l Haley's "Rock Aroun d the Clock"—whic h Brook s had playe d on th e se t as a mood piece. 74 A t stake was th e libera l hope: whethe r society coul d marsha l it s best value s i n tim e t o sav e it s les s fortunate from th e wors t o f the system . The drama center s o n Dadier (Glenn Ford), a teacher no t yet worn down by the system, and Artie (Vic Morrow), a snarling, hateful kid bent

on leading the class to a bad end. Betwee n them is Miller (Poitier), who may yet be won ove r to civility. In their key scene, Dadie r must disar m knife-wielding Artie , forcin g Miller t o choose . Miller' s optin g fo r th e teacher, fo r the goo d o f the group , an d fo r liberalism's faith i n redemp tion was not so cheap a trick as to end on a happy closure, but its makers did intend a reaffirmed America n faith in the worth of the individual in a possibly hospitable society . Left unsaid , of course, were the fate s o f reallife, ordinar y boy s lef t i n undiminishe d povert y an d untouche d b y th e good intentions of a movie. Yet audiences loved its proffer o f hope. Fro m its first previews in Encino to its turn as Life's Movi e of the Week, its title became a nonceword for urban despai r and prodde d educator s to tak e up remedie s fo r their ow n "jungles. " In Encin o the y like d it , 260-13, thought i t excellent, even magnificen t (sav e for a dissenter pu t of f by a black lead), and it went on to earn the ten-million profit that Schary had predicted fo r MGM. Its spectacular success promised a booming retur n to self-consciously social films: It made Luce look like a vulgar, kneejerk anti-red a t Venice , stiffene d th e MPAA' s resolve agains t her an d othe r censors, an d confirme d Poitie r as a moviestar icon of a seamless, waxysmooth libera l politics. In each new movie he learned to play to the edge of his control, a s though simmerin g beneath a surface of repressed stammers an d catche s i n th e throa t tha t functione d lik e volcani c fissures through whic h hidde n power s seeped. 75 Three years later, Poitier's next vehicle , Edge of the City (1957 ) carried the genre—fo r by then Poitier's movies had becom e a genre—into the family circle itself, the last bastion o f racial exclusivity. It too seeme d bold an d timel y followin g both Eisenhower' s uncharacteristi c decisio n to sen d troop s t o Littl e Roc k t o reinforc e a judicial findin g tha t racia l integration o f schools was require d by th e Constitution , and th e film' s having enjoye d a T V viewership o f million s i n it s origina l format o n Philco Playhous e a s A Man Is Ten Feet Tall. Almos t a s conspirators,

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Edge of the City (1957 ) wa s startlin g i n it s insistence o n definin g racia l issue s as complex , perhap s implacable , an d embedde d i n ordinar y fol k a s well a s in the crazie s o f No Way Out—and fo r carryin g th e dram a int o th e quie t corner s of ordinar y life . Copyrigh t Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .

writer Rober t Ala n Aurthur, Poitier' s agen t Marti n Baum , an d NBC' s Fred Coe struggled to bring Poitier to the smal l screen despite an apparent blacklist on which hi s name ha d appeared. 76 A s he improved in his role as ambassador between th e races, he and these artificers of his image effectively half-forme d th e nex t decade' s racia l history . Poitier was Tommy, a stevedore easily the superior of any other ma n in his gang, particularly Axel (John Cassavetes), a neurotic deserter, and Charlie Malik (Jack Warden), a sadistic boss who canno t bea r the black intruder int o hi s circle . Tommy invite s Axe l to dinner , int o hi s inner most circl e where fe w whites hav e eve r intrude d an d wher e Axe l sees the happ y contras t wit h hi s ow n moody , haunte d lif e a s a deserter . "Tommy, o f course, is the wa y Axe l should be," sai d David Susskind a t the beginning of production. Ye t obviously, Tommy has replaced Charlie at the center o f Axel's dock life, resultin g in a daily round o f baiting an d harrying until the y fight with balin g hooks an d Tomm y dies—Poitier's finest scene in the wa y he allowe d the crus t of his control to crac k and reveal th e magm a underneath . Axel , overcom e wit h remors e a t th e silence extorted from him by Tommy's killer, finally informs on him, an d


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subsequently make s peac e wit h bot h hi s famil y an d th e army . A t last Axel was ready to face himself, said Metro's synopsis , and t o straighten out wha t remaine d of his life , leavin g the audience , of course, to con clude as in other case s that white well-being hinges o n black sacrifice, a point no t los t o n blac k critics , wh o bega n t o car p a t Poitier' s work . Indeed, directo r Martin Ritt recalled that Tommy's deat h stirre d "a goddamned rio t in the theatre." 77 Nonetheless, a s a messag e movi e i t wa s a roarin g success . Overwhelming, gripping , an d othe r raves , sai d th e previe w card s a s the y praised the use of race as a fact rather than an angle (but for one disserter against this sort of "thing"). The black press liked its "mixed"-cast story in which, a s Ebony wrote, race was "completely ignored, " thu s contending, muc h a s Stampp' s formulatio n o f liberal goals had assumed , tha t Negroes were "innately " "white men with black skins." Th e trades and the nationa l pres s joined in . "Provocative , courageous, " sai d Variety; "startlingly good, " said The New Yorker. They had narrowe d th e focus of the issue to a small arena on terms challenging to audiences, much as the old war movi e genr e ha d wishe d t o do. 78 At the same time, it must be said that the age remained resolutely as cool as ever. Circumspection stil l governed th e presentatio n o f self, an d ethics an d politics , as Riesma n ha d pointe d ou t i n The Lonely Crowd, seemed "otherdirected " and draw n fro m peer s rathe r tha n fro m inne r absolutes an d traditiona l adages . Thu s Poitier' s wor k teetere d o n th e edge of change, eve n half-leading it, but alway s in a cooled-down mod e increasingly define d b y th e keeper s o f hi s image , whos e fisca l dutie s included husbandin g a sta r to o valuabl e t o ris k o n flight s o f radical daring. Thus from 1959 , the year of The Defiant Ones, through 1963 , the year of his Oscar for Lilies of the Field, h e became more star than actor, a fact recognized by a growing pool of black and white fans , critics, and, it must be said, bankers, as well as those charged with "findin g stories for Sidney" tha t advance d th e edg e o f change withou t riskin g the star. 79 Much as Eisenhower had define d the national politics of the era, so Poitier was abl e to define the las t years of the genr e o f combat movies , each with its lone black hero, that had begun with Walter White's visits to Hollywood in the 1940s . But the exhaustion by 1968 of the genre and the ennu i o f its audience, both becomin g apparen t as new socia l conditions thrust up new cinematic formulations, coincided with the exhaustion o f Poitier' s ow n genre . Th e sweet , well-meanin g ambienc e an d performances o f Lilies of the Field (1963) , To Sir with Love (1967) , i n which h e playe d th e lon e blac k teache r i n a slu m schoo l (no t unlik e Dadier in Blackboard Jungle) i n the East End of London, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1968), in which he wa s promote d fro m th e inter n in No Way Out to internationally famous physicia n to the Unite d Nations , formed th e apoge e o f a caree r tha t woul d soo n star t it s slid e toward nadir. By 1968, the nation had experience d three major assassinations ,

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Homer Smit h (Sidne y Poitier ) i n Lilies of the Field (1963 ) tutore d a grou p of nuns in th e nuance s of spirituals, a movie versio n o f Poitier's real lif e missio n as an ico n o f a "crossover " sensibility. Copyrigh t United Artists .

including tha t o f Martin Luthe r King , a failur e o f oldlin e blac k lead ership, a loss of collective black focus on shared goals, a retreat into black nationalism, an d a waning attentio n t o poverty in the cities on the part of nationa l white politicians . Thus Poitier, who shoul d hav e enjoye d a career a s ever-expanding as tha t of Bett e Davis or Spence r Tracy , found himsel f charge d as an accomplice in a plot t o diminish nationa l attentio n t o racial issues. His black (an d white) critic s grew in numbers, i n the blun t cruelt y of their attacks, an d i n thei r eagernes s t o eras e th e memor y o f his havin g at tained professional heights never before reached by an African American performer. His era had begun with Hollywood' s preferenc e for his work over that of Belafonte (and all other blac k performers, male and female, save for the song-and-danc e wor k o f Sammy Davis , Jr.). I t ended i n a slough o f racia l self-recriminatio n brough t o n b y Africa n America n critics to o youn g t o remembe r Hollywoo d befor e Poitie r ha d helpe d change it. In classic liberal fashion he assumed blame for events and fel t trapped b y them . "Th e closes t Hollywoo d came " t o goo d blac k por trayals, h e recalled , was "th e one-dimensional , middle-clas s imagery I


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had embodied." Therefore, he concluded, he felt a "unique relationship to both sides of the problem." A s Stepin Fetchit had become an epony m for uncl e tomming , s o Poitier ha d don e fo r cinemati c obsolescence . A piece abou t a footbal l playe r turne d action-acto r wa s thoughtlessl y headlined, "Don' t compar e m e wit h Sidney , hi s picture s don' t mak e money anymore." Through it all, Poitier remained a t home, feelin g each "cheap-shot," bu t declinin g to answe r i n public such essay s as Cliffor d Mason's acerbic Times piece, "Why D o White Folks Love Sidney Poitier So?"80 He simpl y had laste d lon g enoug h t o becom e ol d hat . Time s an d goals had changed . Muc h as the catchphras e "a credi t to his race" had been proudly attached to Joe Louis only to turn sour during the war, so Poitier's paragons, which ha d bee n par t of new postwa r racial arrangements to which black s were able to consent, graduall y passed into self parody. After the political murders of major figures of the 1960s , the old bargain no t onl y see m violated , bu t newl y violen t urba n condition s forced a reopenin g o f negotiations fo r fres h term s tha t wer e fa r mor e African American nationalist in their texture. The presentation of self in all its aspects—dress, music, body language—defined the African American on the screen . In the crisi s in which politician s foresaw a nation of two cultures , one black and poor, th e othe r whit e an d comfortable , in which eac h graphi c television report of urban violence helpe d redefine blacks as violent, volatile, and unrestrained by white law or convention , conscience-liberal movie s cam e t o a n end , alon g wit h th e career s of actors suc h a s Sidney Poitier who ha d give n their professiona l lives to them. Contrasts were everywhere: between buttoning down and "letting it all han g out, " forthrigh t Joh n F . Kenned y an d sweatil y meretriciou s Richard M. Nixon, the coo l black s of Greensboro and the particolore d robes o f Ro n Karenga' s cultura l nationalists , th e self-effacin g athlete s before T V coverage an d th e hotdoggin g late r athlete s fo r who m styl e mattered as much as substance, the ol d litiginous strategy of the NAACP and th e "Maumauing " of post libera l activists, and s o on . The engin e o f chang e wa s television . T o th e exten t t o whic h i t claimed t o repor t new s whil e als o meeting th e wishe s o f the viewer , it became lik e movie s ha d bee n i n half-formin g th e force s i t wa s half formed by. A given program reached millions of viewers in a commonl y shared, thoug h physicall y isolated, moment tha t contribute d to a sens e of belongin g to , a s Benjami n Singe r called it , a n "electroni c commu nity." The masses of blacks and whites in marches o n Selm a and Washington, an d th e eventua l riot s a t th e core s o f grea t America n cities , eventually stretche d from new s footag e t o primetime melodramas that desperately sough t a "relevance " tha t n o produce r would hav e cared about i n forme r times . Fo r hours o n end , televisio n began t o offer , a s Clarence Mitchel l o f the NAAC P reported , " a profoundl y constructiv e

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effect" on racial politics, or as Nicholas Katzenbach of the Department of Justice phrased it, "a central means of making a private moral conviction public"; stil l more pointedly, as Bill Monroe o f NBC formulated it, television became "th e chose n instrumen t o f the blac k revolution." 81 Meanwhile, Hollywood' s sens e o f itself, a t least with respect to th e treatment o f African America, slowly lost its clarity of purpose. By 1969, Newsweek portraye d th e studio s a s victim s o f "cultura l change s the y [could not ] comprehend, " as they not onl y stammere d i n expressing a politics o f newly volatil e race relations , bu t als o los t their place i n th e front ran k o f popular arts . An d a s they slumped , contemp t for movies among black s grew apace. Poitier himself felt tha t i n the movielot s th e feeling wa s tha t "w e don' t hav e rac e movies , w e hav e Sidne y Poitie r films." An d amon g th e audiences , fo r ever y criti c wh o cautiousl y thought that "too muc h authenticity in this area can be uncomfortable, " there were legions of fans like those who, a s the Poitier character in The Defiant Ones had leane d ove r fro m hi s perch o n a moving trai n t o hel p the white convict to whom he had been chained, shouted, "Get back on the train, you fool!" Indeed, when a sample of high school students was polled after seeing Up Tight (1967) , the black version of O'Flaherty's tale of the Irish rising, they vastly preferred the rebellious antihero as against the figure s who , thoug h n o les s "black " i n thei r politics , counsele d restraint.82 On th e left , Africa n American s bega n t o see k politica l advantag e among the opportunities presented by the breakup of the classical studio system an d th e interventio n o f the federa l Equa l Employment Opportunity Commissio n (EEOC) . Followin g visit s t o Hollywoo d i n th e mid-1960s by Herbert Hill, labor secretary of the NAACP , during which he threatene d t o see k t o "disfranchise " studi o guild s tha t ha d bee n denying blacks access to employmen t throug h grandfathe r clauses, th e studios bega n t o grudgingl y (an d withou t federa l monitoring ) admi t black apprentices to the guilds, thus opening the movielots to new ideas. Meanwhile, independen t filmmakers , muc h a s Levitt, Loeb, and other s once had done , began to find an audience. LeRo i Jones, a poet who by 1967 had becom e Amiri Baraka, spoke of the film of his drama Dutchman a s "th e beginnin g o f new movie s . . . [of ] revolutionary revelation." And H. Rap Brown, who ha d succeede d t o the leadershi p o f the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, touted Up Tight as "well done" except that it "should have been for the Negro what The Battl e of Algiers' shoul d hav e been " fo r it s oppresse d constituenc y i n Frenc h North Africa. 83 The studios themselves felt th e heat , no t onl y from declinin g ticket sales, bu t fro m critic s suc h a s Crowthe r of th e Times, wh o diffidentl y proposed tha t "i t would see m good business .. . i f more film s o n socalled dangerou s subjects , suc h a s th e Negr o problem , wer e mad e a t limited costs." And fro m black s came attacks on specifi c films such as a


293

Stanley Kramer' s The Defiant Ones (1958 ) seemed to o "o n th e nose " for some political tastes , but nonetheles s goo d (i n its tabloid fashion ) i n it s use of a chain, first as a shackl e of two enemie s (Ton y Curti s and Poitier) , the n as the metaphorica l bon d betwee n them. BFI . Copyright Unite d Artists .

lilywhite version of William Styron's controversial novel The Confessions of Nat Turner, in thi s cas e s o barbed a s to induc e droppin g th e idea , a decision that led the Sentinel to proclaim blacks had mad e "Hollywoo d aware o f thi s tid e o f black power. " I n thi s mood , quasi-independen t filmmakers such as Melvin Van Peebles made startlingl y violent, trucu lent celebrations of black outlawry such as Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971 ) tha t lashe d ou t a t Hollywoo d classica l conventions while drawing a n urban , youthfu l blac k an d crossove r audienc e tha t fo r a decade prowle d neighborhoo d theatre s i n searc h o f sequels that chal lenged th e mannere d styl e of, say, To Sir with Love.84 Amidst this clangor, Poitier made the last movie of his liberal period, a film that emerged from his own creative centers and even his own firm. Brother John (1971 ) reveale d the natur e of the change d time s an d Poitier's distanc e from them . Th e movie wa s a deisti c fantasy abou t "a n observer fro m anothe r world who walk s the eart h . . . [to ] determine whether mankin d i s worth y o f salvation"—a n unintende d parod y o f Poitier's slowly evolving actual role in Hollywood and hi s preference for cool detachment. In an era when a typical bumpersticker slogan snarled

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out, "I f you ar e no t par t of the solutio n then you ar e part of the problem," detachment amounted to treason. And critics were having none of it. "Deadpan holier-than-thou immobility," said one of them of a movie that seeme d aime d towar d Poitier's "own canonization." 85 The er a o f conscience-liberal movies ended a s though awaitin g its own mora l equivalen t o f OW I and Walte r White: a fres h respons e t o new condition s create d by th e civi l rights movement. Th e movies that had define d th e term s o f a n ag e o f integratio n would themselve s b e succeeded b y th e movie s they ha d foreshadowed . The new movie s so avidly sough t a n Africa n America n audienc e tha t Variety calle d them "blaxploitation" movie s and a weekly news magazine warned America to "prepar e to meet th y boom." But that is another story .

Abbreviations

AA Afro-American (Baltimore ) ACE America n Counci l on Educatio n ACG-CU Alexande r C . Gumby Collection , Columbi a University AFC America n Fil m Cente r AFI/CAFS America n Fil m Institut e Cente r fo r Advanced Fil m Studie s AFRA America n Federatio n o f Radio Artists AHC-WY America n Heritag e Center , Laramie, Wyomin g AJC America n Jewis h Committe e AMPAS Academ y o f Motion Pictur e Arts and Science s AN Amsterdam News (Ne w York) ANP Associate d Negr o Press AVNA-DC Audiovisua l Section , Nationa l Archives, Washington , D.C . BFI Britis h Film Institut e CB-UT Clarenc e Brow n Papers , Universit y o f Tennesse e CB-CHS Claud e A. Barnet t Papers , Chicag o Historical Societ y CCNP Coordinatin g Counci l of Negro Performer s CD Chicago Defender CE California Eagle (Lo s Angeles) CIAA Coordinato r o f Inter-American Affair s CIO Congres s of Industrial Organization s CPUSA Communis t Part y of the Unite d State s o f Americ a 295

296

Abbreviations

DGA Director s Guild o f America DOS-TX Davi d O. Selznick Papers, Humanities Research Center, University o f Texas a t Austi n DS-SHSW Dor e Senar y Papers , State Historica l Society o f Wisconsin DW Daily Worker (Ne w York) EFLA Educationa l Fil m Librar y Association EPFL Enoc h Prat t Fre e Librar y (Baltimore) FD Film Daily FDR Frankli n D . Roosevelt Presidentia l Librar y FEPC Fai r Employment Practice s Commissio n GEH Georg e Eastma n Hous e Museu m o f Photography , Rochester , New Yor k GPJ-UCLA Georg e P . Johnson Collection , University of Californi a at Lo s Angeles HOC Hollywoo d Democrati c Committe e HH-AMPAS Hedd a Hoppe r Papers , Academ y o f Motio n Pictur e Art s an d Sciences HICCASP Hollywoo d Independen t Citizen s Committee fo r the Arts , Sciences an d Profession s HR Hollywood Reporter HRC-TX Humanitie s Researc h Center , Universit y of Texas at Austin HST Harr y S . Truman Presidentia l Librar y HUAC Committe e o n Un-America n Activities , House o f Representatives HWM Hollywoo d Writers ' Mobilizatio n ICCASP Independen t Citizen s Committee fo r the Arts, Sciences and Professions IFRG Interracia l Fil m an d Radi o Guild ILGWU Internationa l Ladies ' Garmen t Worker s Unio n ITC-DC Irvin g Thalberg Collection , Dartmouth Colleg e JBC Joh n Bake r Collectio n JWJ Jame s Weldo n Johnso n Collection , Beinek e Library , Yale LAS Los Angeles Sentinel LAT Los Angeles Times LA-WSU Labo r Archives, Wayne Stat e University , Detroit , Michigan LC Librar y of Congres s LD Loui s DeRochemon t Paper s LD-RD Loui s DeRochemont-Reader's Digest, Inc . LH-JWJ Langsto n Hughes Papers, Johnson Collection , Yale LM-AHC Lyma n Munso n Papers , America n Heritag e Center, Laramie, Wyoming

Abbreviations

297

LM-FDR Lowel l Mellet t Papers , Frankli n D . Roosevel t Presidentia l Li brary MGM-LD Metro-Goldwyn-Maye r Lega l Departmen t ML-BU Muga r Library , Boston Universit y MM-UG Margare t Mitchel l Papers , Universit y o f Georgi a MMR Moder n Military Records MOMA Museu m o f Modern Art , New York MPAA Motio n Pictur e Association o f Americ a MPD Motion Picture Daily MPH Motion Picture Herald MPPDA Motio n Pictur e Producer s an d Director s o f Americ a (later , MPPA) MSCB Marylan d Stat e Censo r Boar d NAACP Nationa l Association fo r the Advancemen t o f Colored Peopl e NA-DC Nationa l Archives, Washington , D.C . NA-MD Nationa l Archives, Suitland , Marylan d NCNW Nationa l Counci l o f Negro Wome n NJ&G Norfolk Journal and Guilde NJFA Nationa l Jewish Fil m Archive, Brandei s University NNC Nationa l Negr o Congres s Record s NR New Republic NR-LC Nationa l Associatio n fo r th e Advancemen t o f Colore d People , Manuscript Division , Library of Congress NUL Nationa l Urba n League NYA New York Age NYT, NYT M New York Times, New York Times Magazine OCP-HST Osca r Chapman Papers , Harr y S. Truman Presidentia l Library OF-HST Offic e File , Harry S . Truman Presidentia l Librar y OFF Offic e o f Facts an d Figure s OWI-LC Offic e o f War Information , Librar y of Congress OWI-NA-MD Offic e o f War Information , Nationa l Archives, Suitland , Md . PA-NYPL Performin g Art s Branch , Ne w Yor k Publi c Library PC Pittsburgh Courier PCA Productio n Cod e Administratio n PD-USC Phili p Dunne Papers , Universit y of Southern Californi a PFA Pacifi c Fil m Archive PN Phille o Nash Paper s PR Paramoun t Pictures Records PV People's Voice QRFS Quarterly Review of Film Studies

298

Abbreviations

RKO Radio-Keith-Orpheu m SAG Scree n Actor s Guild SDB Story Department Bulletin, DOS-T X SHSW State Historica l Society o f Wisconsi n SJS Stephe n J . Spingar n Paper s SCRBC Schombur g Cente r fo r Researc h i n Blac k Culture SRL Saturday Review of Literature SIU Souther n Illinoi s University TB Thoma s Brando n Paper s TCFA 20t h Century-Fo x Fil m Archiv e TI&E Troo p Informatio n an d Educatio n UA Unite d Artists UAW Unite d Aut o Worker s UCB Universit y o f Californi a at Berkele y UCLA Universit y o f Californi a at Lo s Angeles USC Universit y o f Souther n Californi a USO Unite d Servic e Organization s Var. Variety WAC Wa r Activitie s Council WBA Warne r Bros . Archive WDA Wal t Disne y Archive, Burbank , California WGA-W Writer s Guil d o f America—Wes t WSU Wayn e Stat e University, Detroit , Michiga n WW-JWJ Walte r Whit e Papers , Jame s Weldon Johnso n Collection , Yale WW-SHSW Walte r Wange r Papers , Stat e Historical Society o f Wisconsi n

Notes

Prefacee 1. Se e Thomas Cripps , "Makin g Movies Black, " i n Jannette L. Dates an d William Barlow , eds. , Split Image: African Americans in the Mass Media (Wash ington, D.C. , 1990) , 125-31 . 2. Runcima n quote d i n Davi d Plante , "Profiles : Historian, " New Yorker, Nov. 3 , 1986 , pp . 63 , 80 . 3. Pegg y Harper, "Danc e in a Changing Society, " African Arts/Arts Afrique 1 (Autum n 1967) : 10 . 4. Joh n Kennet h Galbraith , American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power (Boston, 1972) ; an d fo r tw o critica l survey s o f recent criticism , Norman F . Cantor, Twentieth Century Culture: From Modernism to Deconstruction (New York , 1988) , an d Noe l Carroll , Mystifying Movies: Fads and Fallacies in Contemporary Film Theory (Ne w York , 1988) . 5. Stuar t Hall , "Signification , Representation , Ideology : Althusse r an d Post-structuralist Debates," Critical Studies in Communication 2 (Jun e 1985) ; 92 , 100 ("pluricentered" and "theatre") ; Jeffrey Morto n Paine, The Simplification of American Life: Hollywood Films of the 1930s (New York, 1988) , 8 (quoted) ; se e also Hall's "Gramsci's Relevance for the Stud y of Race and Ethnicity, " Journal of Communication Inquiry 1 0 (Summe r 1986) : 5-27 . 6. O n th e blac k acto r Stepi n Fetchi t a s a sor t o f "auteur, " se e Thoma s Cripps, "Stepin Fetchit an d th e Politic s o f Performance," 35-48 , in Paul Loukidas an d Lind a K . Fuller , eds. , Beyond the Stars: Stock Characters in American Popular Film (Bowlin g Green , Ohio , 1990) . 7. Jame s A . Snead , "Recedin g Blackness : Th e Visua l Rhetori c o f Blac k 299

300

Notes

Independent Film, " Whitney Museum of American Art: The New American Filmmakers Series, progra m no . 23 , p . 102 . 8. Jame s K . Feibleman, The Theory of Culture (New York, 1946 , 1968) , 7 , 43, 96 . 9. I adapt this term fo r a liberalism of the hear t fro m th e secessio n move ment o f 1860 when border state Whigs, anxious ove r a Civil War in which thei r states might become battlefields, fell silent on the issue of slavery while Norther n Whigs who continue d t o spea k against slavery became know n a s "conscience Whigs." 10. O n necessitarianis m se e Richar d Dalfiume , "The 'Forgotte n Years ' of the Negr o Revolution," Journal of American History 5 5 (Jun e 1968) : 90-126 , and revision s in his "Commentary o n The Effect s o f World War II on America n Society,'" give n April 2, 1981 , Organizatio n of American Historians , Detroit.

Chapter 1 Antebellum Hollywood 1. Malcol m X (wit h Ale x Haley), The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Ne w York, 1964) , p . 32 . 2. Davi d O. Selznick to Sidney Howard, Jan. 6 , 1937, in Rudy Behlmer, ed., Memo from David 0. Selznick (Ne w York, 1972) , 151 . 3. O n universalism a s a vehicle fo r ideology see John Tulloch , Australian Cinema: Industry, Narrative and Meaning (Sydney , 1982) , 32 , 111 . 4. Anderso n t o Russell Holman, Sept. 19 , 1934, in Laurence G . Avery, ed., Dramatist in America: Letters of Maxwell Anderson 1912-1958 (Chape l Hill , 1977), 50-53; Stark Young, So Red the Rose (New York, 1934) ; Joseph Breen t o John Hammel (Paramount), May 28, 1935, PCA-AMPAS, on "nigger"; and on

New Deal critics, Barton J . Bernstein , "Th e Conservativ e Achievements o f Liberal Reform," in Bernstein , ed., Towards a New Past: Dissenting Essays in American History (Ne w York, 1969) , 263-88. 5. Nic k Roddick, A New Deal in Entertainment: Warner Bros, in the 1930s (London, 1983) , 133-43 . 6. Roddick , A New Deal in Entertainment, 138-39 ; se e als o Angels with Dirty Faces file , PCA-AMPAS . 7. Fran k Capra , The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography (New York, 1971), 148 . "Th e miracl e works," wrot e Capr a of a typical closure in Lady for a Day. "Appl e Annie' s daughte r marrie s nobilit y . . . [and ] th e 'conspirators, ' from governo r t o panhandlers, gro w a n inc h o r two i n tolerance." 8. Thoma s Cripps , Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film, 19001940 (Ne w York, 1977) , chaps. 2 , 7 , 12 , on rac e movie s an d politics ; Thoma s Cripps, "The Birth of a Race Company: An Early Stride Toward a Black Cinema," Journal of Negro History 5 9 (Jan . 1974) : 28-37 ; a prin t o f thi s fil m i s i n LC . 9. Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chap . 10 . 10. F . L . Herron , memo , Aug . 22 , 1929 ; Jaso n S . Jo y t o Georg e Kann , MGM, Feb . 22 , 1929 ; Lama r Trotti to M . McKenzie , memo, Oct . 19 , 1928 , i n Hallelujah! file , PCA-AMPAS . 11. Jaso n S . Joy t o Julia Kelly, June 21 , 1930 ; Daniel Lord to Kelly , copy, June 12 , 1930 ; JK[elly ] t o Joy , enclosin g Lord's letter, Jun e 17 , 1930 , PCAAMPAS; " A Lette r fro m Walte r White," Close Up, Aug. 1929 , pp. 105-6 ; an d

Notes

301

Floyd C. Covington, "The Negr o Invades Hollywood, " Close Up, April 1929, pp . 113-14. 12. Henr y Blanke to Ha l Wallis, Dec. 23, 1935 , i n The Green Pastures file, WBA-USC; Mar c Connelly , Voices Off-Stage: A Book of Memoirs (Ne w York , 1968), chap . 4 ; interview , Connell y an d Cripps , Ne w York , April 15 , 1978 ; interview, Connell y an d A . Weiner , Apri l 9 , 1965 , Madison , Wisconsin , i n SHSW; and Thoma s Cripps, "A Monument t o Lost Innocence," introduction t o Connelly, The Green Pastures (Madison , Wise., 1979) , 11-39. 13. Green Pastures budget , Jan . 3 , 1936 ; Ha l Wallis to Willia m Keighley, copy, Jan. 17 , 1936; on cuts, Wallis to Blanke, memo copy, Jan. 21 , 1936 , Green Pastures file, WBA-USC ; Connell y o n th e budget , Connelly-Cripp s interview . 14. Cripps , "Monument to Lost Innocence," 35-39; Var., Aug . 18 , 1937 , p. 1 . 15. Selznick-Ka y Brow n correspondence , Ma y 28 , 1937-Jun e 16 , 1937 , box 10 , Nothing Sacred file, DOS-TX; The Wet Parade ( 1 9 3 2 ) , notes on wardrobe , production 604 , pamphle t file , "Afro-American s i n Motio n Pictures, " UCLA ; Hal Wallis to Henry Blanke, copy, Jan. 20, 1936, Green Pasturesfile,WBA-USC,

for instance s o f casual racia l references . 16. Fo r example s tha t passe d unremarked , Revival Days, Nov . 22 , 1929 , and Goat Alley, Nov . 15 , 1929 , WBA-USC . 17. Josep h Bree n t o J . R . McDonough , Sept . 14 , 1938 ; Ne d DePine t t o McDonough, cable, Oct. 5, 1938 ; McDonoug h t o Pandro S . Berman, cable , Oct. 5, 1938 , i n The Story ofVernon and Irene Castle file, RKO-UCLA. Fo r revisionis t view o f the impac t o f the Souther n bo x offic e se e Thomas Cripps , "The Myt h of the Souther n Bo x Office : A Factor i n Racia l Stereotyping in America n Movies , 1920-1940," in Lewis L. Gould and James L. Curtis, eds., The Black Experience in America: Selected Essays (Austin , 1970) , 116—44 . 18. Jaso n S . Joy t o D. F. Zanuck, Feb. 26, 1932 ; Jo y t o Will Hays, carbon , March 25 , 193 2 (Chain Gang); Bree n to Maurice McKenzie, carbon, Marc h 26 , 1934; I . Aus t t o Breen , Marc h 13 , 193 4 (Birth of a Nation); Harr y Zehne r t o Breen, Jan . 24 , 193 5 (o n Imitation of Life grosses) ; Dolp h Frantz , Shreveport Journal, carbon , t o Breen , Aug . 25 , 193 7 (Artists and Models); Bree n t o F . L. Herron, carbon , Sept . 13 , 193 7 (Daughter of Shanghai), i n PCA-AMPAS. 19. Lewto n t o Selznick , May-Jun e 1937 , bo x 10 , Nothing Sacred; Ka y Brown to Selznick , March 15, 1936 , on PCA and rac e angle of Wingless Victory, box 6 , 1937-1939 , "Brown " file , bot h DOS-TX ; interview , Mileston e an d Cripps, Jun e 1970 ; revie w o f One Third of a Nation, Pau l S . Nathan, PR-AMPAS. 20. N . Dora Sleeker to William H. Short, March 24, 1929 , in Motion Pictur e Research Counci l records, Hoove r Institutio n o n War , Revolution , an d Peace , Stanford, Calif. ; and Va l Lewton t o Davis Orr, memo, carbon, Ma y 4, 1939 , bo x 6, "Brown " file, 1937-1939, DOS-TX . 21. Barnet t t o Jackson , Oct . 16 , Sept. 25 , Dec . 18 , 1933 ; Marc h 7 , 1934 ; Jackson t o Barnett, June 16, 1934; Barnet t to Jackson, Sept . 10 [1935]; Jackson to Barnett , Jan. 15 , 1936 , i n CB-CHS ; se e also New York Post, Apri l 7 , 1937 , clipping, TB-MOMA. 22. O n blac k Hollywood see Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chaps. 4 an d 11 . 23. Interviews , Martin Wilkins and Lawrenc e Lamar and Cripps , Dunbar Hotel, Lo s Angeles, Calif. , Jun e 1970 .

302

Notes

24. Wonderbar anticipate d a genre of black musicals extending fro m Stormy Weather t o The Wiz. 25. bot h th e PG A and Virgini a censors passe d One Mile from Heaven, PCAAMPAS. 26. The Birth of the Blues script, March 17 , 1941 , pp . A-3 , B-l, 5 , in ITCDC; a prin t i s in LC. 27. St. Louis Blues, script by Moffitt an d Malcolm Stuart Boylan, adaptation by Frederick Hazlit t Brennan; script s date d Dec. 26, Aug. 8, 1937 , an d Jul y 22 , 27, 1938 ; se e also NYT, Feb. 9, 1939 . John C. "Jack" Moffitt an d Duk e Atterbury t o "Jeff " [Lazarus , the producer] , Jul y 22 , 1938 , i n PR-AMPAS. 28. Hedd a Hopper to N. Peter Rathvon, RKO, copy, Nov. 7, 1947, enclosin g a lis t of eighty-four Communists whose wor k migh t hav e been stoppe d befor e the war if only the moguls had heeded he r in HH—AMPAS; NYT, Oct. 13, 1940 ; Felix Walter, "Hollywoo d Goe s Slightl y Pink," Canadian Forum May 1933 , pp . 300-301; Georg e Eels , Hedda and Louella: A Dual Biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons (Ne w York, 1972), for a recent biography . 29. Rober t Sklar , Movie-Made America: A Social History of American Movies (New York, 1975) , chap. 15 ; and Larr y Ceplair and Steve n Englund, Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930-1960 (Garde n City , N.Y., 1980), chaps. 4-6; NYT , Aug. 9, 1934, April 30, June 4, 1939 , Feb. 3, 1940, June 1, 1941; an d Ell a Winter, "Hollywoo d Wake s Up," NR , Jan. 12 , 1938, pp. 276 78. 30. Beast of Berlin script in ITC-D C with, lai d in, LAT , Nov. 19 , 1939 ; NYT, Nov. 20 , 1939 ; o n Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Ha l Walli s an d Charle s Higham, Starmaker: The Autobiography of Hal Wallis (Ne w York, 1980) , 70-71; an d o n lobbying b y a consul , Breen-Gysslin g correspondence, 1937-1938 , The Great Dictator file, PCA-AMPAS. 31. K . R . M . Short , "Hollywoo d Fight s Anti-Semitism , 1940-1945, " i n Short, ed., Film and Radio Propaganda in World War II (London, 1983), 148-49; Lester D . Friedman , Hollywood's Image of the Jew (Ne w York, 1982) , 78-79 ; Patricia Erens , The Jew in American Cinema (Bloomington, 1984) , 148-56 . 32. "Henry " [F. Pringle] to John L. Balderston, July 1 , 1942; Baldersto n to Pringle, July 7 , 1942 , i n bo x 1 , Balderston Papers , LC. 33. Se e Willia m Alexander , Film on the Left: American Documentary Film from 1931 to 1942 (Princeton, 1981) , chap . 6 , o n Native Land, an d pp . 28-34 , 60-61. 34. Walte r Niebuh r t o Walte r White , Jan . 24 , 1932 ; A . E . Spingar n t o White, memo, n.d.; Whit e t o Joel Spingarn , memo , n.d. , wit h Spingarn' s holo graph reply, in NR-LC; Alain Locke-Mary Beatti e Brady correspondence, 1931 1932, i n bo x 1 , Harmon Foundatio n records , LC ; for othe r ephemer a sen t b y filmmakers, see serie s 7, box 32, NUL-LC ; see Eri k Barnouw, Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film (Ne w York, 1974) , 85 , t o contras t blac k indif ference t o film with Joh n Grierson' s reckonin g o f "cinema a s a pulpit. " 35. Michael and Jill Klein, ' 'Native Land: An Interview wit h Leo Hurwitz," Cineaste 6 (1974): 3-7; Le o Hurwitz, "One Man' s Voyage: Ideas and Films in the 1930s," Cinema Journal 1 5 (Fal l 1935) : 1-15 ; Var., Ma y 13 , 1942 , p . 8 ; NYT, May 3 , 12 , 1942 ; Time, June 8 , 1942 , pp. 51-52 ; Native Land print in MOMA; DW quote d i n Russel l Campbell , "Radical Cinema in th e Unite d States, 1930 1947: Th e Wor k o f the Fil m an d Phot o League , NyKino, an d Frontie r Films"

Notes

303

(Ph.D., Northwestern, 1978) , 364-79, 405; Leo Hurwitz-Cripps telephon e conversation. 36. Raymon d Fielding , The March of Time, 1935-1951 (Ne w York, 1978) , chap. 11 ; a prin t o f Land of Liberty i s in LC . Its credit s sa y MPPDA itself "presents." 37. Dal e to Walte r White , Feb . 14, 1942; J. R . Jones to Fran k Schiffman , Apollo, copy, March 24 , 1941 ; White t o Eugene Martin , copy , Sept . 23, 1940; Jones to White , Sept . 20, 23 , 1940 ; White t o staff , Sept . 13 , 17 , 1940 ; Robert Huebsch, Twin-Coas t Co., to White , Ma y 22 , 1940 ; Jones t o White , Jul y 4 , 1941, i n NR-LC; Crisis 44 (Oct . 1937): 294-96, 316; and Var., June 21, 1939, p. 11 . 38. Gwendoly n Bennett, for the committee, t o "Friend," May 30,1939; see also Emmett May to George Murphy, Jr., NAACP, Oct. 10, 1939; George Miller to Catherin e Freedland , Jul y 4 , 1941 , in NR-LC . 39. America n Counci l o n Educatio n Studies , series 2 , no. 1 (April 1937), The Motion Picture in Education: Its Status and Its Needs, p . 21 . 40. Allied Non-Theatrical Film Association, ANFA Yearbook 1946 (New

York, 1947) , titl e page ; Willia m H . Hartley, Selected Films for American History and Problems (Ne w York, 1940) , 40-41, 136-37 , 168-69 , 208-9 . 41. Hartley , Selected Films for American History, a s above ; an d [Charle s Hoban], Committe e on Motio n Picture s in Education , Selected Educational Mo-

tion Pictures: A Descriptive Encyclopedia (Washington, 1942), 171, 205, 286;

fragment o f Let My People Live in GEH ; Educational Film Catalogue (Ne w York, 1939), 159 . Let My People Live directo r Edga r G . Ulme r mad e rac e movies , Yiddish films, and Hollywoo d B-movies. Memorandum o f agreement, Sept. 15, 1937, i n Carver file S-2513, MGM-LD. 42. Othe r subjects listed in Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chaps . 1 3 and 1 1 in notes, an d p . 298; Fielding, March of Time, 338-39, for volumes an d numbers ; viewing copie s o f many issues in both AVNA-DC an d BFI. 43. Gart h Jowett , Film: The Democratic Art (Boston , 1976) , pp . 288-89 , 310, 316 ; and Roge r Dooley , From Scarface to Scarlett: American Films in the 1930s (Ne w York, 1981) , 611. 44. FinisFan, Margaret Mitchell of Atlanta (Ne w York, 1965, 1974), 26-30, 39^14, 50, 76, 90-93; Mitchell to Katharine Brown , March 8, 1937, in MM-UG. 45. Mitchel l t o Commager , Jul y 10 , 1936 ; Mitchell t o Hersche l Brickell , July 7, 1936; Mitchell to Dixon, Aug. 15, 1936; Mitchell to Paul Jordan-Smith, May 27, 1936; Mitchell to Ruth Tallman, July 30, 1937, in Richard Harwell, ed.,

Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind Letters, 1936-1949 (New York, 1976), 7, 38-39, 19-21 , 52 , 144 , 162; Fair, Mitchell, 157 . 46. Sidne y Howar d T o Selznick , n.d. , bo x 7 , "Writers " file , DOS-TX ; Selznick t o Howard, Jan. 6, 1937 , in Behlmer , Memo, 151. 47. Ro y Wilkins to A. B. Spingarn, July 25, 1938; Wilkins to Selznick, July 25, 1938; Wilkins to Charles H. Wesley, July 25, 1938, in A. B. Spingam papers,

LC; Wesle y t o Wilkins , Jul y 30 , 1938 , in NR-LC ; Jacquelin e Ann e Goggins , "Carter G . Woodson an d th e Movemen t t o Promot e Blac k History " (Ph.D. , University o f Rochester , 1983) , 213 ; interview, Walte r Fishe r an d Wesley , summer 1985 , during which Wesle y recalled n o specifi c inquirie s put b y Selznick. 48. O n scripts: Howard to Mitchell, Nov. 18 , 1936; Wilbur Kurtz to Stacey

304

Notes

et al., memo, copies, Jan. 14 , 1939, Nov. 15, Dec. 21, 1938 , Jan . 3 , 14, 1939, in MM-UG; Selznic k t o Howard , Jan . 6 , 1937 , in Howar d papers , UCB. On Kurtz and Myrick: Kay Brown to Mitchell, Oct. 1, 13, Nov. 16,20, 1936 ; Mitchell to Brown, copies, Oct. 6, 1936, Feb. 14 , 1937, July 7, 1938; Mitchel l to Selznick, Oct. 19 , 1936; Mitchel l t o Russell Birdwell, Nov.-Dec. 5, 1936 ; Kurtz memos, Dec . 21 , 193 8 an d n.d. ; Kurt z to Mis s Dabney , copy , Dec . 22 , 1938 ; Kurtz t o Myrick , Dec . 27, 1938 ; Kurt z t o Beverl y M. DuBose , copy, Dec . 28 , 1938; Mitchel l to Brown, copy, Feb. 14 , 1937 (blac k opinion); Myric k to "Dear John," n.d.; Myric k to Mitchell, Jan. 11 , 15 , Feb. 12 , 14 , March 12 , April 17, 1939, in MM-UG; Kurtz to Howard, Feb. 8, 1938 ; Selznic k to Howard, Nov. 13, 1936, i n Howar d papers , UCB. There ar e als o fou r fee t o f Kurt z papers , a batc h o f Gone with the Wind ephemera, and a "personality file " i n Atlant a Historica l Society . On Kurtz: Selznic k to Ka y Brown, wire , bo x 6 , "Wires" file, DOS-TX. 49. Mitchel l t o Brown , Apri l 17 , 1939 , MM-UG. 50. Se e note 2 . O n th e erasur e o f lynching an d thu s o f an outrag e tha t legitimized blac k politica l goals , se e Sidne y Howar d refusin g "t o indulg e i n anything whic h make s th e lynchin g o f a Negr o i n an y sens e sympathetic, " quoted in Ron Haver, David 0. Selznick's Hollywood (Ne w York, 1980) , 140 ; an d Leonard J . Leff , "Davi d Selznick' s Gone with the Wind: 'The Negr o Problem,'" Georgia Review 38 (Sprin g 1984) : 146-64 . 51. Walte r White t o Selznick , June 18 , 1939 , an d Whit e t o Howard, Jul y 13, 1938, i n Howard papers, UCB; Kay Brown (o n White) to Marcella Rabwin, Jan. 18 , 1939, Gone with the Wind file, box 58 , DOS-TX; Myrick to Mitchell (on Johnson), April 17 , 1939, MM-UG; and Roy Wilkins on White in conversatio n with the author. 52. Susa n Myrick , White Columns in Hollywood, ed . Richar d B . Harwel l (Macon, Ga. , 1983) , 15 9 (o n "exclusive " interview) ; Mitchel l t o Ka y Brown , Aug. 13 , 194 7 (o n Lizzi e McDuffie , ER' s maid), i n MM-UG ; Crisis 4 6 (Dec . 1939): 381 ; Mitchel l t o Selznic k (o n watchdogs), Jan . 30 , 1939 ; memo , n.d. , from Societ y for Correct Civi l War Information , bot h i n MM-UG . No evidence survives o f Selznick' s consultin g revisionis t histor y suc h a s W . E . B . DuBois's Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1880 (New York, 1935) ; Edgar G. Brow n to Selznic k (o n ER) , wire, copy , Jan . 5 , 1938 , "Wires " file , bo x 6 , DOS-TX ; Cripps, Slow Fade to Black, 359-62; Roland Flamini, Scarlett, Rhett, and a Cast of Thousands: The Filming of Gone with the Wind (New York, 1975) , 184, 216, 288 ; Myrick to Mitchell (o n McQueen), Feb. 12 , 1939, in MM-UG; and Victor Shapiro, "Diar y o f Gone with th e Wind," mss in Specia l Collections , UCLA; an d o n Polk, Myrick, White Columns 202 . 53. Sampl e in Pete r Noble , The Negro in Films (London, [1948]) , 75-79 ; W. L. Patterson quoted in John D. Stevens, "The Blac k Reaction to Gone with the Wind, " Journal of Popular Culture 2 (Fal l 1973) : 366-71 ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 363-64 , fo r CPUS A response; Davi d Platt to Cripps , n.d . 54. Leff , "Selznick' s Gone with the Wind, " 157 ; on the black journalist Earl Morris, Carlto n Jackson , Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel (Lanham , Md. , 1989), 41-43; Goodwin reported in "n " deleted "from no higher authority than George Cukor, director of the opus," quoted in Harwell, Gone with the Wind Letters, 273 ; see also LAS, Feb. 9, 1939 , and PC , Feb. 18 , 1939 ; Val Lewton t o Selznick, June 7 , 1937 , copy, "1939-1940" file, box 14 , DOS-TX, o n Pol k and

Notes

305

McDaniel agreein g t o sa y "nigger" referring t o "n o 'count " blacks; Lewto n t o Selznick, Jun e 9 , 1939 ; Selznic k t o Lewton , sam e day , GWTW file, DOS-TX. 55. Th e film is in genera l vide o release; a print i s in AVNA-DC . 56. Jame s Agee, Agee on Film: Reviews and Comments (Ne w York, 1958) , 107; Par e Lorentz , Lorentz on Film: Movies 1927 to 1941 (Ne w York , 1975) , 180-83. 57. Noble , Negro in Films, 75-79; Platt to Cripps, n.d.; man y talks between Moss and the author, 1969-1990; Jackson, Hattie, 49-50, on DW; NYT, Dec.

22, 24 , 1939 , an d DW , Jan. 9 , 1940 . 58. Crisis 4 8 (Jan . 1940) : 17 ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 364 . 59. Cripps , "Winds o f Change : Gone with the Wind an d Racis m as a Na tional Issue, " i n Darde n Asbur y Pyron, ed. , Recasting: Gone with the Wind in American Culture (Miami, 1983) , 137-72, samples AA, NJ&G, PC, AN and Gary American. 60. AN , March 16 , 23, 1940 ; AA , March 30 , 1940 ; NJ&G , May 16 , 1940 ; Gary American, Marc h 15 , 1940 ; AA , March 9 , 1940 . 61. AA , March 23 , 30 , 1940 ; NJ&G , March 23, 1940 ; A A (Washington) , March 23 , May 18 , 1940; AA , March 9 , 1940 ; PC , March 9 , 1940 ; Opportunity 18 (April 1940): 100 ; Crisis 42 (Apri l 1940) : 103 ; Georg e B. Haynes to Walter White, Marc h 28 , 1940 ; Whit e t o Walte r Winchell , copy , Ma y 20 , 1940 ; Thurgood Marshall to NAACP committee, memo, Marc h 4, 1940 ; "NAAC P Hits Revival o f 'Birt h o f a Nation/ " press release , Marc h 22 , 1940 , i n NR-LC ; McDaniel's speech i n Hollywood Outtakesi'Manhattan Movietime, Johns Hopkin s University showing , Oct . 23, 1983 . 62. Fidle r cited in Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 364 ; Jackson, Hattie, passim; Selznick to L. V. Calvert, March 25 , 1940 ; Selznic k to Willia m S. Paley, Jan. 3 , 1940; Mitchel l Rawso n t o Selznic k and Danie l Shea , copy , Jan. 19 , 194 4 (o n Southern angle) , all in McDaniel file; Gladys Louise Branch to Selznick, Oct. 18, 1940, "People, " B-C file, box 12 , DOS-TX. 63. Muse' s Letterhead/resum e i n author' s possession ; o n Hughes' s Sovie t film, Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chap . 6 . 64. Stor y writte n fo r Bobb y Bree n [anon.] , n.d . (o n types) ; Bree n stor y "dictated by Mr. Lesser" fo r Hughes, carbon, Jan . 13 , 1939; Hughe s and Mus e drafts, Jan . 26 , 1939 , and Marc h 1939 ; Lesser' s comments i n Way Down South, Feb. 15 , 1939 , revise d fro m firs t draf t b y Michael Simmons , Feb . 8 , 1939 , LHJWJ. 65. Mai n work of Hughes and Muse in drafts Jan. 22, 1939 , through Marc h 1939, an d anonymou s marginalia ; se e also discarde d scene s fro m Simmons' s draft, Feb . 6 , 1939 ; an d "Dialogu e & Music fo r Wa y Dow n South, " n.d. , b y Hughes an d Mus e i n LH-JWJ. 66. Way Down South, Lesser' s notes, Marc h 28 , 1939 ; mem o fo r Hughes and Muse, "A Resume of Life in America, 1846"; more on their duties in Lesser's revisions o f Simmons' s draft , Feb . 15 , 1939 , i n LH-JWJ . Film viewed throug h courtesy o f Irwin Markisch , Warne r Bros. , N.Y. ; AN, July 29 , Feb . 18 , 1939 . 67. Owe n Dodso n an d Arn a Bontemp s t o Hughes , Sept . 1944 , o n The Negro Speaks of Rivers b y America n Fil m Cente r perhaps ; Davi d Wolpe r an d Richard Kollmar to "Langston, " Ma y 27, 1946 , i n Hughes papers, Fisk Univer sity, Nashville , Tenn.; draft , Sailor from Harlem o r The Chocolate Sailor draft , Hughes papers; draf t translation , L'Amitie Noir; "Story Base s for Paul Robeson

306

Notes

Screenplay"; "Exodusters " treatment , i n Hughe s papers ; / Wish You'd Let Me Love You, treatment, Oct . 26, 1957 , on interracia l friend s i n th e recen t South , and other s in LH-JWJ . 68. Lenore Coffey to Walter Wanger, Aug. 20, 1941, in Mississippi Belle file,

no. 2494 , WBA-USC. 69. Breen-Georg e Gyssling (German consul ) correspondence, in The Great Dictator file, PCA-AMPAS. 70. Th e photograp h i s in C . L. Sulzberger, ed. , The American Heritage Picture History of World War II (Ne w York, 1966) , 95 . 71. Walte r Wange r t o Selznick , Nov . 11, 1941 , "Misc. People " file, W-2, DOS-TX. 72. Thoma s C . Cochran, The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 (Glenview, 111. , 1968), 103. 73. Se e Cochran , Great Depression and World War II, 76 , 91-92 , 103-6 , 111-15, 124 , 175, 181, 185; Paul K . Conkin, The New Deal (Ne w York, 1967) , 71-75; Richard Polenberg, War and Society: The United States, 1941-1945 (Phila delphia, 1972) , 2 , 29 , 243 , 208-9, 194-96 ; Richar d Kirkendall , The United States, 1929-1945 (Ne w York, 1968), 171-79 , 206 , 214; John M. Blum, V Was for Victory (Ne w York, 1976) , 38-39 , chap . 6 ; Keit h Nelson , ed., The Impact of War on American Life: The Twentieth Century Experience (Ne w York, 1971) ; August Meier and Elliot t Rudwick, "How CORE Began," Social Science Quarterly 49 (Jun e 1969) : 789-99 ; Harvar d Sitkoff , "Racia l Militanc y an d Interracia l Violence in the Secon d World War," Journal of American History 5 8 (Dec. 1971): 661-81; Richar d Dalfiume , "Th e 'Forgotten Years ' o f the Negr o Revolution, " Journal of American History 5 5 (Jun e 1968) : 90-106 ; an d hi s The Desegregation of the United States Armed Forces: Fighting on Two Fronts, 1939-1953 (Columbia, Mo., 1969) , chap . 6 . 74. Le e Finkel , Forum for Protest: The Black Press during World War II (Rutherford, N.J. , 1975), 108-25 ; Harvar d Sitkoff , A New Deal for Blacks (Ne w York, 1978) , 313-15 ; Patric k S . Washburn, A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government's Investigation of the Black Press During World War II (Ne w York, 1986), 53-55 , 100-102 ; Joh n B . Kirby, Black Americans in the Roosevelt Era: Liberalism and Race (Knoxville , 1980) , 53 ; Hele n Gahaga n Douglas , A Full Life (Garden City , 1982) , 134 , 184-91, 226-28 . 75. Finkle , Forum for Protest, 108-25 ; Kirby , Black Americans, 225. 76. Carlto n Moss, Counci l on Negr o Culture, to Archibald MacLeish, [Feb. 30, 1942] ; Mos s t o Phili p Wylie , Marc h 21 , 1942 , in folde r 002.1 , director' s decimal file, entry 5 , box 3 , OWI, RG 208, NA-MD. 77. Richard Wright to Archibald MacLeish (OFF), Dec. 21, 1941, OFF,

alpha, file , "Negro" folder, entry 5 , box 40 , R G 208, NA-MD. 78. Blum , V was for Victory, chap . 6 . 79. Georg e H . Gallup , The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971 (New York, 1972 , 3 vols.), 1:142, 209; American Researc h Institute, microfil m reel 2 , "Hollywood," Sept. 10, 1940; OWI, American Attitudes: World War II, Vol. X,

"The Negr o and th e War" (Washington [1943]) , passim . 80. Morto n Sosna , In Search of the Silent South: Southern Liberals and the Race Issue (Ne w York, 1977) , 95-97, 14 3 (SCHW); 18 6 (Smith) ; 118-19 ; 109 10 (Raleigh). 81. Horace Cayton, "Negro Morale," Opportunity, Dec. 1941, p. 371; OFF,

Notes

307

Bureau o f Intelligence , "Negroe s i n a Democracy a t War, " bo x 22 , PN-HS T (survey offere d onl y a choic e betwee n victor y o r democracy ; a cas e fo r blac k dissent is argued in Clayto n R. Koppes and Gregor y D. Black, "Blacks, Loyalty, and Motio n Pictur e Propaganda i n World Wa r II, " Journal of American History 73 (Sept . 1986) : 383-406 , an d i n thei r Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits, & Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (Ne w York, 1987), chaps . 4 and 6 . 82. Accoun t derive d fro m a surve y o f Var., 1942-1944 , includin g forty eight specific racial events that broke with prewar etiquette . Se e also, Joe Glaser to Bob Shaw, Sept. 15 , 1941, Dec . 9, 1941, Jan. 9 , 1943; Bob Kerrto Shaw, Jan . 28, 1943 , o n refusals , grosses , and gigs , in Gu s Sun Theatrical Agency records , Ohio Stat e Historical Society, Columbus. 83. Var., March 31 , 1942 , p. 43; Nov . 3, 1943 , p. 42; July 5 , 1944, pp . 35 , 38; Sept . 6 , 1944 , pp . 36-38 ; Dec . 13 , 1944 , p . 44; Sept . 13 , 1944 , p . 1 . 84. Var., Nov. 20, 1940 , p. 2; Aug. 19, 1942, p. 3; July 29, 1942 , p. 7; May 20, 1942 , p . 36; Robeson in Spain is seen in the fil m The Tallest Tree in the Forest (1977); for his film career, Thoma s Cripps , "Paul Robeso n an d Blac k Identity in American Movies, " Massachusetts Review 1 1 (Summer 1970) : 468-85; fo r th e definitive biograph y se e Marti n Baum l Duberman , Paul Robeson (Ne w York, 1988). 85. Var., March 31 , 1943, p. 43; Aug. 12, 1942, p. 4; June 10, 1942, p. 46; July 19 , 1944 , p . 1 ; July 5 , 1944 , p . 36 ; Aug . 5, 1942 , p. 1 . 86. J . Fred McDonald, "Stride Toward Freedom: Black s in Radio Programming," unpublished paper , courtes y th e author , 22—24 . James Agee, "Pseudo Folk," Partisan Review, Sprin g 1944 , rpt . i n Agee on Film, 406 , kvetche d a t "Ballad for Americans" for its overexposure. Var., surveyed fro m 194 2 throug h 1944. Se e als o MacDonald , Blacks and White TV: Afro-Americans in Television since 1948 (Chicago, 1983), 1-8 ; A Testimonial Program for Canada Lee (WOR, June 9 , 1941) , in LC . Var., Marc h 22 , 1944 , p . 3 . 87. O n Dori c Miller, John Toland, But Not in Shame: The Six Months after Pearl Harbor (Ne w York, 1961) , 86-88. Integrationis t myth s als o appeare d i n British (In Which We Serve), Germa n (Triumph des Willens), an d Sovie t (Alexander Nevsky) films . Miller-lik e tales were i n Teamwork (1945) and Crash Dive (1944). A photograph o f Miller receiving his Navy Cross is in Bernar d C . Nalty, Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military (Ne w York, 1986, 1989) . 88. Fram e enlargemen t fro m The Maltese Falcon i s in Richar d J. Anobile , ed., The Maltese Falcon (London , 1974), 173 . For a casting dilemma ove r whic h sort o f black acto r t o pla y Sa m the pianis t i n Casablanca se e Stev e Trilling-Ha l Wallis correspondence, Feb.-Apri l 1942 , fil e 1882 , WBA-USC . 89. Davi s quoted i n Whitne y Stine , Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career ofBette Davis (New York, 1974) , 154 , 161 ; for blue pages see In This Our Life fil e 1998 in WBA-USC . One dated Nov . 10, 1941, 123-2 5 was probably to be sho t on Nov. 27, stamped wit h "Irvin g Rapper," voic e coach who remembere d littl e of this angle in Rapper to Cripps, n.d. See also Trilling to T. C. Wright, copy, Dec. 1, 1941 , i n fil e 698 , WBA-USC . 90. Interview , Ernes t Anderson and th e author , Jun e 1970 . 91. In This Our Life script , Nov. 10 , 1941 , pp . 123-26 , 51 , annotate d fo r reshooting, an d othe r draft s i n fil e 1998 , WBA-USC .

308

Notes

92. E d Scofiel d press release , fil e 698 , WBA-USC. 93. Thomasin a W . Johnson, Alph a Kapp a Alpha , t o Warne r Bros. , Sept . 30, 1942 ; P . L . Prattis , PC , t o Warne r Bros. , Jun e 6 , 1942 ; Dariu s Johnson , "college man," t o Warner Bros. , June 1942 ; W . A. Johnson, educator, t o Bette Davis, copy, Sept . 4, 1942 ; Joh n S. Holley, Washington, t o Warner Bros. , Aug. 9, 1942; G . M. Shurlock, MPPDA, to Jack Warner, Jan . 6 , 1942 , agreeing to cuts of "savage abandon," with blu e pages enclosed, Nov . 1942 ; Charle s D. Wherry t o Jack Warner , Sept . 15 , 1942 , al l i n In This Our Life file , WBA-USC . Se e als o Walter White' s for m letter s sen t t o eac h principa l i n NR-LC . 94. Daily Var., April 7, 1942 ; Var., April 8, 1942 ; HR , April 7, 1942 ; MPD, April 7 , 1942 ; Mrs . Alonz o Richardson , Atlant a Boar d o f Review , t o Josep h Breen, Jun e 6 , 1942 , i n In This Our Life file, PCA-AMPAS.

Chapter 2 Wendell and Walter Go to Hollywood 1. Wanger-Whit e correspondenc e i n WW-SHSW; see also White to Lowell Mellett, Jul y 8 , 1942 , i n LM-FDR ; Whit e t o Melvy n Douglas , Dec . 7 , 1940 ; White t o Laur a Veiller, copy, Oct . 24 , 1947 , i n NR-LC . 2. Alla n M. Winkler , The Politics of Propaganda: The Office of War Information, 1942-1945 (Ne w Haven, 1978) , 23-33. 3. Winkler , Politics of Propaganda, 31; "play " her e as in the pla y of a steering wheel , derive d i n part fro m the reade r respons e criticis m of, for exam ple, Umbert o Eco , The Role of the Reader (Bloomington , 1979) . 4. Fo r th e blac k brea k wit h th e Republica n party , se e Nanc y J . Weiss , Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR (Princeton, 1983) , 257-66; NYA, Oct. 20, 1945 ; Maria n Anderson , My Lord, What a Morning: An Autobiography (Ne w York, 1956) , chap . 17 ; an d PC , fro m Jan . throug h Apri l 1942. 5. Judit h Schachte r Modell , Ruth Benedict: Patterns of a Life (Philadelphia , 1983), 248-49 , 254 , 265-67 , quoted ; Rut h Benedict , Race: Science and Politics (New York , 1940) , 259-66 , on scientist s vs . racism, an d 206-8 , o n Hitler. 6. Phili p Gleason , "Worl d Wa r I I an d th e Developmen t o f America n Studies," American Quarterly 36 (biblio. issue 1984): 343-58, quoted; NYT, Feb.

23, Aug. 2, 1941 , o n Clyd e R. Miller's (Teacher s College, Columbia) advocacy of liberal textbook s an d a defens e o f colleague s agains t Gov . Herma n Talmadg e (Ga.). 7. Sundown analysi s card , bo x 21 , MSCB. 8. Barr e Lyndon, Sundown (Ne w York, 1941) ; Saturday Evening Post, Jan . 18, 1941 , pp . 9-10, 84-88 , and weekl y thereafte r until Feb . 22, 1941 , pp . 31 33, 108-13 ; an d hi s Sundown: A Play in Three Acts, typescript ; Sundown, firs t continuity, Feb . 21 , 1941 ; Sundown treatment , typescript , n.d. , 18 0 pp., al l in Barre Lyndon Collection, AMPAS. Campaign chronology fro m James Lucas, The War in the Desert: The Eighth Army at El Alamein (London , 1982) , 267-68 . Hathaway's cop y o f the script , API Collection, Louis B . Mayer Library , Hollywood, Calif., has no political marginalia, and in a brief telephone talk in 1980 he

recalled th e film only a s the adventur e yarn tha t Barr e had intended . 9. Wange r to White, copy, June 14 , 1941; White to fRosemary ] Foley , July 17, 1941 ; Sundown revisions , June 15 , 1941 , p . 22 , bo x 93 , WW-SHSW ; Bill

Notes

309

Tinsman t o Da n Keefe , June 11 , 1941 ; Keef e t o Joh n Murphy , wire , Ma y 7 , 1941, seekin g Arm y assistanc e becaus e o f "importanc e a t thi s time, " bo x 1 , Sundown file, RG II, UA-SHSW. Changes, blu e an d yello w pages , June 15 , 17, July 15 , 19 , 1941 , WW-SHSW . 10. Josep h Bree n t o Wanger , carbon , Feb . 25 , 1941 ; Rosemar y Fole y t o Geoffrey Shurlock , Aug . 18 , 1941 ; certificatio n form, Sept . 16 , 1941 , i n PCAAMPAS. 11. MPD , n.d. , though t i t "suffers " fro m changes ; HR , n.d. , though t i t merely " a swel l piec e o f entertainment" tha t woul d hel p Tierney ; NYT , n.d., thought i t "fustian, " al l in PCA-AMPAS. 12. White' s visit s began a t leas t a s early a s fall 1940 . Se e Wanger t o Selznick, wire, copy , Nov. 11, 1941, "Misc . People " file, W-2, DOS-TX; and Wange r to White , copy , Jun e 14 , 1941 , o n Sundown, i n WW-SHSW. 13. Crowther' s reviews , New York Times Directory of Film (Ne w York , 1971), 74-79; NYT , Dec. 26 , 1941 . 14. Tarzan Triumphs (1943 ) and Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) , reported in Gab e Essoe , Tarzan of the Movies (Secaucus , N.J., 1973) , 115 . 15. Zanzibar screenplay, Nov . 15 , 1939, and King of the Zombies screenplay, March 17 , 1941 , i n ITC-DC , an d lai d in , LAT , April 1 , 1941 ; an d Charle s I . Bevans, comp. , Treaties and Other Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949 (Washington , D.C. , 1939) , vol . 2 , p. 158 . 16. Zanzibar screenplay , ITC-DC . 17. I n additio n t o Drums of the Congo (1942 ) an d Nyoka the Jungle Girl (1941), see Cripps, Slow Fade to Black, chap. 2 ; and Var,, Ma y 28 , 1941 , p . 19 ; July 22 , 1942 , p . 8 ; Jan . 10 , 1940 , p . 14 ; Dec. 3, 1941 , p . 18 ; April 16 , 1941 , p. 18 ; April 8, 1942 , p. 8 ; see also AN, March 11 , 1939 ; Marc h 14 , 1941 ; Ma y 31, 1941 ; an d pol l in Var., Marc h 31 , 1943 , p . 44 . 18. Review s cite d i n Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chap . 13 , note s 11-39 . 19. Re x Beach , The Spoilers (Ne w York , 1906) , 114 ; an d The Spoilers (1942), print i n LC. 20. AN , Feb. 3, 1940; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chap. 13 ; Walter White t o Warner Bros. , Feb . 4 , 1941 , i n WBA-USC. 21. NYA , Dec. 20, 1941 . 22. Lol a Kovner t o Walte r White , Nov . 28 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 23. Lowel l Mellett to White, Dec . 26, 1941 , copy , box 18 , LM-FDR; HeraldTribune (Ne w York), Jan. 21 , 1942 ; an d Whit e t o "Dorothy" [Parker] , Feb . 2 , 1942, i n NR-LC . 24. Carl o Curti , Skouras: King of Fox Studios (Lo s Angeles , 1967) , pp . 75-76; Glendo n Allvine , The Greatest Fox of Them All (Ne w York , 1969) , p. 178 . 25. Walte r White , A Man Called White (Bloomington , 1948 , 1970) , pp . 198-200; Var., Apri l 15 , 1942 , p . 5 , and Ma y 6 , 1942 , p . 5 ; Whit e t o Lowel l Mellett, Jul y 8 , 1942 , i n gratitud e fo r "arrangin g plan e reservation s fo r Mr . Willkie," whic h wil l have a "very helpfu l effec t o n Negr o morale," in box 18 , LM-FDR. 26. Whit e to Melvyn Douglas , Dec. 7, 1940 , throug h Jan . 1941 , in NR-LC . 27. Clayto n R. Koppes and Gregor y D. Black, "What t o Sho w th e World : The Offic e o f War Informatio n an d Hollywood , 1942-1945, " Journal of American History 6 4 (June 1977): 87-105. The "popular front, " by urging prosecution

310 W

o to

of th e war , deemphasized th e "Doubl e V" : se e Mar k Naison , Communists in Harlem during the Depression (Urbana , II., 1983), 312-13 . 28. Frederi c Morro w t o White , memo , Ma y 20 , 1942 ; White t o DeHavil land, copy , May 25, 1942 ; White to Harry M. Warner, copy , Ma y 25, 1942 , in NR-LC. 29. Whit e to Laur a Veiller , copy , Oct . 24, 1947 , in NR-LC ; intervie w between Ro y Wilkins and th e author , Ne w York, Aug. 1976 . 30. "RECOMMENDATIONS, " on which ha d bee n pencile d "d o no t prin t in th e report, " specificall y limite d "responsibilities, " i n PN-HST . O n Poynter' s work, se e "Weekl y Log, " May 29 , 1942 , entry 566 , box 3510 , RG 208; and Lowell Mellett to Jack Warner, copy, Oct. 14, 1942, entry 264, box 1443, RG

208, OWI , NA-MD; Wilkins to White, memo o n "conferenc e calle d by Offic e of Facts and Figures in Washington, Marc h 20, 1942, " March 23, 1942 , in box 42, folder "Internal Security—Treas—NAACP," SJS-HST; White to Mellett, Dec. 24, 1941; Mellett to White, copy, Dec. 26, 1941; White to Mellett, July 1, 8, 1942, in

LM-FDR. 31. Edwar d Kenned y Ellington , Music Is My Mistress (Ne w York, 1973) , 175 ff . 32. Whit e to Mrs. Beatrice Buchman, copy, Jan. 14, 1942, a circular setting forth his agenda; White to Frances Inglis, copy, Jan. 21,1942; Selznic k to White, Jan. 23 , 1942 ; Sidney Wallach , America n Jewis h Committe e (AJC) , t o Leo n Lewis, copy , Nov . 7, 1940 ; Mrs. Wilkie Mahoney t o White , copy , undated ; White to Will Hays, copy, Feb. 4, 1942; Eleanor Roosevelt to "To Whom It May

Concern," copy, Feb. 17,1942, in NR-LC. Wilkins suggested blacks not accept as progress any all-Negro films, preferring reflections of integration into American life: Wilkin s to White , Feb . 10, 1942 , i n NR-LC . 33. Norma n O. Houston, Golden State Mutual, Los Angeles, to White, Sept. 16, 1943 , in NR-LC ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Eddi e Anderso n an d th e author, Lo s Angeles, June 1970. 34. Bes t file, and others, in GPJ-UCLA; Jackson, Hattie, 81-110, on impact of White's work ; Best' s and McDaniel' s contracts in, respectively , Pillar to Post file 63 3 an d Affectionately Yours fil e 349 , WBA-USC; McDaniel' s federal Em -

ployment for Specific Assignment form reported 1944 income peak at $1750 per

week o n Be It Ever so Humble, i n "SSU—Specia l Assignments—1945" file , WBA-USC. 35. Compar e tw o distinguishe d Europeans , Vladimi r Sokoloff an d Victo r Francen, wh o migh t ear n $75 0 t o $200 0 respectively , while equall y accom plished Americans ' income s range d fro m tha t o f a forme r leading man, Ralph Bellamy, at $3333.33 per week (thre e weeks guaranteed) to that of Ann Harding who began the war at $1000 (or only $150 above McDaniel) but on Mission to

Moscow got $4166 per week for six weeks. A B-movie star, Veda Ann Borg, never earned more than $750 per week, a far lower figure than McDaniel's . But at the low end of the scale, Hattie's brother Sam got only $250, and Leigh Whipper got only $50 0 for a week's wor k a s Haile Selassie on Mission to Moscow. Se e Mission to Moscow fil e 428 , and "SSU—Specia l Assignments—1945" file , WBA-USC . 36. Offscree n black life may b e found i n LAS, CE, and PC , in the columns of Billy Rowe , Harr y Levette , Lawrenc e LaMar , Rub y Berkele y Goodwin , an d others, in the society pages, and in the advertisements for local radio stations and nightclubs. I n GPJ-UCL A biographica l files many o f these sources are gathered

Notes

311

as clippings. "False consciousness," o f course, wa s a Marxist neologism fo r th e mentality induced by a state cultural apparatus that diverted workers from thei r true class interests . 37. Fo r career dat a b y name , se e GPJ-UCLA . Robinso n an d Fetchi t wer e idle afte r 193 6 sav e for a B-movi e fo r each , One Mile from Heaven an d Charlie Chan in Egypt; Toones' s billin g a s "Snowflake " i n Mexicali Rose (1939) , an d other films; Ernest Morrison i n Dead End Kids movies, Smart Alecks (1942 ) and Mr. Wise Guy (1942); Moreland's reviews , Var., April 8, 1942 , p. 8, and Oct . 25, 1942, p. 12 ; Muse's warning i n Ear l Conrad, Everything and Nothing: The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy (Ne w York, 1970) , 33; see Var., March 4, 1942 , p. 8; Feb. 3, 1943 , p . 21; Sept . 9, 1942 , p . 14 ; March 11 , 1942 , p . 20 . 38. GPJ-UCL A bio-files; see too Jessye to King Vidor, April 25, 1942 ; Vidor to Fran k Capra , copy , Jul y 7 , 1942 , i n Vido r papers , HRC-TX ; o n Lee , Var., March 8 , 1944 , p . 2 . 39. "Walte r White—Wor k Sheet, Feb. 17-26, 1942"; Eleanor Roosevelt to "To Whom I t May Concern, " copy, Feb . 17 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 40. Edga r Dale to White, Feb. 14 , 1942; [White ] holograph memo, n.d., i n NR-LC; Crisis 4 4 (Oct . 1937) : pp . 294-96 , 315 ; White , A Man Called White, 200-201; Lowell Mellett to White, April 21, 1942 , refers to Dale's work, in NRLC. O n the black mood, conversation s i n June 197 0 with Muse, Ernes t Anderson, Eddie Anderson, Carlton Moss, and William F. Walker; "Minutes of Special Meeting," Feb . 16, 1942, in NR-LC; Jackson, Hattie, pp. 100-103 , for Aug. 1942 meeting calle d by McDaniel. 41. Whit e to Sar a Boynoff, News, March 12 , 16, 1942 , in NR-LC ; CE, July 31, 1915 , quoted i n Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, p . 76 . 42. Adorn o quoted i n Judith W. Hess, "Genre Films and th e Statu s Quo, " Jump Cut 1 (May-June 1974) : 16-18; see too Louis F. Helbig, "The Myt h of the 'Other' Americ a i n Eas t Germa n Popula r Consciousness, " Journal of Popular Culture 1 0 (Spring 1977): 797-807, quoting Russel Nye, Notes on a Rationale for Popular Culture (Bowlin g Green, n.d.), 6, on "th e experienc e o f the majority. " 43. Hess , "Genre Films," 18 , quoting Adorno. 44. Whit e t o Sar a Boynoff , Apri l 1 , 13 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 45. PC , Feb. 7, 194 2 (Thompson' s letter); July 4, 1942 , for "Double V Girl of th e week" ; Washbum , A Question of Sedition, 54-55. 46. Minute s o f Feb. 16 , 1942 , meeting; reminder s fo r White i n California , July 8 , 1942 ; pres s release , "Race— A Basi c Issu e i n Thi s War" ; memo , n.d. , "Films: Portraya l of Negroes In," i n NR-LC . White's recollectio n o f the pledges was that he asked for a 10:1 ratio of white to black in crowd scenes, and received 15:1. 47. Var., June 17 , 1942, p. 5 ; White to Lola Kovner, May 1 , 1942, in NRLC. 48. White' s welcom e speech , p . 14 ; press release , Arc h Reeve , MPPDA, July 18 , 1942 ; Whit e t o Sar a Boynoff , Jul y 6 , 1942 ; undate d roster , "Lo s An geles Branch Officers," Jun e 22 , 1942 , in NR-LC . Blac k Hollywood wa s repre sented b y Levette , LaMar, Almena Davis, Hall Johnson, A . C . Bilbrew, Muse, Clinton Rosamond , an d Fa y M . Jackson , who m Whit e woul d recrui t for hi s postwar Hollywoo d bureau. 49. Mende l B. Silberberg to White, Aug. 28, 1942 ; a day on which Poynter urged Whit e to kee p his distance , in NR-LC .

312

Notes

50. Poynte r t o White , Aug. 29 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 51. Barnhart' s guideline s an d revie w o f Shoe Shine Boy in Offic e fo r Emergency Management records , NA-MD, lent by Professor K. R. M. Short , University o f Houston . Reviewers ' name s o n "Evaluatio n Sheets " i n OWI-LC . Se e Barbara Deming, Running Away from Myself: A Dream Portrait of America Drawn from the Films of the Forties (Ne w York, 1969) , 2 . 52. Smart Alecks, Night for Crime, and Mississippi Blackout, analysis forms in OWI-LC; Darryl F. Zanuck to "Sam" [Goldwyn], July 21, 1943 [sic], in NR-LC. Saenger Theatr e Chai n clippin g books, HRC-TX ; o n movie s for troops, Lt. John S . Arthur t o E . V. Richards, April 22, 1942 ; Brig. Gen. George Hunter to Richards, April 24, 1942; and A. W. Dent, Dillard University, to Richards, April 24, 1942, in Richards papers, HRC-TX. In Saenger books see particularly States

(New Orleans), Feb. 16, May 7 , June 1 , 8, 15 , July 6 , 27, Aug . 19 , Sept. 2, 14 ,

1942; Ted Luizza's reviews in Item (New Orleans); Times-Picayune (New Or-

leans), Oct . 28-30, 1942 , in whic h n o fewe r tha n thre e storie s o n Tales of Manhattan ran. PC, Oct. 3, 1942, on News-Leader; Var., Jan. 14, 1942, p. 6; Feb.

4, 1942 , p. 7 ; Feb. 18, 1942 , pp. 2 , 18 , on The Little Foxes an d censorship . LC.

53. Darryl F. Zanuck to "Sam" [Goldwyn], copy, July 21, 1943 [sic], in NR-

54. Harr y and Jac k Warner ; Alfre d L . Wright, attorney; Fre d W. Beetson , exec, vic e president, MPPDA ; Sidney Buchman , WGA-W ; Trem Carr , Monogram; Clif f Work, Universal; Sol Lesser, copies of all, dated July 24, 1942 , in NRLC; Zanuck to Eric Knight, copy, July 22, 1942, in Knight papers, Macungie, Pa.,

lent b y Professor David Culbert, Louisiana State University. 55. B . G. DeSylva to Zanuck , copy, Jul y 27 , 1942 , i n NR-LC .

56. White to Breen, copy, Aug. 21, 1942, with which compare press re-

leases, "Film Executives Pledge to Give Negroes Better Movie Roles" and "Fil m Executives Pledge Better Roles for Negroes at Conference s with NAAC P Secretary," July 31 , 1942 , in NR-LC . Sampl e o f correspondence: "Mis s Crump " t o White, memo , Aug . 13, 1942 ; John S . Holley to White , Aug . 20, 1942 ; Sam Bischoff t o Holley, Dec. 8, 1942 ; White to Harry Warner, copy , Aug. 24, 1942; George B . Murphy, Jr. , National Negro Congres s (NNC) , t o White , Aug . 31, 1942; Crum p to staff , Aug . 7, 1942 , an d PM clipping, undated , i n NR-LC . 57. Miller' s story made NYT only by March 13, 20, 1942 , and sporadically thereafter o n Ma y 11-13 , 28 , 1942 , June 10 , 1942 , Dec. 15, 29, 1942 , while Kelly's played for more tha n a year beginning with hi s death i n action, Dec. 13, 1941, and ending with the christening of a Liberty Ship in his honor, Dec. 14,

1942; P C for link o f Miller with Crash Dive, Sept. 12 , 19 , 1942 ; on Nav y Cross, May 9, June 6, 1942; see navy's film December 7 for a dramatization of Miller's

feat an d fo r Navy Cros s award. 58. CE , Sept . 24 , 1942 , on christening ; Lillia n Hellman , Negro Picture, treatment, 1 4 pp., May 7 , 1942 , in Hasti e file, RG 208, NA-DC. 59. Liberty Ship treatment , MGM-LD . 60. Var., March 25 , 1942 , p. 1 ; an d PC , April 4, 1942 , in whic h Osca r dinner conversation s wer e t o resul t in "bette r role s fo r colore d actors. " Hell man's treatment, May 7, 1942; Poynter to White, Aug. 29, 1942, in NR-LC; Warner to "Holly," Oct. 9, 1942; Hollingshead to Steve Trilling, Oct. 12, 1942,

WBA-USC, sai d the y were actin g at th e reques t of Lowell Mellett.

61. CE, Sept. 3, 1942, on The Real Glory and Tennessee Johnson; PC, Aug.

Notes

313

29, 1942 , o n unanimity ; Sept . 12 , 1942 , o n Crash Dive, interviews; Sept . 26 , 1942, o n Warner' s interviews . 62. Cale b Peterson t o White, Oct . 22, 1942 ; Whit e to Peterson, copy, Nov. 2, 1942 ; Whit e t o Howar d Dietz, copy, Nov. 11 , 1942 ; Diet z to White , Nov. 5, 1942; and Peterso n to White, Jan. 7 , 1943 , relating the stor y to ensuing gigs , in NR-LC. 63. Lol a [Kovner ] t o White , Oct . 22 , 1942 , an d Var. clippin g [Oct . 21 , 1942], in NR-LC ; Hollingshea d t o Stev e Trilling, Oct. 12 , 1942 ; Mellet t t o Jack Warner, Oct . 14 , 1942 , thankin g hi m fo r resumin g work ; Hollingshea d t o Warner, Oct. 13,1942, on Sherman's quic k work; Fran k to Anthony, wire, Nov. 5, 1942 , seekin g stock shots of Joe Loui s in action, presumably to use in Booker T., i n WBA-USC . 64. Hellma n treatment, passim . 65. Nelso n Poynte r t o Gordo n Hollingshead , Dec . 12 , 1942 ; anonymou s memo, Nov. 9, 1942, in Hellman file, WBA-USC, both of which rang with liberal conviction, Poynte r calling for an en d t o "subservient " business. 66. Shoe Shine Boy print in LC; telephone intervie w betwee n Lewi s Jacobs and th e author , Jul y 21 , 1977 ; Ellic k Moll , "You'll Neve r Get Rich," Saturday Evening Post, Nov . 21 , 1942 , pp . 18 , 112-13 , ende d wit h th e ki d i n Afric a playing " a blu e not e whic h ha d bee n bor n o n tha t Dar k Continent , an d bee n torn away long ago, and [now ] to sing for the freedom his great-grandpappy had been robbe d of. " 67. O n the ide a of propaganda as forecast for future socia l agendas—without forethought sometimes—I am indebte d to Professor Wilhelm Van Kampen, of Die Landesbildstelle, Berlin , for patient conversations; o n overdrawn , to o on the-nose propaganda that flopped, specifically Der ewige Jude, see Stig HornshojMoller an d Davi d Culbert , "'Der ewig e Jude ' (1940) : Joseph Goebbels ' Un equaled Monumen t t o Anti-Semitism, " Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 1 2 (1992) , 41-68. 68. Poynte r to White, Aug. 29, 1942 , in NR-LC; HR, Dec. 18 , 1942, in box 89, "Ka y Brown , 1938-1942 " file, DOS-TX; Weekl y Log , May 29 , 1942 , ap proving a Tarzan movie , no t fo r it s rac e angl e bu t treatmen t o f "th e rubbe r problem in Germany," entr y 566 , box 3510, RG 208, NA-MD ; "toe th e line" in Lola to White, Oct. 22, 1942 , cited in note 63. Movies that evidenced backsliding led Poynte r t o confes s "we wer e no t consulte d o n thi s picture," i n Poynte r to White, above. 69. Whit e to Laur a Veiller, Oct. 10 , 1947, on Freeman, NR-LC ; Jay Leyda, ed., Voices of Film Experience: 1894 to the Present (Ne w York , 1977) , p . 450 ; Hartung i n Commonweal, July 9 , 1943 , p . 302 . 70. Arc h Reeve , MPPDA , "fo r immediat e release, " Jul y 18 , 1942 , i n NR-LC. 71. White' s clippin g fil e was in temporar y bo x 277 , NR-LC ; PC , Nov . 7 , 1942, Isadora Smith said movies could "mold " ideals; PC, Oct. 24, 1942 , Alice Key mad e earl y us e o f "integration " a s ne w coinage ; Washington Gaily [sic ] News, Aug . 1 , 1942 , praise d th e "grea t dinne r i n Hollywood " whil e runnin g boilerplate on Tarzan's New York Adventure in which he is knocked "in a n attack by savages" ; PV , Sept. 12 , 1942 ; Whit e to Fred i Washington, copy, Sept . 21 , 1942, on Muse, in NR-LC; PC, Oct. 10, 1942, on Ear l Dancer's sailing a biopic of Crispus Attuck s ove r th e transom ; Var., Jun e 17 , 1942 , p . 5 , quote d Joh n

314

Notes

Gassner, Yale , o n th e comin g "matur e films in Americ a afte r th e war" ; Var., April 15, 1942, p. 5; White to "Irene and David" [Selznick], copy, July 28, 1942 , on White' s failur e to sea t a black ma n o n Nelso n Rockefeller' s Committe e o n Inter-American Affairs ; Pete r Noble , The Negro in Films (London , 1947) , 217 ; Carey McWilliams, Brothers Under the Skin (Ne w York, 1951), 46-47; PC, Sept. 12, 1942 , o n Muse' s column ; AN, Aug. 14 , 1943 . 72. Norma n O . Houston t o White, Sept . 16 , 1943 , i n NR-LC ; Leo n Washington i n LAS , n.d., i n NR-LC , fo r needlin g White' s "attac k vi a th e luncheo n table." 73. Var., March 15 , 1944, p. 3; July 12 , 1944, p . 1 ; Dec. 1, 1943, p. 2; Nov. 17, 1943, p . 1 ; HOC minutes, Jun e 1 , July 7, Aug. 4, Oct. 13 , 1943; HD C roster, Aug. 1944 ; HD C membership list , Aug. 1944 , al l i n HD C records, SHSW ; o n Hollywood Anti-Naz i League, se e it s pamphlet, Heil Hitler (n.d. ) i n Pamphle t Collection, Specia l Collections , UCLA ; AN , Jul y 1943 , i n GPJ-UCLA ; Dan a Burnett t o Michael Blankfort , Dec. 23, 1944 , bo x 9 , Blankfort papers, ML-BU ; HDC Executiv e Boar d minutes , Nov . 27 , 1944 ; Hele n Gahaga n Dougla s t o George Pepper , Jun e 12 , 1944 ; Revel s Cayton, Minoritie s Director , California CIO Council , t o Pepper, Jul y 20 , 1944 ; Pepper , HDC , to Hollywoo d Roosevel t Hotel, Dec . 21 , 1944 , i n HDC-SHSW . Telephon e intervie w betwee n Howar d Koch and the author, Jul y 12 , 1977, on absence of orthodoxy ("yo u just came in and joined"). For the momen t CPUS A membership mattere d les s than profi t as when Garso n Kanin , Hollywood (Ne w York, 1974) , pp . 215-17 , reporte d o n Harry Cohn' s refusa l t o fire John Howar d Lawso n fro m Sahara. Var., Feb . 9 , 1944, p . 8 ; Ro y Wilkins t o Thoma s Griffith , Feb . 29 , 1944 , i n NR-LC ; Dalto n Trumbo, "Blackfac e Hollywoo d Style, " Crisis 5 2 (Dec . 1943) : 365-67 , 378 ; Writers' Congress: The Proceedings of the Conference Held in October 1943 under the Sponsorship of the Hollywood Writers' Mobilization and the University of California (Berkeley, 1944) , 14-18, 27, 32, 495-501, 629, for speeches b y White, Zanuck , and Willia m Grant Still ; Robert Vaughn, Only Victims (Ne w York, 1972), appendix, wit h whic h compar e conferenc e member s fo r a profil e of Hollywood left ; Bruce Cook , Dalton Trumbo (New York, 1977), 147-47 ; Ceplai r and Englund , The Inquisition in Hollywood, chap . 6 ; fo r persona l anecdote s se e Mauric e Zolotow, Shooting Star: A Biography of John Wayne (Ne w York, 1974), chap. 19 ; George Eels , Ginger, Loretta and Irene Who? (Ne w York , 1976) , 58-59 ; Ka y Gable, Clark Gable: A Personal Portrait (Englewood Cliffs , 1961) , 25 , 68 ; Le e Israel, Miss Tallulah Bankhead (Ne w York, 1972) , 252; Max Wilk , The Wit and Wisdom of Hollywood (Ne w York , 1971) , 135 ; Var., Feb . 9 , 1944 , p . 8 . Th e catechismic testines s o f the er a ha s bee n tol d t o m e i n interview s wit h Lewi s Milestone (Jun e 1970) , John Cromwell , HICCAS P officer (Dec . 24, 1976) , and Dore Schary (in several telephone talks). Salka Viertel, The Kindness of Strangers (New York , 1969) , 211-15.

Chapter 3 The Making of a Genre 1. Lasky' s holograp h not e o n The Adventures of Mark Twain script , fil e 2703, i n WBA-USC ; Arc h Reev e t o White , Jul y 24 , 1942 , i n NR-LC , o n the pledge ; se e also Breen to Jack Warner , Jun e 17 , 1942 , file 2703, in WBAUSC.

Notes

315

2. Blanch e L. Patterson, Sumne r School, St. Louis, to Gordon Hollingshead, Aug. 28 , 1942 , i n "Hellma n Picture" file, WBA-USC. 3. Fo r a sample, Jason S. Joy to John S. Holley, copy, Sept. 2, 1942 , in NRLC, an d a sample o f Wherry's late r letters through 1971 , lent by Carlto n Moss ; Lawrence D . Reddick, "Movies i n Harlem: An Experiment," Library Journal 68 (Dec. 1943) : 981-82 ; PC , Sept. 26 , 1942 , fo r Ernest Johnson lette r t o Warne r Bros., June 12, 1942; Warner Bros , to Johnson, ibid.; Breen to Warner, June 17, 1942, file 2703, WBA-USC ; an d Sidne y Buchma n replyin g t o Booke r Brown , PC, Oct . 31, 1942 . 4. Arc h Reeve , MPDDA, to White , Jul y 24 , 1942 , i n NR-LC ; an d Lasky's annotated Twain script, WBA-USC . 5. Poynte r t o "Dear Jack " [Warner] , Jan . 21 , 1942 , file 2703, WBA-USC . 6. Lette r quote d i n Sklar , Movie-Made America, chap . 15 ; se e als o Gart h Jowett, Film, the Democratic Art: A Social History of American Film (Boston , 1976), chap . 12 . 7. PC , Sept . 24 , 1942 , o n Action in the North Atlantic; Ha l Walli s an d Charles Higham , Starmaker: The Autobiography of Hal Wallis (Ne w York, 1980) , 80-81. 8. OW I alpha , file , "Minorities—Negro—Negr o Opinio n Study, " Oct . 1942-Jan. 1943 , 1 6 pp., i n PN-HST ; fo r a socia l scientis t o n "prejudice " a s a form o f correctable ignorance, Gordo n W. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice (Ne w York, 1953) , 6; on th e two-mindednes s o f OWI, Recommendations (n.d.) , an d holograph note : "d o no t prin t wit h report, " in PN-HST ; OW I quoted i n Harry Albert Sauberli , "Hollywoo d an d Worl d Wa r II : A Survey o f Themes o f Hollywood Film s about the War , 1940-1945 " (M.A . [Cinema], Universit y of Southern California, 1967), appendix; Walte r White, "Statemen t to the Negro Public, Particularly in Lo s Angeles," Sept . 19 , 1942 , holograp h draft ; an d Arc h Reeve, MPPDA press release, i n NR-LC . 9. Telephon e intervie w betwee n Irvin g Rapper and the author, Aug. 1977 ; Victor Lasky and Georg e Murphy, Say . . . Didn 't You Used to Be George Murphy (n.p. , 1970) , 257 . Tru e o r not , moviesta r yarn s ar e intende d t o conve y a recalled mood. Curti z got it wrong anyway ; his amended cu e was "bring on the colored nigge r troops. " 10. Gung Ho (1943) contained n o les s than thre e speeche s arguin g tha t a crack unit o f amphibious Marine s coul d no t succeed withou t "harmony " in the name o f "democracy, freedom , an d equality, " an d define d a s "n o prejudice — racial [or] religious." PC , Sept. 19, 1942, touted Talk of the Town, and o n Oct . 31, 1942, ra n Buchman' s lette r t o Booke r Brown , Interstat e Unite d Newspapers ; "Rogue's Regiment, " Ebony 3 (Sept . 1948) : 31-33 . 11. NYT , Jan . 29 , 1941 ; AN, May 8 , 15 , 1943 . 12. Whit e to Jason S . Joy o f Fox, Ro y Wilkins, an d Judg e William Hastie, July 22, 1943 , i n NR-LC, on Spaulding; White to Lowell Mellett, Feb. 25, 1943 ; Mellett t o White , copy , Marc h 1 , 1943 , "White " folder , bo x 18 , LM-FDR, o n Eboue. 13. O n th e anatom y o f a black genre, Thomas Cripps , Black Film as Genre (Bloomington, 1979) , chap . 1 . 14. Manue l Quezo n t o Lowel l Mellett , Aug . 17 , 1942 , e t seq. , i n boxe s 1439-40, entry 264, OW I Domestic Operations Branch, Bureau of Motion Pictures, Offic e o f the Chief , RG 208, in NA-MD; OW I Manual cited in Koppes and

316

Notes

Black, "The Office of War Information an d Hollywood," 8 7 ff.; se e also Sauberli, "Hollywood an d Worl d Wa r II," pp. 321 , 51; and Doroth y B . Jones, The Portrayal of China and India on the American Screen, 1896-1955 (Cambridge , Mass., 1955). I n anothe r rereleas e dispute , tha t o f Gunga Din, OWI objecte d t o a stridently played nationalistic cult leader (Edouard o Ciannelli), perhaps becaus e he wa s a voic e o f anticolonialism. Se e Film Analysis Section , entr y 587 , box 3522, R G 208, in NA-LC . O n othe r cases , mainl y B-movies , se e files on Little Tokio [sic] USA, White Cargo, and White Savage, in box 3520, entry 567, OWI,

RG 208, in NA-MD . 15. Nelso n Poynte r t o White , Aug . 29, 1942 , NR-LC, o n OWI' s nonrole; Cripps, "Robeso n an d Blac k Identity, " 468-85 ; Pau l Robeson , Here I Stand (New York, 1958) , 39; George s Sadoul, Dictionnaire des Cineastes (Paris , 1965), 76-77, foun d Duvivie r merely "u n bo n directeu r d'acteurs , ayan t l e sen s d e 1'atmosphere [et ] realisme poetique"; o n th e on e han d th e Frenc h chos e i t as their first postliberation movie, NYT, Oct. 6, 1944, while Daily News (New York), Oct. 13, 1942, thought his negativism mere Communist dogma; on the camera-

man, Charle s Higham , Hollywood Cameramen: Sources of Light (Bloomington , 1970), 154. 16. I. H. Prinzmetal to D. O. Decker, May 1942, no. 1257, MGM-LD,

reported eliminatin g Stevens' s black mistress; Arc h Mercey t o Nelson Poynter , June 22, 24, 1942, on "circles"; Mellett to Poynter, Aug. 4, 1942, entry 566, box 3510, OWI, RG 208, NA-MD, on hoped-for "unjustified" story of black "resent-

ment." 17. A run o f DW in LC ; I. H . Prinzmetal t o D . O . Decker, May 1942 , no. 1257, MGM-LD. 18. Afte r Plait' s stor y appeared, Mellet t admitte d t o Poynter his hope tha t "it i s no t justifie d i n it s assertio n tha t th e pictur e i s calculate d t o arous e widespread resentment among Negroes," Aug. 4, 1942, in entry 566, box 3510,

OWI, EG 208, in NA-MD; see also DW through it s summer campaign ; an d Plat t to White , Aug . 8 , 1942 , with enclosure , i n NR-LC . 19. R . B . Will s t o Kennet h MacKenna , memo , "confidential, " Jun e 20 , 1939, o n Marxists ; earl y treatment s b y Alvi n T . Meyer an d Lowel l Brodaux, June 23 , 27 , 1939 , after whic h the y wer e hired , Nov . 1, 1939 ; and carbo n memo, Apri l 26 , 1944 ; and o n subsequen t treatments , Sloa n Nible y to I . H. Prinzmetal, Ma y 16 , 1940 ; undated treatmen t b y Lloy d Paul Stryker ; se e also D. O. Decker to J. Robert Rubin, March 8, 1945, all in file 6408, MGM-LD. John

L. Balderston, "Andrew Johnson : The Man on America's Conscience, " Ma y 20, 1942; Baldersto n t o Willia m Dieterle, Sept . 3 , 1942 , in Dieterl e papers, USC; "Fifty Filmographies, " Film Comment 6 (Winter 1970-71): 101 ; Andrew Sarris , The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968 (New York, 1968),

255; Stanle y Hochman, ed., A Library of Film Criticism: American Film Directors (New York, 1974) , 89-97; telephon e intervie w betwee n Carlto n Moss and th e author, Jul y 6 , 1977 . See also Balderston t o Mayer , e t al. , Aug. 31, 1942 , on rewriting t o please "th e Reds and th e Blacks, " in Balderston Papers, PA-NYPL. 20. Poynte r t o Mellett , Aug. 25, 1942 ; Mellett to Poynter , Aug . 28, 27 , 1942, i n entr y 264 , box 1438 , OWI Domesti c Operations Branch, Burea u of Motion Pictures, Offic e o f the Chief , RG 49, NR-MD ; Robert Lippins, William D. Kaplan, and Amelia Kristol, all of Newark, all to Metro, Aug. 9, 1942; Vivian Johnson, Brooklyn, to MGM, Aug. 10, 1942; W. L. Modlin, Aug. 11, 1942; Mrs.

Notes

317

F. J . Burke , Aug . 29 , 1942 ; an d Nen a Bet h Shaw , Oklahoma City , Aug . 12 , 1942, all in MGM-LD. On the film, Dorothy B. Jones to Poynter, copy , Aug. 6, 1942; Poynter to Mellett, Aug. 6, 1942 ; Mellet t to Maurice Revnes , MGM, Aug. 18, 1942; White to Mellett, Aug. 17, 1942, in entry 566, box 3510, Film Analysis Section, Office , R G 208, NR-MD . 21. Whit e t o Poynter , Aug . 26 , 1942 ; Whit e t o Mayer , n.d. ; Maye r t o White, Aug . 19, 1942; Mellet t to Mayer, Nov . 25, 1942 ; Poynte r to Edwar d J. Mannix, Sept . 2, 1942 , entry 566 , box 3510 , LA Office, OWI , Office o f the Chief , RG 208 , NR-MD . 22. Poynte r t o Mellett, Aug. 25, 1942 ; Mellet t to Poynter , Aug. 27, 1942 , entry 566 , box 3510 , OWI, RG 208, NR-MD ; White to Mrs. Charles E. Russell, copy, Aug. 20, 1942 ; Luc y Stewar t t o White, copy , Aug. 24, 1942 , o n a Johnson biographer , T . F . Woodley ; Whit e t o Mayer , Aug . 3 , 1942 ; Whit e t o "Dear Irene " [Maye r Selznick], copy, Aug. 4, 1942 ; Maye r t o White, Aug . 19, 1942, inviting him t o se e a rough cut , NA-LC, the las t also in file 1253, MGMLD. 23. Poynte r to Eddie Mannix, Sept . 2, 1942 , seeking a print; Howar d Dietz to Poynter , Feb . 3 , 1942 , wit h Dec . 7 , 1942 , enclosure , leftis t press release, i n entry 566 , bo x 3510 , OWI , NA-MD ; White t o Mellett , copy , Aug . 17 , 1942 ; Poynter to White, Aug. 28, 1942 ; Dietz to White, Sept. 16, Nov. 5, 1942; Poynte r to White, Nov . 3, 1942 ; Whit e t o Judge Hastie , wire, Nov . 20, 1942 ; Whit e t o Dietz, copy , Nov . 27 , 1942 ; Hastie , "Memorandu m Concernin g 'Tennesse e Johnson'" [Nov . 27, 1942] , wit h a scen e o f black office r candidates ; Georg e B. Murphy, NNC, to White, Dec. 11, 1942; Dietz to White, Dec. 2, 1942, quoting

Mellett; MG M pres s release , n.d. , NR-LC . Holograp h productio n notes , n.d. , Dieterle papers, USC ; I. H. Prinzmetal t o J. Rober t Rubin, Loew's N.Y., Sept. 1 , 1942, reporting OWI request for "certain changes"; D. O. Decker to Prinzmetal, Sept. 18 , 1942; Diet z to J. K. McGuinness, Sept . 4, 1942 , latte r two on retakes and lunc h wit h White , respectively , in fil e 1257 , MGM-LD; White t o Mellett , Nov. 27 , 1942 , objecting to Johnson's amnesty policy; and Mellett to Platt, copy, Jan. 9 , 1943 , i n LM-FDR . 24. Screene d at Films, Inc., Atlanta, courtesy Doug Lemza and Lee Tsiantis. 25. Frazier to Lichtman Theatres, copy, Feb. 22, 1943 , in NR-LC; Time, Jan. 11, 1943 , p . 88 ; PM, Jan. 13 , 1942 ; L . D. Reddick to Mellett, Jan. 6 , 18 , 1942 , protesting OWI' s lack o f "action" ; Reddic k t o Howar d Dietz , Dec . 15 , 1943 , citing NN C protests; Mellet t t o Platt , copy, Jan . 9 , 1943 , al l in entr y 566 , bo x 3510, OWI, RG 208, in NA-MD; Jon tusk a et al, eds. , Close Up: The Hollywood Director (Metuchen, N.J. , 1978), 126 , in which Dieterle recalled retakes only for neatness; H . G . Barbes, Lichtma n chain , t o White , Feb . 23 , 1943 , i n NR-LC ; Ernest Johnson, "Figh t o n Fil m Tennessee Johnson' t o Be Waged," n.d. , CBCHS; Var., Dec . 30 , 1942 ; AN , Dec. 10 , 1942 . 26. B y then "integration" had become a neologism; se e Alice Key, PC, Oct. 24, 1942 , o n "ful l scree n integration. " R . W . Burchfield , A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford , 1976) , 324—25, records earliest use as Aug. 5, 1948, i n Richmond Times-Dispatch, an d NYT , Jun e 1 , 1955. 27. Mem o fo r file , endin g as sol d t o MGM ; and Pete r Vierte l t o Selznick , June 24, 1942 , in "Bataan Story" folder, box 8 , DOS-TX; Andrews to Clif f Reid , carbon, Jul y 20 , 1942 ; Big Town treatmen t (n.d.) , 8 pp. ; an d Ne w Orlean s treatment, i n whic h Andrew s and Cran e Wilbur are show n t o hav e take n u p

318

Notes

radio themes suc h as "American virtue " and openness t o others, al l in Andrews papers, ML-BU . 28. Dor e Schary , Heyday: An Autobiography (Boston , 1979) , p . 127 , o n assuming credit having "cas t one o f the soldier s as a black [and ] Andrews wa s never tol d whic h characte r i t was to be." Se e Andrews to "Harrison, " carbon , June 11 , 1943 , Andrew s papers , ML-BU . Telephon e interview s betwee n Ta y Garnett and Dor e Schary and the author, Aug. and March 197 7 respectively, in the former of which Garnett admitted he "never considered [him ] self very political." Se e als o Fredda Dudle y Balling, Light Up Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights (Ne w Rochelle, 1973) , 248 ; an d Lawrenc e Suid , Guts and Glory: Great American War Movies (Reading , Pa., 1978) , 45-47. 29. Me l Gussow , Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking: A Biography ofDarryl F. Zanuck (Garde n City , 1971) , 105 ; W . R . Burnett , Crash Dive stor y outline , April 21 , 1942 ; Julia n Johnso n t o Zanuck , April 22 , 1942 ; Zanuc k to Milto n Sperling, 7-page carbon, April 23, 1942 ; Jo Swerling , synopsis of "final script," July 18 , 23 , 1942 ; note s o n conference wit h Zanuc k an d revise d temporar y script, Jul y 6 , 1942 , i n TCFA-UCLA . 30. Joh n Howar d Lawson , Film: The Creative Process (Ne w York, 1964) , 40-42; Kanin , Hollywood (Ne w York, 1974) , 216; and Bo b Thomas, King Cohn: The Life and Times of Harry Cohn (Ne w York, 1967) , 299. 31. Script s in UCLA script collection an d i n file 2212, TCFA-UCLA, particularly Steinbeck's Lifeboat, 244 , i n which stoke r i s a "nigger" and othe r drafts ; thence t o Swerling' s stoke r wh o speak s agains t lynching , a s contraste d wit h dialogue taken fro m th e scree n i n whic h th e stoke r i s a compromise . 32. Time, Sept . 21, 1942 , p. 69, had reporte d th e sentimentalis t Joh n Ford was t o direct ; se e scripts 2155.1 throug h 2155.8 , th e latte r labele d "dialogu e taken from th e screen," particularly 2155.6, Tales of Manhattan, seq . F, Nov. 26, 1941, i n TCFA-UCLA . 33. Bataan scripts, fil e 1280 , MGM-LD ; Caleb Peterson t o White , Jan. 7 , 1943, i n NR-LC ; AN , June 12 , 1943 ; I . H. Prinzmetal t o Carte r Barren, copy , April 19 , 1943; Barre n t o Harry Rapf, April 6, [1943] ; Rap f to Dietz, copy, May 13, 1943, in file 1280, MGM-LD, all of which reflect OWI and Pentagon interest.

34. Worker sample , summe r 1942 ; b y then Robeso n had becom e a black cultural nationalist an d pan-Africanist as the CPUS A began to emphasize OWIlike "unity" rather than demand redress of grievances, so in a way it was he wh o seemed th e odd man out. On black Hollywood, ANP boilerplate, Aug. [1942], in CB-CHS; Ethe l Waters with Charle s Samuels, His Bye Is on the Sparrow (Ne w York, 1951) , 257, disagreed with the pickets; Almena Davis, "How 'bou t This?" Los Angeles Tribune, May 24 , 1942 ; an d Davi s to White , May 5 and Sept . 14 , 1942; an d To m O'Conno r PM clipping, in NR-LC . 35. Sa m Spiege l to White , Sept . 1942 ; t o Hopper , copy, undated , sent b y S . P. Eagle [pseud. , Spiegel ] to White ; Whit e t o Tom O'Connor , copy , Sept. 23, 1942 , in NR-LC; and for example, AN, Aug. 15, Oct. 10, Nov. 28, 1942 ; see also, Manny Farber , "Black Tails and White Lies," NR, Oct. 26, 1942 , p. 467 ; and Var., June 3 , 1942 , p. 2 , for Walter Winchell' s opinion . 36. AN , June 12 , 1943; Howard Strickling to Howard Dietz, April 3, 1943, on Glendale preview; and Harry Rapf to Dietz, copy, May 13 , 1943, in file 1280, MGM-LD; OWI Log, June 30, 1942, entry 567, box 3520 , OWI, NA-MD, missed Epps but praised Bataan for its inclusion of Filipino allies. NYT, n.d., and DW,

Notes

319

June 9, 1943 , i n Andrews papers , ML-BU ; CD , March 7 , 1943 ; AN , March 13 , Dec. 26 , 1943;NYT,June4,20, 1943 ; Far. , March 31 , 1943, p. 38. Fred Allen to Arnold Auerbach , Jun e 30 , 1943 , i n Jo e McCarthy , ed. , Fred Allen's Letters (Garden City , 1965) , 34 . 37. Gussow , Don't Say Yes, 105 ; variou s script s and Zanuck' s conferenc e notes in file 2191, TCFA-UCLA; White to Walter Wanger, April 20, 1943 , in NRLC; Crash Dive sheet, OW I analysis sheets , OWI-LC ; and fo r a nationa l maga zine, Phili p T . Hartung, Commonweal 38 (Ma y 14 , 1943) : 10 0 38. Lawson , Film: The Creative Process, 40—42 . 39. Whit e to Walter Wanger, Apri l 23, 1943 ; Ro y Wilkins to M. Spingold, copy, Feb. 16, 1944; pres s release, "Columbia Picture s Praised for Ingram Role in 'Sahara,'" Feb . 17, 1942 , in NR-LC ; Sue Lawso n to Cripps , Dec . 3, 1977 ; Thomas, Cohn, 299 ; Commonweal 39 (Nov . 12 , 1943) : 96-97 ; Var., Oct . 13 , 1943, p. 2; Los Angeles Daily News, June 11, 1943; NYT, Nov. 12, 1943; AN, Feb.

5, 1943 ; PM, April 15 , 1943 , whic h als o reporte d o n Ingram' s segregatio n o n Brawley, Colorado , locations . 40. Joh n Steinbeck, Lifeboat, 244 , o n Joe's "look"; Jo Swerling's revision, April 30, 194 3 (no . 2212.3) , has Joe spea k against lynching; an d no . 2212.3 , a compromise tha t put s th e lynchin g speec h int o another' s lines , i n file 2212, TCFA-UCLA. 41. Steinbec k t o 20t h Century-Fox , Jan . 10 , 1944 ; Steinbec k t o Anni e Laurie Williams, Feb. 19 , 1944 , i n Elaine Steinbec k an d Rober t Wallsten, eds. , Steinbeck: A Life and Letters (Ne w York , 1975) , 266 ; Le e Israel , Miss Tallulah Bankhead (Ne w York, 1972) , 235-36 ; NYT , Jan. 23 , 1944 . 42. PC , Jan. 29 , 1944 ; Madiso n Jones , NAACP , to Roy Wilkins, copy, Jan . 20 [sic]; Wilkin s to Willia m Goetz , copy, Feb . 17, 29, 1944 ; Goet z to Wilkins, Feb. 23, 1944 , in NR-LC ; AN, Jan. 29, 1944 ; Var., Marc h 31, 1943 , p. 39. 43. Kyl e Crichton, Look editor, reputed CPU S A member, worknam e Rober t Forsythe, to White, April 9, 1942; White to "Kyle," copy, April 13, 1942; Whit e to Len a Home , copy , March 17 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 44. Se e Thomas Cripps , "Amos 'n' Andy an d th e Debat e ove r America n Racial Integration," in John E. O'Connor, ed. , American History/American Television: Interpreting the Video Past (Ne w York, 1983) , 33-54 , o n th e debat e ove r whether all-black shows wer e omen s o f integration o r residue s o f segregation . 45. Var., Jun e 10 , 1942 , p . 3 ; Aug . 12 , 1942 , p . 3 ; Apri l 8 , 1942 , p . 22 ; March 31 , 1943, p. 39; May 26, 1943 , p. 2; June 9, 1943 , p. 1 , for a sample of the times. 46. Draft s o f the pla y i n Lyn n Rigg s papers, bo x 1 , AHC-WY; se e also file 1267, MGM-LD; and Marc Connelly to Walter White, Nov. 17 , 1942, in NR-LC. 47. Vincent e Minnell i an d Hecto r Arce , I Remember It Well ([London] , 1974), 54-55 , 68 , 78 , 97, 121-23 ; fo r "Vince" as apprentice se e Arthur Free d Oral History, Columbia Oral History Project, no. 161 4 (Dec . 1958); Will Hays to Joseph Breen , Sept . 27, 1937 , i n PCA-AMPAS; Lena Home and Richar d Schickel, Lena (New York, 1965), 134-37, 153-54; Waters and Samuels , His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 258-61 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Minnell i an d th e author , Aug. 4 , 1977 , in which he found Waters "difficult" bu t likeable ; James Raskin s and Kathlee n Benson, Lena: A Personal and Professional Biography of Lena Home (New York , 1984 ) 74-79. 48. Stepi n Fetchi t to Le w Brown , wire , Jul y 16 , 1942 ; Maye r t o Arthur

320

Notes

Freed, wire , Jul y 14 , 1942 ; Marvi n Schen k t o A l Lewis, copy, Jul y 21 , 1942 ; Schenk t o Freed , wire, Aug . 12, 1942 ; Bill y Grey to Schenk , Aug . 15 , 1942 , i n file 1267 , MGM-LD; Minnelli an d Arce , 1 Remember It Well, chap . 9 . 49. Mar c Connell y t o Walte r White , Nov . 17 , 1942 ; Whit e t o Connelly , Nov. 20, 1942 ; Lol a Kovner to White, March 25 , 1942 , "nice going," in NR-LC; Charlie Sands, "Motio n Picture Stud y Club," Washington, D.C. , to Freed, Feb. 12, 1942 , callin g fo r Georg e Washingto n Carve r biopi c a s usefu l a s oversea s propaganda, i n Free d papers , SHSW ; AN, Nov. 7, 14 , 1942 ; Negro Actors Guild Newsletter, Apri l 1942 , p. 1 , Jan. 1943 , p . 1 ; AN, March 6 , 1943 ; Var., Feb . 10 , 1943; Marc h 10 , 1943 , p . 2 ; Apri l 8, 1943 , p . 3 ; AN, June 19 , 1943 , Apri l 17, 1943, Ma y 8 , 1943 ; AA , April 3, 1943 ; Time, April 12 , 1943 , p . 96 ; Post (New York), quoted i n Donald Bogle , Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks (New York, 1973) , 131 ; Var., Apri l 8 , 1942 , predictin g "Metro' s 'Cabi n i n th e Sky ' Buy Ma y Pav e th e Wa y fo r Mor e Negr o Films, " whil e als o pointin g ou t th e rivalry between darin g production an d conservativ e sale s departments; o n Bill y Rowe, Row e t o Freed , n.d. , an d o n fissure among blac k critics , Earl Dancer t o Courier, cop y t o Freed, in Freed papers, SHSW ; on PCA intervention, see Geoffrey Shurlock' s marginali a o n the scrip t in ITC-DC; and o n submittal to NAACP, Joseph Schran k t o NYT , Jan. 22 , 1983 . 50. AN , June 13 , 1943 , an d PV , Feb. 27 , 1943 , i n "S " folder , box 1440 , entry 264 , OWI , RG 208, i n NA-MD; White to Connelly , copy , Nov. 21, 1942 ; and Whit e t o Edwi n Embree , copy , Feb . 13 , 1942 , i n NR-LC . 51. Time, April 12, 1943, p . 96, and othe r journalistic citations in note 49; Var., Apri l 8, 1943 , p . 3 ; NYT , May 28 , 1943 . 52. Herald-Tribune (New York), Nov. 29, 1942 ; H y Kraft, On My Way to the Theatre (Ne w York, 1971), 102 ; Thanks, Pal script draf t i n ITC-DC . 53. Gussow , Don't Say Yes, 104-14; Kraft, On My Way, 102 ; E. C. Lavigne to William Goetz et al., Sept. 11 , 1942, on buying; Julia n Johnson to Goetz, Jan. 11, 1942 ; Johnso n t o Willia m LeBaron , an d synopsi s o f Thanks, Pal, Oct . 2 , 1942; Kraft , "Thank s Pa l Screenplay, " Nov . 21 , 1942 ; Frederic k Jackso n an d Ted Koehler , "Storm y Weather, " 1943 , i n Stormy Weather file, TCFA-UCLA . 54. Los Angeles Tribune, Feb. 15 , 1943 ; Willia m Grant Stil l to White, Jun e 2, 1943 ; Ethe l Johnson, Delt a Sigma Theta , an d Alic e Webb, t o White , Marc h 31, 1943 , backing Still; Johnson and Webb to Irving Mills, Fox, copy, March 11, 1943; Stil l t o White , o n cuts , includin g a "ballet, " Marc h 30 , 1943 ; Stil l t o White, April 27, 1943 , i n NR-LC; and Still , "The Negr o and Hi s Music in Films, " Proceedings of the Writers Congress . . . (Berkeley , 1944) , 277-79 . 55. Hom e an d Schickel , Lena, 164 ; AN, Feb. 13 , 20, 27, 1942 , and Jan. 16 , 1943; PM, March 22 , 1943 , i n GPJ-UCLA ; CD , April 17 , 1942 , o n Robinson' s firing afte r a fistfight on th e lot ; AN , Jan. 16 , 1943 : no t eve n Shirle y Templ e "could restor e hi m t o the goo d grace s of the movi e mogul s until . . . th e cur rent wav e o f interest i n Negr o professionals. " 56. Floumo y Mille r t o White , copy , Jan . 11 , 1938 ; Charle s Correl l an d Freeman Gosde n [Amo s 'n ' Andy ] t o Miller , Oct . 14 , 1941 ; Miller' s contrac t with Fox , Feb . 5 , 1942 , a t $75 0 pe r week ; Shuffle Along contract , Marc h 18 , 1949; Amos '« ' Andy contrac t wit h CBS , Sept. 1 , 1949-Aug . 31 , 1950 , al l photocopies, i n Mille r papers, AMPAS , as a typica l black career course. 57. Haskin s and Benson , Lena, p . 88 , quot e NY T on Stormy Weather a s a case o f "th e desire s o f Washingto n .. . fo r increase d employmen t o f Negro

Notes

321

citizens i n certai n heretofor e restricte d field s o f industry," confirmin g White' s fear o f all-black films . 58. Mann y Farber , "Th e Grea t White Way," NR , July 5 , 1943, p. 20; Var., March 10 , 1943, p . 34; June 2, 1943 , p . 8; Daily Var., May 27, 1943 ; HR , May 27,1943; Var., Aug. 4, 1943 , p . 9; Aug. 11, 1943, p. 15; Time, July 12, 1943, pp . 94-96; Philip T. Hartung, "Rain , N o Game!" Commmonweal, July 23, 1943 , pp . 344-45; Var., Jul y 12 , 1944 , p . 1 ; NYT, July 2, 20 , Feb . 7 , June 6 , 1943 ; Post (New York), Oct. 27, 1943 ; AA , July 31 , 1943 ; PC , July 31 , 1943 ; CD , July 31 , 1943; AN, July 31, 1944; Whit e to Zanuck, wire, July 2, 1943; Jason S . Joy, Fox, to Roy Wilkins, March 31 , 1944 , i n NR-LC . 59. Draf t script, The Very Thought of You, with marginalia by Jerry Wald, in Daves papers, Stanfor d University; and Alva h Bessie, Inquisition in Eden (New York, 1965) , 74-75. 60. "Pag e breakdown," Since You Went Away, pp . 24—25 , box 7 ; synopsis 1, in box 31; Wilder's first rough draft , Ma y 1 , 1943, pp. 29-34, in box 24, Since You Went Away (SYWA) , i n al l DOS-TX ; Jackson , Hattie, 85-86. 61. Draf t date d June 29, 1943 , pp. 59-63; and F. Hugh Herbert to Selznick, July 23 , 1943 , i n SYWA box 24 , DOS-TX . 62. Retake s suggeste d b y Ulri c Bell, pencile d holograph , Nov . 30 , 1943 , SYWA, bo x 24 ; Mari e E . Hicks, Lucile Gaskin, et al . t o Selznick ; and previe w cards, in bo x 26 , al l in DOS-TX . 63. Goebbels Tagebuch, Marc h 1 , 1942, quoted i n David Welch, Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1939-1945 (Ne w York, 1983) , previe w cards , SYW A box 26 , DOS-TX . 64. Till the End of Time, Feb. 17 , 1945 , Kinchloe is black; but Jan . 17 , 1945 , 22, colo r gav e wa y t o a sketc h o f his bed ; draft s Apri l 27 , Ma y 28 , 1945 , i n "Treatments, Synopses , Scripts, " boxe s 154-55 , in DOS-TX. Filed with May 28, 1945, draf t i s a carbo n shee t b y Rivki n entitled "Theme, " which i s asserted a s postwar readjustmen t rathe r tha n race , i n abov e group , bo x 121.1 , DOS-TX . 65. Rivkin' s first script under th e ne w arrangemen t date d Marc h 6 , the n 28, with Schar y as producer; estimatin g script , July 12 , 1945 ; marke t analysis, Jan. 29 , 1945 ; an d Be n Piazza to William Dozier, Sept. 27, 1945 , castin g report, all i n fil e 521 , RKO-UCLA . Penciling-ou t i n Ma y 2 8 draft . Gen e Kern , OW I Overseas Bureau , t o Willia m Gordon , Jul y 24 , 1945 , also i n fil e 521 , RKOUCLA. 66. Rivkin' s "final script, " Aug. 31, 1945 ; "a s shot" script, Sept. 28, 1945 ; cutting continuity , May 16 , 1945; an d variou s blue pages, through summer , all in fil e 521 , RKO-UCLA , ha d droppe d th e rac e angl e sav e fo r th e pinbal l se quence. 67. Previe w Analysi s by AR I jury system , Aug . 14 , 1946 ; fo r premier e a t RKO Hil l Street, see Jim Wilkerso n t o N. Peter Rathvon , Apri l 15 , 1946 ; fo r its getting the values they had hoped for, George M. Dorsey to Paul Hollister, RKO,

July 16 , 194 6 (followin g showing a t Nationa l Archive s through Arc h Mercey , chief of the Ne w Motion Pictur e Division of War Mobilization and Conversion); and Mercey' s correspondenc e wit h N . Peter Rathvon , RKO , July 1946 , i n file 521, RKO-UCLA ; transcrip t o f Sheil a Graham' s Sunda y radi o show , MBS , March 12 , 1950 , and inscriptio n of his copy of the script , both i n Rivki n papers, box 34 , AHC-WY . 68. Ebony, Aug . 1946 , p . 33 .

322

Notes

69. Stuar t Ome r Landry , The Cult of Equality: A Study of the Race Problem (New Orleans , 1945) , pp. 14 , 291-93. 70. PM, Feb. 26 , 1943 , clippin g in SCRBC . 71. Demin g o n Underground Agent (1942) , OWI-LC ; Tingley , referring to Var., Jul y 7, 1943 , o n analysis card, alpha , file, MSCB; PM, Aug. 22, 1945 , o n Sears. 72. Alpha , file, OWI-LC. 73. Alpha , file, OWI-LC; Lillian Berquist, "Short Review : Minstrel Days, " Oct. 22 , 1942 , i n entr y 567 , bo x 3522 , OWI, RG 208, NA-MD. 74. Telephon e interview s with Gunthe r Fritsc h and the author, Aug . 1976; Robert Wise , Aug . 197 8 an d Aug . 1980 ; an d DeWit t Bodeen, Oct . 1976 ; an d Bodeen t o Cripps , Aug. 13 , 1976. Lancelo t does no t appea r i n early drafts : se e file 435, Curse of the Cat People, an d fil e 386 , Cat People, i n RKO-UCLA ; Charles Higham and Joe l Greenberg , eds. , The Celluloid Muse: Hollywood Directors Speak (London, 1969) , 209, 218-19; and Joe l Siegel , Val Lewton: The Reality of Terror (New York, 1973) , passim; Var., March 17 , 1943, p. 23; / Walked with a Zombie evaluation in OWI-LC , and i n box 3522 , entr y 567 , "Fil m Analysis Section, " OWI, RG 208, i n NA-MD; and o n Revenge of the Zombies, Var., Aug. 26, 1943 , clipping an d analysi s card i n MSCB . 75. Sullivan's Travels (1942) ; a cop y of the script , Sturge s papers, UCLA ; Joel McCrea, the star , recalled the uni t thought i t important t o get the flavor of the scen e "right, " telephon e intervie w betwee n McCre a an d th e author , Dec . 1976. 76. NYT, Jan. 22, 1944; Joshua Logan, My Up and Down, In and Out Life

(New York, 1976), 74; OW I analysis sheet, box 3522 , entry 567 , OWI, RG 208, in NA-MD ; PC, Aug . 22 , 1942 , quote s Scot t an d PM; Var., Apri l 23 , 1943 , clipping i n MSCB . 77. Review s of Star Spangled Rhythm an d Thank Your Lucky Stars in NAG Newsletter, Oct . 1943; AN , Aug. 26 and Oct . 7, 1943; Commonweal Oct. 8, 1943 , p. 612 , and Aug . 1943 , p . 466 . 78. Minnell i an d Arce , / Remember It Well, 127-29 ; Minnelli-Cripps interview; Charle s Higha m an d Joe l Greenberg , Hollywood in the Forties (London , 1968), 173 ; PM, Nov. 11, 1943; NYT , Nov. 11, 1943 ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 355. 79. New York Daily News, Nov . 11 , 1942 ; Var., Jan . 20 , 1043 , p . 3 ; tele phone interview s between th e author an d Irving Rapper, Aug. 1976 , an d Howard Koch , Jan. 1981 ; memorand a o f agreement: Ann e Brown , Aug. 24, 1943 ; Hazel Scott, July 31, 1943, in file 610; Walter MacEwen to Jack Warner, cop y to Wallis, Ma y 29 , 1941 , o n hirin g Gershwin' s friend s an d Mamoulian ; Warne r to Odets, copy, April 14, 1942, et seq.; Breen to Warner, July 6, 1943; Warne r t o Jesse Lasky, copy, Aug. 6, 1943 , an d other s o n Rapper's slow pace and ensuin g costs; "Charlie " to "Jack, " Nov. 13 , 1944 , o n Levant ; memo fo r file, Feb. 14 , 1944, o n cuts , al l in file 2197, WBA-USC ; se e also David Ewen, George Gershwin: The Journey to Greatness (Englewood Cliffs, 1971) , 305-6; and Higha m an d Greenberg, Hollywood in the Forties, pp . 180-81 . 80. Dunha m intervie w fo r Rediffusion , London , Jun e 18 , 1957 , box 22 , Dunham papers , SIU. 81. Walte r White to Warne r Bros. , Feb . 4 , 1941 , i n NR-LC ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 359 , 375. 82. Walte r Van Tilburg Clark, The Ox-Bow Incident (Ne w York, 1940) , 99 -

Notes

323

104, in which Sparks is merely "a queer, slow , careful nigger " who i s the butt of humor, while i n the movi e h e is taken t o be a preacher; o n adaptation, Georg e Bluestone, Novels into Film: The Metamorphosis of Fiction into Cinema (Berkeley, 1957), chap . 6 ; Julian Johnso n t o Zanuck , Ma y 7 , 1942 ; Johnso n t o Willia m Goetz, Ma y 23 , 1942 ; scrip t 2188.2 , p . 17 ; Johnson t o Jaso n S . Joy, Ma y 7 , 1942, i n fil e 2188 , TCFA-UCLA . O n principals : Jame s Brough , The Fabulous Fondas: An Inside Look at America's First Theatrical Family (Ne w York, 1973), 97-98; Willia m Wellman , A Short Time for Insanity: An Autobiography (Ne w York, 1974) , 28-29; Dana Andrews , Columbi a University Oral History Project, vol. 322 , p. 1438 . 83. "Final " script, June 3, 11, 1942, blue page 106 , Sparks reports Tetley' s death while a voice reports o n his pose as Southerner, a line given to Gil, one of the protagonist s i n the movie , i n file 2188, TCFA-UCLA . 84. Walte r Prescot t Webb , afterwor d t o Signe t Classi c edition (1961 ) o f Clark, The Ox Bow Incident, 223-24, quoted; Wellman, A Short Time, 28-29, on the flop; NR, May 17 , 1943 , pp . 669-70 ; AN, Dec. 22, 1943 ; Spectator, Aug . 6, 1943, p . 127 ; AN , May 13 , 1943 ; Agee on Film, vol. 1 , p. 44; Walte r White to Walter Wanger , Apri l 23, 1943 , NR-LC . 85. Alpha , file, OWI-LC. 86. Hollingshead-Mora y correspondenc e i n Congo file, WBA-USC. 87. Alpha , file, OWI-LC. 88. Fo r a literature o n th e matte r o f what movie s communicat e an d wit h what effect , particularl y with respec t to Africa n America n material , se e Cripps, "Making Movie s Black," in Dates and Barlow, Split Image: and John G. Cawelti, Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture (Chicago, 1976) , 35-37, on "cultura l images , myths , an d theme s i n archetypa l story forms" tha t "affirm existing interests," "resolv e tensions an d ambiguities, " "explore . . . th e permitte d an d th e forbidden, " an d "assis t . . . assimilatin g changes"; Jeanine Basinger , The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre (New York, 1986), 61-62, on Bataan as accretion of traits that viewers see over time as the genre create s a following whose appreciation i s built upon imaginative reworking o f the familiar.

Chapter 4 The Making of The Negr o Soldier 1. Th e them e o f thi s chapte r owe s muc h t o Thoma s Cripp s an d Davi d Culbert, "The Negro Soldier (1944) : Fil m Propagand a i n Blac k an d White, " American Quarterly 3 1 (Winter 1979) : 616-40, including document s researche d and len t b y Culbert. 2. Capra , Name Above the Title, chap . 3 , "Th e Grea t Struggle" ; Osborn' s obituary, NYT , Jan. 7 , 1918 ; Osborn , Preface to Eugenics (New York , 1940) ; Cripps and Culbert, "Negro Soldier, " 620, particularly Culbert's interviews wit h Osborn an d Pau l Horgan. 3. Cripp s and Culbert , "Negro Soldier, " 620—21 , citing Culbert's interview with Donald Young as well as Young to Culbert, Dec. 27, 1976 ; Samue l Stouffer , What the Soldier Thinks, i n R G 330 , Moder n Militar y Records , NA-MD , an d Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton , 1949-1950 , 3 vols.) ; Young edite d Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 22 3

324

Notes

(1942), "Minority Peoples i n a Nation at War; Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Rober t K. Merton, "The Psychological Analysis of Propaganda," in Writers' Congress, 362 80; OWI, American Attitudes: World War II, Vol. X "The Negro and the War,"

passim. 4. [Donal d Young] , Leadership and the Negro Soldier, Manua l M 5 (Wash ington, 1944) , 4. 5. Majo r Bell I. Wiley, The Training of Negro Troops, stud y no. 3 6 ([Washington], 1946) , for oral testimony o f black soldiers. "Repor t on Negro Morale," sampling surve y an d suggestions , i n entry E-5, box 6, alpha, subjec t file, 19391942, OFF, RG 208, NA-MD; five-city survey of blacks and antidote s to plight in PN-HST; T. M. Berry, Group Morale, t o George Barnes, March 18 , 1942, entry 3, box 65, Bureau of Intelligence, OFF, "Negro" folder, RG 208, NA-MD; anon,

memo for [Ulric ] Bell, copy to [Henry ] Pringle , n.d., lists suggestions for "basic governmental actio n tha t will encourage negro morale"; Bell to Carlton Duffus , Treasury, June 2, 1942, on "Caravan"; Berry, "Blue Print Program for Strengthening Negro Morale in War Effort," March 15, 1942, all in entry 5, box 40, OFF, RG 208, in NA-MD; Roy Wilkins to Walter White, March 23, 1942, on "conference" in OFF, March 20, 1942, in box 42, folder "Internal Security Treas—

NAACP," i n SJS-HST ; PC, spring 194 2 and Sept . 5 , 1942 , in whic h Doubl e V clubs are urged to monitor FEPC . The most informative handling of these source s is Clayton R. Koppes and Gregor y D. Black, "Blacks, Loyalty , and Motio n Picture Propaganda i n World War II," Journal of American History 8 3 (Sept. 1986): 383-406; an d thei r Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits & Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (Ne w York, 1987) , albeit with conclusions differen t from thos e in thi s book . 6. CE , Sept . 3 , 1942 , on Mellett ; PC , Aug. 29, 1942 , on "unanimous " pledges, an d Sept . 12 , 26, Oct. 31, 1942 , on whites ; Thomas Young , NJ&G, t o Clark Davis, Lichtman Theatres, copy, Oct. 24, 1942, entry 566, box 3510, OWI,

RG 208, in NA-MD. 7. Osca r Micheaux t o Elme r Davis, Oct. 22, 1942 , entry 264 , box 1433d , OWI Domestic Operations, Burea u o f Motion Pictures , Offic e o f Chief, R G 208, NA-MD; PC, Sept. 1 9 and Oct . 3, 1942 on Toddy; Marching On in Universit y of Illinois, Film Archives, courtesy Prof. Robert Carringer; Arch Mercey, OWI, to

George Barnes , Feb . 29 [sic], 1943 , OWI alpha , file , "Minorities—Negro — 'Negro Cavalcade,' " discusse s Emmanue l Glucksman' s All-Americ a Films , Hurliman Films; Nash, OWI, to Dave Frederick, Aug. 22, 1944 , and Frederick to Nash, Feb . 24, 1944 , in PN-HST . Michau x an d Goldber g wil l be take n u p i n chap. 5 . 8. Th e mood i s caught i n Ellen Tarry, The Third Door: The Autobiography of an American Negro Woman (New York, 1955) , chaps. 12—14 ; and b y Arline Neal and othe r informant s i n Wartime Washington (WETA-TV , 1985) . 9. Arlin e Neal in Wartime Washington; Cayton in Harvar d Sitkoff , "Racia l Militancy and Interracia l Violenc e in the Secon d World War," Journal of American History 5 8 (Dec . 1972): 661-81, echoin g Feiblema n i n his feeling that "the greater th e outsid e dange r . . . th e mor e abundan t th e gain s fo r Negroes" ; Cayton, "Fightin g for White Folks?" Nation, Sept . 26, 1942 , pp . 267-70 . 10. Carlton Moss to Archibald MacLeish, Feb. 1942; Moss to Philip Wiley,

March 21 , 1942 , in folde r 002.1 , entr y 5 , bo x 3 , OWI , RG 208, in NA-MD ; letterhead roster, Dec. 27, 1941, heralding Salute to Negro Troops, color litho.,

Notes

325

lent by Moss; program for the revue; and telephone interview betwee n Moss and the author , Jan . 1986. 11. Nelso n Poynte r t o Lowel l Mellett , Oct . 13, 1942 , in LM-FDR ; o n another fil m se e William J . Blakefleld , " A Wa r Within : Th e Makin g o f Know Your Enemy—Japan," Sight and Sound 52 (Spring 1983): 128-33; on NAACP as "under direc t Communis t influence, " Gen . A. D. Surles t o McGeorg e Bundy , "confidential," Feb . 2, 1942 , in entr y 5 , box 40 , OFF , R G 208, NA-MD. 12. Mos s i n conversation s sinc e 1969 ; interview betwee n Mar c Connell y and the author, New York, April 14, 1978, recalled the trip but only notes taken; Frank Capra to Gen. Osborn, Aug. 26, 1942, in SPSP 413.56 (8-26-42) cited in

Ulysses Lee , The Employment of Negro Troops: Special Studies (Washington , 1966), 387. 13. Negro, Sept . [1944?] , pp . 94-95 , in JWJ. 14. "Suggeste d Motion Picture of the Negro in the U S Army," enclosur e in Donald Youn g t o Davi d Culbert , Dec . 27, 1976 ; Lee, Employment of Negro Troops, 387 ; manual cite d in Cripp s and Culbert , "Negro Soldier. " 15. Claud e A. Barnett, ANP, to Victo r Roudin, copy , Marc h 26 , 1952 , in CB-CHS; and William Ashby, NUL, to Elmer Davis, entry 264, box 1431, OWI,

RG 208, NA-MD. 16. Prin t in AV section, NA-DC; and still s in box 1569 , entry 302 , OWI, RG 208, NA-MD; Walter White to Claude Wickard, Nov. 3, 1944; White to "Execu-

tives," Oct . 30, 1942 , in NR-LC ; Seymou r L . White, "America n Film s in Brit ain," Film News [EFL A organ ] 5 (Apri l 1944) : 6 , o n Henry Browne's twothousand-plus British playdates; Lawrence D. Reddick, "Free Movies in Harlem: An Experiment," Library Journal 68 (Dec . 1943): 981-82. 17. Nelso n Poynter t o Lowel l Mellett, Oct. 13, 1942, pleased wit h Hecht , Swerling, and Moss; Osborn to Capra, Sept. 2,1942, in Lee, Employment of Negro Troops, 387 , in which he is "doubtful" abou t "glorification " o f blacks; see also Moss t o Donal d Young , Aug. 26, 1942 , box 224 , Records of Civilia n Aide to Secretary of War (Hasti e file), RG 107, MMR, NA-DC; interviews between Mos s and th e author , Aug . 1977 and Ma y 1984 ; interview betwee n Capr a and th e author, L a Quinta, Calif. , Dec . 31, 1976 ; telephone intervie w betwee n Stuar t Heisler an d th e author , Feb . 17, 1977 ; Cripps and Culbert , "Negro Soldier," 624-25; Axel Madsen, William Wyler: An Authorized Biography (New York, 1973), 224-25; shooting script and early draft, May 31, 1943, Sept. 17, 1942, in

proj. 6022 , box 12 , A52-248, RG 208, NA-MD . 18. Writers' Congress: Proceedings, 14-18 . 19. Th e hymn wa s a staple of evangels; lyrics by R. H. McDaniel, music by Charles H. Gabriel, copyright 191 2 by Homer Rodeheaver. The shot of Coventry is i n Sulzberger , American Heritage Picture History of World War II, 116 . 20. A s release d th e fil m combine d dramatization , "glas s shots " (enact ments against a background painte d o n glass in miniature), and stockshots fro m features. Budge t in 333. 9 IG , box 1160 , Records of the Inspecto r General , RG

159, NA-MD; script, May 31, 1943, p. 12; a glass shot intended "to work in two

or thre e Negr o soldiers with whit e soldiers" ; Gen . Lyman Munson t o Anato l Litvak, Nov. 1, 1943, box 304 , RG 107, MMR, NA-DC, on "censorshi p [which ] prohibits . . . Negr o soldier s poses of intimacy with whit e [nurses]. " 21. Leadership and the Negro Soldier, pp . iv , 64, on suggeste d training uses; Heisler-Cripps interview, Feb. 17, 1977 ; National Film Board of Canada Newslet-

326

Notes

ter, Feb. 4, 1944 , p . 2, reported o n the coven of agencies, copy in entry 269, box 1486, OWI , RG 208, NA-MD ; Munson t o Litvak , Nov. 1 , 1943 , i n 062.2 , bo x 304, R G 319, MMR , NA-DC. 22. Kar l Marks t o John Hubbell , Jan. 12 , 1944 , "OF-51 " file, 062.2, box 14, in RG 111, AV section, NA-DC; "reaction o f Negro and White Soldier s to th e Film 'Th e Negr o Soldier,' " April 17 , 1944 (43 9 black, 520 white, Camp Pickett , Va., 91% of blacks liked it "very much"; 67% white thought it "very good); and F. Douglas Williams to Richard Hull, Sept. 11 , 1943, on survey design "of a film for Negro soldiers which plays up the part of the Negro," both in 061.2, box 303, RG 319 , MMR , NA-DC ; bu t Lee , Employment of Negro Troops, 387 , foun d a Hondo airbas e sampl e i n which it seeme d t o d o "mor e harm tha n good " and "was resente d b y many." 23. Wa r Dept. circular 208, Ma y 25, 1944 , 413.5 6 AG , box 3241 , RG 407; circular 283, Sept . 19, 1945 , 413.53 , AG, box 3237 , RG 407; Brig . Gen . C. T. Lanham, Director , I&-E , to Karl Korter, June 6, 1946 , 062.2 , box 374 , RG 319, MMR, NA-DC . 24. Pau l Horgan to Lyman Munson, Nov . 6, 1943, 062.2, box 304, RG 319, MMR, NA-DC . 25. Capra , Name Above the Title, 358-62 ; Mabel R . Staupers , NAACP , t o Maj. Gen . A. D. Surles, Feb. 25, 1944 ; NN C to Surles , wire, Feb. 19 , 1944 , RG 107, MMR , NA-DC . 26. NYT, April 22, 1944; Nation, March 11, 1944, p. 316; Time, March 27,

1944, pp . 94 , 96 ; Negro, Sept . 1944 , p . 94 , an d othe r clipping s in GPJ-UCLA . 27. NJ&G , Jul y 7 , 1945 ; Truma n Gibso n to Negr o press, memo , Feb . 26 , 1944, announcin g release , i n Civilia n Aide file, box 250 , R G 107 , NA-DC , a s well as other ephemer a suc h a s Tony Marinovich pres s release, June 28, 1944 . 28. Mimeo . analysi s o f booking s b y Wa r Manpowe r Commissio n (n.d . [July 1944]) , in Taylor Mill s to Francis Harmon , Jul y 22 , 1944 , entr y 269, bo x 1488, R G 208; an d Mills to Truman Gibson , May 1 , 1944, entr y 268, box 1484 , RG 208 , NA-MD ; WAG, Movies at War (Ne w York , 1945) , 42 , wit h Franci s Harmon t o David Culbert, Jan. 26 , 1977 ; booking data for thirty-one exchange s in entr y 269 , bo x 1485 , R G 208, NA-MD ; Noble, Negro in Film 99-100, lists black theatres by state; Lehman Katz to Lyman Munson, wire , [Jun e 19 , 1944] , in proj. 6024, 062.2, box 12 , A52-248, NA-MD; WAC publicity, July 21, 1944 , box 1 , Albert Dea n papers , MOMA ; Weekl y Repor t . . . , " Lehma n Kat z t o Paul Horgan, May 3, 1944 , 319.1 , bo x 370 , RG 319; Gibso n to Litvak, April 14, 1944, o n marketing , i n proj . 6024 , 062.2 , bo x 12 , A52-248, NA-MD ; MossCripps interview , Dec . 1976 ; Gibso n t o Benn y Hamilton , Aug . 18 , 1944 , bo x 224, R G 107, NA-DC , on mor e tha n thre e thousand whit e theatre s that playe d the film. 29. Jac k Goldber g t o Franci s Harmon , Feb . 28 , 1944 , i n entr y 269 , bo x 1488, OWI , RG 208, NA-MD ; affidavits o f John J. McCloy and Truman Gibson, Taylor Mills to Harmon, Jul y 22 , 1944 , ibid. ; on WA C meeting, Rober t S . Benjamin to Gen. Lyman Munson, Apri l 1, 1944, 062.2 , box 224, RG 107, NA-DC; telephone intervie w betwee n Milto n Eisenhowe r an d th e author , Oct . 1976 . 30. Gibso n to Munson , July 7, 1944 , cite d above; Manua l Damn e t al. to Stimson, petition, June 19 , 1944, in box 224, RG 107, NA-DC, in which OF-51 was offere d a s an antidot e to "disgraceful " racism in th e "Wa r Dept. " Wilkins to Gibson, Jan. 3 , 14 , 15, Feb. 1, 3, 1944; Wilkins to Maj. Homer B.

Notes

327

Roberts, Feb. 9 , 1944 ; U.S . Dist. Court, S. Dist, N.Y., Negro Marches On v. War Activities Committee, copy, n.d.; Gibson, amicus curiae brief, 2 pp., n.d.; Thurgood

Marshall to Pauline Lauber, HWM, May 2, 1944; Rober t Rossen to Frank Capra, March 30, 1944 , in NR-LC; on censors , alpha , file, analysis cards, box 22, Feb. 13, 1945 , i n MSC B (o n Pennsylvani a censor) . 31. Jac k Goldber g t o Rep . Andre w J . May , Apri l 1 , 1944 ; Goldber g t o White, May 25, 1944 ; Ralp h Cooper to White, June 8, 1944 ; Juli a E . Baxter to Wilkins, Nov. 4, 1944 ; pres s release, Apri l 27, 1944 ; Whit e t o Thurgood Mar shall, May 4 , 1944 , NR-LC . 32. Edwi n R . Embree t o "Dea r Philleo " [Nash] , June 29 , 1944 ; Nas h t o Embree, Jul y 3 , 1944 , bo x 1 , PN-HST , supplyin g dat a a s "th e mos t popula r single film we now have" ; Cohn quoted i n Gibson to Litvak, April 14 , 1944, i n proj. 6024 , 062.2 , box 12 , A52-248, NA-MD . 33. Clippings , programs, correspondenc e i n Mos s paper s (len t by Moss), and Stuar t Heisler papers, UCLA ; AA, April 7, 1945 , reported a poll of GIs who favored bette r movi e role s fo r blacks, citing OF-5 1 as a model . 34. PV , April 2, 1944 ; Leonar d Bloom , CE , March 16 , 1944 , an d Esthe r Berg, "Films to Better Human Relations," reprinted fro m High Points (Brooklyn Jewish Communit y Center) , all in Moss papers , use d th e nonc e words "livin g together," etc.; Hartley , Selected Films for American History and Problems, 40-41, 136-37, 168-69 , 208-9, quoted; Jacob y in Cecil e Starr, Ideas on Film: A Handbook for the 16 mm User (Ne w York, 1951) , xiv—xv; telephone interview between Starr and the author, Jun e 1990 ; Commissio n o n Motion Picture s in Education, Motion Pictures for Postwar Education, American Counci l on Educatio n Serie s 1, no. 21, vol. 8 (Washington, 1944) , 3 ; Var., Feb. 19, 1947, clipping in NR-LC, the "front." Se e chap. 6 for additional citation s of library tradepapers . 35. Amon g the growin g cano n that uses Umberto Eco' s (an d others') ide a of th e "openness " o f texts, se e Elle n Elizabeth Seiter, "Th e Promis e o f Melo drama: Recen t Women's Film and Soa p Operas" (Ph.D., Northwestern, 1981) ; Ian Hawkins , Munster: The Way It Was (Anaheim, 1984) , 92 , citin g th e pilot . 36. Blyth e in Elizabeth H. Florey, ed., Films for International Understanding (New York , [1947]) , 71-72 . O n bookings : Curti s Mitchell t o Stanto n Griffis , April 12 , 1944, box 1484 , entr y 268; Taylo r Mills to Edgar Baker, June 8, 1944 , box 1486 , entr y 269 ; C . R. Reagan to Louis Ludlow, June 10 , 1944 , bo x 1581 , entry 305 , Non-Theatrica l Div. , Motion Pictur e Branch , OWI , R G 208; Army Pictorial Service Annual Report (Jul y 1944-Jun e 1945) , 42 , o n Jul y Pentago n showing, i n 319 APS, box 271, A45-196, all in NA-MD; Film Council of America, Sixty Years of 16 mm Film, 1923-1983: A Symposium (Evanston, 1984), 148 59; Iri s Barry, MOMA, to Rudolp h Montgelas [Aug . 1944] , War Dept . folder , central files , MOMA : 325 0 person s sa w OF-51 , Jul y 24-30 , 1944 ; Walte r Brooks, Film News 5 (Apri l 1944) : 9-10 , urge d plant s t o buy prints ; Catherin e Preston t o Josep h Brechsteen , Sept . 13 , 1944 , entr y 268 , bo x 1483 , NA-M D (Lorton Reformatory); "16 m m Films—Latin American Program—Summar y by Title," bo x 218 , centra l fil e 3 , record s o f CIAA , R G 229 , NA-MD , reported 43,025 Haitian viewers, sixty-nine dates; C . R. Reagan to Truman Gibson , Jan . 4, 1945 , bo x 224 , R G 107 , MMR , NA-DC , reckone d Jun e 1944-Jan . 194 5 audience a t 3,220,000 ; Dorothy E. Coo k an d Ev a Rahbek-Smith , Educational Film Guide (Ne w York, 1945) , 152. 37. PV , April 2, 1944 ; PM , April 22 , 28 , 19 , 1944 , an d othe r clipping s i n

328

Notes

NR-LC, Moss papers, an d Heisle r papers; o n "Wa r Dept., " Manuel Darri n et al. to Henry L . Stimson, petition , Jun e 19 , 1944, bo x 224, RG 107, MMR, NA-DC. 38. Collie r Young to Phille o Nash , Sept. 5 , 1944 , PN-HST , o n th e officia l touchiness tha t affecte d cuttin g of The Negro Sailor; stills, Negro Colleges in Wartime, entry 302 , box 1571 , RG 208, OWI , NA-MD; script in box 1569 , analyses of it, entry 271 , box 1490 , R G 208, OWI , NA-MD; distribution recor d i n entr y 268, box 1483 , R G 208, OWI, NA-MD; Negro Colleges in Wartime played at least one library : Fer n Long , Clevelan d Public , to White , Dec . 14 , 1942 , NR-LC . 39. [Firs t nam e illegible ] Dudle y t o Ro y Wilkins , memo , copy , Jan . 21 , 1944, i n NR-LC ; Capt . Marcellus Goff , V D officer, Ft . Devens, memo, Aug . 20, 1943, on "no place," and other correspondence, i n box 254, RG 107, Hastie file, NA-DC; Wiley , Training of Negro Troops, chap . 6 , an d Repor t MTO-70 , bo x 1030, R G 330, NA-MD . 40. Prin t i n A V section, NA-DC ; th e instructor' s manual , TF-142 3 WD, quoted an observer on Joe Louis's defeat of Max Schmeling: "a timely allegory of the Negro' s role in crushing Nazism. " 41. Dail y Activity Report, April 25, 1945 , i n fram e 925 , SF P 151, 122.07 ; and Oct . 11 , 1944 , i n Arm y Air Force Archives , NA-DC . 42. "Stan, " speakin g fro m audience , 99t h Pursui t reunion , Nationa l Air and Spac e Museum, sprin g 1988 , o n Courier: Haze l Gross, Stamford, Conn, t o the president , Sept . 26, 1944 ; an d t o Philleo Nash , Oct . 16 , 1944; an d Nas h to Gross, Oct . 6, 1944 , i n bo x 1 , PN-HST. 43. Sau l K. Padover t o Secretar y of Agriculture, memo, Aug. 17, 1943 , i n box 38, "Committee o n Race Relations" folder , OCP-HST; and Nas h correspon dence above; Charle s S. Johnson, chair, Committe e o n Mass Education in Race Relations, an d Donal d Slesinger , America n Fil m Center , t o Walte r White, Oct . 21, 1944 ; Whit e to Johnson, copy , Oct. 23, 1944 , delegatin g a person, bot h in NR-LC. 44. "Carlton " to "Truman," Friday, n.d., box 224, RG 107, Hastie file, NADC. 45. Wilkin s t o Gen . A . D. Surles, copy , Aug . 22, 1945 , i n NR-LC ; o n th e MOMA, OWI , CI A A project, record s i n LC. 46. Prin t of OR-14 in AV section, NA-DC ; script and production file in proj. 11,015, 062.2 , box 19 , A52-248, NA-MD; onKosleck, Richard Gertner, International Motion Picture Almanac (Ne w York, 1975), 123 . 47. A . Russell Buchanan, Black Americans in World War II (Sant a Barbara, 1977), 96-97 , wherei n i s cite d Crisis 2 5 (Apri l 1945) : 97 ; NAAC P Boar d of Directors' Minutes, Ma y 14 , 1945 , 6 , in NR-LC, discussing Clark's invitation t o Truman Gibso n t o visi t th e Italia n fron t t o inquir e int o th e reason s fo r poo r combat performance by the black 92nd Division, which led to a press conference in Rome in which Gibso n admitted derelictions , whic h in turn polarize d blac k opinion. 48. Walte r White t o Robert Patterson, Apri l 8 and Ma y 9, 1946 ; Whit e t o Thurgood Marshall , Ro y Wilkins, an d Olli e Harrington, Apri l 24, 1946 ; Patter son to White, April 17, 1946; Jeannette Samuelson (Mayer-Burstyn Theatres) to

"Friend," July 11 , 1946 , i n NR-LC ; Mauri e Odenke r t o Publi c Relations, War Dept., May 28, 1946 ; James Ray to Chief, Army Pictorial Service, May 13 , 1946, clearing for civilian use; Ray to June Blythe, May 16,1946 , clearing for commer-

Notes

329

cial use ; Revel s Cayton to Gibson , April 29, 1946 , fo r NNC use; Ra y to Moss , May 3 , 1946 , R G 107 , Hasti e file, NA-DC. 49. Var., Sept . 28 , 1944 , clipping , AMPAS ; Wilkins t o Surles , Aug . 22 , 1945, NR-LC . 50. Fleming , DW , Jan . 5 , 1945 ; PM, n.d. , "Blac k Films " file , MOMA ; Crowther, NYT, to Walter White, June 20, 1946 , urging attendance at Teamwork preview, i n NR-LC ; Mos s t o Revel s Cayton, n.d. ; Cayto n t o Moss , Apri l 29 , 1946, in NNC-SCRBC . 51. Josep h Foster, "Hollywood an d the Negro," New Masses, Oct . 24, 1944 , p. 28; NAACP press release, Oct . 6, 1945, in NNC-SCRBC; Wise interview wit h Cheryl Ashton, March 3 , 1976 , cited in Ashton, "Blac k Imag e in Film," 56 , 58. 52. Mos s t o Revel s Cayton, box 72 , ree l 34 , NNC-SCRBC . Inference s o f Moss's leftist links were never covert : He wrote th e rebuttal to Rushmore's Gone with the Wind revie w fo r DW ; hi s Salute to Negro Troops letterhead s liste d a spectrum of left throug h righ t activists; he wa s friendly wit h NN C members; h e was active in HICCASP; he taught in the California Institute for Labor Education and th e Worl d Peac e Conference . S o any dutifu l HUA C detectiv e coul d hav e followed th e trail . Indeed, h e wa s fingered by "friendl y witnesses " albei t with "Carleton" blessedly misspelled, thu s confusin g him wit h anothe r writer . Se e Moss to James Evans, civilian aide, War Dept., April 9, 1946 , box 224, RG 107, Hastie file , NA-DC . O n "cult, " see Landry , Cult of Equality, 8, 14 . 53. Intervie w betwee n Walte r Fishe r an d Davi d Culber t and th e author , Washington, Jul y 1977 , th e informan t a captain in I&E.

Chapter 5 Hollywood Wins 1. Severa l conversations wit h Lorenz o Tucker through 1970s . 2. Commodor e Hote l meeting , Gran d Stree t Boy s Assn. , Jan . 1 , 1922 , screening o f Seiden' s Lowe r Eas t Sid e film ; "Jewis h Film s i n Ow n Tongue, " Var., clipping ; Jewish Ledger (Hartford) , Jul y 23 , 1930 , Seide n papers , NJFA. 3. FD , June 20 , 1939 ; unident. clipping , June 6, 1939 ; HR , Nov. 11, 1937 , in Harlem Rides the Range file; Harwin Dixon, Argus Pictures, to Breen, Oct. 20, 1939; MPH , Dec. 16 , 1939 , i n Double Deal file, PCA-AMPAS . 4. The Betrayal file, MPD, June 30,1948; o n Apollo, see clipping, Miracle in Harlem file, in PCA-AMPAS ; MPH , April 12 , 1947 , quote d i n Norma n Kagan, "Black America n Cinema : A Primer, " Cinema, Fall 1970 , p.3 ; intervie w be tween Te d Toddy and th e author , Atlanta , June 1977 . 5. Charlie Rossi, Strand Theatre, Schroon Lake, N.Y., to Lowell Mellett, n.d. [Dec. 3 , 1942] , entry 268 , bo x 1440 , R G 208, NA-MD . 6. Firm s may b e trace d throug h Film Daily Yearbook entries ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chaps . 7 , 12 ; ephemer a i n Seide n papers , NJFA ; Pete r Bog danovich, "Edgar G. Ulmer [interview]," Film Culture, nos. 58-60 (1974): 189 238. Telephone interview betwee n th e author and : Malkame s Aug. 1974; Pop kin, June 1970 ; Toddy, Aug. 1975 and June 1977 ; and Leste r J. Sack , accountant, Sackamuse , Dallas, June 1970 . 7. James Asendio, "History of Negro Motion Pictures," International Photographer 2 (Jan . 1940) : 16—17 ; Randol' s short wa s Deep South, which won a n

330

Notes

Oscar nomination : Rober t Osborne , Academy Awards: Years with Oscar (Los Angeles, 1978) ; o n a Randol revue , NYA , Jan. 13 , 1940. 8. Intervie w betwee n Virgini a Kiah, daughte r o f Kiefer Jackson , an d th e author, Lilli e Carroll Jackson Museum , Baltimore , Md.; conversations betwee n Pat and Harriet Aveney Harrison and the author, 1970s , LC (where one of Eloyce Gist's films in deteriorated stat e reposes); Seiden ephemera , NJFA : He also shot Palestine films for Jewish consumption , throug h hi s firm, Judea Films . 9. Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, chap. 12 ; Malkames interview , Jun e 1974. 10. Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 347; alpha, file , Gang War, God's Step Children, an d Double Deal, i n PCA-AMPAS ; scripts: Am I Guilty?, Reform School, Harlem on the Prairie, Mr. Washington Goes to Town, an d One Dark Night, ITCDC, particularl y marginalia . 11. Todd y interview , Jun e 1976 , and Leste r Sac k interview , Jun e 1970. 12. "REPORT ON NEGRO MORALE, " n.d. , marked "confidential, " entr y 3, box 65 , "Negro " folder, Bureau o f Intelligence, OFF , R G 208, NA-MD . 13. Todd y covered i n black press : NYA , Dec. 13, 20, 1941 ; Atlanta World, Jan. 1,2 , 1942; DW, Aug. 22, 1942; PC, Oct. 10, 24, Sept. 19, Oct. 3, 1942; Var., June 18 , 1942; PC, March 7 , 1942 ; on Popkins , AA , Sept. 14 , 21, 1940 ; Oscar Micheaux to Elmer Davis, OWI, Oct. 22, 1942, in entry 264, box 1443d, OWI Domestic Branch, Bureau of Motion Pictures, Mellett folder, RG 208, NA-MD;

John P. Nugent, Black Eagle (Ne w York, 1971) , 111-14 .

14. On Lucky Ghost particularly see Var., April 7, 1943, p. 6; PC, June 13,

1942; AN , Sept. 7, June 8, 1940 ; titles (an d changes) i n Toddy catalogue, cour tesy of Toddy; Toddy interview, Jun e 1976 ; Popkin interview , Jun e 1970 ; Ben Rinaldo interview , Jun e 1970 ; alpha, file, resumes , GPJ-UCLA . O n Goldberg, Robinson, Soundies : AN , Aug. 14, Sept . 25 , 1929 , ACG-CU; Var., Aug. 22, 1928, p. 37; AN, Aug. 25, 1926; Var., March 15 , 1932, p.6; May 31, 1932, p. 29; AN, June 1 , 8, May 25, 1932 ; Harlem is Heaven in JBC-UKC; on Goldbergs ' later career, Var., July 23 , 1940 , p. 10 ; Boogie Woogie Dream, courtes y Samm y Gertner, Baltimore . 15. On Popkins's films: AN, Aug. 24, 1940; AN, June 17, 1939, praising

Beavers's "deepl y sympathetic " reading ; Var., May 3 , 1939 , p. 16 , judging i t "surefire"; Harr y L . Fraser, / Went That-A-Way, unpublishe d autobiography , courtesy Audrey B. Fraser. On Sack and Williams: Thomas Cripps , "The Films of Spencer Williams," Black American Literature Forum 12 (Winter 1978) : 128-34 ; Adrienne Seward , Spencer Williams, "Whitne y Museum o f American Art : The New America n Filmmaker s Series, " no . 24 , pp. 1-2 ; Edwar d T . Clayton, "The Tragedy of Amos 'n' Andy," Ebony, Oct. 1961, pp. 66-73; fugitive bits in AN, Dec. 5, 1928; May 29, March 6, 1929; Post (New York), Aug. 29, clipping in PA-

NYPL; Var., June 26 , 1929 , p. 11 ; Dec. 12, 1928 , p. 17 ; PC , Nov. 12, 1927;

March 17, Aug. 18, 25, Oct. 27, 1928; CD, Dec. 20, 27, 1930; alpha, file, GPJ-

UCLA; Williams' s scripts , The Lady Fare an d The Framing of the Shrew, i n L C copyright file; his Brown Gravy in Robert Stendahl Coll., Gary, Ind.; Var., Feb. 9, 1938, p. 14; AN, Feb. 25, April 15, 1939; Sack to Nate Zelikow, Aug. 11, 1955,

Zelikow Production s records , Houston , Texas .

16. Lester Sack interview, June 1970; Lester Sack to Cripps, Oct. 2, 1970; and Alfred Sack to Cripps, Jan. 12, 1968; AN, Sept. 30, 1939, on black New

York preferrin g "sex and glamou r rather tha n socia l realism o r religiou s allegories."

Notes

331

17. Walte r White to Lowell Mellett, Feb. 25, 1943 ; Mellet t to White, copy , March 1 , 1943, in box 18 , LM-FDR, touting his own scrip t idea, a biopic of Felix Eboue, a black colonia l governo r appointe d t o the Frenc h pantheon ; Whit e t o Jason Joy , Fox , Jul y 22 , 1943 , an d Whit e t o Ro y Wilkins an d Judg e Hastie , memo, copy , Jul y 22, 1943 , pressin g fo r a biopic of Asa Spaulding , founder of North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company , a treatment o f which was enclosed , NR-LC. 18. "Newsreel s an d OWI Campaigns and Programs: Jan. 1943, " Report no. 7 (Feb . 3 , 1943) , marke d "restricted, " pp . 10 , 13 ; an d Repor t no . 8 , p . 10 , Bureau of Intelligence, Media Division, OWI, RG 208, NR-MD , on "standards, " and o n OW I reviewer's complain t abou t March of Time segment "Th e Nav y and the Nation," wit h blac k "grinning , toothy" train porter . 19. ArchMercey , Bureau of Motion Pictures, to George Barnes, Assistant to Director, Feb. 29 [sic], 1943 , i n alpha , file , "Minorities—Negro—'Negr o Caval cade,'" and also see Dave Frederick to Philleo Nash, Aug. 24, 1944 , no t entirely giving up o n Glucksman' s "potentialities, " i n PN-HST . 20. "Newsreel s an d OW I Campaigns," Repor t no. 7, p. 13 , cited in note 18. 21. Telephone interview between Milto n Eisenhower an d the author, sum mer 1977 ; Michaux to Eisenhower, Feb . 3, 1943; Eisenhower t o Michaux, copy, Feb. 3 , 1943 ; Jac k Goldber g press release, n.d. ; Georg e A. Barnes to Goldberg, copy, Marc h 2 , 1943 , i n bo x 224 , R G 107 , Hasti e file, MMR, NA-DC , len t by David Culbert ; reproduction o f a poster i n Cripp s and Culbert , "Propaganda i n Black an d White. " 22. Videotap e of the film loaned courtesy MacDonald Associates, Chicago, 111. 23. Ro y Wilkins to Truman Gibson , Jan. 3 , 14 , 15, Feb. 1 , 3, 1944; Wilkin s toMaj. Homer B. Roberts, Feb. 9, 1944; Julia E. Baxter to Wilkins, Nov. 4, 1944 , in NR-LC ; Gibso n t o Judg e Hastie , Marc h 29 , 1944 , i n bo x 224 , Hasti e file, MMR, R G 107 , NA-DC . 24. Goldber g to White , Ma y 25 , 1944 ; Ralp h Coope r t o White , Jun e 8 , 1944; pres s release, April 27, 1944 ; Whit e t o Thurgood Marshall , May 4, 1944 ; Marshall t o editor , PV , copy, Ma y 9 , 1944 ; PV , May 13 , 1944 ; pres s release , "NAACP Deplore s Lega l Actio n Agains t Fil m 'Th e Negr o Soldier,' " Apri l 27 , 1944; o n Jews se e White t o Milton R . Konvitz, May 5 , 1944 ; Konvit z to Rabbi Lewis Finkelstein, copy, May 17, 1944; Marshal l to White, memo, May 4, 1944 ; Konvitz t o Whit e an d Wilkins , Apri l 24, 1944 ; Whit e t o Josep h Proskaue r of American Jewish Committee , Finkelstein of Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Stephen S . Wise, an d Josep h Willens, wires, al l May 1 , 1944 , i n NR-LC . 25. U.S . Dist. Court, S. Dist, N.Y., Negro Marches On v. War Activities Committee, copy, n.d. ; Gibso n et al., amicus curiae brief, n.d. , 2 pp.; Thurgoo d Marshall to Pauline Lauber, exec, sec. , HWM, May 2, 1944 ; Rober t Rossen to Frank Capra, March 30 , 1944 ; Whit e t o Marshall, May 4, 1944 , i n NR-LC . 26. Var., Dec. 6, 1940 , p . 16 ; April 3, 1940 , p . 16 ; Oct. 2, 1940 ; Jun e 18 , 1940, p . 18 ; AN , Sept . 30 , 1939 ; Oct . 12 , 1940 ; an d Aug . 19 , 1939 , Burle y quoted. 27. AN , Dec. 13, 1941, on Four Shall Die as "the greatest" ; Jan. 8 , May 14, 21, Apri l 9 , 1938 ; Jun e 16 , Oct. 21, 1939 ; Aug. 20, Sept . 3 , 1939 . 28. AA , Oct. 22, 1938 , on SAG, see also similar case in Var., June 10 , 1942, p. 27 .

332

Notes

29. LAS , Dec. 30 , 1940 ; Georg e Norford, "On Stage, " Opportunity, Sum mer 1947 , pp . 74-75. 30. Marching On (1943) , Universit y o f Illinoi s Fil m Archive , viewe d through courtes y o f Professor Robert Carringer. 31. Jame s Asendio t o "Friend," [Dec . 4, 1943] ; Flourno y Mille r to Walte r White, Nov . 11 , 1938 ; rac e moviemakers ' ephemera ; an d Gloste r Curren t memos, i n NR-LC . 32. Ebony, Aug. 1946, p . 21; AN, Sept. 10 , 1949, o n Frit z Pollard and Su n Tan and Soundies ; "Ho w Movie s Are Made," Ebony, Marc h 1947 , pp . 40-43, on Crouch ; Ebony Parade, JBC-KC; Solid Senders an d You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Ernie Smith Collection, New York City; AN, March 19 , 1949, o n Harlem Follies; Var., Jan . 1 , 1947 , p . 16 ; LAS , Feb. 12 , Marc h 24 , 1948 ; CE , Sept. 30, Jan. 20 , 1948 ; AN , March 17 , Dec. 1, 15, 29, 1945 ; Jan. 5 , 19 , July 6, 27, Au g 31 , 1946 ; Feb . 21 , 28 , Apri l 3 , 1948 ; CD , Apri l 30 , 1949 ; Todd y brochure retitlings ; AN , March 19 , 1949 . 33. Intervie w betwee n Richar d Brook s an d th e author , Hollywood , Jul y 1977. 34. CE , Aug. 19, 26, 1948 ; LAS , Sept. 30, Oct. 14, Aug. 19, 1948; CD , Aug. 21, 1948 ; Var., Sept . 1 , 1948 , p . 7 . 35. Var., Nov. 29, 1944 , p . 38 ; AN, June 1 , Oct. 12 , 19 , Dec. 7, 1946 ; Jan . 4, 1947 , o n box office ; CE , Feb. 10 , 1949 ; Var., June 19 , 1946 , lik e Beware for "wise direction [and ] music"; Nov. 28, 1945 , p. 47, noted Jordan's popularit y in B-movies by title; AN, Sept. 13 , 1947, on Goldbergs ; LAS, Sept. 5, 12 , 1946, Boy What a Girl; Var., July 30, 1947 , p . 20, on Sepia Cinderella in which Gen e Krupa sat in wit h Si d Catlett's band. 36. CE , Aug. 19, 26, 1948 ; LAS , Sept. 30, Oct. 14 , Aug. 19, 1948; CD , Aug. 21, 1948 ; Var., Sept. 1, 1948, p. 7; interview betwee n Willia m F. Walker and th e author, Aug . 1977, on Norwanda; intervie w between Rub y Dee and the author , Lebanon, Pa. , Jan . 26 , 1970 , an d AN , Feb. 28 , 1948 , o n The Fight Never Ends; NYT, Oct. 24, 1949 ; CD , Nov. 5, 1949 , on Miracle in Harlem; FD, Aug. 11, 1948 , p. 5 ; " A Sta r Fizzles, " Ebony, Nov . 1945 , p . 38 ; Henr y T . Sampson, Blacks in Black and White; A Source Book on Black Films (Metuchen , N.J. , 1977) , see titl e index fo r a genre inventory . 37. " A Star Fizzles," Ebony, Nov. 5, 1949, p . 38, on Sheil a Guyse stranded; Sidney Poitier, This Life (Ne w York, 1980) , 124 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n William Greaves and th e author , Jul y 1977 ; Cripps , Slow Fade to Black, 348, o n Hill. 38. Micheau x heral d i n researc h files , Post-Newsweek TV (WTOP-TV, Washington); LAS , Nov. 24 , 1949 ; AN , March 19 , 1949 ; intervie w betwee n Norman Burfor d and th e author , Washington , D.C. , Aug. 1977 ; intervie w be tween Carlton Moss and the author, Iowa City, June 1973; NYA, June 26, 1948.

39. "Alice " [B . Russel l Micheaux ] t o he r siste r Ethel , Jan . 7 , 1948 , i n Richard Grupenhoff, The Black Valentino: The Stage and Screen Career of Lorenzo Tucker (Metuchen , N.J. , 1988) , 141 . 40. Intervie w betwee n Burfor d an d th e author ; credit s in Sampson, Blacks in Black and White, 182 . 41. Alic e t o Ethel , Jan . 7 , 1948 ; an d intervie w betwee n Burfor d an d th e author. 42. CD , July 17 , 1948 ; NYA , June 26 , 1948 ; Jame s Hoberman , "A Blac k

Notes

333

Pioneer: Th e Cas e of Osca r Micheaux," No Rose, Fal l 1976 , pp. 23-31 , cite s white press ; o n censorshi p se e alpha, file, PCA-AMPAS and MSCB. 43. LAS , Jan. 23, 1947 ; Cripps, "Films o f Spencer Williams," pp . 128-34 ; Clayton, "Traged y o f Amos'n' Andy," pp. 66-73 ; an d Thoma s Cripps , "Amo s 'n' And y and the Debate over Racial Integration," in John E. O'Connor, American History/American Television (Ne w York, 1983), pp . 33-54 . 44. AN , Nov. 17, Dec. 18, 1945 ; LAS, Oct. 7, 1948 , on Adamson ; Var., April 17 , 1946 , p. 7 , fo r statistic s suc h a s house s u p 1 0 percent , twenty-fiv e pictures i n production , averag e nu t a t $20,000 , grosse s runnin g $40,000 60,000, an d s o on. 45. "Negr o Movie s Hi t Paydirt," Ebony, Sept . 1946 , pp. 32-45 ; Tall, Tan and Terrific ad copy, Ebony, Nov. 1946, p. 2; CD, April 30, 1949, also ambiguous

in praising Eddie Green for lack of smut while avoiding comment on broad style. 46. Interview , taped , betwee n Do n Malkame s an d Lorenz o Tucke r an d Stephan Henriques , Aug . 1974, WTOP-TV, Washington; Corneliu s Johnson , "Baltimore an d the Black Star in a Black Movie," interview with Nikki O'Daniel, unpublished paper , Morga n Stat e University, 1971 ; interview, Todd y an d th e author, Jun e 1977 ; and Ale x Albrigh t fil m Boogie Woogie in Black and White (1988), a n accoun t o f the makin g o f Pitch a Boogie (1947). 47. LAS , Oct. 7, 1948 . Sepia an d tan wer e euphemism s fo r black. 48. I n Pleasanton, S.C. , for example, part of a school da y would b e used to show Bronze Buckaroo o r anothe r rac e movie : conversation s wit h Professo r George Sinkler, Baltimore. On collectibles: catalogues of Barr Harris, auctioneer, Baltimore, and Georg e Theofiles, Miscellaneous Man (Ne w Freedom, Pa., 1980s). On popularit y o f Amos 'n' Andy: interview s betwee n Florenc e Connor s an d Carolyn Houc k an d th e author , EPF L reported deman d o f the films.

49. Nathan A. Zelikow to E. M. Glucksman, Sept. 30, 1953; Glucksman to Zelikow, Oct. 2, 1953, Aug. 23, 1954; Zelikow to Joseph Plunkett, Nov. 9, 1954,

in Nate Zelikow Productions records , Houston . 50. Conversation s between Nat e Zelikow and th e author , beginnin g Jun e 1970.

Chapter 6 Documentary Film Culture and Postwar Liberal Momentum 1. Barbara Keon to Selznick, April 21, 1945, box 6, Story Dept., DOS-TX;

Spyros Skouras to Zanuck, copy, Jan. 13, 1947; Zanuck to Joseph Schenck, Jan. 22, 1957 , i n Lyma n Munson papers , AHC-WY . 2. Augus t Meier and Ellio t Rudwick, Black History and the Historical Profession, 1915-1980 (Urbana, 111. 1986), 73-74, 10 9 (onStampp), 113-15 (Myrdal), 137-51. 3. President' s Committe e on Civi l Rights, To Secure These Rights (Washing ton, 1947) , 141 ; Polenberg, One Nation Indivisible, chap. 4 ; Richar d Dalfiume , Desegregation and the U.S. Armed Forces, chap. 7 ; James R . Fuchs, "Oral History Interview with Andrew J. Biemiller [Wise, legislator, UAW official]," (Washington, 1977) , pp . 49-50 , HST ; Thurmond quote d i n Alfre d Sternberg , The Man from Missouri: The Life and Times of Harry S. Truman (Ne w York, 1962) , 315; Frankfurter quote d i n revie w by Marshal l Fishwick, Journal of Popular Culture

334

Notes

11 (Fal l 1977) : 363 ; sample poll s in Georg e H. Gallup , The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1970 (New York, 1972, 3 vols.), 1: 142, 396, 528, 658, 722, 748, 782, 810 ; holograph not e o n Gallup , 1944, NR-LC. Dudley G . Roe t o Truman , Jun e 6 , 1945 ; Truman t o Roe , copy, Jun e 6 , 1945, "Analysi s o f the President' s Mai l o n FEPC, " holograph report , Oct . 20, 1945, 4 pp. , reports "mas s support " outsid e th e South ; Jerr y Voorhis , copy , "Proposed Fai r Employmen t Practice s Bill, " holograph , Jul y 14 , 1945 , in O F misc. file, box 21 0 (1945) , OF-HST, HST, all evidences o f Truman's investmen t in a liberal racia l policy. 4. CE , Sept. 3 , Jan. 1 , 22, 1948 , on Lore n Mille r an d N . Pete r Rathvon , RKO, as Brotherhood Wee k planners; .41,4 Bulletin, July-Aug. 1948; "Facts on The Brotherhood of Man, " Film Div., UAW-CIO, n.d., both in UAW-WSU; Robert Hampel , The Last Little Citadel: American High Schools Since 1940 (Boston, 1986), p . 45, on "boosterism, " and pp . 48-49, o n "proliferation" ; fo r "POD" sourcebook, A. R. Lerner et al., The Challenge of Hate, no. 1 in a series (New York, 1946) , pp. 34-37; Hila h Paumier an d Rober t Haven Schauffler, Good Will Days (Ne w York, 1947, 1956), forepages. 5. Coulto n Waugh , The Comics (Ne w York, 1947) , 344-46 ; All-Negro Comics, Jun e 1947 ; Maggie Thompson, "Blu e Suit , Blue Mask, Blu e Gloves— And N o Socks," i n Do n Thompso n an d Dic k Lupoff, eds. , The Comic-Book Book (New Rochelle , 1973) , 118-43; An n Tanneyhil l t o Guichar d Parris , March 10 , 1947, serie s 7, box 5 , NUL-LC . 6. Afro an d Worker, summer s 1940s ; Jule s Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy (Ne w York, 1984) . 7. Var., Jan. 10 , 1945 , p. 1 ; Claud e H. Nolen , The Negro's Image in the South: The Anatomy of White Supremacy (Lexington , Ky. , 1967), 204 , 207, quoted; Davi d W. Riesman, The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (Ne w York, 1950) ; Var., Nov. 6, 1946 , pp. 57-58 , an d Marc h 10 , 1948, p . 24, on Clar k Forman, theatreman , a s "noted exponent o f racial equality"; Agee , Agee on Film vol. 1 , p. 235 (rpt . from Nation, Dec . 28, 1946) , and pp . 404—10 ("Fol k Art, " rpt. from Partisan Review, Spring 1944) . 8. Davi d J . Rothman , "Document s i n Searc h o f a Historian : Towar d a History of Childhood and Youth in America," i n Theodore K . Rabb and Robert I. Rotberg, eds., The Family in History: Interdisciplinary Essays (Ne w York, 1971) , p. 187 , for Capt . Marryat's witnessin g a disobedien t America n bo y who m hi s father explaine d awa y as a particularly "sturdy republican" ; and on youth sub culture, Paul a S . Pass , The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920s (New York, 1977); James B. Gilbert, Cycle of Outrage: Juvenile Delinquency and the Mass Media (Ne w York, 1986) ; an d Mar k Thoma s McGe e an d R . J . Robertson, The J. D. Films: Juvenile Delinquency in the Movies (Jefferson , N.C., 1982); a s wel l a s persona l recollection s reinforce d b y a samplin g o f Ebony, 1946-50. 9. Hollywoo d Victor y Committee booking s i n "Miscellaneou s Correspon dence, 1940s, " box 278, DOS-TX. 10. Surve y o f Var. and Ebony afte r 1945 , almost ever y issu e o f whic h reported breache s o f racial etiquette amon g performers : Var., Sept. 10 , 1947, p. 54 , o n Hill ; Jan . 17, 1951 , p. 50 , o n Baker ; LAS, Sept. 5 , 1946 , on Home ; Ebony, Nov . 1949, pp. 45-46 , o n "swinging " folksongs .

Notes

335

11. Edit h J. R . Isaacs, The Negro in the Theatre (Ne w York, 1947) , passim ; Thyra Samter Winslow, "Th e Negr o Entertainer," Stage Pictorial (1946): 16-19 , 55-56; Jose Ferrer, "The Negr o in the American Theatre," Var., Jan. 9, 1946, p. 300; an d almos t an y issu e of Var., 1940s . 12. Var., Jan. 15 , 1947, p . 52 ; Nov. 12, 1947, p . 8; June 16 , 1948, p . 49 ; April 12 , 1947, p. 71; April 19, 1950, p. 1 ; June 13 , 1945, p. 57; April 18, 1945 , p. 1 ; Oct. 3, 1945, p. 1 ; Sept. 25, 1946 , pp. 18 , 36, 57; Sept. 18, 1946, p. 52; July 28, 1948 , p . 100 ; May 14 , 1947, p. 1 ; May 30, 1945 , p. 52 ; March 10 , 1945, p. 54; July 4, 1945 , pp . 1 , 27; Sept . 19 , 1945 , p. 1 ; Sept 12 , 1945 , p. 54 ; Dec. 19, 1945, p. 1 ; June 19 , 1946, p . 51 ; Jan. 1 , 1947, p. 42; Jun e 5 , 1946, p . 68; May 22, 1946 , p. 57. LAS, Aug. 22, 1946 . Var.. Oct. 23, 1946 , p . 118 ; Nov . 6, 1946 , p. 57; Oct. 16, 1946, p. 59; Aug. 28, 1946 , p. 1 ; Ebony, May 1947 , p. 38 ff. Var.. April 23, 1947 , p. 52; March 11 , 1947, p. 63; April 2, 1947, p. 1 ; Nov. 26, 1947 , p. 1 . 13. DW , Oct. 16 , 28, 1945 ; Var., Feb. 14 , 1951 , p. 50 . 14. Rober t Ardrey, Jeb, third draft , Dec . 31, 1945 , Ardrey papers, ML-BU; DW,Feb.25,1946, and Jan. 21,1945,in which Ann Seymour found Robert Earl Jones i n Strange Fruit deriving "inspiratio n fro m hi s people"; Story Department Bulletin, Marc h 16 , 1946 , p . 8 , i n DOS-TX ; Sacva n Bercovitch , The American Jeremiad (Madison , 1978) , xi , quote d i n Davi d Brio n Davi s piece , New York Review, Feb . 13 , 1986 , p . 7 . 15. Sau l K. Padover, Interior , t o Sec . Oscar L. Chapman, memo , "O n Ne groes," Aug. 17, 1943, i n "Committee o n Race Relations" folder , box 38, OCPHST; Dwigh t L . Palmer, Lockheed , t o Phille o Nash , Jun e 17 , 1944 ; Nas h t o Palmer, June 19 , 1944, "Correspondenc e 1943-1944 , H-Q" folder , box 41, PNHST. 16. Nas h to Myr a Blakesley , NJ . Goodwil l Commission , copy , Dec . 13 , 1943; Nash to Marshall Field, % Chicago Sun, copy, May 19, 1944, "Correspon dence 1943-1944 " folder , bo x 1 , PN-HST. Contras t Nas h wit h Elme r Davis's official line : OWI not to be used "as a means of guiding American opinion," thus "our interes t i n minorities i s limited t o .. . counterin g enem y propaganda. " Quoted i n statements sent by Nash to J. G . Weir, copy, Nov. 11, 1944, "Corre spondence, 1943-1944 " folder, PN-HST. 17. Leste r Granger to Harry S. Truman, Aug . 27, 1945 , i n OF-91B , AprilMay 1945 , bo x 437, OF-HST . 18. PM , July 22, 1943 ; CIO News (Milwaukee) , June 5 , 1944 , CI O records, LA-WSU, lent courtes y o f August Meier an d Elliot t Rudwick. 19. Embre e to Nash, June 29, 1944 ; Nash to Embree, copy, July 3, 1944, in "Correspondence, 1943-1944" ; Nas h to A . A. Liveright, copy, May 14 , 1945 , "Correspondence 1945, " both i n box 1 , PN-HST. 20. Bookin g action a s cited i n chap. 4 , note 37 . 21. CIO News, Feb . 21, 1944 , an d Jun e 19 , 1944 . 22. CIO News, July 7, 1944 , an d June 26, 1944 , quoted ; and June 5, 1944 , for its focused liberal rhetoric: OF-5 1 showed "wha t the Negro race has done to earn it s place in America n life." 23. Th e idea o f propaganda a s an unbidde n agenda-sette r owes much t o talks with Professor Wilhelm van Kampen, Berlin; Robert A. Garson, The Democratic Party and the Politics of Sectionalism, 1941-1948 (Bato n Rouge , 1974),

336

Notes

chap. 6 ; Jerry N . Hess, "Oral Histor y Intervie w wit h Joseph G . Feeney" [HST assistant, 1952-1953] , 28-29, HST; and President's Committe e o n Civi l Rights, To Secure These Rights, p. 173 . 24. Leo n Hardwick, "What Is IFRG?" in NR-LC, on Unity Awards; Whit e to Truman , Oct . 3 , 1945 , i n OF-92 B (1945), box 437 , April-Ma y folder, HSTHST, on footbal l as "affirmative action"; Irving C. Root, Watergate Concerts, to Oscar Chapman, Interior , copy , Oct . 31, 1946, "Racial Minorit y Groups " folder, box 38, OCP-HST, on concerts; Id a Fox, Committee for Racial Democracy in th e Nation's Capital , t o Chapman , Nov . 11 , 1946 , OCP-HST , on "pattern" ; Lt . Cmmdr. Philip B. Valdez to Truman, Oct . 22, 1948 ; O F misc. file (1950), crossref. sheet; Josep h A. Dombrowski, Souther n Conf . Educational Fund, New Orleans, Oct . 24 , 1950 , cross-ref . sheet , o n protectin g Judg e J . Watie s Waring ; Jerry Voorhis, "Proposed FEPC Bill," William L. Patterson, Civi l Rights Cong., to Truman, Oct . 27, 1948 , cross-ref . sheet a s above; Phili p A. Vaughan, "The Cit y in the American Creed : A Liberal Awakening Durin g the Earl y Truman Period , 1946-1948," Phylon 34 (Marc h 1973) : 51-62; Homer C . Hawkins, "Trend s i n Black Migratio n fro m 186 3 t o 1960, " Phylon 3 4 (Jun e 1973) : 140-52 , citin g Luther Gulic k in American City, o n "why. " 25. AC E Studies, series 2 , vol. 1 , no. 1 (April 1937) , The Motion Picture in Education: Its Status and Needs, p . 21 . 26. Willia m H . Hartley , Selected Films for American History and Problems (New York, 1940), pp . 40-41, 136-37 , 168-69 , 208-9. 27. Hartley , Selected Films, as i n not e 26 ; Charle s Hoban , Committe e o n Motion Picture s in Education, Selected Educational Motion Pictures (Washington , 1942), pp. 171 , 205 , 286 . 28. Starr , Ideas on Film: A Handbook for the 16 mm User, pp . xiv-xv . 29. Emil y S . Jones , "Rememberin g EFL A 1945-1958, " Sightlines, Fall / Winter 1983/84, pp. 6—7; telephone interview between Cecile Starr and the

author, Jun e 13 , 1990; AC E Comm. on Motion Picture s in Education, series 1 , vol. 8 , no. 2 1 (Oct . 1944), Motion Pictures for Postwar Education, p. 3 ; Harcourt Brace et al., A Report to Educators on Teaching Films Survey ([Ne w York, 1948]), 36—37; Elizabet h Florey, ed., Films for International Understanding (Ne w York, 1947), 50; C. R. Reagan to White, Jan. 4, 1944, NR-LC , reporting 25,000 projectors t o "enrich" programs . 30. Patrici a O . Blair , ed. , Making Films Work for Your Community (Ne w York, 1946) , 330, on army films; Charles F. Hoban, Jr., Movies That Teach (New York, 1946) , 79 , 25 ; Walte r Arn o Wittic h an d Joh n G . Fowlkes, Audio-Visual Paths to Learning (Ne w York [1946?]) ; Var., Ma y 21 , 1947 , p . 1 , o n urgin g LC to get army film; Feb. 19,1957 , in "Hollywood Bureau " file, NR-LC; John R. Miles an d Charle s R . Spain, Audio-Visual Aids in the Armed Forces: Implications for American Education (Washington , 1947) , 62-63 , 88-89 , 92-93 , excerpt s from What the Soldier Thinks, o n impac t o f films ; Orvill e Goldner , "Fil m i n the Arme d Services, " symposiu m i n Godfre y M . Elliott , ed., Film in Education (New York, 1948), 403—1 , on army's "courage" ; School Review 53 (Dec . 1945): 571, o n universitie s and arm y film ; EFL A minute s (1947) , lent b y Hele n Cyr, EPFL; The Film Counselor 1 (Oct. 1950), ephemera i n TB-MOMA , on commu nity. 31. Mile s and Spain , Audio-Visual Aids in the Armed Forces, 62—63 , 88—89 , 92-93, o n The Battle of Britain impact.

Notes

337

32. Hoban , Movies that Teach, 58-61 ; EFL A minutes (1947) ; Var., Feb. 19, 1947; an d o n award s an d community , Film Counselor Oct. 1950, n.p. 33. Esthe r L. Berg, "Films to Better Human Relations," i n High Points (n.d.) in Mos s papers ; Ber g and Din a M . Bleich , "Classroo m Utilizatio n o f Films for International Understanding, " i n Florey , Films for International Understanding, 53; June Blythe, quoted, i n Helen Seato n Preston , ACE , ed., Use of Audio-Visual Materials for International Understanding . . . June 14-15, 1946, ACE Studies, series 1 , no. 2 5 (Washington , 1946) , 93 , 110 ; Gloria Waldron, The Information Film: A Report of the Public Library Inquiry (Ne w York , 1949) , 281 , a lon e warning agains t manipulatin g th e scree n fo r "their ow n ideologies. " 34. Undate d treatment ; Olive r Harringto n t o Whit e e t al., copy, Dec . 31, 1946, an d replies ; file on "scree n media " consultants , i n NR-CL ; Film Forum Review, Winter 1946-1947 , pp. 29-31; Fall 1947, pp. 23-33, for reviews, lent by Cecile Starr . 34. Mile s an d Spain , Audio-Visual Aids in the Armed Services, 96-98 ; Hoban, Movies that Teach, 85-61 ; Goldner , "Fil m i n th e Arme d Services, " i n Film in Education, 403-4, o n "attitud e building" ; Alfre d McClun g Lee , Race Riots Aren't Necessary, Publi c Affair s Bulleti n no . 10 7 (Washington , [Jul y 1945]), 3 , quoted . 35. EFLA Bulletin 1 (May 29, 1945) : 5; EFLA Service Supplement, no. 46.1 (Feb. 1946): 1-2; Harr y M. Lerner, "Street Films for Unity," Film Forum Review, Fall 1947 , pp. 2-5, o n "the street," lent b y Cecile Starr . 36. W . A. Wittach, "It' s Time the Bab y Walks Alone," in EFLA Bulletin 1 (May 29, 1945) : 5 on Grierson; undate d treatment ; Olive r Harrington t o Whit e et al. , copy, Dec . 31, 1946 , and replies ; "Pla n fo r Movi e Traile r Membershi p Campaign," P R Dept., [NAACP] , March 3 , 1947 ; White t o Harrington , Feb . 4, 1947; Harrington to White et al., Jan. 27, 1947; Moon to White, July 16, 1954;

DeRochemont t o White , Jul y 16 , 1954, et seq., in NR-LC . 37. Fil m brochure file, in which fin d Committee fo r a National Film Cooperative, mimeo. , Sept . 10 , 1947; Oscar Canstein, Negr o Educational and Docu mentary Fil m Association, to White, April 27, 1947; Sherman Pric e to "Friend," Jan. 6 , [1949] , o n Sydenham ; Carnegi e Endowmen t an d Federation o f Women's Clubs MOMA show of Land of Liberty [Jun e 1 , 1949] ; AJ C to Moon , Jan. 4 , 1952 ; variou s in-hous e proposals , NR-LC . 38. News from NAACP [1948] , o n "Teachin g Democrac y . . . Audio Visual Aids," 2 pp., annotating tw o dozen items from the old Carver biopic to To Secure These Rights. 39. Nanett e Atlas , ed., Selected List of Human Relations Films (Ne w York, n.d.), AJC pamphlet include d Film Tactics (1947) , Assignment Tomorrow (1945), One World or None. O n The Challenge, Maur y J . Glaubma n t o Whit e an d Wilkins, Feb. 2 , 1950 , i n NR-LC . 40. Waldron , Information Film, 7 , 16 , 41, 12 1 (quoted), 135-47 , 205, on American Dilemma as possible film, and p . 17 5 on "Librar y C " an d resources . 41. Bon d t o Johnson, copy , March 26 , 1944 , Bond papers , Amhers t Col lege, lent by Prof. August Meier. Bond saw documentary a s a way around black actors wh o "foun d difficult y steppin g ou t o f their accustome d roles." Se e also Film Committee meeting, ca. April 1944; Johnson to Bond, April 27, 1944, on

joining AFC ; Slesinger, "A Ma p o f Forces, " Film News 5 (Apri l 1944) : 4-5 , touting The Negro Soldier, i n Bon d papers.

338

Notes

42. Minutes , secon d meeting , Mass Education Committee, Ma y 13 , 1944 ; Donald Slesinge r t o Bond , Aug . 8 , 1944 ; Bond' s resignation , Sept . 9 , 1944 ; manifesto, "Th e Committe e for Mass Education in Race Relations" for "liberals with vision" ; an d treatment , Outline Form for Film Scenario Ideas, i n Bon d papers, Amhers t College . 43. Wilkin s t o White , Sept . 12 , 1947 ; Jeannett e Samuelso n t o NAACP , telephone memo , June 19 , 1946 , o n Crowthe r a s ICCASP member, i n NR-LC . 44. NAAC P release, n.d.; Albert Baker Lewis to Madison Jones, Jr., Nov. 6, 1947; Mario n Wyn n Perry , memo , Jan . 24 , 1947 , o n promo ; R . C. Bolton t o NAACP, Dec. 28, 1949 ; IFF [Julien Bryan] to NAACP, Jan. 30 , 1951; in addition to Canstein , Price, AJC, and othe r proposal s in not e 37 , all in NR-LC . 45. Herber t B. Jackman, UAW , to Douglas, Sept. 16 , 1948; minutes , "civi l rights committee," Oct. 15,1948; "cu t in " in Paul Sifton, UAW, to Douglas, July 22, 1948 ; Victo r Reuther t o Douglas , n.d., o n Douglas' s role; T . C. Robinson, Nassour Studio , t o Douglas , Aug. 12 , 1948 , wit h "outline" ; minutes , Oct . 15, 1948, o n Rapfs ; minutes , Sept . 8, 1948 , i n box 4 , Dougla s papers, SHSW . The result: The Challenge, 30-min . film. White t o Selznick , wire (copy ) an d reply , both Nov . 10 , 1947 , o n Moss , i n NR-LC . 46. An n Tanneyhill t o Guichar d Parris, March 10 , 1947, box 5 ; and othe r Tanneyhill correspondence, bo x 11 ; Barnouw to Parris, Dec. 6, 1949, with copy of film proposal, box 1 , all in series 7 ; A Morning for Jimmy file, box 4 , serie s 5 ; and "Dynamics Films" file, box 8, series 3, all NUL-LC; Erik Barnouw to author, Aug. 28, 1991 , and telephon e conversation , Aug . 27, 1991 ; an d Barnouw , The Golden Web, 197 . 47. Barnouw , Documentary, 185 ; Fielding , March of Time, 288-89 , 301 ; Waldron, Film Library, 84, 135-40 , 147 , o n funding sources; and o n films, 44, 52-54, 75 , 119-23 , 160-62 , a n optimisti c report, thoug h dismaye d a t depen dence on donors, 230. Black press: LAS, Feb. 12,1948, on Contemporary Films'

list; AA , June 15 , 1946 , o n Don't Be a Sucker o n foreig n racism; LAS , June 6 , 1946, o n th e sam e i n Teamwork; Var., Feb. 19 , 1947 , p . 1 . 48. Jarvi s Couillard to Oliver Harrington, Oct . 11, 1947, and to White, Oct. 30, 1946 ; Arche r Winston clippin g on AMA film; White t o Moon and Wilkins, July 12 , 1948 , o n On Guard, thei r ol d promo-film; diges t of minutes, Feb . 26 , 1947, meetin g o f UAW, ILGWU, and America n Labor Education Service, all in NR-LC; Gallup poll data as cited in note 79 to chap. 1 , above; o n Marxist left see HICCASP fil m committe e minutes , Sept . 17 , 1945 ; Georg e Peppe r t o Helen Gahagan Douglas, wire, copy, Aug. 30, 1945; Clayton Russell to HICCASP, Sept. 11, 1945 , i n HICCASP-SHSW , o n variou s project s includin g a Jac k Chertok , Michael Blankfort , Abraha m Polonsk y proposal t o teac h polic e sensitivit y t o blacks. 49. Print s in EPF L an d LC. 50. H . B. Jackson, UAW Film Div., "Report o n Activities of UAW-CIO Film Division sinc e Januar y 1 , 1948," in UAW-WSU . 51. "UAW-CI O Presents a n Introductio n t o Th e Brotherhoo d o f Man,'" Sept. 13 , 1946, a treatment, o n "Prejudices" ; Mos s to Revels Cayton, n.d., reel 34, bo x 72 , NCC-SCRBC ; an d Cayto n to Arm y Service s Forces, copy, Marc h 1946; Mary Jane Grunfeld , mimeo. , March 20, 1947 , in NR-LC ; an d DW , Feb. 27, Apri l 6 , 1947 . 52. "T o Officer s an d Member s o f th e Internationa l Executiv e Board —

Notes

339

UAW-CIO: Recommendation s Regardin g UAW-CI O Film— Brotherhood of Man," n.d. , 1 3 pp., UAW-WSU. 53. Ibid. , especiall y letter no . 173 , Sept . 15 . 54. Bernar d McGuir e to Peoria Journal, Oct . 25, 1950 , cop y i n "T o Offi cers an d Members " (cite d in not e 52) , p. 11 ; Library Bill of Rights, adopted , ALA, Atlanti c City , Jun e 18 , 1948 , reprinte d i n ALA Bulletin, July-Aug . 1948; H . B. Jackson, UA W Film Div., to Xenophon Smith , Peoria Library, copy, Nov. 14 , 1950 ; resolution , UA W Board, Dec. 13 , 1950 ; Fil m Div., UAW-CIO, Facts on Brotherhood of Man, n.d., 13 pp. UAW-WSU, and a few facsimiles in TB-

MOMA. 55. Nation, Dec . 28, 1946 , quote d i n Agee , Agee on Film, vol.1 , p . 235 ; "Folk Art, " Partisan Review, Spring 1944 , rpt . i n ibid. , pp. 404-9; on Meyers , Walter Rosenblum, "The Quiet One: A Milestone," Photo-Notes, Sprin g 1949, i n Lewis Jacobs, The Documentary Tradition: From Nanook to Woodstock (Ne w York, 1971), p. 246 ; Laurenc e Bergreen, James Agee: A Life (Ne w York, 1984) , 292 94, 328 . 56. Bar i Lynn Billiard an d Hele n Levitt , "The Quiet One: A Conversation," Film Culture 63-6 4 (1976) : 127-39 ; prin t i n BPFL ; cas t include d a n actua l counselor, Clarenc e Cooper , and underemploye d acto r Estelle Evans. 57. Citation s in Members Film Series, 1966-1967, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967; brochure s i n NR-LC , MOMA , an d PFA , where als o se e a d matte s an d typescript "Backgroun d Information " sheet , 2 pp. , an d tradepape r raves , HR, April 1948 ; AN , Feb. 5 , 12 , 1949 ; Richar d Meram Barsam , Nonfiction Film: A Critical History (Ne w York , 1973) , 218-19 , reckone d it s success , alon g wit h Louisiana Story, "promise d ne w hope " for commercial distributio n o f political film. 58. Mille r cited in Jacobs, Documentary Tradition, 247-50, from Masses and Mainstream, Marc h 1949 ; se e also Rosenblum in Jacobs, 246 , on " a weapo n of decency," and Crowthe r cite d in Bergreen , Agee, 328. 59. CD , May 14 , Jan. 22 , March 5 , April 23, 1949 , from debut to awards ; for CPUSA , Gilliar d an d Levitt , "The Quiet One," 137-39 , balancin g Jos e Yglesias's praise as against Plait's reservations; AN , Feb. 5, 12 , 1949; LAS , May 26, 1949 , o n "Harlem" ; see also Films in Review, Feb. 1950 , pp. 32-33 , on The Roosevelt Story an d Canad a Lee. 60. Gilliar d and Levitt , "The Quiet One," 137-39 ; circulatio n file , 1961 , bookings fo r Baltimore , EPFL , len t b y Hele n Cyr ; Education Film Guide (Ne w York, 1953) , alpha, listing; Var., June 19 , 1946, p. 1 , on Steinbeck' s The Forgotten Village as tradepaper item; Oct. 2, 1946 , p. 1 , on reviving Native Land; July 2, 1947, p . 13 , on The Roosevelt Story; Members Film Series, o n serials ; Fil m Div., UAW, Films for UN Day—1949 (Washington, 1949) , and CI O FILM Div., Summer 1949 Supplement: Films for Labor (n.d.) , both i n UAW-WSU ; NYT , March 21, 1949 , o n socia l workers' usin g it. 61. Gloste r Curren t t o Whit e e t al. , Feb . 21 , 1947 , proposin g Selznick , maker o f the trailer , a s producer o f an NAAC P trailer, enclosing Herald-Tribune (New York) , Feb . 21 , 1947 ; Selznic k to Mr . Scanlon , Feb . 28 , 1947 , e t seq. , "Miscellaneous Correspondence, " bo x B , i n DOS-TX , an d scrip t draft s o f The American Creed.

340

Notes

Chapter 7 Thermidor 1. Arthu r Knight, The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of the Movies (Ne w York, 1957), p. 267; Jowett, Film: The Democratic Art, p. 337, on "capon"; Sklar, Movie-Made America, p. 167 , o n "contemptible " Hollywood ; Ceplai r and En glund, Inquisition in Hollywood, p . 340 , o n Var.; Daniel J. Leab , From Sambo to Super Spade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures (Boston , 1975) , p . 135 ; Higham and Greenberg , Hollywood in the Forties, p . 68 . 2. Dunne' s byline d piece , AA , July 9 , 1949 . 3. Michae l Conant , Antitrust in the Motion Picture Industry (Ne w York , 1978), 170-71 , income an d costs ; 147 , theatres ; 142 , 139 , 120 , 11. 4. Spyro s Skouras to Zanuck, Jan. 13 , 1947, copy , in LM-AHC-WY; Stev e Trilling to Vincent Sherman, Nov . 19,1948, in Rudy Behlmer, ed., Inside Warner Bros., 1935-1951 (Ne w York , 1985) , 308-9 , o n avoidin g a "gamble" ; Ro n Haver, "The RK O Years," American Film, Dec. 1978 , p . 8 2 ff. 5. "Confidentia l Note s fo r Conference, " Jan . 3 , 1947 ; Zanuc k t o Fre d Metzger et al., May 12 , 1947; Zanuc k to Joseph Schenck, Jan. 22 , 1948 ; Lyma n Munson t o Zanuck, Feb. 6 , 1948 , LM-AHC-WY ; interview , Mileston e an d th e author, Jun e 1970 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Nunnall y Johnso n an d th e author, Aug . 1977 , o n Freeman ; Kanin , Hollywood, 213-14 ; Paul Mayersberg, Hollywood, the Haunted House (London , 1967) , 122-23 , on Conn ; an d Richar d Brooks, "Interview, " Movie 1 2 (Spring 1965): 2-9 . 6. Munso n to Julian Johnson, copy, Sept. 11,1946 , quoted; Martha Geige r to Munson, Apri l 30, 1947 , o n "power, " in LM-AHC-WY . 7. Davi d Lamont Sims , "Movie Censorshi p in Memphis, Tennessee , 1879 1973" (Universit y of Tennessee, unpublished , 1975) , 56, 65 , 71 ; amicus curiae papers i n UA-SHSW. 8. Sims , "Movi e Censorshi p i n Memphis, " Chap . 4 ; Var., Jan . 5 , 1949 ; Barbara McKeo n t o Selznick , copy , Apri l 21, 1945 , i n box 6 , Stor y Dept. file, DOS-TX; on Sear s see PM, Aug. 22, 1945 ; Var., May 2 , 1945 , clipping s in bo x 21, "analysi s cards, " The Southerner card, in MSCB; AA, Sept. 27, Oct . 25, 18 , Nov. 8 , 15 , 1947 . 9. Cobbet t Steinberg , Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records (Ne w York , 1978), pp. 25, 42, 47, 52; Hedda Hopper-James Baskette correspondence, HH AMPAS. 10. Charlott e Ruby Ashton, "Th e Changin g Images of Blacks in America n Film" (Ph . D., Princeton, 1981) , 33-34; AA, June 6, 1942; Leab, From Sambo to Super Spade, 125 ; LAT , Feb. 20 , 1944 ; AA , Jan. 9 , 1944 ; Nov . 19 , 1949 , o n White's impact . 11. Bioclipping s i n alpha , file , GPJ-UCLA , includin g Silhouette o n McDaniel; an d typica l stories i n LAS, April 3 , May 8 , June 19 , 26, Jul y 3 , 10 , 1947; "Rochester, " Ebony, Nov. 1945, p. 1 3 ff; "My Lif e with Hazel Scott," Jan. 1949, pp . 42-50; Feb . 1949 , pp . 19-23 ; o n Eddi e Anderson, p . 2 7 ff., on Nat Cole's house; "Home s i n Hollywood," Apri l 1948, pp. 49-51; "California Vacation," May 1948 , pp. 19-24 ; "Film Formul a for Glamour," June 1948 , pp. 30 33; "Toni Harper," June 1948 , pp. 60-65; AN, May 11,27, 1950, on a McDaniel party and plight ; CE, Jan. 26 , May 4, 1950 , on Randolph; March 24, 31 , 1949 , on Carme n DeLavallade' s debut an d Jessi e Ma e Beavers' s wedding; June 16 ,

Notes

341

1949, o n McDaniel' s weddin g an d shopping ; Nov . 24, 1949 , o n Vernondale ; LAS, May 16 , 1946 , o n Les Femmes link t o Delta Sigma Theta; Jackson, Hattie, chap. 6 . 12. Var., Oct . 3 , 1949 , p . 36 , o n McQueen ; Ebony, Jan . 1947 , p . 14 ; "Sammy Davis, " Dec . 1950 , pp . 45-48 ; LAS , Sept. 12 , 1949 , o n Randolph' s house; May 16,1946, on Les Femmes and Muse; Oct. 3,1946, on Home advocat-

ing FEPC; June 20 , 1946 , o n Nic k Stewart ; Miriam Geiger to Lyman Munson, April 30 , 1947 , i n LM-AHC-WY , o n a white angel , pluggin g Bill Walker, late r first black board membe r o f SAG. 13. " I Tried to Crash the Movies," Ebony, Aug. 1946, cover; "Foot Doctor to th e Stars, " Sept . 1948 , pp . 16-20 ; "Rochester, " Nov . 1945 , p . 1 4 ff., on "club" women; intervie w between Francoi s Andre and the author, Hollywood, June 1970 ; LAS , Aug. 1 , 1946 ; intervie w amon g Marti n Wilkins , Lawrenc e LaMar, and th e author , Lo s Angeles, Jun e 1970 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Eddie Anderson an d th e author , Jun e 1970 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n th e author Carolynn e Snowden, Lo s Angeles, June 1970 ; LAS , June 12 , 1947 , o n Driver; AN , Feb. 22 and Marc h 15 , 1947 ; an d Todd y interview, Atlanta, Jun e 1976. 14. LAS, Jan. 6, 1949, on Levette charge of Hollywood's "almost deliberate

intention" t o avoi d black material ; Barnet t t o Levette , copy , Marc h 8 , 1949 ; Levette to Barnett , March 14 , 1949 , CB-CHS ; LAS , Feb. 20, 1947 , o n "Tom" ; Ebony, Marc h 1949 , p . 34 ; Julia E . Baxter to Ro y Wilkins, April 10 , 1944 , o n new trend : Juano Hernande z as judge in None Shall Escape, NR-LC ; Los Angeles Tribune, Feb . 24, 1944 . 15. Stephe n Vaughan, "Sambo an d Black Dignity," pp. 1-32, pape r read at OAH, March 1990 , grounded in SAG board minutes, SA G archives, Hollywood: Aug. 20, 1942 , p. 2131; Sept . 14 , 1942, p. 2147; Marc h 1 , 1943; pp. 2286-87; May 24 , 1943 , pp . 2355-56 ; Sept . 29 , 1947 , p . 336 2 (resolution) ; Sept. 15 , 1946, p. 3081; Oct. 20, 1947, p. 3372; Nov. 4, 194 7 (resolution); Nov. 24, 1947 , pp. 3399 , 3401 , John Dales to Eri c Johnston, Oct . 1 , 1947 . 16. Resolutio n 4 , Oct . 11 , 1946 , i n SA G archives , cite d i n Vaughan , "Sambo an d Blac k Dignity, " 11 ; telephon e interview s betwee n Willia m F . Walker, Ernes t Anderson , Joe l Fluellen , an d th e author , fro m 196 9 onward ; LAS, Sept . 19 , 1946 ; Dec . 12 , 1947 , o n SA G and "boycott" ; intervie w wit h Fluellan cited in Jackson, Hattie, 110 , suggests his resolution before SAG was a means of creating a third force between Whit e and the Hollywood blacks; White to Roy Wilkins, Jan. 28 , 1946, in NR-LC; for the Hollywood black point of view, Jackson, Hattie, 108-11 : AA , Feb. 9 , 1946 , Levett e on "phalanx" ; Whit e t o Numa Adams , copy , Sept . 25 , 1947 , o n "veste d interest" ; Whit e t o "Dea r Dutch" [Sterlin g Brown], Feb. 20, 1946 ; see also White to George Heller, AFRA, wire, Aug. 15 , 1947 ; Frankli n H. Williams to White , memo , Aug . 5, 1947 , o n McDaniel, i n NR-LC ; an d PC , Feb . 2 , 1946 ; an d Lis a Mitchell , '"Mammy " McDaniel as the Definitiv e Matriarch," LAT , Nov. 7, 1976 . 17. Edga r Dale t o White , Feb . 14 , 1942 , o n "League" ; Whit e t o E . R . Embree, Oct . 10 , 1942 , o n Selznick' s allege d suggestio n tha t Bontemp s o r other Negr o si t i n Hay s office ; blac k soldiers ' correspondence , summe r 1945; Juli a E . Baxte r t o White , memo , n.d. , flo p o f a burea u fundraise r a t Commodore; Elme r A. Carte r t o White , Sept . 25, 1945 , o n a black in MPAA ; White to Embree , Dec. 11, 1945 , predicted fear o f "pressure," i n NR-LC ; inter-

342

Notes

view between Ro y Wilkins and the author , Ne w York, summer 1976 , on "Wal ter's thing. " 18. Revel s Cayton to Lawson, copy, June 10 , 1946, o n Aptheker; Jan . 28 , 1946, o n White ; Cayto n t o Moss, copy , April 24 , 1946 ; Mos s t o Cayton , April 22, 1946 , reel 34 , box 72, NNC-SCRBC; telephone interview betwee n Aptheke r and th e author , summe r 1990 . 19. Gu y Endore , "Reflection s o n Gu y Endore : Ora l Histor y Project " (UCLA, 1964); outlin e lectur e note s i n bo x 41 , Lawso n papers , SIU , on C P rhetoric; Edward L. Barrett, Jr., The Tenney Committee: Legislative Investigation of Subversive Activities in California (Ithaca , 1951) , 64-65, 137-38 , 150-51 , 199 201, 215 , 168 , 270 , 479 ; Georg e Murphy wit h Victo r Lasky, Say . . . Didn't You Used to Be George Murphy? (n.p. , 1970) , 257 ; Ronal d Reagan , Where's the Rest of Me? The Autobiography of Ronald Reagan (Ne w York , 1965) , 166-68 ; Axel Madsen , John Huston: A Biography (Garde n City , 1978) , p . 94 , o n H R finding We Were Strangers "shameful" Marxism . 20. Donal d Ogde n Stewart , By a Stroke of Luck! An Autobiography (New York, 1975) , 233-34 ; "Wh y th e Leagu e Wa s Formed," Hollywood Anti-Naz i League pamphlet, n.d. ; HD C "Report of Campaign Activities . . . a s of October 27, 1944, " in HDC papers, UCLA ; HICCASP minutes, Apri l 30, 1946 , in SHSW; Abraham Polonsky, "Ho w th e Blacklist Was Formed," Film Culture 50-51 (Fall / Winter 1970) : 41-48; Ashton, "Black s i n American Film, " 133 ; Var., June 11, 1947, p . 21 ; Ceplai r and Englund , Inquisition in Hollywood, 232-33 , on Malt z and th e "DuClo s letter" on th e apostas y o f the CPUSA . 21. Ceplai r and Englund , Inquisition in Hollywood, 218-25 , an d o n ped igrees of HDC, HWM , and HICCASP ; William F. Nolan, John Huston: King Rebel (Los Angeles , 1965) , 73, o n Lucey' s restaurant a s liberal haven. 22. HDC , "Report o n Campaign Activities . . . , " liste d Rex Ingram, Calvin Jackson, and the Nicholas Brothers, and tactics such as "special [radio] spot s for Spanis h an d Negr o voters" ; an d othe r HWM , HICCAS P uses o f blacks, i n SHSW; O n Waldorf , Ceplai r an d Englund , Inquisition in Hollywood, 328-31 ; Schary, Heyday, 164-66 ; Dalton Trumbo t o Paul Jarrico, Jul y 28 , 1953 , box 5, Trumbo papers, SHSW , on Schar y as equivocator, len t by Professor John Wiseman. 23. Irvin g Piche l t o [William? ] Durant , n.d. , Dunha m papers , SIU . 24. Trumb o t o "Jack " [Lawson] , Dec . 6 , 1953 , bo x 5 , Trumb o papers , SHSW, quoted i n debating "progressiv e content " of war movi e cycle ; HICCASP minutes, Jan . 28 , 1947 , SHSW , on Lancelot; black citations in note 20 for other activities; Rinald o t o "member, " April 26, 1952 , box 40 , Lawso n papers , SIU ; David Platt, "The Hollywoo d Witchhun t o f 1947," Jewish Currents, Dec. 1977 , pp. 24—30 , o n earl y HUA C impact . 25. Intervie w wit h Polonsky , Beverl y Hills, July 20, 1977 ; Bartle y Crum to White, Nov. 10 [1947]; Whit e to Melvyn Douglas, Feb. 3, 1941; pres s release o n Trumbo an d Rin g Lardner , testifyin g t o a willingnes s t o dra w close r t o th e Marxist left , praisin g Lardner for Brotherhood of Man an d Trumb o fo r his UCL A speech, NR-LC . 26. Doxe y Wilkerson, "The Negr o and th e America n Nation," Political Affairs 2 5 (Jul y 1946) : 85 2 ff. ; James S . Allen, "Th e Negr o Question," Political Affairs 2 5 (Nov . 1946): 1046-1132, in reel 2, series 118, NNC-AAS; Nora Sayre, Running Time: The Films of the Cold War (Ne w York, 1982) , 32-33 .

Notes

343

27. Navasky , Naming Names, 18 6 ff. ; Starobin, American Communism in Crisis, pp. 9-11 , 78-79 , 101 , o n Charlott a Bass as CP; NYT, July 15 , 1949 , o n Robeson as putative "black Stalin, " clipping book, NUL-LC; Var., June 6, 1950 , p. 2, on Josh Whit e on "noble causes"; Var., Feb. 25, 1952 , p. 57, Robeson on tour; Var., Feb . 25 , 1948 ; CE , Feb . 19 , 1948 , o n Robinson's wellwishers ; William G. Nunn to Lester Granger, July 25, 1949 ; Grange r to Robinson, copy, July 19 , 1949, quoted ; an d clippings , in series 1 , box 155 , HUAC file, NUL-LC; DuBois-Herbert Biberma n correspondence i n Herbert Aptheker, The Correspondence ofW. E. B. DuBois (Amherst , MA, 1978) , vol. 3 , p. 175 . 28. Barbar a Deming, "The Librar y of Congress Film Project: Exposition of a Method," Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress 2 (Nov . 1944) : 10-11 . 29. Ebony, Feb. 1948, p. 34; NYT, June 1, Nov. 27, 1947, on Willie Best,

who might be "left out"; CE , March 31 , 1948 , o n "up t o date" Randolph role ; NR, Marc h 7 , 1949 , o n Rober t Davis losing role to Bogart , Knock on Any Door; vertical file, SCRBC; LAS, June 10 , 1948, o n how t o play; LAS, June 24, 1948 , on a "sympathetic " role ; Georg e Norford, "On Stage, " Opportunity, Summe r 1947, pp. 164-65; LAS, July 22, 1948; Jan. 1,1948, on "little progress" because

HUAC "scare d them. " 30. NYT , April 13 , 1945 , o n Ouspenskaya ; Commonweal 4 6 (Apri l 18 , 1947): pp. 16-17 , on Tarzan and the Huntress; title s in alpha, file, GPJ-UCLA . 31. Var., Nov. 3, 1948, p . 14 ; for contrasting opinion s o f Leigh Whipper i n Undercurrent, Var., Oct . 2, 1946 , p . 8 , an d Ebony, Oct. 1946 , p . 18 . 32. LAS , Aug. 28, 1948 , Dec . 11, 1947, July 31 , Aug. 14 , 1947, for example. 33. AN , March 31 , 1945 ; Walte r Winchell' s column , Oct . 3 , 1945 , sen t with Whit e t o Home , copy , Sept . 19 , 1945 ; Maye r t o White , wire , Aug . 21 , [1945]; Whit e to Mayer, copy , Sept . 4, 1945 ; White to Culle n exchange, Sept . 1945, settin g a reading; Leo n Hardwick to Wilkins, Aug. 25, 1945 ; Wilkin s to Hardwick, copy, Sept. 12, 1945; White to Mayer, Oct. 4 and 6 , 1945 , in NR-LC. 34. Mayer-Whit e correspondence , not e 33 ; Herald-Tribune (Ne w York), April 1 , 1946; Daily News (Ne w York), April 1, 1946; Post (New York), May 12 , 1946, al l in NR-LC ; AN, July 6 , 1946 . 35. Haskin s and Benson , Lena, 126 , o n Show Boat; Hom e an d Schickel , Lena, 187-92 ; Herber t S . Nusbaum, MGM, t o Cripps , Dec . 18 , 1980 , recor d reveals no plan s to produce th e film. 36. Clipping s in White papers, JWJ-Yale; PC, Sept. 8, 15 , 1945 ; AN, Sept. 22, 1945 ; Var., Sept. 15 , 1945; LAS, Aug. 30, 1945 ; Hom e an d Schickel , Lena, 188; Haskin s and Benson, Lena, 104; "Mee t the Real Lena Home," Ebony, Nov. 1947, pp. 9-14, for "drydock" story; LAS, June 27, 1947; White to "Countee,"

n.d., an d othe r correspondence , Aug . 1945 , i n NR-LC . 37. Deming, "Library of Congress Film Project," 10-11 ; Lyman Munson t o Zanuck, Feb . 6 , 1948 , LM-AHC-WY , o n "progress" ; Joh n Howar d Lawso n to Jane Merchant, April 1, 1971, copy, in box 78, Lawson papers, SIU, on giving "a much more 'modern' treatment o f Al Jolson's blackfac e routines" in The Jolson Story, mutin g its "racist" roots an d focusin g on "it s meaning " to Jolson . 38. Davi d Culbert , "Wal t Disney' s Private Snafu : Th e Us e o f Humo r i n World War II Army Film," in Jack Salzman, ed., Prospects: An Annual Journal of American Cultural Studies 1 (Dec. 1975): 80-96; Var.. Nov . 6, 1946 ; Richar d Schickel, The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art, and Commerce of Walt Disney

344

Notes

(New York, 1968) , 159 , 276-77; Bob Thomas, Walt Disney: An American Original (Ne w York, 1976) , 201; an d Leonar d Mosley , Disney's World: A Biography (New York , 1985) , 206 ; Ro y Disne y an d Joh n Ros e t o Wal t Disney , Ma y 3 , 1946, o n negotiation s wit h Lucien Harris, in WDA. 39 Herma n Hil l to Disney, Aug. 19, 1944 ; Arc h Reeve to Hays and Breen , Aug. 18 , 1944 ; Whit e t o Disney, July 20, 1944 , o n readin g Hopper ; Disne y to White, carbon , July 25, 1944 ; Whit e to Disney, Aug. 1 , 1944; Bree n t o Disney, Aug. 1 , 1944; Peterso n an d Hardwick to Disney, Aug. 22, 1944 ; Terr y Harper to Disney, memo, Aug . 14 , 1944 , i n WDA. 40. Alai n Lock e t o Disney , Aug . 8 , 1944 , i n WDA ; telephone intervie w between Mauric e Rap f an d th e author , Marc h 1990 . 41. Mauric e Rapf , untitled, bound , 6-pag e memo; Jonathan Bell Lovelace, Bank of America, to Disney, Sept. 18 , 1944, both in WDA; B. A. Botkin, Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery (Chicago , 1945), 2 , 137 . 42. PM , Dec . 24 , 1946 , vertica l file , SCRBC ; Var., Aug . 10 , 1944 , i n AMPAS; Bree n to Disney , carbon, Aug . 1 , 1944 , toutin g Harmon ; Harmo n t o Breen, carbon , Jul y 31 , 1944 , wit h rewrites ; Disne y to Breen , Dec . 11 , 1944 ; Breen t o Disney , Dec . 13 , 1944 , al l i n PCA-AMPAS ; Var., Nov . 6 , 1944 , o n "idealized" Souther n movi e "i n progress" ; an d DW , Jan. 18 , 1945 , quotin g Muse, an d Jan . 8 , 1945 , Mus e o n costuming . 43. NYT , Dec. 8, 1945 , i n NR-LC ; DW , March 2 , 12 , Feb. 24, 1947 ; Var., Nov. 6 , 1945 , focuse d on apolitical animatio n a s did Disney's ad copy ; o n nos talgia defined as "memory without pain," Fred Davis, Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia (Ne w York, 1979) , 51 , cite d i n Pau l Monaco , Ribbons in Time: Movies and Society since 1945 (Bloomington, [1987]) , p. 100 . 44. LAS , Jan. 16 , 1947 ; AN , Marc h 15 , 1947 ; Ebony, Ma y 1947 , p . 3 ; Edward D . C . Campbell, The Celluloid South: Hollywood and the Southern Myth (Knoxville, 1981) , 151-52 , on South' s readin g i t a s a "golden film of the Ol d South's glory " and "on e o f the best" ; LAT , Jan. 31 , 1947 , o n protest . 45. Jun e Blyth e to White , Sept . 5 , 1946 ; Curren t t o Whit e e t al. , memo , copy, Nov . 22, 1946 ; Richar d Condo n to White, Aug . 13, 1946 , in NR-LC . 46. Hop e Spingar n t o White , Nov . 1946 ; Nom a Jensen , undate d revie w report, NR-LC ; Bethune to Charles Levy, RKO, copy, Dec. 16 , 1946, i n Bethun e papers, NCNW , lent b y Betty e Collier-Thomas; Tanneyhill t o Guichar d Parris , memo, Nov . 21, 1946 , i n NUL-LC ; NYT , Nov. 2 8 an d Dec . 14 , 1946 , cite d i n Campbell, Celluloid South, 152 ; Eri k Barnouw, t o Cripps , Aug. 28, 1991 ; an d interview betwee n Barnou w an d th e author . 47. Pres s release, "Parent s Magazine Rappe d by NAACP," Jan. 10 , 1947 ; Catherine Edward s t o White , Jan . 14 , 1947 ; Whit e t o Arthu r Spingar n e t al. , memo, Jan . 18 , 1947 , askin g fo r rebuttal s t o Edwards . Leab , From Sambo to Super Shade, 137 , reports i t was "picketed more heavily " than any film, citing Ebony, Feb . 1947 , p . 36 ; se e also Jackson, Hattie, 115 . 48. Baskett e to Hopper , Oct . 1 , 1946 , an d Jun e 23 , 1947 ; C . W. Hil l t o Hopper, Marc h 26 , 1948 ; Charle s E. Butler [director , blac k centra l casting ] t o Hopper, Feb . 20 , 1948 , i n Baskett e file, HH-AMPAS. 49. DW , Jan. 18 , 8, 1945 ; Bogle, Toms, 136 , argues that the film "glaringly signaled the demise of the Negro as fanciful entertainer" ; Tanneyhil l to Guichard Parris, memo , Nov . 21, 1946 , i n NUL-LC . 50. LAS , Feb. 27, 1947 ; Nive n Busch, Duel in the Sun (Ne w York, 1944) ,

Notes

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97; telephone intervie w betwee n Busc h and th e author , Dec . 9, 1980 , though t changes followe d from Selznick' s bein g "craz y t o ge t recognition a s a writer." McQueen's anachronisti c work in this era remains a n anomaly; se e Jack Warner to Jerry Wald, copy, Dec. 28, 1944 , file 2086, Mildred Pierce, WBA-USC, discussing he r unbille d bi t in whic h sh e kep t he r jo b a s though protecte d despit e its requiring retakes, looping , an d recordin g lines as wild sound t o be laid in later. 51. Contras t Pearl i n thre e versions : th e film ; Busch , Duel in the Sun, 35 ; and Luig i Lurasch i to Willia m Dozier, copy, Jan. 22 , 1944 , i n DOS-TX . 52. LAS , Feb. 27 , 1947 ; Juli a E . Baxte r t o Ro y Wilkins , Ma y 12 , 1947 ; White to Selznick, copy, May 21, 1947 , in NR-LC; see also NR, May 19 , 1947, p. 33; an d Phili p T. Hartung [ex-OWI] , Commonweal, May 23 , 1947 , p . 143 . 53. Whit e t o Harr y Warner , copy , April 28 , 1943 ; Odett e Harpe r t o Mr . Skolsky, copy, May 1 , 1943; Julia E. Baxter to Harper, April 16, [?]; Madison S. Jones, NAACP , to MGM, copy, Nov. 14,1949; Mis s Kirin to Jones, memo , copy, Oct. 31, 1949 , complaining o f the maid in Tom and Jerry wh o carrie s dice and a razor; Jones, mem o for file, Nov. 4, 1948 ; E . L. McEvoy to Jones, Oct . 20, 1948 , finding NAACP "over-sensitive"; Edna Kirin to Henry Lee Moon, copy , Oct. 11, 1948; Baxte r to Moon, copy , Oct. 20, 1948 ; Los Angeles Tribune, Nov. 20, 1948 ; Jones to T. L. Griffith, Dec . 7, 1948 ; Whit e to Jones, Feb . 18, 1949; press release, Feb. 3 , 1949 , i n NR-LC . 54 OW I report b y Dorothy B . Jones, Pegg y Fenwick, an d J . E . Johnston , April 20 , 1943 , an d Jul y 31 , 1945 , i n entr y 576 , bo x 320 , R G 208, NA-MD : Music Lesson and Jasper and the Beanstalk (1943), they said , used "stereotypes " but provide d n o "problems" ; Lian e Richter , Jul y 1943 , review s Music Lesson twice; Philip T. Hartung, Feb. 16 , 1944, o n Jungle Jive; five more Jasper cartoon s reviewed, 1943 , i n OWI-LC . 55. F . S. Harmon to A. S. Howson, Warner Bros. , Sept. 10 , 1937, in A Race Riot file, WBA-USC, on proposed film of Ken Kling's Joe and Asbestos; Var., Feb. 4, 1942 , p. 8; Dec. 2, 1948, p . 8; Carl Kinsey, "Hollywood's Ne w Screen Productions," Musician 4 7 (Apri l 1942) : 58 ; DW , Feb. 22 , 1950 , clippin g i n SCRB C took issu e with them ; "Littl e Jaspe r Serie s Draws Protest from Negr o Groups, " Ebony, Jan . 1947 , pp . 30-31. 56. Davi d Meeker, Jazz in the Movies: A Guide to Jazz Musicians 1917-1977 (London, 1977) , no. 955 , though t i t "phoney"; Jame s Agee , Nation, Dec . 16, 1944, p. 753, thought it "too full " of jazz mood; Time, Dec. 25, 1944 , p . 50; Life, Jan. 22 , 1945 , pp . 6-8 ; Theatre Arts 2 8 (Dec . 1944) : p . 725 ; AN, Feb. 5 , 12 , 1949; Gordo n Hollingshea d t o Norma n Moray , telephon e memo , fil e 1469 , WBA-USC; Var., March 21 , 1945 , p . 45 ; Leab , From Sambo to Super Spade, p . 174, o n Ebony. 57. Scrip t in PAR-AMPAS, titled "Release Dialogu e Script," Ma y 1 , 1946 , no. 1613 . 58. The American Creed scripts , "Scripts, B-C " file, box 24 ; Selznic k to Mr . Scanlon, Feb . 28, 1947 ; Spyro s Skoura s t o Selznick ; correspondenc e throug h Feb. 1947 ; i n "Misc . Correspondence, " bo x B; "Final" of Feb. 16 , 1946 , note d that previe w card s collected; las t draft , Jan . 22 , 1947 , "pink-tabbed, " marke d "extra specia l rush, please, " i n DOS-TX . 59. Maltz' s notes an d drafts , i n Malt z papers, ML-BU, an d Malt z papers, SHSW; LeRoy, Take One, 129, 155; Var., Dec. 6, 1944 , p. 1 ; DW, June 3 , 1945, clipping i n SCRBC , alon g wit h The House I Live In pamphlet.

346

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60. Var., Oct. 31, 1945 , p. 1 ; Dec. 5, 1945 , p. 2; Kitty Kelley, His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra (Toronto , 1986) , 488 . 61. Clarenc e I. Chatto and Alic e L. Halligan, The Story of the Springfield Plan (New York , 1945) ; Jame s W . Wise , The Springfield Plan (Ne w York , 1945) ; Crane Wilbur to "Dear Holly," and enclosure, Sept . 16,1944, citing Helena Hunt Smith, "Your Town Could Do It Too," Woman's Home Companion clipping ; Ray Graham, "Repor t o f Progres s o f Americans All-Immigrant s All , 1943-1944 " (mimeo.); "Fact s Abou t th e Springfiel d Plan," al l i n fil e 1469 , It Happened in Springfield, i n WBA-USC . 62. Syllabus , Springfield College , inscribed b y Miller to Warner ; Mille r t o Crane Wilbur, Aug. 8, 1945; Hollingshead to Ray Obringer, copy, Aug. 23, 1944 , in fil e 1469 , WBA-USC . 63. Wilbu r to Hollingshead, Sept. 16, 1944, pleased with Warner's enthusi asm but fearing New York, which, h e thought, ha d a n aversion t o social movies, in fil e 1469 , WBA-USC ; Big Town script , undated , 8 pp. , an d Rober t Hard y Andrews t o Wilbur, carbon, Sept . 9 , 1940 , i n Andrew s papers , ML-BU . 64. Warne r t o Hollingshead, Sept . 1 , 1944; an d memo , n.d. ; Charle s Einfeld t o Hollingshead , Sept . 12 , 1944 , i n fil e 1469 , WBA-USC ; an d Big-Town script, Andrew s papers, ML-BU , i n which th e "accent " line appears . 65. Telephon e intervie w betwee n Mrs . Crane Wilbur and the author, Jul y 14, 1977 . 66. Dialogu e transcript , It Happened in Springfield; Col . Curti s Mitchell, Pictorial Branch , to Warner Bros. , copy, Nov. 30, 1944 , havin g n o objectio n to the film ; Bree n t o Warner , Oct . 10 , 1944 ; "Holly " to Ra y Obringer, Sept. 22 , 1944, fil e 1469 , WBA-USC . 67. Hollingshead-Wilbu r telephone transcript; Sweet Land of Liberty [work ing title], cutter's notes, Nov. 20, 1944 ; Hollingshead t o Warner, Dec . 16, 1944 , on OWI ; Hollingshead t o Norma n Moray , Dec . 16 , 1944 ; "Crane " to "Holly," wire, o n replacin g th e blac k teacher, i n file 1469, WBA-USC . 68. Bree n t o Jack Warner , Oct . 10 , 1944 , fil e 1469 , WBA-USC . 69. Springfiel d Council of Social Agencies, A. Abbott Kaplan, chair , Social Needs of Negroes in Springfield, Massachusetts (Springfield , ca. 1940) , 3 , cited ; Springfield Republican, Marc h 7 , 1956, obituary of John E. Granrud in which the "plan" wa s liste d firs t amon g achievements ; "Springfield—History " folder , Springfield Publi c Library; Springfield Republican, April 25 , 1945 , premiere ; It Happened in Springfield, undate d Warners ' pamphlet ; Nanc y Flagg , " A Cit y Takes th e Cure, " Vogue, Feb . 1 , 1946 , p . 16 9 ff.; [Springfield Public Schools], Democratic Procedures, Grade 9, The Contributions of Nationalities . . . ; Spring-

field Publi c Schools , Public Opinion and How It is Influenced (Springfield , n.d.), 33, on prejudice. 70. Referenc e videotap e i n LC ; se e als o dialogu e transcript , fil e 1469 , WBA-USC. 71. Norma n Mora y to "Holly," Dec. 14 , 1944; Hollingshea d to "Colonel" Warner, Dec . 16 , 1944 ; Hollingshea d t o Moray , copy , Dec . 16 , 1944 , i n fil e 1469, WBA-USC . 72. Eleano r Berneis [?] review, Feb. 10, 1945; W. S. Cunningham, Feb. 10, 1945, i n OWI-LC . 73. Showman's Trade Review, April 7, 1945; HR, April 4, 1945 , in file 1469, WBA-USC; Ebony, Nov. 1945 , p. 3 8 ff. ; Educational Film Catalogue, 159 .

Notes

347

74. Var., June 13, 1945, p. 2; July 19 , 1944, p. 18; Mildred Fleming in DW, n.d., i n fil e 1469 , WBA-USC . 75. Elizabet h Zutt to "Gentlemen," May 12 , [1945], and othe r mai l in file 1469, WBA-USC ; an d telephon e intervie w betwee n Zut t and th e author , Ma y 21, 1986 , i n whic h sh e graciously tried t o recall her fram e of mind bu t di d no t recall her letter . 76. Whit e t o Selznick , Apri l 5 , 1946 , i n "Christian s an d Jews—NAACP " file, box 89, DOS-TX; "Elaine" to "Walter," Oct. 14, 1948, WW-JWJ ; and LAS, Jan. 9 , 1947 . 77. Kraft , On My Way, 122-32; Mark Schorer, Sinclair Lewis: An American Life (Ne w York, 1961) , 743-57; Var.. Feb. 2 , 1947 , p . 1 , quoted, an d Nov . 26, 1947, p . 1 ; Wald t o Hopper , "Friday, " in HH-AMPAS. 78. "People—S" file, box 2, on a "goodwill among mankind" project; SDB,

March 11 , 1946 , p . 15 , on Brookly n story; galleys submitted by Ruth Smith for the teacher ; SDB , Feb. 16 , 1946 , p . 33 ; SDB , March 16 , 1946 , pp . 12 , 14 , o n passive Negro; SDB, Feb. 16, 1946, p. 13 , on Massingham's The Harp and Oak as "too hot" ; SDB , Feb. 16 , 1946, p . 33, on The Street as "too controversial" ; SDB, Jan. 19 , 1946, on Home of the Brave as "not commercia l a t this time"; SDB, Jan. 19, 1946, pp. 12 , 14, on DuMaurier, in "Misc. Story Dept. Correspondence," i n DOS-TX; Ann Petr y to the author , Dec . 1990 , recalle d no offe r fro m any studio for The Street. 79. Intervie w betwee n Nive n Busch and the author, Dec . 9, 1980 ; Samue l Goldwyn, "Ho w I Became Intereste d i n Socia l Justice," Opportunity 2 4 (Summer 1948) : 100-101 . 80. AA , Aug. 9 , Sept . 27 , Oct . 4 , 18 , 25 , Nov . 8 , 15 , 1947 , o n censors ; telephone interview s betwee n Joe l Fluellen , June 1970 , an d Walte r Colmes , Aug. 1977, and the author; Dr . J. M. Tinsley to White, Oct. 3, 1947; R. E. Hughes to White, Nov. 19, 1947; Madison S. Jones, Jr., to Hughes, copy, Dec. 9, 1947, in NR-LC; Ebony, Sept. 1947 , pp . 36-47 . 81. "Hollywoo d Call s Negro Maid 'Mrs.' fo r First Time," Ebony, Nov. 1947 , pp. 23-24 ; "Rogue' s Regiment, " Ebony, Sept . 1948 , pp . 31-33 ; " A Son g i s Bom," Ebony, May 1948 , pp . 41-43; NYT Directory of Film, 382; "Blac k Gold, " Ebony, Oct . 1947 , pp . 39-41 ; "Moonrise, " Ebony, Jul y 1948 , p . 51 ; "MG M Studio Ha s Three Othe r Film s with Goo d Negro Parts," Ebony, May 1949 , pp . 24—26; "Movie Maids," Ebony, Aug. 1948, pp . 56-59; other tradepaper ephem era in Richard Fleischer papers, USC; Var., May 17, 1950, p. 7. Ebony's regular column "Fil m Parade " broadene d th e analysis of Hollywood beyon d mer e per sonal achievement . Georg e Norford , "O n Stage, " Opportunity 2 5 (Summe r 1947): 74-75 , 167 . 82. Telephon e interview s betwee n Car l Foreman , Aug . 1977 , Carlto n Moss, July 1977 , and Abraham Polonsky, July 1977 , and the author; Var., May 17, 1950 , p. 7 , on Dor e Schary's promis e t o d o socia l drama; Irvin g Rapper to Cripps, Feb. 5 , 1977 ; Ashton , "Black s i n Film, " 56 , quoting Wise . 83. "Ne w Orleans, " Ebony, Feb . 1947 , pp . 26-30 ; LAS , Sept. 12 , 1946 ; AN, Jan . 23 , 1947 . 84. Alic e Payn e Hacket t and Jame s Henr y Burke , 80 Years of Best Sellers, 7«95-;975 (New York, 1977) , 142-45; Schary, Heyday, 168 , 170, recalls only an amiable struggl e with Hughes ; Foster Hirsch, Joseph Losey (Boston , 1980) , 31 39; telephon e intervie w with Levitt , Jan 1992 .

348

Notes

85. "Ne w Orleans, " Ebony, Feb. 1947 , pp . 26-30. 86. Telephon e interview betwee n Fran k Yerby and the author, 1976 , non committal bu t reportin g hi s preferre d distanc e fro m th e film ; telephon e inter view betwee n Wand a Tuchoc k an d th e author , Jul y 14 , 1977 ; Re x Harrison , Rex: An Autobiography (Ne w York, 1975) , 95, 99, 101 , o n Zanuck; Phyllis Klotman, " A Harrowin g Experience : Fran k Yerby' s Firs t Nove l int o Film, " CLA Journal 3 1 (Dec . 1987): 210-22 ; Zanuc k story conference , Jul y 18 , 1946 , o n Jerome Cad y etal. synopsis of July 19 , 1946, in file 2315, lent by Professor John Wiseman, Frostburg , Md.; The Foxes of Harrow, "final " script , March 14 , 1947 , marginalia, pp. 59 , 88, 137 , warned o f problems, i n ITC-DC; Breen to Jason S . Joy, carbon , Apri l 22, and Marc h 25, 1947 , in PCA-AMPAS , frette d ove r how sexuality woul d b e construe d b y Africa n Americans ; The Foxes of Harrow data sheet, GPJ-UCLA , fo r names o f black actors ; LAS, Aug. 8, Apri l 3, 1947 . 87. Bree n t o Harol d Melniker , RKO , Aug. 27 , 1947 ; "Propose d Cut s i n Budget," n.d.; Adria n Scott to Schary, memo, copy , Sept. 12, 1947; Pau l Hollister t o "Ade " [Scott] , Sept . 3 , 1947 , i n Scot t papers , AHC-WY ; "final " script , ITC-DC; telephon e intervie w betwee n Regi s Toome y an d th e author , Jun e 1970; telephon e intervie w betwee n Alfre d Lewi s Levitt and th e author , Jan . 1992. 88. Campbell , Celluloid South, 162-63 , surveyed th e nationa l press ; Time, Oct. 13 , 1947 , p . 105 ; Var., June 13 , 1948 , p . 10 , on Tap Roots; Var., Nov. 17, 1948, p . 13 , Sept. 8, 1948 , p . 3 ; Philip T. Hartung, "Mind You r Psyche," Commonweal, Jan . 21 , 1949 , pp . 377-78. 89. Bernar d Eisenschitz, "Abraham pa r lui meme," Positif84 (Ma y 1967): 7-17, o n personnel; Guiles , Hanging On in Paradise, 242-43, 245, on star s and budget; Sayre , Running Time, 32-33 . 90. Willia m Pechter , "Abraha m Polonsk y an d Force of Evil," Film Quarterly 1 5 (Spring 1962) : 52 , on sources ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Polonsk y and th e author , Jul y 1977 , o n Odets' s "sense"; Larry Swindell, Body and Soul: The Story of John Garfield (Ne w York, 1975) , 228-29; John Garfield , "Ou r Par t in 'Bod y and Soul,' " Opportunity, Winte r 1948 , p . 20 . 91. Canad a Lee, "Our Par t in 'Body and Soul,'" Opportunity, Winte r 1948 , p. 21; Polonsky interview, cite d in note 90; see also Michel Delahaye, "Entretien avec Abraham Polonsky," Cahiers du Cinema2l5 (Sept . 1969): 31-38; "Canad a Lee Back in the Ring," Ebony, Aug. 1947, pp. 16-17 ; Eric Sherman an d Marti n Rubin, eds., The Director's Event: Interviews with Five American Filmmakers (New

York, 1970) , p. 10 , on "interesting " time; Richar d Koszarski, Hollywood Directors, 1941-1976 (New York, 1977), 47-53, on Rossen's conservative famil y and radical politic s and his gues s tha t "afte r the war " audience s require d a mor e thoughtful "reality. " 92. The film noir texture derive d fro m well-cas t characte r actors : Josep h Pevney, Willia m Conrad , Haze l Brooks , Ar t Smith , Ann e Revere , an d Lloy d Gough, som e o f the m leftie s wit h a fee l fo r th e material . O n actio n i n ring , Charles Higham , ed. , Hollywood Cameramen: Sources of Light (Bloomington , 1970), 82 , 89 . 93. LAS, March 1947, GPJ-UCLA; NYT cited, Leab, Sambo to Super Spade,

138-39; Bogle , Toms, 139-40 . 94. Quin n Martin t o Harold Melniker, March 25, 1947 , and pres s kit, Oct. 15, 1948 , i n fil e 652 , RKO-UCLA ; o n origina l blac k angle , Bo b Elli s i n CE ,

Notes

349

June 9 , 1949 ; se e also Eileen Bowser , Film Notes [MOMA ] (Ne w York, 1969) , 116-17. 95. Wis e seminar transcript , no. 569 , April 7, 1979 , p . 2, AFI/CAFS; NYT, March 30 , 1949 , o n Ryan' s career . 96. Pechter , "Polonsky, " 52 , quoted .

Chapter 8 "A Pot of Message" 1. SDB , Feb. 16 , 1946 , p . 13 , in DOS-TX ; Kanin , Hollywood, 247-49 . 2. Var., Jun e 25, 1947 , p . 8 . 3. Var., June 18 , 1947 , p . 3 ; on HUAC' s impact o n Crossfire, se e "Adria n Scott" file , bo x 127 , Schar y papers , SHSW ; on Germa n pressur e agains t The Great Dictator, se e Breen an d Georg e Gyssling correspondence i n title file, PCAAMPAS; K . R . M. Short , "Hollywoo d Fight s Anti-Semitism , 1945-1947, " i n Short, ed. , Feature Films as History (London , 1981) , 162-63 , 167 , Crowthe r quoted, 158 . Th e standard histories are Lester D. Friedman, Hollywood's Image of the Jew (New York, 1982) , particularly chap. 3 ; and Patrici a D. Erens, The Jew in American Cinema (Bloomington , 1984) , chap . 5 . 4. Short , "Hollywoo d Fight s Anti-Semitism, " 157-89 ; fo r a boomeran g effect i n Germany see Thomas Cripps , "Der Ewige Jude," in Christopher Lyons, ed., Encyclopedia of Film (Chicago , 1985) , 149 ; se e to o Sword in the Desert (1948), a first Hollywood recognition o f the state of Israel; and for criticism of the moguls' timidity towar d Jewishness , Capt . Gree r Williams, USAAF , t o Albert Maltz, Sept . 7 , 1945 , bo x 5 , Maltz papers, SHSW , objecting to "th e nam e Dia mond a s being insufficientl y Jewis h to hammer home th e point." 5. Correspondenc e betwee n Mellet t an d AJC , Feb. 5 , 13 , 1943 , i n entr y 264, bo x 1440 , R G 208, NA-MD. 6. Silberber g quoted i n Erens, Jew in American Cinema, 187-88, 170, citing Mayer: "I f you bring ou t a Jew i n a film—you're in trouble." The council wa s eventually calle d th e Motio n Pictur e Project. 7. Lyma n Munso n t o Zanuck , copy , Feb . 6 , 1948 ; Julia n Johnso n t o Zanuck, copy, May 3,1948, and Munson t o Johnson, copy, Dec. 2,1946, i n LMAHC-WY, quote d o n "audiences" ; Daily Var., clipping , i n fil e 2701 , TCFA UCLA, quoted; Derma y Tilleau, "Jewish Stereotypes in American Movies," Film Sense, Jan.-Dec . 1952 , pp . 5-6 , referre d t o Hollywoo d a s "a n Anglo-Saxo n screen"; LAS, Nov. 14 , 1946, o n maudlin Abie's Irish Rose as "a hat e film" ; o n Jewish intergrou p harmon y strategie s see Lance J. Sussman , " Toward Bette r Understanding'; Th e Rise of the Interfaith Movement i n America and the Role of Rabbi Isaac Landman," American Jewish Archive 34 (April 1982): 35-51; and o n fraternal debate , transcrip t o f a dialogue between Osca r Cohen, ADL , and Dor e Schary, len t b y K. R. M. Short . 8. Schary , Heyday, 156-57 , 160 ; Erens , Jew in American Cinema, 175; Ro n Haver, "Th e RK O Years," American Film, Dec.-Jan. 1978 , p . 2 8 ff.; Eric Goldman, "Th e Figh t to Bring the Subjec t of Anti-Semitism to the Screen, " Davka 5 (Fall 1975) : 24, cite d in Erens , chap. 5 ; Dymytrk, It's a Hell of a Life, 92 , o n 1 4 percent declin e in anti-Semitis m i n a sampl e o f moviegoers. 9. Crossfire too k on a certain weight as a result of its place in a popular film noir cycl e that included Boomerang, The Naked City, an d Call Northside 777, as

350

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well as its bold use of nonpejorative typecasting: Sam Levene as the Jew, Robert Ryan as flinty heavy, and so on. Elliott E. Cohen, "Letter to the Movie-Makers," Commentary 4 (Aug . 1947) : 110-18 ; Dor e Schary , "Lette r fro m a Movie Maker," Commentary 4 (Oct. 1947): 344-49; NYT, July 23, 1947 ; se e also Time, Aug. 4 , 1947 , p . 76 , findin g hatre d s o "extravagant" a s to allo w casua l antiSemites to "identify out" o f self-implication; James Agee, Nation, Aug. 2, 1947 , rpt. in Agee on Film, vol. 1, pp. 269-70; Life, Jun e 30, 1947 , p. 71 ff.; Var., Nov. 12, 1948 , p. 8, said it was "a credit to the screen" ; Var., Aug. 27, 1947 , p. 31, reported th e arm y though t i t acceptable fo r domestic posts onl y and th e nav y rejected i t as "not suitable. " 10. Var., July 7 , 1948 , p . 1 , reckoned tha t togethe r Crossfire an d Gentleman's Agreement earned $5,000,000 over their nut; Steinberg , Reel Facts, 45-46, on Oscars , and 145 , 313 , 429 o n "bests"; Negro Digest stories excerpted in AN, Jan. 24, 1948, and LAS, June 24, 1948; see LAS, July 22, Jan. 1, 1948, on black

ambivalence, praisin g "straight " role s unmarre d b y an y "effor t mad e towar d pleasing an y specia l sectio n o f th e country, " whil e sensin g tha t HUA C ha d "scared them. " 11. Hartun g in Commonweal, Aug . 1 , 1947, p . 386 . 12. Senior Scholastic, Sept . 27, 1947 , p. 31 ; see also Var., May 12 , 1948, p . 5; Time, Apri l 12 , 1948 , p . 100 , reportin g that Pau l Lazarsfel d minimize d th e impact on opinion o f any film by contrasting liberal message with conservative fan magazines ; se e also Howar d Dietz , "Mus t Movie s Be Significant?" NYTM, Jan. 27 , 1948 , pp . 18 , 44; Thoma s F . Brady, "Hollywood Tackle s the Fact s of Life," NYT, March 16, 1947; and on the "play" in the film, Moss Hart reported a grip who sai d the film taught him "t o b e good t o Jewis h peopl e becaus e you never can tell when they will turn out to be gentiles," reporte d in John Mason Brown, "Seeing Things," SRL, Dec. 6, 1947, p. 71, cited in Erens, Jew in Ameri-

can Cinema, 179—80 . I have twic e heard anothe r versio n i n whic h cautio n i s dictated by the possibility that you may be talking to a Jew. Al l may be apocryphal: Brown's grip improbably says "henceforth"! Canadian Forum, May 1948 , pp. 39-40, thought the "charade" structure an inadvertent confirmatio n of suspicions of Jewish guile; and John McCarten, New Yorker, Nov . 5, 1947, pp. 97 98, concurring with Time and others in presuming no anti-Semite would recognize himself i n the movie, which thu s was a mere "sla p on th e wrist," 13. Elliot t E. Cohen, "Mr. Zanuck' s Gentleman's Agreement," Commentary 5 (Jan. 1948) : 51-56; Irwin C. Rosen, "The Effec t o f the Motion Picture Gentleman 's Agreement on Attitudes toward Jews," Journal of Psychology 3 (Oct. 1948): 525-36; Russell Middleton, "Ethnic Prejudice and Susceptibility to Persuasion," American Sociological Review 1 5 (Oct . 1960) : pp . 679-86 . AN , Jan. 24 , 1948 , cited Schar y a s feelin g movie s worked b y replacin g misinformation , muc h a s Allport argued i n The Nature of Prejudice. NYT , Feb. 29 , 1948 ; Var., Nov . 12 , 1947, p. 8; PM, Nov. 12, 1947; HR, Nov. 10, 1947; NYT, in NYT Directory, 94; o n Crowther on "the Bilbo s and the Rankins," Erens, Jew in American Cinema, 194 . 14. Steinberg , Reel Facts, 45-46 , 144 , 313 ; Time, Apri l 12 , 1948 , p . 100 ; CE, Jan . 22 , 1948 , o n Peck ; Feb. 5, 26, 1948 ; Time, Dec . 20. 1948 , pp . 44-52; and Nov . 17, 1947 , p. 105 ; Var., Jan. 28 , 1948 , p . 7 ; March 24, 1948 , p . 24 ; April 7 , 1948 , p. 6 ; Anne Strick , "Peck o n Prejudice, " Negro Digest, Jul y 1948 , pp. 17-20 . 15. LAS, Nov. 14, 1946, on Var.; White to Poppy Cannon, Aug. 26, 1947;

Notes

351

White t o Olive r Harrington e t al. , memo, Nov . 5, 1946 , in WW-JW J o n ne w alliances; CE, June 3 , 1948, Crossfire uni t doing a film on black housing; George Norford, "The Future in Films," Opportunity, Summer 1948, pp. 108-9. See also Russell Campbell , "The Ideology of a Socia l Consciousnes s Movie," Quarterly Review of Film Studies, Winte r 1978 , pp. 49-71 , fo r comment o n incremental ism, which to Marcusians may seem only "repressive tolerance, " and for incrementalism a s compared i n ar t an d baseball , specifically E . H. Gombrich's idea that a painting "collect s it s meaning fro m wha t ha s gone before and what ma y come next, " s o "the batter swing s freely, th e wa y th e painte r paints , bu t th e swing itself is bound by the ghosts of every other swing," as Adam Gopnik wrote in "Quattrocentr o Baseball, " New Yorker, Ma y 19 , 1986, pp. 89-92 . 16. "Dor e Schary—Sale s Meeting," Feb . 8, 1949 , in bo x 107 , DS-SHSW. 17. I . H. Prinzmetal t o Schary , July 21 , 1949 , box 108 , DS-SHSW. 18. Th e message movies, sav e for Lost Boundaries, played variations upon the familia r lon e her o o f th e western ; se e Wil l Wright , Six Guns and Society (Berkeley, 1975) ; John T. Lenihan, Showdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film (Urbana , 1980) ; an d Rober t B. Ray, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980 (Princeton, 1985), chap. 2; Var., May 29, 1946, p. 1 ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Krame r an d th e author , Jul y 13 , 1977; Kramer to Cripps , Sept. 15, 1976; CD, April 30, 1949 , specifically claimin g th e soldier became blac k as a result of Crossfire's release . 19. Telephon e interview between Forema n and the author , July 15 , 1977, and conversation s with Carlto n Moss from 196 9 onward. 20. Telephon e interview betwee n Mar k Robso n and th e author , Jul y 28 , 1977, an d wit h Mos s an d Foreman , cite d i n not e 19 ; Vaughan, Only Victims, appendix 1 , on Glass, Corey, and Bridges ; telephone intervie w between Kramer and th e author , Marc h 30 , 1972 , Kramer recalle d Stillman's investmen t a s $350,000, bu t Var., March 2 , 1949 , p. 3 , placed it a t $600,000 , an d contract , UA-SHSW, had i t as $385,00 0 alon g with $600,00 0 fo r two othe r films. 21. Var., March 2, 1949, p. 3; AN, April 9, 23, May 7, 1949; CD, April 2, 1949; AA, April 30, 1949; CD, May 14 , 1949; Var., June 11 , 1947, p. 9; Agee on Film, vol . 1, pp . 269-70 ; Var., Nov. 10, 1948 , p. 24 ; NYT , May 23 , 1949; Foreman interview , Jul y 13 , 1977 ; and telephon e intervie w betwee n Arthu r Laurents and th e author , July 13 , 1977. 22. LAS , March 10 , 1948, on Edwards ; telephone intervie w between Jef f Corey and th e author , Aug. 9 , 1977 , alon g with thos e previousl y cited. 23. Robson, Corey, Moss, Kramer, Foreman interviews; CD, May 14, 1949, on Westwood; Var., March 2, 1949; AN, April 9, 23, May 7, 1949; CD, April 2, 1949; AA, April 30, 1949; CD, May 14, 1949; HR cited in Donald Spoto, Stanley Kramer: Filmmaker (Ne w York, 1978) , 53 . 24. "Home of the Brave," Ebony, June 1949, pp. 59-62; Chaudhuri, "Negro in Motion Pictures," 41, 47-50, 143 , quoting Moss; CE, June 30, 1949; Post (New York), May 13 , 1949, thought i t Pollyanna-ish; AA , July 16 , Aug. 6, 27 , 1949, quote d Memphis Commercial-Appeal o n racis m a s national i n scope ; HR, April 29, 1949; Good Housekeeping, July 1949, p. 201; Mayersberg, Hollywood, 196-97; Dallas World cite d in CD , July 30 , 1949. 25. Jerome , Negro in Hollywood, 42 ; DW , Jul y 25, 1949 ; Warren Miller, "Films: Home of the Brave," Masses & Mainstream, July 1949, pp. 79-82; New Leader clipping , i n Rober t Delson and Alber t Hemsing to Ro y Wilkins, Apri l 8 ,

352

Notes

1949, in NR-LC; Manny Farber , Movies (Ne w York, 1971) , 69, reprint of Nation piece, regardin g i t as "well played and punchy " bu t lackin g "bite " because of Edwards's "passive" reading while tormented by his enemy; pres s kit synopsis in NR-LC; Life, Ma y 23 , 1949 , p . 143 ; AA , April 23, 1949 , o n Glass. 26. CD , July 30 , 1949 ; AA , Aug. 6 , 27 , Nov . 5, Oct . 15 , April 23, 1949 , April 2, 1949; LAS, July 28, 1949; CE, April 21, Sept. 29, 1949; LAS, April 14,

May 5 , Aug . 13 , June 2 , 16 , 1949 ; Herald-Tribune (Ne w York) , o n White' s approval, clipping in NR-LC; "Movie debut," Ebony, April 1949, p. 25; AA, Aug.

27, 1949 , on Memphis press; Var., May 4, 1949 ; HR, April 29, 1949 ; Daily Var., April 29 , 1949 ; MPD , April 29, 1949 , i n PCA-AMPAS. 27. Bree n t o Glass , carbon, Feb . 16 , 1949 , o n "insults" ; Glas s t o Milto n Hodenfield, MPAA , carbon , Feb . 18 , 1949 , agreein g t o changes ; Gordo n S . White, MPAA, N.Y., to Roger Lewis, carbon, May 17 , 1949, on "guts," to which Glass agreed; CD, Oct. 15, 1949, on Atlanta; NJ & G, Aug. 6, 1949, on Memphis ; NYT, Jul y 30 , 1949 ; Aug . 27, 1949 , o n Johnston vs. censors; thre e meeting s of MSCB with NAACP and NUL , i n box 18,MSCB ; Var., May 11 , 1949, clipping in MSCB, on UA's brochure; Ashton , "Black s in Film," 67 , for Daily News sample. 28. CD , July 30 , 1949 ; AA , Nov. 5 , Oct . 15 , Aug. 6 , Apri l 2, 1949 ; Mr . Offutt t o Roy Wilkins, memo, Apri l 20, 1949 ; Nei l Scott to White, wire, May 5, 1949, in NR-LC, on NAACP ; "Hom e o f the Brave," Ebony, June 1949 , pp. 59 62; Robson interview, July 1977 , thought the film "had contribute d s o much t o the advancemen t o f colore d people" ; Deming, Running Away from Myself, 9 , was s o taken wit h i t that sh e grafte d i t onto he r memor y o f Guadalcanal Diary (1943); William L. Burke, "The Presentatio n of the Negr o in Hollywood Films, 1946-1961" (Ph.D. , Northwestern , 1965) , 191-96 , sa w Mossy' s narcot herapeutic "cure" as a ritual conversion fro m paganism t o Christianity, part of a thesis i n whic h black s ar e icon s i n a symboli c struggl e between savager y an d civilization. 29. Telephon e interview between Loui s DeRochemont and the author, July 11, 1977 ; intervie w betwee n Borde n Mac e an d th e author , Researc h Triangle Park, N.C., Dec. 1, 1980; and Lothar Wolf and the author, Florence, Italy, Dec. 5,

1979; W. L. White, Lost Boundaries (Ne w York, 1947, 1948) ; CD, June 5 , 1948 ; Walter White t o "Dear Louis, " Feb . 25, 1949 , closin g "you ar e at liberty to use this letter"; an d Ma y 23 , 1949 , i n NR-LC . 30. W . L. White's name on a book jacket enjoyed popular credibility, having le d t o tw o movies , Journey for Margaret an d They Were Expendable; De Rochemont an d Mace interviews, in the latter of which he seemed a "crusader." 31. Pau l [Palmer], Reader's Digest, to "Louis," May 18 , 1948; Fran k Taylor to Kenneth MacKenna , wit h Ellison' s "Los t Boundarie s 8-23-48, " 8 pp.; Jac k Haeseler t o DeRochemont , Feb . 23 , 1949 ; EH S to [PP] , Aug. 27, 1948 ; "Los t Boundaries—Criticism"; "Johnny " [Barnwell] to DeRochemont, Jan. 15 , 1949 ; "Borden" Mace t o DeRochemont , Jan . 25 , 1949 , al l in LD-AHC-WY . 32. Motio n Pictur e Researc h Burea u [Handel] , "Lost Boundaries Pre Production Test"; Dallas , the only Southern market, registered a 55 percent wish to se e it ; DeRochemon t interview , 1977 , indicate d a nu t o f $500,00 0 draw n from persona l funds , Firs t Divisio n Pictures , and Warners , but tabl e in papers with postproductio n costs reached almos t $ 1 million. Black pay : Lee got $75 0 per day, Whipper $55, in LD-AHC-WY; Var., Feb. 18, 1948, p. 6; "Lost Bound-

Notes

353

aries," Ebony, Ma y 1948 , pp . 45-49 , an d Jun e 1949 , pp . 51-53 ; Whit e t o DeRochemont, Ma y 23 , 1994 , i n NR-LC . 33. Gen e Ling to "Louis," Dec . 6, 1948 ; DeRochemon t t o Ling, wire, Dec. 15,1948; Lin g to "Louis," Dec. 22, 1948 ; Lotha r Wolf to DeRochemont, Jan. 25, 1949, was shocked b y Barnwell (not e 31 ) and disagreed , as did Mace, Jan. 25 , 1948; Kennet h Payso n Kempto n t o DeRochemont , Feb . 27 , 194 8 [sic]; anon , undated note ; an d "Thought s o n Scrip t date d Feb . 21 , 194 9 fro m Alfre d Werker"; Mac e to Ling, wire, Ma y 18 , 1949 , o n scoring ; negativ e cos t inferre d from estimate d gross, Aug. 25, 1949 ; tw o projecte d budgets, June 1 , 1949; an d Mace to DeRochemont, Ma y 31, 1949 , i n LD-AHC-WY. MGM's proposed budget before breach wa s $1,140,00 0 o f which $300,00 0 wa s overhead . 34. Mac e t o Ling , wire , Ma y 18 , 1949 , LD-AHC-WY ; White t o DeRochemont, copy, May 23, 1949 , i n NR-LC; Lothar Wolf interview described locatio n shooting i n Harlem . 35. Fran k Jotterand , "Th e Whit e Negro, " trans , o f hostil e revie w a t Cannes; "Note s fo r Loui s afte r Sat., " in LD-AHC-WY . 36. CD , Jan. 14 , 1950, on awards; AA , Sept. 24, 1949 , on Lee; Life, Jul y 4, 1949, pp . 64-66 ; Chaudhuri , "Negr o i n Film, " 114 , 50 , citing Newsweek; DeRochemont t o Ling, copy, Jan. 18 , 1950, on recognition; an d April 28, 195 0 in LD-AHC-WY; Crowther , NYT Directory of Film, 103 ; Mann y Farber , Nation, July 30 , 1949 , pp. 114—15 , on blacks as stoics; Jerome, Negro in Hollywood Film, 29-33; DW , July 1 , 31, 1949 , i n SCRBC ; NR , July 4 , 1949 , p . 22 . 37. AN , May 7 , 1949 ; AN P in AA, July 23, 1949 ; AA , Aug. 6, 13 , Oct. 29, 1949; AN, July 9, 1949 ; N J & G, Aug. 8, 1949 ; CE , Aug. 11,18, May 7, 1949, o n Ellis; CD , Aug. 27, 1949 ; AA , Sept. 24, 1949 , a sampling of a large outpouring. 38. Fred i Washington t o Darr Smith, carbon, Aug. 2, 1949 ; an d Washing ton to Carlton Moss, in Washington papers , Amistad Center, New Orleans, La.; and AN , Aug. 6, 1949 , o n a "Committe e fo r the Negr o in th e Arts " tha t com plained Werke r ha d slighte d blacks. 39. Mac e to Breen, wire , Jun e 18 , 1949; Bree n to Mace, carbon, Jun e 22, 1949, in Lost Boundaries file, PCA-AMPAS; Var., March 8, 1950, p. 4; NYT, Feb. 5, 1950 ; Nov . 18 , 1949 , o n Memphis; Aug . 21, 1949 , o n Smith ; AA , June 10 , 1950, on ACLU; AN, Nov. 28, 1949 , on Supreme Court; Lester Velie, "You Can't [sic] Se e Tha t Movie : Censorshi p i n Action, " Collier's, Ma y 6 , 1950 , p . 1 0 ff.; Patrick Murphy Mali n t o DeRochemont, May 15 , 1951 , o n ACL U vs. Censors; Mace to Malin, May 21, 1951, on Atlanta; DeRochemont to Eric Johnston, cop y to Elli s Amall , exec , director , Independen t Producer s Association , Aug . 29 , 1949; Matt y Brescia to DeRochemont, wire , Oct . 30, 1949 , e t seq., on Binford; Chauncey W. Lever to DeRochemont, Aug. 20, 1949 , o n censorship a s factor i n Georgia politics , al l in LD-AHC-WY . 40. AN , Nov. 28, 1949 , o n Suprem e Court ; AA, Sept. 3, 1949 , o n "polic e functions;" NJ&G , Sept . 3 , 1949 , "despotism" ; AA , April 29, 1950 , "goo d or der"; AA , April 1, 1950, on Smith and "equality" ; and alpha, file, PCA-AMPAS and MSCB. 41. Som e fan letter s from Indiana , al l dated Nov . 2, 1949 , reeked o f campaigning; Bresci a to DeRochemont , Oct.—Nov. 1949 , on libera l Souther n opinion; E. C. Smith, Carolin a Theatre, to Mace, Dec. 3, 1949 , in LD-AHC-WY ; an d Mace interview.

354

Notes

42. Curti , Skouras, 77—78, plausible and appropriat e bu t unsubstantiated . 43. Popp y Cannon t o White, copy, Nov. 10, 1947; Whit e to Cannon, Aug. 26, 1947 ; Whit e to Oliver Harrington et al., mimeo., Nov . 5, 1946, in WW-JWJ; and Phili p Dunne t o Zanuck , April 19 , 1948 , i n PD-USC ; twent y draft s i n file 2391, TCFA-USC; beginning wit h Hubler's , March 21, 1948 , retitle of Quality t o Crossover. 44. Untitle d draft, anon. , May 25, 1948, pp. 34, 49, 56-57, 66-71, 108-9 , 118-21, 155-56 , in file 2391, TCFA-USC . 45. ' 'Pinky,'' stor y conference, May 25,1948 (dat e in holograph), Zanuck, Nichols, Mandeville attending; an d "Untitle d Scrip t to be Produced by D.F.Z.," file 2391, TCFA-USC . 46. ' 'Pinky,'' conferenc e on second draf t o f June 11,1949, sam e conferees as in note 45 , June 18 , 1948 , pp . 4 , 14 , 15 , 22, afte r whic h summe r frequenc y lessened; conferenc e on screenplay of July 7, 1948, met Sept. 30, 1948 , pp. 1-8 , in file 2391, TCFA-UCLA. In this draft, Jake gets some of Arch's lines, to be read "parrot-like." 47. Whit e t o Zanuck , copy , Jul y 7 , 1948 , i n NR-LC ; Dunn e t o Zanuck , copy,Oct.25, 1948 , in PD-USC; and Dunne, "Pinky, " revised, Jan. 12,1949,i n file 2391, USC. 48. Whit e to Zanuck, July 7, 1948; Wilkin s to White, 1948 , on unconscious white prejudice toward activism in tandem with Dicey's approval of white superiority as in her raisin g Pinky a s a white child , i n file 2391, TCFA-UCLA. 49. Zanuc k to White, copie s to Jane White , Wilkins, Poppy Cannon , an d Arthur Spingarn , 1 0 pp., Sept . 21 , 1948 , i n NR-LC . 50. Zanuc k t o White , Sept . 21 , 1948 , i n NR-LC ; an d Zanuc k t o "Dea r Dudley," copy, Nov . 1 , 1948 , i n PD-USC . 51. Nichol s draft, Oct. 6, 1948, folder 2, Nichols papers, USC; compare with Dunne an d Nichol s "revised final script," Marc h 5 , 1949 , i n PD-USC . 52. Telephon e memo , [Stephen ] Jackso n an d Franci s Harmon, March 31 , 1948, 4 pp., in Pinky file, PCA-AMPAS . 53. Walte r Whit e t o Popp y Cannon , Jan . 2 , 19 , [1949] , i n WW-JWJ , i n which h e als o wrote, "Th e scrip t of 'Quality' ha s been completel y rewritten t o meet ou r objections. " 54. Jan e White, "Suggeste d Change s and Addition s to January 12 , 1949 , Screenplay o f 'Pinky,'" i n fil e 2391 , TCFA-UCL A an d PD-USC ; Zanuc k t o Dunne, Jan. 17 , 1949; Dunn e to Zanuck, Jan. 18 , 1949; Zanuc k to Jane White, Feb. 1 , 1949; Dunn e t o Zanuck , Feb. 2 , 1949 , o n "ou r littl e pals the Commu nists" opposing th e film ; "Recapitulation s o f Major Point s Mad e 1/26/4 9 [sic] to Mr . Zanuck" ; Dunn e t o Zanuck , Feb . 3 , 1949 , o n "talk y an d confusing " Lost Boundaries, i n PD-USC ; Var., Jan . 26 , 1949 , p . 26 ; an d Feb . 16 , 1949 , p. 9 . 55. Bree n to Jason S . Joy, carbon , Feb . 28, 1949 ; Jo y to Breen , March 2 , 1949, in Pinky file, PCA-AMPAS; Dunne to Zanuck, Feb. 11 , 1949, on Dunne' s reservations toward Ford, in PD-USC; telephone interview s between Dunne and the author , Aug . 17 , 1977 , an d Kazan , Oct. 29, 1976 ; Gussow , Zanuck, 179 , Zanuck on Ford as case of "great" in one genre, "helples s in another"; Waters, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, 270-72 . 56. Kazan' s recall varies. See Kazan, A Life (Ne w York, 1988) , 374-76, for a biting appraisal of film and cast ; in Kantor, Blacker, Kramer, Directors at Work,

Notes

355

147, he refers to Frontier; i n Koszarski, Hollywood Directors, 258-68, he cites no eastern film life; i n Ciment, Kazan on Kazan, 59-60, he is harsher; but see Robin Wood, "Eli a Kaza n Interview," Movie 19 : 1—31 ; i n intervie w betwee n Kaza n and th e author , Middletown , Conn. , summe r 1985 , he too k a middle cours e while workin g o n hi s autobiography ; Thoma s H. Pauly, An American Odyssey: Elia Kazan and American Culture (Philadelphia , 1983) , 107-12 , findin g Holly wood slick; see also AA, April 23,1949; LAS, Oct. 20,1949; Bogdanovich, Ford,

84-85; telephon e intervie w betwee n Jeann e Grai n and the author , Jul y 1985, she thought Pinky a challenging opportunit y an d seeme d t o feel untappe d a s a source o f the film' s history . 57. PC A hoped t o softe n it s bold angl e b y giving her a white relative ; se e Francis Harmon, memo, n.d., Pinky file, PCA-AMPAS; in ad copy, "She passed

for white appeared in smaller type than the more conventional poignan t story of a gir l who fel l hopelessly , desperatel y i n love" : se e LAS , Dec. 8, 1949 . NYT Directory of the Film, 104; Sun (South Africa), quoted, LAS, Nov. 30, 1950; CD,

Nov. 26 , 19 , 5, 1949 , Nov. 5 on "growin g up" ; Oct. 8, 1949 ; CB, Oct. 20, 27 , 1949; NJ&G , Oct. 11, 1949 ; AA, Oct. 8, Sept . 24, 1949 , for David Bethea an d James Hick s praise; AN , Sept. 17 , 1949 ; AA, April 23, Jun e 11 , 1949 , for Levette; Ebony, Sept. 1949 , pp. 23-25. 58. Daily Graphic, Nov. 25, 1949; NYT, Sept. 30, 1949, Crowther; Mirror

(New York), Sept. 30, 1949; Post (New York), Sept. 30, 1949 , Archer Winsten' s "socially significant " phrase ; World-Telegram (Ne w York), Sept . 30 , 1949 , for Leo Mishkin's disma y over casting Grain ; Time, Oct. 30, 1949 ; Newsweek, Oct. 30, 1949; and Dunne's signe d piece on race and movies, clippings in Pinky file, PCA-AMPAS. 59. Jerome , Negro in Film, 23, 29, quoting Bob Ellis, CE; NR. Oct. 3, 1949, p. 23; Daily Var., Sept. 30, 1949; Seymour Peck, Daily Compass, Sept . 30, 1949; Var.. Sept . 30, 1949; FD, May 6, 1949, in PD-USC; see also Theodore, "Negro in Hollywood," 87-88; in a rare critical recognition o f Pinky's meanin g se e Russell Campbell, "Th e Ideology o f th e Socia l Consciousnes s Movie : Thre e Film s of Darryl F. Zanuck," QRFS 3 (Winter 1978) : 49-71, particularly : "The American capitalist system is flexible enough t o absorb the rightful ange r of its temporarily disadvantaged minoritie s withou t crackin g apar t a t th e seams" ; Christophe r John Jones, "Imag e an d Ideology in Kazan's Pinky, " Literature/Film Quarterly 9 (Summer 1981) : 110-20 , a n appreciatio n o f the mora l dimensio n o f casting Crain, wh o a s Pink y coul d hav e chose n agains t bein g black . Se e also Kazan interview, Oct . 8, 1975 , AFL/CAFS, o n Baby Doll. 60. AA , Nov. 12, 1949 , on Smith ; Nov . 26, 1949 ; Harmon an d Stephe n Jackson, memo , n.d. , on pending Curley cas e and politics ; Jason Joy to Breen, March 2 , 1949 , reporting tha t Fo x prepared fo r rejection i n South , Pinky file , PCA-AMPAS; CD , Nov. 19, 26, June 21 , July 22, 1949 ; Allen Rivkin to Walte r White, March 24, 1952; White to Eric Johnston, Feb. 8, 1952; Robert Carter to

White, Jul y 8, 1952 , in NR-LC . 61. Revie w of Pinky b y "EBK," n.d.; Board of Directors minutes, Nov . 15, 1950; Panero Theatre Co., Delano, Calif., to Alex Harrison, Fox, Oct. 17, 1950,

cc White; Harry G. Ballance, Atlanta, to Zanuck, Nov. 18, 1949, in NR-LC; Harry Levette to Harry Brand, Fox PR, copy, Feb. 11, 1950, in CB-CHS; Jones, "Ideology o f th e Socia l Consciousnes s Movie, " 49—71 , citin g Var., on balcon y o f Atlanta Rox y opening t o blacks.

356

Notes

62. Whit e to Zanuck, Nov. 5, 1949 ; Zanuc k to White, Dec . 7, 1949 , cited ; and Whit e i n N Y A, Nov . 1 , 1949 , i n WW-JWJ . 63. Walte r t o Jan e White , Jan . 29 , 1949 , JWJ-Yale , askin g he r t o carr y marked scrip t to Zanuck : intervie w betwee n Clarenc e Brow n an d th e author , Palm Desert, Calif., Dec . 1976 ; telephon e interview betwee n Be n Maddow an d the author, June 1970; Maddo w to Pauline E. Degenfelder, Marc h 27, 1972, lent by Maddow; Regin a K. Fadiman, Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust: Novel into Film (Knoxville, 1978) , 27-28 . 64. Brow n interview , Dec . 1976 ; an d Schary , Heyday, 213 , recallin g "Brown buttonholed m e and I was able to persuade Mayer . . . W e bought th e book." 65. Oxford Eagle clippings, CB—UT; Fadiman , Intruder, 32-33 ; Bruce Kawin, Faulkner on Film (Ne w York, 1977) , 40; an d Brow n an d Maddo w inter views, cite d i n note 63 . 66. Moo n t o White, copy , Dec . 28, 1948 ; Whit e t o Schary , wire, Jan. 10 , 1949; Schar y to White, Jan. 12, 1949; Moo n to William Wang, MGM, Nov. 25, 1949; Whit e t o Schary , copy , Feb . 24 , 1949 ; Schar y t o White , Feb . 21 , 1949 , after speakin g with Jane White, i n NR-LC ; Joseph L . Blotner, Faulkner: A Biography (Ne w York, 1974) , vol. 2, pp. 1157 , 1277-78 , 1284 , o n Faulkner's sal e of rights fo r $40,00 0 (Kawin , Faulkner, p . 40 , say s $50,000 ) an d agreemen t t o work o n scrip t though neve r invited . 67. Clipping s i n CB-UT ; Fadiman , Intruder, 32-36 , 86 ; Maddo w inter view; Elzy' s tak e neve r "i n a writte n way" ; Maddo w t o Degenfelder ; Elli s quoted, Fadiman , Intruder, p . 3 6 and not e 18 . 68. Script s in CB-UT . 69. Oxford Eagle, Oct. 20, 1949 ; CE , Nov. 17 , 1949 ; NYT Directory of Film, 103; Jerome, Negro in Hollywood Films, 36-^1; Memphis Press-Scimitar, Oct . 12, 1949; Commercial Appeal (Memphis) , Oct . 12 , 1949 ; Nashville Banner, Oct . 13 , 1949; Atlanta Journal, Oct . 16 , 1949 ; Dallas News, Oct. 12 , 1949 ; New Orleans Item, Nov. 4, 1949 ; Washington Daily News, Jan. 26 , 1950 ; Washington Post, Jan . 28, 1950 ; Los Angeles Herald and Express, Cleveland Press, Dec. 2, 1949 ; Kansas City Star, Jan. 18 , 1949; Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 12 , 1950; Toledo Blade, Dec. 16, 1949; Rochester Times-Union, April 8, 1949 , etc. , in CB-UT ; an d DW , Nov. 23, 1949. 70. Warin g t o Schary , copy, March 21 , 1950 ; Schar y t o Brown , Nov . 29, 1949, i n CB-UT , an d i n Fadiman , Intruder, 41 ; Ralp h Ellison, Shadow and Act (New York, 1964) , 26 4 ff. ; CD, Nov. 12 , 1949 , o n censors ; Marc h 18 , April 8, 1950; serial ephemera i n CB-UT ; for black opinion, CD , March 18 , 1950 ; Nov . 26, 1949 ; Feb . 25, 1950 , for Lillian Scott and A. S. Young interview with Schary ; AA, Nov. [?], 1949 , o n LaMar; Feb. 4, Jan. 29 , 1950 ; Ebony, Dec. 1949 , p . 7, on ad copy; Herald-Tribune, Nov. 13, 1949, on White as "weak, limp, nerve-frayed and exultant" ; Moon t o Willia m Wang, Nov . 1949 ; Bobb y Branch t o Wilkins, undated; an d Wilkin s to Ludlo w Werner, copy , Dec . 6 , 194 9 (afte r Ebony), in NR-LC. 71. O n Robinson, Jules Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy (Ne w York, 1983) ; Var., Jan . 25 , 1950 , pp. 6 , 34 , o n hi s radi o show; AN, Feb. 18, 1948, on preproduction; Var., April 5, 1950 , ad copy. In th e movie, art imitates life as it ends with Robinson testifying o n Americanism before Congress.

Notes

357

72. Var., Apri l 5, 1905 , p . 23 ; Christian Century, April 21, 1950 , p . 175 ; NYT, Ma y 17 , 1950 ; AN , Sept . 2 , 1950 ; Commonweal, June 2 , 1950 , p . 198 ; Time, June 5, 1950, pp. 86-87; NR, June 12, 1950, pp. 16-17 ; Compass and DW, May 1950 , i n SCRBC . 73. Geist , Pictures Will Talk, 15 2 ff; Julian Johnso n to Zanuck , Jan. 3 an d Dec. 28, 1949 , o n producers an d South ; Michael Abel to Zanuck, Dec. 31, 1948 , in file 2420, TCFA-UCLA ; AA , Oct. 22, 1949 ; an d CD , March 18 , 1950 . 74. No Way Out treatment, 11 2 pp., by Lesser Samuels; Yorda n to Zanuck, and Zanuc k t o Yordan, March 22 , 1949 , i n file 2420, TCFA-UCLA ; Zanuc k to Samuels, Feb. 1 , 1949; Zanuc k to Yordan, April 27, 1949 , "confidential" ; F . D. Langton to Zanuck, Feb. 9, 1949 , o n concept; Zanuc k to "Pink" [Langton], Feb. 9, 1949 ; Langto n t o Zanuck , Feb . 26 , 1949 , o n Kazan ; Yordan , "Firs t Draf t continuity," Apri l 15, 1949; draf t 2420.4 afte r conference wit h Zanuck, April 18, 1949; dialogu e taken from screen , July 26, 1950 , all in file 2420, TCFA—UCLA. 75. Yordan-Zanuc k correspondence, cite d i n not e 74 . 76. Sidne y Poitier, This Life (Ne w York, 1980), 126-33; CD, Aug. 13, 1949 , on tests flown to Europe; AA, Oct. 22, 1949 ; CE , Oct. 6, 1949 ; Hoffman , Poitier, 15-83; Var., Apri l 28 , 1958 , p . 60 ; Ewers , Poitier, 65; NYT , Aug. 17 , 1950 . 77. Malcol m Ross, Fox, to White, July 31, 1950 ; releas e to branches, copy , Sept. 21, 1950, on "success"; Skouras to White, Sept . 5, 1950, thanks, in NR-LC. 78. Bree n t o Joy, Fox , carbon , Oct . 6 , 1959 ; Jo y t o Breen , Nov . 3 , 1950 , enclosing Roge r C . Foxx, Minneapolis , 20t h Century-Fox , Sept . 12 , 1950 , bu t holding tha t hundred s o f letters ran 99- 1 i n favor, all in PCA-AMPAS; White t o Sidney Lopez , copy, Aug. 31 , 1950 , NR-LC , also seein g 194 2 throug h No Way Out as a political continuum. . 79. Car l Murphy t o Eric Johnston, carbon, Oct. 20,1950; Sydne y R. Traub, MSCB, t o White , Oct . 30 , 1950 , i n NR-LC . 80. NYT , Aug. 17 , July 30 , 1950 , i n whic h Frederic k O'Nea l said "i t re flected the conscienc e o f the America n people" ; Arthur Knight , "The Negr o in Films Today," Films in Review 1 (Feb. 1950): 14-19; sample of the trade s in No Way Out file, PCA-AMPAS: HR, Aug. 2, 1950 ; Daily Var., Aug . 2, 1950 ; Var., Aug. 2 , 1950 ; MPD , Aug . 2, 1950 . O n White , Whit e t o Elizabet h and Watie s [Waring], Jul y 21 , 1950 ; Zanuc k to White , Jul y 31 , 1950 ; Whit e memo , n.d . [1950], i n NR-LC . Se e also Var., Aug. 9, 1950 , clippin g in GPJ-UCLA , praisin g Zanuck's attack o n "troglodyt e racists" ; White t o Zanuck , wire, quote d i n AN, Aug. 12 , 1950 , o n th e film as sign of "maturation o f the movin g pictur e indus try." Awards : PC, Oct. 7, 1950 , CORE ; CD , Aug. 26, 1950 , Foreign Press Association; AN , Sept . 21 , 1950 , America n Negr o Theatre , an d more . Intervie w between Rub y Dee and th e author , Lebanon , Pa., Dec . 1969 . Fo r general blac k approval: AA , Sept . 9 , Aug . 12 , Oct . 14 , 21 , Aug . 26 , 1950 , quotin g NAG Newsletter; CE , Aug. 25, 1950 ; PC , Aug. 12 , 19 , 26, Sept . 2 , 23, Jul y 22 , 1950 ; CD, July 29, Aug. 26, 1950 ; LAS, Oct. 12, 1950; NJ&G, Sept. 2, 1950 ; NYT, Aug. 24, 1950 . 81. Warre n Mille r in Jewish Life, undate d clippin g in SCRB C an d i n min utes, Oct . 18 , 1950, box 11 , MSCB, in which h e argue s for retitling as Don't Hit Back "for th e ou t i s clearly shown t o be the wa y o f servility, the wa y o f competing wit h white s o n th e whit e man' s terms" ; se e als o AA , Sept . 23, 1950 , for Mankiewicz's open letter in which h e argues for liberals there can be no "happ y ending" i n movies; Jerome, Negro in Hollywood Films, 20, thought it a means "t o

358

Notes

continue th e pattern" ; Mann y Farbe r i n NR , cite d i n Negative Space, 60 , fo r "geeklike"; Var., Aug. 2, 1950, p. 16 , thought i t "a long, wordy film with spotty prospects"; CE , Feb. 23 , 1950 ; NYT , Aug. 20 , 1950 , i n whic h Thoma s Pryo r thought the y had "squandered" theirpunch; New Statesman, Sept. 30, 1950, pp. 322-23, for Gavin Lambert; National Parent-Teacher Magazine, Oct. 1950, p. 38; Rotarian, Dec . 1950 , p . 38 , which objecte d t o it s "psychopathic" treatmen t o f racism; Wolfenstei n an d Leites , "Tw o Socia l Scientist s View No Way Out: The Unconscious Versu s th e 'Message ' i n th e Anti-Bia s film, " Commentary, Oct . 1950, pp. 388-89; and se e also their The Movies: A Psychological Study (Glencoe , 111., 1950) ; an d Burke , "Th e Negr o i n Hollywoo d Films, " 212 ff. , in whic h h e offers a variatio n o n th e them e o f Dionysian vs . Apollonian , blac k vs . white , societies, in which Brooks is seen as Christian convert rathe r than pagan becaus e of his dua l ethica l code , a t onc e blac k an d integrated . 82. AA , Aug. 12 , 26, Sept . 9 , Oct . 14 , 21, 1950 .

Chapter 9 Settling In, Settling For 1. Knight , Liveliest Art, 267 ; Jowett , Film: The Democratic Art, 337 ; Sklar , Movie-Made America, 267 ; Ceplai r and Englund , Inquisition in Hollywood, 340 ; Leab, From Sambo to Super Spade, 135 , on tension betwee n moviemen an d black activists; Higham an d Greenberg , Hollywood in the Forties, 68 ; Pells, Liberal Mind in a Conservative Age, 307 , o n studios ' timidity ; Bogdanovich , Fritz Lang in America, 83-84 , o n Lang' s "trouble" ; Var., Nov . 15 , 1951 , p . 2 , o n "clear ances"; March 21, 1951, p. 2, onHUAC;MunsontoEngel, copy, April 18, 1947 , in LM-AHC-WY ; Eels , Ginger and Loretta, 58-59 , o n Lel a Rogers' s scannin g scripts for "red" propaganda ; LeRoy , Take One, 157, "deplored the excesses" as well a s th e propaganda ; Var., Marc h 12 , 1951 , p . 1 , on WG A an d Waldor f statement; Vigil, Marc h 1949 , cop y in HH-AMPAS; in which als o see Hopper to N. Peter Rathvon , RKO , Nov. 28, 1947 , o n "menace"; Siegfried Kracauer, "Na tional Type s as Hollywood Present s Them," Public Opinion Quarterly 1 3 (Spring 1949): 56-57 . 2. Pechter , "Polonsky, " 47-54; Zanuck t o Lyman Munson, copy , Jan. 20 , 1948, in LM-AHC-WY ; Platt , "Hollywoo d Witchhunt, " 24-30 ; Guy Endore , "Reflections," o n being cut off from friends; Fidelifax, Inc., brochure [ a detective agency], Ma y 9 , 1946 ; an d Rober t Donne r t o Hedd a Hopper , Apri l 9 , 1951 , alleging tha t Howar d Duf f belonge d t o "front " groups , bot h i n HH-AMPAS. 3. Navasky , Naming Names, 192—94 , o n a blac k "clearing " proces s an d William Marshall' s repor t tha t Len a Hom e worke d bu t "little " before o r afte r HUAC's days ; Ashton , "Black s i n Film, " 133 , citin g Hollywood Citizen-News, June 13 , 1952; Fred Rinaldo, circular to members, bo x 40, Lawson papers, SIU; AA, May 5 , 1951 , i n whic h Levett e blamed Cale b Peterson fo r steering Hom e into politics; AA , Aug. 26, 1951 , on "infiltratio n o f Reds into th e scrip t depart ments"; Louis e Beavers' s plea s t o Hoppe r fo r relie f fro m blacklisting , i n HH AMPAS; LAS, July 14 , 1949 , o n Lee ; CE, July 21, 1950 , on Home and HUAC ; Var., Jun e 4, 1952 , p. 35 , on ACL U decision to represent Haze l Scott , allegedly blacklisted b y Dumon t network ; o n Ree d Harris , Victor Roudi n to Claud e A. Barnett, March 24 , 1952 , in CB-CHS . 4. I Posed as a Communist for the FBI, script, working title, Oct. 1, 1950 , p.

Notes

359

72; revised "final," Dec . 3, 1950, pp. 59, 62, and clipping in WBA-USC; see also Maurice and Matthew Rapf and Charles Palmer correspondence, 1950, in Civil

Rights Story file, MGM-LD; and telephon e interview betwee n Maurice Rapf and the author, Dec. 1987, in which an intended film about peonage and lynching

cases base d upo n Departmen t o f Justice files in whic h th e agenc y cooperate d came t o a n en d onl y whe n th e FB I denied furthe r cooperation , no t o n th e grounds o f overt politic s but simpl y because J . Edga r Hoover's staf f wer e "not exactly friend s of Dore Schary. " 5. Joh n Cogley , Report on Blacklisting [Ne w York 1956] , vol . 1 , "The Movies," 282, 284; Brens, Jew in American Cinema, 197-98 , cite s Rivki n an d John Stone Report, no . 2 5 (Jan. 30, 1951) . For bleak o r contemptuous sketches : Michael Wood , America in the Movies (Ne w York, 1975) ; Peter Biskind , Seeing Is Believing . . . the Fifties (Ne w York, 1983) ; Andre w Dowdy , The Films of the Fifties: The American StateofMind (Ne w York, 1973); Gordon Gow, Hollywood in the Fifties (Ne w York, 1971). O n film and society : Paul Jensen, "The Return of Dr. Caligari : Paranoia i n Hollywood," Film Comment 7 (Winte r 1971-72) : 36 45; Lawrence L. Murray, "Monsters , Spies, and Subversives : The Film Industr y Responds to the Cold War," Jump Cut 9 (Oct.-Dec. 1975): 14-17; see also Vigil,

Firing Line, and other rightwing ephemera an d correspondence includin g that of "Operative 888, " wh o reporte d o n "pinkoes " bac k t o th e silen t era , in HHAMPAS. O n analytical literature: Willia m H. Whyte, Jr., The Organization Man (Garden City, 1956); Riesman e t al., The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (Garde n City , 1950) ; A . C . Spectorsky , The Exurbanites (New York , 1955) ; Vance Packard , The Status Seekers (Ne w York, 1959) ; an d Sloan Wilson's novel , The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (Ne w York, 1956). 6. Rober t F. Burk , The Eisenhower Administration and Black Civil Rights (Knoxville, 1984) , 16-20 , 23, 25, 90-91, 134 . Said Eisenhower t o his attorne y general: "Aren' t we bette r of f staying out o f it?" 7. Poitier , This Life, 336 , 310, 272, 10, 16 , 76-79, 125 , 166 . 8. NYT, Nov. 18, 1949, on Atlanta; AA, Dec. 30, 1950; Var., Jan. 14, 1951,

on Wilmington ; Sept . 19 , 1956 , p. 2 , o n roc k musi c "hooliganism " i n UK ; William A. Rossi, "The Booming Negro Market in Men's Shoes," Boot and Shoe Recorder, Sept . 1 , 1961, pp. 36-39 , on blacks ' taste s an d budgets ; Barbar a Jordan and Shelb y Fearon, Barbara Jordan: A Self-Portrait (Garde n City, 1979), 53, on crossove r taste ; Jame s Gilbert , A Cycle of Outrage: America's Reaction to the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950s (Ne w York , 1986) , chap . 11 ; Var., May 26 , 1954, p. 18, and May 5, 1954, p. 25, on black markets and WLIB commercials;

Var., Dec . 27 , 1961 , p. 6 , on volatil e "twist " audiences . 9. Var., Dec. 15, 1954 , p. 26 , o n "Rialto" ; Aug . 12, 1953 , p. 7 , o n a n houses an d blac k moviegoin g habits . 10. Sherr y H . Olson , Baltimore: The Building of an American City (Baltimore, 1980), 364-74; AA, Feb. 4, 1950, on Cabin in the Sky; April 1, 1950, on

Peanut Man; May 20, June 10 , 1950, on Jackie Robinson Story; Sept . 2, 1950, on Boarding House Blues; also DW , Aug . 18, 1949 ; and persona l recollectio n o f racial succession , 1950. 11. Walte r White t o Cle m C. Ransome, Sept . 17 , 1951 , i n NR-LC ; Yosh i Tamaki t o Mildre d Martin, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ma y 23 , 1951 , i n Lektrafile , MOMA; Rober t Davi s piece , n.d., GPJ-UCLA; CE , Nov. 29, 1951 , Poitier an d segregated Red Ball locations; Var., Oct. 7, 1964, p. 1, "vigor" of black boom;

360

Notes

July 13 , 1960 , p . 1 , on sit-in s and hookers ' wariness ; Ma y 16 , 1962 , p. 70 , o n "clientele"; Dec. 19 , 1962 , p . 5 , on Intruder; John H. Moore t o Cripps , Feb. 3, 1968, o n "colore d theatre," Rock Hill, S.C., billing God's Little Acre as "see ho w white folk s live. " 12. NYT , Nov. 25, 1949 ; Sunday Compass, Jul y 30 , 1950 , o n Walton , VF SCRBC; "Films on Race Problems Rated Among Best Bets . . . , " NAG Newsletter, Dec . 1949 , p . 2 ; AA , Jan. 28 , 1950 , o n Scottsboro project ; Dec . 16 , 1950 , "sepia artists" ; etc . 13. "Ralp h Bunch e Goe s t o Hollywood, " Ebony, Jul y 1951 , pp . 71-72 ; CCNP Newsletter, 1954-55 , i n CCNP-SCRBC , Charle s Shorter t o Ro y Wilkins, May 3 , 1955 , NR-LC ; Var., Feb . 27 , 1957 , o n NUL ; LAS, Oct. 25 , 1956 , o n CCNP; Reporter quoted in Spoto, Stanley Kramer, 53; Var., Aug. 23, 1950 , p. 20; NYT, March 15 , Nov. 25, 1949 , Crowther ; CD , Oct. 23, 1949 ; AA, June 9, 1951 , and Sept . 27 , 1952 . 14. CD, Oct . 23, 1952 , Suprem e Cour t overturn s Marshall , Tex. , Pinky case; White Cargo file, box 22 , MSCB; Geoffrey Shurloc k telephon e memo , Jul y 24, 1950 , Well file , PCA-AMPAS , warning o f "seriou s censorshi p difficulties " unless epithets cut; Sydney R. Traub, MSCB, to White, Nov. 14, 1951, citing AA, Nov. 10, 1951 , in NR-LC , on blac k spli t over The Well in Maryland ; Var., July 25, 1951 . 15. Josep h Bree n t o Willia m Gordon , carbon , Ma y 15 , 1950 , i n Bright Victory file , PCA-AMPAS , indicating censo r cognizanc e o f "word-of-mouth" ; MPD, May 15 , 1950 , Jackie Robinson Story file , PCA-AMPAS ; and i n sam e file, on Jersey City Italians' charg e of an anti-Italian Hollywood "conspiracy," Bree n to Eric Johnston, carbon , Nov . 2, 1950 . 16. Woodruf f D. Smith , The Ideological Origins of Nazi Imperialism (New York, 1986) , chap. 1 , argues that societie s have "intellectua l framework s the y inherit," a sort of "political sphere, " an idea adapted from Cliffor d Geertz' s idea of a "cultural system" ; cited, pp. 10 , 16 , 17 . See Gallup, Gallup Polls, vol. 3, pp . 1250-51, 1402 , 1507 , 1563-68 , 1940^1, on various race-angled opinio n sam ples, particularl y o n Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. 17. Garfiel d t o Curtiz, Jan. 16 , 1950; Curtiz to Ranald MacDougall, carbon, memo, Feb . 10 , 1950 , complainin g o f ne w revision s tha t woul d confus e th e movie; Jerr y Wal d t o MacDougall, carbon, memo , Apri l 5, 1950 , asking mor e humor amon g th e kids ; an d clipping , Compass, Oct . 8 , 1950 , o n Peck , i n file 2306, WBA-USC ; an d Ernes t Hemingway , To Have and Have Not (Ne w York, 1987) 10 , 26, 38 , 39 , 68, 69 , 76-77, 87, 105 . 18. Whit e t o Popp y Cannon, Dec . 3, 1945 , o n Richar d Condon's wish t o talk over the Hollywood situation with White and Milton Sperling, a Warner inlaw; Condo n t o White, copy , undated, o n Sperling' s kidding fears o f the los s of Southern market , i n WW-JWJ an d NR-LC ; "Youn g Man with a Horn," Ebony, Dec. 1949 , pp . 51-55 . 19. Milto n Krims, Lydia Bailey treatment , Apri l 9, 1947 , o n political backstory; conferenc e note s on , Apri l 17 , 1947 ; Charle s O'Neal , outline , Jun e 24 , 1950, laying backstory over establishing shots as song of a balladeer; an d othe r notes o n loca l colo r i n fil e 2481 , TCFA-UCLA ; Jea n Negulesc o t o Michae l Blankfort, March 1 , 1951, urging love story angle because lovers, he said , do no t discuss love in term s o f politics; se e also Negulesco to Jules Schermer, Jan. 11 , 1951, complainin g o f expositor y dialogue, i n Blankfor t papers , ML-BU ; CE ,

Notes

361

June 21, 1951, Ruby Berkeley Goodwin reported Dale Robertson got the lead

when Tyron e Powe r fel t upstage d b y th e origina l black story . "Lydi a Bailey, " Ebony, Jan. 1952, pp. 39-44; DW, Aug. 1, 1952; July 17, 1952; Var., May 28,

1952, p. 6 ; and ephemer a i n GPJ-UCLA ; AA, June 21, 1952 , for White's faile d bid to invite Paul Magloire of Haiti to Baltimore premiere. DW , July 17,1952 for CPUSA split, Ben Levine liking Ken Renard's "wise " Toussaint; Pla n chidin g it for Blankfort, HUAC "flngerman," an d its flawed slavery sequences; an d Jerome admiring i t to some degre e as "a ne w tactica l concession fro m th e enemy . . . the racis t ruling class. " 20. Anderso n interview , June 1970 ; AA, Jan. 3, 1953, for ad; Var., Sept. 5, 1951; CD, Aug. 25, 1951; Var., May 30, 1951, p. 4, on UA; for black division,

CE, June 21, 1951 ; AA, Nov. 10 , 1951; MSCB analysis card; minutes, Aug . 20, 1952, and Nov. 1951 board meetings, listing black attendance; Sydney R. Traub

to White, Nov. 14, 1951, refusing to cut "inflammatory" words ; White to Traub, Nov. 12, 1951, dismissing black "hypersensitivity" to "important" film, in NR-

LC; "Dee p i s the Well, " Ebony, Feb. 1951, pp . 38-42 . 21. DW , Apri l 3 , 1951 ; Var., April 25 , 1951 , p. 6 ; Ashton , "Black s i n Film," 172-74. 22. From 1950 through the 1960s Ebony each month and Variety almost

weekly gav e space to smal l changes in portrayal and importanc e o f black roles that added up to a swelling of numbers as well as incremental variations . Se e for example: "Fran k Silvera, " Ebony, March 1952 , pp. 51-52 , fo r his subsequen t

roles as Asians, Mexicans, Spaniards, and so on. "The Egyptian," Ebony, Aug. 1954, p. 83 ff.; Var., Oct. 10, 1956, p. 5, on Ten Commandments and on The Joe

Louis Story use of Schmeling a s heavy whose victor y made "trouble" in Harlem; April 7, 1954, p. 5, on "passive resistance" of Southern booker s to black biopics; Dec. 24, 1952 , p. 6, on Muriel Smit h as Aicha in Moulin Rouge; Jan. 6, 1954 , p. 52, on blacks as "themselves" in The Glenn Miller Story; May 25, 1956, p. 6, for

Isabel Randolp h cas t a s mai d calle d "Mrs." ; LAS , March 5 , 1959 , on Duk e Ellington scoring Anatomy of a Murder; Var., June 11 , 1952 , p. 18 , on B-movi e biopic of Stephen Foste r with Louise Beavers as, perhaps, the last "Mammy"; on Show Boat tabloid, Haskins, Lena, 100-01; Ebony, June 1958 , p. 76 ff., o n South Pacific an d it s liberal hymn "You've Go t to Be Carefully Taught" ; "Th e Member of the Wedding, "Ebony, Dec. 1952, pp. 47-51; Fred Zinnemann to Cripps, Dec.

24, 1970 ; Louis G . Giannetti, "Th e Member o f the Wedding, " Literature/Film Quarterly 4 (Winter 1976): 28-38, judged it "one of the neglected minor masterpieces." 23. LAS , July 17 , 1952 , on MGM' s "buildin g Harry" ; corroborate d b y telephone, Schary to Cripps, Feb. 7, 1979; Schary, Heyday, 258; Sol [Baer Field-

ing?] t o Schnee , wire , Apri l 23 , 1953 , good review s sav e fo r Post; Howar d Strickling to Howard Dietz, wire, April 23, 1953 , on NUL award; Diet z to Strickling, April 21, 1953, on Christopher medal; Velma Allen to Metro, March 26,

1953, on blac k society; Vroman to S . B. Fielding, March 25 , 1953 , on Maxwel l AFB, i n fil e 1600 , See How They Run, MGM-LD; Wesley B . Brazie r to Leste r Granger, May 5 , 1953, on film that had t o be sold to activist groups"; Brazie r to "Guich" Parris , June 16 , 1953 , on Lo s Angeles NUL sending 500 0 invitations; "Guich" to Brazier, copy, May 19 , 1953, on Souther n "appeal," in "Los Angeles 1948-1961" file, box 42, series 5, NUL-LC; Mittinel l Wheeler to Parris, n.d., on donating a white Atlanta theatre for an integrate d premiere, in Bright Road file .

362

Notes

PCA-AMPAS. Reception: CD, May 16 , March 21, 1953 , preview; Var., April 8, 1953, p. 6 , quoted; "Se e Ho w They Run," Ebony, April 1953, pp. 43-48; AA, May 9 , 16 , 1953 , o n "warm " story ; Catholic World, Ma y 1953 , p . 145 , goo d white review; tap e roll 1 , P451/408, Belafont e British interview len t by Frank Holland, Aston Clinton, Bucks: and telephone interview , July 7, 1992, between Harry Belafonte an d the author. 24. "Doroth y Dandridge' s Greatest Triumph [Carmen Jones]," Ebony, July 1955, p. 37 ff.; Hatch quoted i n Ashton, "Blacks in Film" 157-58; James Baldwin, "Carmen Jones: Th e Dark Is Light Enough," in Notes of a Native Son (Boston, 1965) , 46-54; and "Lif e Straigh t in de Eye," Commentary, Jan . 1955 , pp. 74-75; Hue, July 28, 1954 , pp. 22-26; Var., Feb. 23, 1955 , p. 3 , on Souther n "reaction"; Oct. 20, 1954, pp. 12-13, on black and European prospects; Oct. 13, 1954, p. 7 , on three-city premiere; "D o Negroes Have a Future in Hollywood? " Ebony, Dec. 1955, p. 24, in light of Jones's glamor ; CD, July 16, 1955, on Pravda regarding as "trash"; passed MSCB after three viewings; script drafts in file 2591, TCFA-UCLA. 25. Bertra m Bloch to David Brown, April 25, 1955 , on Zanuck's motives; Zanuck t o Eri c Ambler, June 6 , 1955 , o n South ; Fran k McCarth y to Zanuck, [April 19, 1955]; Ambler to Zanuck, May 17, 1955, on compromise, in file 3006, TCFA-UCLA. 26. Ale c Waugh, Island in the Sun: A Story of the 1950s Set in the West Indies (New York, 1955) , was lade n with suc h unfilmable expositor y dialogue. 27. Moseley , Zanuck, 288-91, sees Zanuck as bold and th e studi o as cautious. 28. Zanuc k to Al [?], Nov. 29, 1955, 6 pp., on politics; Zanuck and Rossen, memo, dictated Paris, Aug. 11, 1956, on color, feelings over theory; Zanuck and Alfred Hayes , story conference, Jun e 1 , 1956 , on prematur e racial film, in file 3006, TCFA-UCLA; Gibson t o Col . Frank McCarthy, Jul y 19 , 1956 , Island file , PCA-AMPAS; Fontaine, No Bed of Roses, 245; Var., July 10 , 1957 , p. 1 , Bogle, Toms, 172 ; Nunnall y Johnso n t o Rober t Goldstein , June 24 , 1957 , i n Dorris Johnson and Elle n Leventhal, eds., The Letters of Nunnally Johnson (Ne w York, 1981), 151 . 29. Var., July 10,1957, p. 1; "Island in the Sun, "Ebony, Jul y 1957, 33-37. 30. Johnson , Letters, 151 ; Var., July 10 , 1957 , p. 1 ; Fontaine, No Bed of Roses, 245 . 31. "Islan d in the Sun," Ebony, July 1957, pp. 33-37; Roth in NR, July 29, 1957, p. 21; Geoffre y Shurloc k to J. J. Cohn, carbon, May 13 , 1955, Island file, PCA-AMPAS; fan letters in MSCB; Var., July 10, 1957, 1 , for Belafonte's opinion. 32. Intervie w betwee n Ma x Youngstei n an d th e author , Be l Air , Calif. , Aug. 1980; Belafonte interview, roll 1, P451/408 tape ; Polonsky interview, Aug. 1977, o n McGivern' s boo k a s "a n excitin g premise" ; Belafonte-Cripp s tele phone interview, Jul y 7, 1992 . 33. Polonsky , Aug. 1977, said "John Oliver Killens had nothing to do with Odds Against Tomorrow" except lendin g hi s name ; confirme d b y Youngstein, Aug. 1980 ; Killen s in conversation , Nov. 15, 1978 , claimed authorship of th e draft Belafont e pitched to UA; in article by Almena Lomax, Los Angeles Tribune, in GPJ-UCLA , Killens apologizes for changes made b y others, a story retold to Morgan State University students, Nov. 15, 1978; telephone interview between

Notes

363

Belafonte an d th e author , Jul y 7, 1992; in Killens's papers, ML-BU, there i s no file on Odds Against Tomorrow; Polonsky's diary, vol. 41, Jan. 17 , 1958, "makin g progress each day" ; vol . 48 , Nov . 14 , 1959 , "excep t fo r Wise's [end] , mine" ; "Movie Maker Belafonte, " Ebony, July 1959 , p. 94 ff.; Gabe Sumner t o Jame s Gould, UA, copy, July 22,1959, in Wise papers, box 14, USC, makes no mention

of Killens ; Youngstein affidavit, Marc h 29 , 1979 , notarized , Vincenz a S . Bartolotta, notary , attestin g sh e pai d Polonsk y $35,00 0 "fo r writing " an d fo r "changes" in Odds Against Tomorrow, author' s possession . 34. Wis e to Forrest Johnson, copy, Dec. 13, 1958, calling for "new end, " i n Wise papers box 14, USL, perhaps prodded by Geoffrey Shurlock to Philip Stein,

Feb. 18 , 1959 , objectin g t o "nigger " an d t o Southerner' s suicide , i n PCAAMPAS; Almena Lomax clipping, cited in note 33; Hollis Alpert, "D for Effort, " SRL, Oct. 3, 1959 , p. 29; Var., Oct. 7, 1959 ; "Movi e Make r Belafonte," Ebony, July 1959 , p . 94 , an d trades , in Odds file, PCA-AMPAS. 35. Var., April 29, 1953 , p. 7 ; Jul y 22 , 1953 , p. 5 ; Sept . 22 , 1954 , p . 5 , quoted; Nov . 10 , 1954 , p . 3 , on TV ; April 29, 1959 , p. 4 , o n sellin g off realty; March 12 , 1958, p. 5, on "runaways"; Gilbert Seldes, The Public Arts (New York, 1956), 193 , quotin g Lardner ; Marti n S . Dworkin , "Th e Ne w Negr o o n th e Screen," Progressive, Oct . 1960 , pp . 39^41 , and issue s through Feb . 1961 . 36. Fo r racial sameness in action see Detective Story script, Feb. 3, 1951, cast list, n o rac e prescribed ; Feb . 19 , 1951 , yello w pag e 26 , prescribe d " a Negr o policeman," in William Wyler papers, file 4, box 31, UCLA; Bright Victory script , 1950, pp. 50 , 62, 120-21 , in Mark Robso n papers, UCLA ; Jerry Wal d to Jack Warner, Feb . 1 , 1949 , o n Storm Warning, in fil e 8246 , WBA-USC ; characte r sketch of Burt Rainey, Heisler papers, UCLA; interview between Joh n Ford an d the author , Beverl y Hills, Calif. , Jun e 1970 , regarde d Rutledge a s a tribut e t o blacks, a poin t uncriticall y take n i n Andre w Sinclair , John Ford (Ne w York , 1979), 190-92 . 37. Charle s Affron , "Performin g Performing : Iron y an d Effect, " Cinema Journal 2 0 (Fal l 1980) : 42-52 , see s Peol a a s violato r o f racia l etiquette , a n outlaw, while other blacks are "acceptable," belyin g the contradictions she represented; Jo n Halliday , Sirk on Sirk (Ne w York, 1972) , 132 , find s Sir k "em braced melodrama," while in conversation, Sept . 3, 1972, London, he spoke to me o f using it merely to circumven t Universa l studio practices. 38. Thes e bits and dozen s mor e coul d b e quite small though nonetheles s jarring. In Tender Is the Night, Dick Diver in a Paris saloon, unabl e to compose , watches helplessl y a s Earl Gran t insouciantly , glibl y improvises o n th e hous e piano, thu s establishin g wordlessly the wanin g o f Diver's powers . 39. Kaza n interview, AFL/CAFS , Oct . 8, 1975 , pp . 66-67 , o n "scornful " blacks like "the fool s of Shakespeare"; Post (New York), Dec. 23,1956, liked the "retainers, "while Hazel LaMarr, LAS, Jan. 17,1957, thought them vulgar; "The

sound an d th e Fury, " Ebony, May 1959 , p. 12 7 ff. 40. The Imposter, prin t in BFI; "The Mountain i s Green," UNESCO Courier, Sept. 1950 , p. 10 , AAS; Aventure Malgache (1943) , print in BFI; see also Service Cinematographique de I'Armee, footage of Josephine Bake r entertaining Frenc h troops i n Africa , prin t in BFI ; see also Truffaut, Hitchcock, 249 ; Var., Nov. 26, 1947, p. 11 , and Jan . 15 , 1947 , p . 18 ; La Putain respecteuse file , an d Var. clip judging it "way off" and giving mere "lip service" to liberalism, in MSCB; NYT,

July 11 , 1957 , "age ha d withered " it .

364

Notes

41. Pierr e Laprohon , The Italian Cinema (New York, 1972) , 87-92, 187, quotes Borde , Bouissy ; Cesar e Zavattini, Zavattini: Sequences from a Cinematic Life, trans. William Weaver (Englewood Cliffs, 1959), 133, 235-36, 248; Paisan

in BF I an d Cinetec a d'ltalia , Torino ; se e als o Jos e Lui s Guarner , Roberto Rossellini, trans. Elizabeth Cameron (London , 1970) , 20; Joseph Foster, "Italia n Story," Masses & Mainstream, Ma y 1948 , p. 85 . 42. Michae l Silverman , "Italia n Film and America n Capital , 1947-1951," in Patrici a Mellencam p an d Phili p Rosen , eds., Cinema Histories, Cinema Practices, vol . 4 i n "America n Fil m Institut e Monograp h series " (Frederick , Md., 1984), 35-43 , trace s th e growin g conservatis m o f Italian fil m t o th e influ x of American mone y thoug h base d o n a single interview. Vivere in Pace (1947) an d Senza Pieta (1948) , both i n Cinetec a d'ltalia ; Agee on Film, vol. 1, pp. 283-84 ; Herb Tank , DW , Nov. 25, 1947 , disagreed; CD , March 25 , 1950 ; Senza Pieta analysis card and minutes, Oct. 11, 1950, on low "tone," MSCB; "Black Star of

Italian Movies, " Ebony, Nov . 1951, pp. 71-73 ; "Senz a Pieta, " Ebony, Nov. 1948, pp. 62-65; CD, Aug. 27, 1950; "Paisan," Ebony, April 1958, p. 19; AN,

Jan. 8 , 1949 ; Var., Feb. 11, 1948 , p. 14 ; Feb. 16, 1949 , p. 3 ; se e also Mayer , Merely Colossal, 218, 221, 233; on Angela: AA, Jan. 13, 19, 1952; Aug. 18, 1951,

quoted; on Toxi: "Shirley Temple of Germany," Ebony, Jan. 1953, p. 67 ff.; Var., Sept. 17 , 1952 , p. 6 ; and "Wa s ist eigentlich mi t Taxi geworden?" Gong 7:1 5 ff. On Dunham, Giovannella Zannoni , Catalogue of Existing Film of and by Katherine Dunham (Carbondale , III , 1973) ; se e als o CD , Sept . 1 , 1951 ; "Anna's Sin," Ebony, March 1954, pp. 33-37; "Mambo," Ebony, Dec. 1954, pp. 83-85; "Miss

Dunham Train s Dancers for New Film" Ebony, Sept. 1958 , p. 12 1 ff. For sample of Maciste and Ercole titles seeLoDuca, L'Eroticismedu cinema (Paris, 1962), vol.

1, p. 62 , an d vol . 3, p. 79 ; Leprohon , Italian Cinema, 175-76; Lo Duca, vol. 1,

p. 124, holds that colonialist films like Les Conquerants solitaires (1952) featured

"le blanc deshabille" as well a s the nake d blac k wome n o f American conven tion. 43. Mar k Koenigil , Movies and Society: Sex, Crime, and Censorship (New York, 1962) , 95-96, o n colonia l vie w o f Africa n filmgoers . Colonial Cinema 6 (Dec. 1948) : 9 0 ff. ; "Colonial Fil m Uni t .. . i n th e Wes t Indies, " Colonial Cinema 9 : (Jun e 1951) : 4 0 ff. ; "Demonstratio n Team s i n Uganda, " Colonial Cinema 8 (Marc h 1950) : 3 ff.; Norman Spurr , "The Use of Disney's Hookwor m Film [in] . . . Uganda, " Colonial Cinema & (Dec. 1950): 28 ff.; and otherissues . God's Chillun an d othe r colonia l title s i n Nationa l Fil m Archive , Catalogue of Viewing Copies (London , 1951). 44. Walte r Reade-Sterling program notes; Lovel l and Hillier, Studies in Documentary, 60-61 ; Var., Jan. 23, 1952 , p. 6, on Outcast of the Islands an d censor ; My Song Goes Forth prin t i n BFI. 45. Daybreak at Udi and Drums for a Holiday i n BFI ; clippings, VF-SCRBC; NYT, June 2, 1950; DW, June 2, 1950; NR, June 12, 1950, pp. 16-17; NYT, Feb. 6, 1952; Oct. 2, 1949; Ebony, Oct. 1951, pp. 59-61; and Walter White to staff,

July 24 , 1951,inNR-LC. 46. Charle s Barr, Baling Studios (London, 1977) , 117 ; George Perry, Forever Baling: A Celebration . . . (London , 1981) , 150 ; Var., Feb. 28, 1951 , p. 18; minutes, June 9, 1951; Sydney R. Traub to H. S. Taylor, carbon, Dec. 6, 1951, in MSCB; clippings: Today's Cinema, Feb. 15, 1951; HR, Aug. 7, 1951; Var., Feb. 28, 1951; Kenneth Bates to Breen, carbon, Aug. 25, 1951; agreed to

Notes

365

cuts in Breen to Georg e M. Thornton, Jul y 25, 1951 , all in PCA-AMPAS. E. H. Rea i n AA , Feb. 23, 1952 , a sampl e o f UK film. 47. Telephone intervie w betwee n Dickinso n an d th e author , Asto n Clin ton, Bucks , June 1979. 48. Prin t in BFI; "Film Parade," Ebony, Oct. 1946, P. 18; Dickinson-Cripps interview; Hughe s to White , Jul y 27 , 1946 ; A. B. Spingarn t o White, Jul y 25 , 1946; Popp y Cannon t o White, Jul y 25, 1946 ; Louis Martin t o White, Jul y 25, 1946; Eleanor Roosevelt to White, July 25, 1946; Lewis Gannett to White, July

25, 1946 ; White t o Cannon , copy , Jul y 30 , 1946 , poll result s t o b e give n t o

J. Arthur Rank, in NR-LC. Var.. Dec. 4, 1946, p. 1, on poll; July 24, 1946, p. 14;

Spectator, Jul y 26 , 1946 , p. 87 ; A A touted i t in rerelease , Jul y 24 , 1952.

49. DW, June 2, 1950; "Pool of London," Ebony, Oct. 1951, 59-61; Var..

Feb. 28 , 1951 ; Walte r Whit e t o staff , memo. , Jul y 24 , 1951 , i n NR-LC . 50. Thoma s Cripps , "Native Son in the Movies, " i n David Ray and Rober t M. Farnsworth , eds. , Richard Wright: Impressions and Perspectives (An n Arbor, 1973), 101-16 ; NYT , May 21 , 1950 ; Michel Fabre , The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright, trans . Isabe l Barzu n (Ne w York, 1973) , 212 , 261-62, 272; Francis Harmon to Robert Hakim, carbon, June 16, 1941, in Hakim file, PC A—

AMPAS, on "serious difficultie s . . . o f political censorship" fearing to "fan th e fires of rac e prejudice" an d t o sprea d communism; Var., Aug. 13, 1951 ; MPD, Aug. 20, 1951. "Dick" Wright to Houseman, April 28, 1941, on profits, Houseman papers, UCLA; Var., March 26, 1941, p. 52, praise for "grim" play; Feb. 19, 1941, p. 49; Oct. 8, 1941, p. 51; Aug. 20, 1941, p. 43, on profit; Wright on film

cited from Harr y Birdoff i n Constance Webb, Richard Wright: A Biography (Ne w York, 1968) , 293 , 186-89. Lo g o f stat e censo r actions , PCA-AMPAS : Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ne w Yor k cu t it . Se e als o CD , July 21 , 1951 ; Feb. 2, 9 , 1952 51. Prin t i n LC; Var., April 25, 1951 , p. 14 , "underhand sta b at the U.S. ' 52. AN , June 23 , 1951 ; ad mattes , Cripps , "Nativ e So n i n th e Movies "

LAS, Aug. 16, 1951; NYT, June 18, 1951; Commonweal, June 29, 1951, p. 286

CE, Aug. 16, 1951; LAS, Dec. 14, 1951, citing Wright; CD , Oct. 1, 1949, casting CD, Sept. 2, 1950 , Chicago locations; "Nativ e So n Filmed in Argentina," Ebony,

Jan. 1951, pp. 82-86. Daily Compass, June 18, 1951; NYT, June 24, 1951; DW, June 21, 1951, SCRBC; many NAACP responses; see, for example, Franklin H. Williams to White, Oct. 8, 1951, in NR-LC. Revival review: Berkeley Barb, Dec.

7-13, 1973 , "honest y an d sensitivity. " 53. Telephon e interview betwee n the author an d Janet Green (June 1979) and Yvonne Mitchell (London , June 1979) . Mitchell liked working i n it because of its antibigotry stance. Green had writte n "o n spec " and thought i t hard to sell without maskin g it s "social problem " aspect ; thoug h mixe d i n reception , sh e thought it had done well in U.S. Ebony, Dec. 1959, p. 51; LAS, Aug. 23, 1959;

Commonweal, Oct . 16, 1959, p . 76 . 54. Var., Aug. 7, 1957, p. 1 ; Sept. 7, 1955, p. 6, on The Woman for Joe: Ma y 8, 1957 , p. 6 , on Sea Wyf; Jun e 18 , 1958, p. 6 , on The Wind Cannot Read; Ma y 27, 1959 , p. 6, and June 11, 1958, p. 11 , on Calypso; Jun e 17 , 1959, p. 6, on The Heart of a Man. 55. Var., Jan. 27, 1961 , p. 13 . 56. Roger Ebert, LAT, Nov. 30, 1969, quoting Peters; interview between

Peters and the author, Hollywood, June 1970 , in which he hoped The McMasters would introduce a virile male; Breaking Point, a play source for The Hill, Jan. 3,

366

Notes

1953; an d scrip t draft, Feb . 1964 , pp . 52 , 59, in file 1780, WBA-USC ; NYTFilm Directory, 150 ; Var., Jan . 27 , 1960 , p . 13 , on Canne s an d "clicks " in Pari s for Orfeo Negro. 57. Richar d Thompson , "Thunde r Road : Maudit—Th e Devi l Go t Hi m First' (1969), " i n Tod d McCarth y an d Charle s Flynn , eds. , Kings of the B's: Working within the Hollywood System (Ne w York, 1975) , 207 . 58. Zanuc k to Philip Dunne, June 26,1952, in PD-USC; Jensen, Fritz Lang, 133-34, Lang exonerated Indians o f marauding b y revealing attacker s a s Confederate renegade s i n mufti . 59. Dave s to Cripps, March 2, 1971 ; "Broke n Arrow," Ebony, Sept . 1950 , p. 3 ; CD , July 15 , 1950 , intervie w wit h Alfre d A . Duckett; Whit e t o Zanuck , copy, Jun e 8, 1950 , an d June 14 , 1950 , i n NR-LC . 60. Th e best stud y of Broken Arrow is Angela Aleiss , "Hollywood's Idea of Postwar Assimilation: Indian/Whit e Attitude s in Broken Arrow" (M.A. , Columbia, 1985) ; se e als o Joh n E . O'Connor , The Hollywood Indian: Stereotypes of Native Americans in Films (Trenton , 1980) , th e firs t scholarl y effor t t o stud y studio record s a s a sourc e fo r the subject . 61. Schar y Heyday, 147-48 , on Selznick; Zanuck to Philip Dunne, June 26, 1952, i n PD-USC , o n Ramona; se e Sunburst outlin e i n Jame s Warne r Bella h papers, ML-BU ; O'Connor, Hollywood Indian, p . 47 , o n Devil's Doorway; Var., Jan. 20 , 1954 , p . 6, on Taza; Apri l 3, 1957 , p . 6, on "honorable" Indian o f War Drums; Feb. 5 , 1958 , p . 20, o n Fort Bowie and Gun Fever; Drumbeat file, WBAUSC; Var., May 19 , 1954, p. 6, on Yellow Tomahawk and Drums across the River; Oct. 12, 1955, p. 22, on Apache Woman; June 30, 1954, p. 6, on Apache; Nov. 11, 23, 1955 , p. 6, on Vanishing American remake; Apri l 30, 1958 , p . 6, on The Light in the Forest. 62. Ala n LeMa y t o Agne s L . Tucker, copy , Ma y 8 , 1957 , LeMa y papers , UCLA; Madsen, Huston, p. 180 ; Nolan , Huston, 176 ; Var., March 30 , 1960 , p. 6; Spectator, Jun e 17 , 1960 , p . 884 ; Pete r Wollen , "Th e Auteu r Theory, " i n Bil l Nichols, ed. , Movies and Methods: An Anthology (Berkeley , 1976) , 537-39 , o n The Searchers; Patric k For d t o Bernar d Smith , copy , Jan . 21 , 1963 , i n For d papers, Lill y Library, Indiana University , on wishing to remain true to his father's vision o f Cheyenne Autumn; V . F . Perkins , "Cheyenn e Autumn, " Movie 1 2 (Spring 1965) : 36-37, on recut tha t mad e i t one the "grea t ruins"; Var., April 25, 1962 , p. 6 , on Geronimo and it s "literate" Indians . 63. Var., Oct . 31 , 1956 , p . 31 , on Marx's TV Broken Arrow; Oct . 5 , 1955 , p. 31 , o n Brave Eagle, CB S "sustaining" show wit h "revers e english " India n hero; Nov . 1 , 1961 , p . 56 , o n The Dispossessed, Westinghous e "special " o n Indian pligh t "paralle l to som e contemporar y socia l problems. " 64. "Dad " [Zanuck ] t o Richard Zanuck, wire, March 25 , 1958 , o n Broken Lance [sic] a s personal project; Phili p Dunn e t o Budd y Adler, March 14 , 1958 , moved by; Arthur Kramer to Adler, Feb. 27, 1958 , with producers' report ; Julia n Johnson to Arthur, Feb . 24, 1958 , o n timeliness; Arthu r Kramer t o Ted Strauss, Feb. 21, 1958 ; Herber t Bayar d Swope t o Arthur Kramer , wire , Marc h 3 , 1958 ; Kramer to Adler, producers' report , Feb . 27, 1958 , citing Weisbart; Weisbar t t o Adler, June 2, 1960 , on adding songs; Wentzle Ruml III to Richard Brown, May 19, 1960 , o n postponin g Pacer' s deat h an d buildin g pitch; Charle s Einfel d t o Weisbart, Nov . 7 , I960 ; Do n Siege l t o Harr y Brand , copy , Oct . 13 , 1960 , i n TCFA-UCLA; "Workin g withi n th e System : Interview wit h Do n Siegel, " Movie

Notes

367

15: 1-2, 9 ; AlanLovell, Don Siegel: American Cinema (London , 1975) , 56; Stuart M. Kaminsky, Don Siegel: Director (New York, 1974) , 148—49 , asserting Johnson had written it for Brando; Johnson to Cecil Johnson, June 24, 1960 , in Johnso n and Leventhal, Letters, 185 , seeming distant , referring to Huffaker a s "the fello w who i s arranging th e script" ; Var., Dec . 21, 1960 , p. 6 . 65. Lovell , Siegel, 56 ; revised Flaming Lance, Aug. 8, 1960 , p. 41, in TCFAUCLA; Thompson, "Thunde r Road, " o n its following corroborated i n Baltimore bookings. 66. Do c Young, "The Quee n of Slave Roles," LAS, Aug. 27, 1957 ; Oct. 15, 1959, o n nee d fo r "upbeat" black roles ; Oct . 22, 1959 ; Var., Marc h 3 , 1965 , p. 6 ; Sept . 14 , 1960 , pp. 18 , 20. 67. Var., March 18 , 1953 , p. 34 , and Jun e 12 , 1968 , quotin g respectivel y Edward Madden (NBC ) and Broc k Peters; telephone interview s between Albert Zugsmith and th e author , Jun e 197 0 an d Feb . 1988 . 68. Los Angeles Tribune, Marc h 28 , 1958 , o n Cole , working t o en d "ol d stereotype . . . withou t makin g controversia l or message pictures"; "St . Loui s Blues," Ebony, May 1958 , p . 27 , judged "on e o f the top, " bu t misse d Handy; Var., Apri l 9, 1958 , p . 6 ; o n production , telephon e intervie w betwee n Alle n Reisner an d th e author , Feb . 21 , 1988 . 69. Zugsmit h interviews , 1970 , 1988 , als o guesse d MG M mad e it s nu t despite burying . 70. DW , Aug. 27, 1945 , on stage Anna; Var., April 11, 1956, p. 64, revival; Nov. 19 , 1959 , p . 10 , o n Kitt' s "superficial " reading ; Apri l 15 , 1959 , p . 10 , quoting Wil l Jones; Yorda n interview, Jun e 1970 , regarde d i t as gritty naturalism; Var., Sept . 9, 1953 , p. 71 , Giant tryout, Philadelphia; Jan . 31 , 1957 , West Coast company; "Tak e a Giant Step," Ebony, Sept. 1959 , p. 48; Phili p T. Hartung, Commonweal, Oct. 16 , 1959 , p. 76 ; Var., Dec. 9, 1959 , two reviews ; April 27, 1960 , p . 15 , UA' s sloughin g i t off ; Alyce Ke y clipping , GPJ—UCLA , o n internal friction ; Mar k A . Reid, "The U . S. Black Family Film," Jumpcut, #3 6 [May 1991] , 81-88 , a well researched piec e o n thi s subject. 71. AA, Aug. 5, 1950; Sept. 9, 1950 , onindenture; Ebony, July 1951 , p. 57; CD, Oct . 28, 1950 , o n Lee ; May 5 , 1951 , for denial s o f treatment; Poiter , This Life, chap . 9 ; Var., June 21, 1950 , p. 8, on signing ; Lawson, undated mem o fo r file, asserting authorship for "friend"; an d George [Wilburn?] to Lawson, March 18, 1949 , box 40 , Lawso n papers, SIU ; Barbara Duffin, "Sidne y Poitier," Mor gan semina r paper , pp . 1 , 10, on "punch" ; Walte r Reade-Sterlin g press kit for critical sample; NYT, Jan. 24, 1952; CE, June 23, 1952, Bob Ellis column; AA,

Feb. 2 , 1952 , James Hicks' s praise; March 7 , 1953 , benefit; Guichar d Parris t o NUL staff , Oct . 31 , 1952 , i n bo x 1 , series 5 , NUL-LC ; telephon e intervie w be tween Poitie r and th e author , Marc h 1981 . 72. "Re d Bal l Express," Ebony, June 1952 , pp. 51-53; CD, April 12, 1952; CE, Nov. 1 , 1951; AA, May 24, 1952 ; Var., Jan. 20 , 1954 , p. 18 , on "soapbox ing." Var., April 11, 1956, p. 7 , and Wellman , A Short Time for Insanity, 97 , o n Goodbye My Lady; Poitier , This Life, 174-75 , o n roles ' "significance. " Pau l Meyersberg, "Richar d Brooks, " Movie 1 2 (Sprin g 1965): 10-12 ; NR , Oct. 21 , 1957, pp . 21-22 , o n Something of Value. "Mar k o f th e Hawk, " Ebony, Apri l 1958, p. 9 1 ff.; Var., Feb. 12 , 1958 , p. 6, on "spotty " prospects ; June 12 , 1957, p. 4, on writing off "Dixie": Poitier interview on his lagging fees. LAS, March 13,

1958, sta r bio; Feb. 26, 1959 , Doc Young; Leron e Bennett, "Hollywood's First

368

Notes

Negro Movie Star: Sidney Poitier," Ebony, May 1959 , 100-108 , on Ruby Dee's assertion tha t "the worl d is now ready"; Var., May 1, 1957, p. 3, Poitier sidebar; Poitier cited, transcript of Pandro S. Herman conversation, n.d. , file 1837, MGMLD; LAS , Sept. 28 , 1961 , Paris Blues: LAS, Sept. 1 , 1960 , an d "Al l th e Young Men," Ebony, Aug . 1960 , p . 8 3 ff. , on producer ; Beverl y Linet , Ladd: The Life . . . (Ne w York, 1979) , 236-37 , o n tensio n betwee n Lad d an d Poitier ; Var., Jun e 17 , 1964 , o n The Long Ships; "Ban d o f Angels," Ebony, Sept. 1957 , p. 5 8 ff; Kenneth Co x to W . L. Guthrie, Feb. 18 , 1957 , on segregation ; Charles "Chick" Williams to Jack Warner, July 11 , 1957, on black consultant; Geoffre y Shurlock, PCA, to Warner, Feb . 8, 1957 , o n unacceptabl e se x between maste r and slave , in file 835, WBA-USC ; Var., July 10 , 1957 , p . 5 , on "Dixie. " 73. Senary , Heyday, 278-86 ; interview betwee n Millar d Kaufman an d th e author, Hollywood , Jun e 1970 ; "Scott " [Meredith ] t o "Evan" [pseud , o f Sal Lobino], Feb . 25 , 1954 , o n Journal; Hunter t o "Scott, " Ma y 10 , 1954 , seve n days before Brown decision, arguing for cuts of black skin in "unfavorable light, " Evan Hunte r papers , ML-BU ; Brook s AFI/CAF S seminar , Ma y 25 , 1977 , o n Eddie Mannix, wh o though t it "red," and $380,00 0 nut ; Poitier , This Life, 171 75; Brooks-Cripp s interview, Jun e 1970 . 74. Schary , Heyday, 285-86 ; Brooks-Cripps interview, Dec. 1976, on Italy, MPPA. 75. Schary , Heyday, p . 286, on earnings; "Blackboar d Jungle," Ebony, May 1955, pp. 87-93 , on blac k reception; prais e sample , i n PCA-AMPAS; preview cards in MGM-LD; HR, Feb. 2, 1955 , in particular for conservative Jack Moffit t review. Var., July 13 , 1955, p. 7, on censors in Atlanta; Aug . 31, 1955 , p. 2, on Venice; Pandr o Berma n t o "Red " [Mauric e Silverman] , MGM , copy , Ma y 5 , 1965, on Luce as "useful," i n file 1837, MGM-LD ; Robinson McLilvaine , State Dept., to Arthu r Loew, Sept . 19 , 1955 , in State Department Bulletin 33 (Oct . 3, 1955): 537 , denying Luc e had acte d o n behalf of State; Luce to Hedda Hopper, Nov. 21 , 1955 , claiming hundred s supporte d her ; Luc e to Mrs. Ralp h K. Merriam, Oct . 24, 1955 , admitted action taken as "official," though had acted alon e against "Communists" and that MPAA had acted "voluntarily," in HH-AMPAS.

76. Marti n Ritt , seminar, AFI/CAFS , May 4, 1970 , on own blacklisting ; Harold H . Ster n t o Davi d Susskind , Jan. 19 , 1956 , affidavi t testifyin g t o Ritt' s denial o f CPUS A affiliation, t o accompan y contract , Rit t file, box 37 , Susskind papers, SHSW ; Poitier-Cripps, interview, creditin g Marti n Bau m wit h steerin g through politic s of casting; telephon e intervie w betwee n Rober t Alan Aurthur and th e author , Jul y 1977 , recalling the tearfu l meetin g a t NBC. 77. Susskind' s "rough" draft fo r trailer, quoted, " A Man I s Ten Feet Tall" file, Susskind papers , SHSW ; fina l synopsis , mimeo, Dec . 10 , 1956 , i n C-602, MGM-LD,; Ritt , AFI/CAF S seminar , quoted . 78. Previe w cards , Edge of the City file , bo x 17 , NBC records, SHSW ; clipping on prospects, file C-602, MGM-LD; "Edge o f the City, " Ebony, May 1957 , p. 75 ff., proudl y liberal, thought Poitie r "could have been white"; LAS, Feb. 7, 1957, o n CCN P calling i t " a revolution; " DW , Feb . 14 , 1957 , i n SCRBC , said "power-packed . . . realism, " though with no unions; Var., Jan. 2, 1957, p. 6, praised as "never preachy" social document; LAS, March 22, 1956, on Sylvania Award for NBC; LAS, March 28, 1957; black press sample in Ashton, "Blacks in

Film," pp . 160-61 , includin g Albert Johnson o n blac k audience s wanting t o know wh y Poitie r had t o die . Se e Film Quarterly 1 3 (Fal l 1959) : p . 39 .

Notes

369

79. Bennett , "Poitier, " Ebony, May 1959 , pp. 100-8 ; Poitier, This Life, pp . 335-40. 80. Poitier , This Life, pp . 335-40 ; NYT , Sept. 10 , 1967 ; se e als o Aug . 9 , 1970; Time, March 7 , 1969 , p . 71 . 81. Willia m Small , To Kill a Messenger: Television News and the Real World (New York , 1970) , pp . 43 , 45 , 50 , quotes Mitchell , Monroe, an d Katzenbach ; Benjamin D. Singer, "Mass Media and Communication s Processes in the Detroit Riot of 1967," in Alan Wells, ed., Mass Media and Society (Pal o Alto, 1972), pp. 140-50. 82. Newsweek, June 30 , 1969 , pp . 82 , 86 ; Poitier-Cripp s interview, Nov . 1980; Jame s Baldwi n quoted i n Ashton, "Black s in Film," 169-70 , on "fool" ; Barbara A. Greadington, "Th e Effec t o f Black Films on th e Self-Estee m of Black Adolescents" (Ph.D . University of Miami, 1977) , 79-84, 155 . 83. Interview s betwee n Herber t Hil l an d th e author , beginnin g i n Nov . 1983, Washington , D.C. ; Baraka quoted i n Leacock-Pennebake r press release , n.d., i n author' s possession ; se e also Vogue, Apri l 1 , 1967 , p . 95 , praisin g th e technique o f Dutchman despit e bein g pu t of f by it s "queas y polemic" ; NYT, March 3 , 1967 ; Var., Dec . 18 , 1968 , p . 7 , quotin g H . Ra p Brown ; a stor y corroborated b y interview betwee n Julia n Mayfield, wh o appeare d i n Up Tight, and th e author , July 1976 , Colleg e Park , Md. 84. NYT , Ma y 26, 1964 ; LAS , March 21 , 1968 ; an d o n Sweetback, Thoma s Cripps, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song an d th e Changin g Politics of Genre Film," 238—61, in Pete r Lehman, ed. , Close Viewings: An Anthology of New Film Criticism (Tallahassee , 1990) . 85. Poitier , This Life, 327 , quoted ; telephon e intervie w betwee n Ernes t Kinoy and th e author , Aug. 1977 ; Poitier-Cripps interview, Nov . 1980 ; Ernes t Kinoy and Ro n Milner screenplay in Kinoy papers, SHSW , sampling of press in Marill, Films of Sidney Poitier, 186-88 .

Index Abie's Irish Rose, 208 , 21 6 Action in the North Atlantic, 66-67 , 86 Activism, changin g black , 29 1 Adams, Robert , 276 , 27 7 Adomo, T . W., viii , 5 0 Adventures of Mark Twain, The, 6 5 Adventures of Smilin' Jack, The, 9 9 African Americans , 4 ; a s actors, 20 ; a s audiences, 22 , 119 ; history , o n film, 13, 25, 208 ; press , 104 , 11 7 (o n The Negro Soldier), 14 0 (o n "rac e movies"), 70 (o n Tennessee Johnson); i n Worl d War II , 15 , 22, 45 , 66 , 103-10 4 Africans o n film, 38-42, 7 3 (Sahara), 99100, 27 4 ("Africa n Ink Spots" ) Afro-American: quoted , 5 , 141 , 231 ; o n Lost Boundaries, 25 7 Agee, James , 21, 98-99 , 112 , 155 , 169 , 271 Air Force, 27 , 31 , 6 6 Alexander, Will , and Souther n liberalism , 28 Alexander, Willia m D., 36 , 130 , 132-133 , 145 "All God' s Chillu n Go t Wings," 27 2 All the Young Men, 28 5 All-America News, 135 , 15 0 All-Negro Comics, 15 4 Allen, James S. , 69, 18 2 Allport, Gordon , 115 , 15 2 Am I Guilty?, 131 , 13 3 American capitalism , viii American Counci l on Education , 159 160; 193 7 report , 17 ; on rac e relations , 161 American Counci l on Rac e Relations , 117, 16 8 American Creed, The, 199-20 0 American Dilemma, An, 15 2 American Fil m Center , 160 , 16 3 American Jewis h Committee , 165 , 167 , 216-217 American Librar y Association, 160 , 168 , 173 American Missionar y Associatio n an d film, 16 6 American Negr o Theatre, 30 ; an d NUL, 166 America's Disinherited, 17 , 15 9 America's Town Meeting of the Air, 3 1 Amicus curias, NAAC P as , 136—14 0 Amos 'n' Andy, 81 , 148-149 , 27 9 Amsterdam News, quoted , 11 , 67 , 83 , 124, 145 , 199 , 22 5

Anderson, Byron , 14 5 Anderson, Eddi e ("Rochester") , 46 , 48 , 76, 82 , 95 , 149 ; rol e cu t fro m Brewster's Millions, 17 8 Anderson, Ernest , 32-33 , 66 , 18 0 Anderson, Ivie , 4 6 Anderson, Marian , 5 7 Anderson, Maxwell , an d S o Red the Rose, 5 Andrews, Rober t Hardy , and Bataan, 72 73 Angelo, 27 3 Angels with Dirty Faces, 6-7 Animated cartoons , 196-198 ; see also by title Anna Lucasta, 30, 246, 28 4 Anna's Sin, 27 3 Annie and the Hooded Clan, 16 5 Anti-Defamation League , 165 , 167 , 17 2 Anti-Semitism, 199 , 215-217 ; se e also Crossfire and Gentleman's Agreement Apollo Theatre , 29 , 105 , 140 , 142 , 155 , 180 Ardrey, Robert , 156 , 220; se e also Jeb Armstrong, Louis , 10 , 155 , 20 8 Army, U.S. : and The Negro Soldier, 106 ; and race , 103-10 4 Arnold, Elliott , 281; se e also Flaming Star Arrowsmith, 13 0 Artists and Models, 1 0 Associated Negr o Press, 107 , 23 0 Astor Pictures , 27 3 Atlantic Charter , 24 , 29 , 36 , 38 , 44-45, 99, 206 Audiences: behavio r i n 1939 , 18 ; black, 190, 255 , 273-274, 283 , 293 ; i n Encino, 287 ; an d Flaming Star, 281-283 ; in Harlem , 65 ; an d Home of the Brave, 225; an d ideology , 80 ; and "messag e movies," 26, 249 ; an d The Negro Soldier, 80 , 112 , 116 ; postwar , 155 , 176 , 271; an d The Quiet One, 171-172 ; an d "race movies," 128 , 140 , 143 , 148 , 150; Southern , 55 , 83 , 285 ; teenage , 143; an d teenag e rebellion , 155 ; theat rical, 10 , 156 ; an d Till the End of Time, 92; urban , 286 ; an d wa r movies , 68 ; wartime, 101 ; see also Shotwell , James T. Aurthur, Rober t Alan , 288; se e also Edge of the City Baby Doll, 27 0 Bahama Passage, 9 3

370

Index Baker, Dorothy , 25 9 Baker, Josephine, a t Copa City , 156 Baker, Roy , 28 0 Balaban, Barney , 15 8 Balderston, Joh n L., 69-7 1 Baldwin, James , 26 2 "Ballad fo r Americans," 27 , 30-31 , 37 , 163 Band of Angels, 28 5 Banjo, 20 7 Bank o f America, 189 , 21 1 Bankhead, Tallulah , 74 , 79 , 171 ; se e als o Lifeboat and Quiet One, The Baraka, Amir i (LeRo i Jones) , 150 , 29 2 Barnett, Claud e A., 11 , 30 , 107 , 130 , 155, 253 ; see also Associated Negr o Press Barnhart, Edward , 54 ; see also Offic e o f War Informatio n Barnouw, Erik , 165-166 ; see also Na tional Urba n Leagu e Barnwell, John , 227 Barry, Iris , 160 ; see also Museum o f Mod ern Art Barrymore, Ethel , 105 , 23 7 Barrymore, Lionel , 71 , 19 4 Bartholomew, Freddie , 14 5 Barzman, Ben , 20 9 Baskette, James , 179 , 190-19 3 Bass, Charlotta , 7 6 Bataan, 66 , 72-74, 76-77 Battle of Algiers, The, H . Ra p Brow n on , 292 Battle of Britain, The, a s audienc e test , 161 Baum, Martin, agent , 28 8 Baxter, Julia, 13 8 Beale Street Mama, 140 , 14 8 Beavers, Louise , 11 , 43, 46, 133 , 20 8 Behind the Iron Curtain, 181-18 2 Belafonte, Harry , 251 , 262, 265 , 267 268, 29 0 Bell, Ulric , 8 7 Belle Starr, 53, 97 Benedict, Ruth , 37 , 154 , 164 , 16 7 Benny, Jack , 48 , 149 , 15 5 Berry, Chuck , 14 4 Berry Brothers , 9 6 Bessie, Alvah , 8 6 Best, Willie, 47, 95-96 Bethune, Mar y McLeod , 17 , 29; o n The Song of the South, 19 2 Betrayal, The, 128 , 146-14 7 Beware, 14 4 Bey, Turhan , 42 , 48 , 9 9 Big Timers, 14 5 Big Town, a s race-angle d radi o script , 201-202 Binford, Lloyd , censor i n Memphis , 8 , 93 , 178, 23 1 Birth of a Nation, The, propose d remake , 23 Birth of the Blues, The, 12-1 3 Biscuit Eater, The, 10 8 Black activism , changing, 29 1 Black Boy, 15 6 "Black cabinet, " 17 , 28

371

Black Gold, 20 7 Black Hollywood , 6 2 Black Mikado, The. 8 1 Black Reconstruction, 69 "Black Valentino , the," 8 0 Blackboard Jungle, 144 , 286-28 7 Blacklist, 368n ; see also Hous e Un American Activitie s Committe e Blanke, Henry , 9 "Sexploitation" movies, 29 4 Blockade, 15 , 26, 6 7 Blood Brothers, 28 1 Blood of Jesus, The, 133-134 , 141 , 14 7 Blossoms in the Dust, 5 3 Blue Monday Blues, 9 7 Blueberry Hill, 3 1 Blum, Joh n M. , o n rac e an d Worl d Wa r II, 2 9 Blythe, June, o n medi a an d race , 117 , 161, 19 2 B'nai B'rit h an d film , 16 6 Boarding House Blues, 14 5 Boas, Franz, 37, 16 7 Bodeen, DeWitt , 94 Body and Soul, 208 , 210-214 , 257 , 263 , 266 Bomba series , 18 4 Bond, Horac e Mann , film proposal, 16 4 Bontemps, Arna , an d St. Louis Woman, 186-187 Boogie Woogie Dream, 13 3 Booker T. Washington (Libert y ship), 15 9 "Boomerang effect " of No Way Out, 24 9 Bostic, Joe, o n Cabin in the Sky, 8 3 Bosustow, Stephen , 16 6 Botkin, B . A., 18 9 Boundary Lines, 16 6 Boy with the Green Hair, The, 180 , 208 , 210 Brandon, Thomas , 17 2 Breaking Point, The, 252 , 254 , 25 9 Breen, Joseph : o n Carmen Jones, 262 263; o n The Dark Garden, 178 ; hea d o f PCA, 4 , 7 , 34 , 56 , 97 , 210 , 274 ; o n Home of the Brave, 226 ; o n Lost Boundaries, 231 ; o n Nazism , 26; o n "nigger " as epithet , 21 ; on No Way Out, 246 ; o n The Song of the South, 18 9 Brennan, Walter , 10 , 258 Br'er Rabbit , 19 3 Brewster's Millions, 17 8 Bride of the Gorilla, The, 25 7 Bridges, Lloyd , 222-223 Bright Road, 262-263 Bright Victory, 254 , 257 , 270 , 27 9 Broadway an d racia l themes , 20 5 Broken Arrow, 254 , 28 1 Broken Doll, 28 1 Bronze Venus, 13 3 Brooks, Clarence , 13 0 Brooks, Jess e Lee, 94-96 Brooks, Richard , 144 , 178 , 217 , 285-28 7 Brother John, 29 3 Brotherhood of Man, The, 154 , 161 , 166 ; protests against , 168-16 9 Brown, Ann e Wiggins , 97 Brown, Clarence , 240-241

372

Index

Brown, Everett , 42 Brown, H . Rap , on The Battle of Algiers, 292 Brown, John , a s character, 43 , 67 , 97-98 Brown, Kay , aide t o Davi d O. Selznick , 18-19, 20 Bryant, Marie , 19 9 Buchman, Sidney , 67 ; o n ideology , 65 ; on Walte r White , 3 5 Buck an d Bubbles , 81 Buckner, Robert , 67 , 20 7 Buffalo Bil!, 28 1 Bunche, Ralph , awardin g Oscars , 25 7 Burley, Dan , o n "rac e movies," 14 0 Burning Cross, The, 173 , 184 , 206 ; an d NAACP, 178-17 9 Burstyn, Joseph, and Teamwork, 123-12 4 Busch, Niven , 89 , 194 , 206 , 345 n Butler, Charles , an d blac k "Centra l Cast ing," 4 6 "Butterbeans an d Susie, " 8 2 Cabin in the Sky, 66, 80 , 82 , 83 , 85 , 130 , 255 "Caine Mutiny effect, " 26 9 Cairo, 55 ; an d OWI , 9 3 Caledonia. 14 4 California Eagle, 67, 241 , 243 , 284 ; o n Pinky, 23 8 Calloway, Cab , 84-85, 143 , 155 ; cen sored, 178 ; o n Pinky, 23 8 Calypso, 28 0 Cameron, Earl , 275-276, 28 0 Cannibal Attack, 18 5 Canty, Marietta , 4 3 Capra, Frank , 7 , 103 , 106 , 108 , 113 , 161 , 207; an d Clarenc e Muse, 48 ; an d Wa r Department, 12 0 Captive Wild Woman, 9 9 Carey, Harry , 41 Carib Song, 9 7 Carmen Jones, 81 , 262-26 3 Carnegie Foundatio n suppor t fo r film study, 160 , 16 4 Carnival in Rhythm, 97 Carr, Trem , 5 5 Carter, Ben , 72 , 74 , 7 6 Carver, Georg e Washington , i n film , 17 , 135, 160 , 25 5 Casablanca, 4 3 Cass Timberlane, 205 , 20 8 Cat People, 9 4 Catalogues o f liberal agencies, 16 3 "Cattle calls, " 12 , 17 9 Cayton, Horace , 29-30 , 36 , 52 , 105 ; o n Native Son, 279 Censorship, 4 , 8 , 15 , 93, 152 , 178 , 187 , 210, 231 , 239, 257, 265, 278; i n Memphis, 55 , 113 ; an d NAACP , 272 ; o f "race movies," 12 8 Challenge, The, filme d versio n o f To Secure These Rights, 16 3 Challenge of Hate, The, textbook , 15 4 Chapman, Oscar , Secretary of Agriculture, 119 Charlie Cha n series , 48, 180 , 18 5 Chenal, Pierre , 27 8

Chicago Defender, o n Pinky, 225 , 23 8 "Chittlin' Circuit, " 8 1 Chuck an d Chuckles , 95 Church bombe d b y Luftwaffe , a s recur ring image , 11 0 Civil right s movement , 261-262 , 285 ; civil right s bill , 15 9 Clark, Gen . Mark , 123 , 13 5 Clark, Walte r Va n Tilburg, 67, 98-99 "Classical" Hollywood style , 4 , 20 3 Cleopatra, 26 1 Clock, The, 18 4 Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs, 19 7 Cochran, Thoma s C. , quoted, 2 8 Cohn, Harry , 73 , 78 , 99 , 178 ; o n The Negro Soldier, 11 5 Cole, Nat , 143 , 28 3 Coles, Charle s "Honi, " 14 3 Colonialism an d film, 71, 275-276 Color of Man, The, 16 6 Colored Players , The, 8 , 12 6 Comic book s an d race , 15 4 Commentary o n Crossfire, 21 7 Committee fo r Democrati c Culture, 63 Committee fo r Mass Educatio n i n Rac e Relations, 11 9 Commonweal, 54 , 62 , 8 5 Communist Part y o f the Unite d State s of America, 14 , 16 , 21-22, 63 , 67 , 70-72, 75, 105 , 168 , 181-182 , 224 , 253 , 257 ; and Lost Boundaries, 230 ; o n The Quiet One, 17 2 Congo, The, 101 , 11 9 Congo Maisie, 12 , 17 9 Congress o f Industrial Relation s catalogue: an d comi c books , 154 ; "Film s for Labor, " 173 ; o n The Negro Soldier, 158; proposal s fo r fil m usage , 16 6 Connelly, Marc , 8-9 , 81 , 83 ; o n The Negro Soldier, 10 6 "Conscience-liberalism," ix , 18 , 54, 58 59, 63 , 65 , 67 , 71 , 91 , 94 , 107 , 114 , 125, 136 , 155 , 159 , 165 , 169 , 175 , 196, 200-201 , 204-205 , 215 , 221 222; a s coalition, 26-28 , 37 , 57, 60 64, 72 , 7 6 Cool World, The, 17 2 Cooper, Ralph , 13 0 Coordinator o f Inter-America n Affairs , 120, 18 8 Corey, Jeff , 22 2 Counterattack, an d oppositio n t o The Brotherhood of Man, 16 8 "Countervailing powers, " viii , 10 2 Covington, Floyd , an d Lo s Angeles NUL, 10 Cowboy Canteen, 18 6 "Crackers" as epithet , 7 1 Grain, Jeanne , 23 7 Crash Dive, 58 , 66 , 72-7 6 Crime and Punishment, 26 1 Crime School, 20 1 Crossfire, 215-22 0 "Crossovers," 81 , 129 , 18 6 Crouch, Willia m Forrest, director of Soundtes, 14 3

Index Crowther, Bosley , 41 , 79 , 172 , 190, 216 , 230, 246 , 257, 274, 292 Cry, the Beloved Country, 145 , 279, 28 4 Cullen, Countee , 186-18 7 Cult of Equality, The, 92 "Cultural relativism, " 36-37 , 16 7 "Cultural system, " 25 7 Curley. 17 8 Current, Gloster , o n Song of the South, 192 Curse of the Cat People, 94 , 26 6 Curtis, Tony , i n The Defiant Ones, 28 5 Curtiz, Michael, 66-67, 259 Daily Worker, 1 6 Dale, Edgar : as consultan t o n The Plow That Broke the Plains, 16 ; on propose d films, 17 ; o n The Quiet One, 171; on White's campaign , 4 9 Dalfiume, Richard , i x Dallas World, 22 4 Dandridge, Dorothy , 42 , 46 , 48 , 133, 143, 262, 264 Danger in the Pacific, 9 9 Daniels, Billy , 149, 186 Dark Garden, The, 178 Dark Manhattan, 13 0 Dassin, Jules, 25 2 Daves, Delmer, 86 , 254, 281 Davis, Benjami n 0. , Gen . 112, 115 Davis, Bette , 32-33 , 3 5 Davis, Elmer , an d OWI , 15, 36, 104 , 112, 137 Davis, Ossie , 280 ; in Jeb, 156 Daybreak at Udi, 152, 179, 274-275, 277, 280 Dead En d Kid s series, 55 , 10 0 Dee, Ruby , 145 , 249 Deep Are the Roots, 156 , 213, 223-224 Defiant Ones, The, 285, 292-293 Delahanty, Thornton , 4 4 DeLavallade, Carmen , 26 1 Deming, Barbara , 54-55 , 93-94 ; o n post war movies , 183 , 187 Democratic platfor m (1948) , an d civi l rights, 15 3 DeRochemont, Louis , 226-230 DeSylva, B . G . "Buddy," 55 Detective Story, 25 4 Dickinson, Thorold , 276-27 7 "Dicty" Negroes, 4 6 Dieterle, William , 15 , 216 Dietz, Howard , 58 , 71, 74-75 Dirty Gertie from Harlem USA, 14 8 Disney, Walt , 188-19 2 Dixie, 6 2 Dixiecrat movement, 23 6 Dixon, Harwin , 12 8 Dr. Kildar e series, 44 , 4 8 Documentary fil m culture , 15 , 93, 113, 119, 124 , 152, 159, 160-162, 18 3 Dodge City, 9 8 Don "Red " Barry series, 185 Don't Be a Sucker, 163 , 199 Double Deal, 12 8 "Double V, " 28 , 52 , 64, 76 , 101 , 104 105, 124 , 129, 134-136, 161-162 ,

373

188, 228 ; B. G. DeSylva on, 55-57 ; and CPUSA , 182; and NAACP , 111 Douglas, Hele n Gahagan , 28 , 4 4 Douglas, Melvyn , 35 , 44; o n documen taries, 16 5

Drive for Brotherhood, The, 173 Drums of the Congo, 4 2

DuBois, W . E. B., 69-70, 126 , 129, 246 Duel in the Sun, 193-19 6 Duke, Vernon , 8 1 Duke Is Tops, The, 13 3 Duncan, Todd, 1 3 Dunham, Katharine , 49 , 85 , 95 , 97 , 182, 273 Dunne, Philip : o n Hollywood , 177 ; on Pinky, 232 , 234-236 Duvivier, Julien, 69 , 27 1 Dymytrk, Edward , 21 7

Earth and High Heaven, 21 5

East Sid e Kids , 53, 9 3 Easy to Get, 118 Ebony, 67 , 179-181 , 207, 224, 260-261, 270; o n Band of Angels, 285 ; on The Burning Cross, 206 ; on Georg e Pal, 198; o n Intruder in the Dust, 241; on Island in the Sun, 264; on It Happened in Springfield, 204 ; on Jammin' the Blues, 199 ; on Lost Boundaries, 228; On Man of Two Worlds, 277-278 ; o n The Member of the Wedding, 261 ; o n Pinky. 23 8 Ebony Parade, 14 3 Ebony Showcas e Theatre , 17 9 Eboue, Felix , as proposed biopi c subject , 68, 16 5 Eddie Duchin Story, The, 270 Edge of the City, 287-28 8

Educational Film Guide, The, 173

Educational Fil m Librar y Association, 116-117, 160-162 , 164 , 168 , 173

Edwards, James, 213-214, 222-223, 225,

261; an d los s o f role in No Way Out, 245 Einfeld, Charles , 21 1 Eisenhower, Milton , 36 , 114 , 137 Eisner, Will , creator o f The Spirit, 15 4 Ellington, Duke , 30 , 143 , 155, 198 Ellis, Bob , 230, 241 Ellison, Ralph , 205 , 227, 243-244 Embree, Edwi n R. , 115 ; on The Negro Soldier, 15 8 Emmanuel, Elzy , 241-242 Empire Marketin g Board , 38 , 27 4 End of the River, The, 274 "Erasure" of blacks, 59 , 19 6 Ewige Jude, Der, 61, 6 8

Eyes of the Night, 10 0

Fair Employmen t Practice s Commission , 28, 36 , 50 , 60 , 162 , 167 "Fair play, " 27 , 116 , 222, 227 Farber, Manny , 9 6 Farm Securit y Administration, 57, 10 2 Fast, Howard , 63 , 16 6 Faulkner, William , 221, 240, 258 Federal Theatre , 10 , 12 , 3 0

374

Index

Feibleman, James K., viii , 50 , 10 2 Fetchit, Stepin , 11 , 32 , 46, 48 , 81 , 129 , 145, 180 , 29 1 Fidler, Jimmy , 2 4 "Fight fo r Freedom," 28, 10 5 Fight Never Ends, The, 14 5 Fighting Faith, 3 7 Fighting Lady, The, 113 Film an d Phot o League , 16 9 Film Counci l o f America, 161 , 164 , 16 8 Film noir, 148 , 173 , 210 , 213 , 217 , 220 , 246, 266 , 27 4 Films for Libraries, 16 8 Finian's Rainbow, 156 , 20 5 Fisher, Walter , 12 5 Five. 26 1 Flame in the Streets, 28 0 Flaming Star, 281-28 2 Fluellen, Joel , 18 0 Fonda, Henry , 9 8 Fontaine, Joan : an d blac k WACs , 155 ; and Island in the Sun, 263-26 5 Ford, John, 73, 130 , 236 , 252 , 261 , 27 0 Foreman, Carl , 207, 22 2 Forgotten Village, The, 27 8 "Four Freedoms," 29, 44-45, 93 Four Shall Die, 13 3 Four Sons, 6 7 Foxes of Harrow, The, 179-180,208-21 1 Franklin, Wendell , 14 9 Frazier, E . Franklin, o n Tennessee Johnson, 72 Freed, Arthur , 8 1 Freeman, Y . Frank, 5 , 10 , 45, 53 , 17 8 Fritsch, Gunther , an d Curse of the Cat People, 9 4 From Ritual to Romance, 25 1 Frontier Films , 1 5 "Fiihrer's Face, Der, " 2 7 Galbraith, Joh n Kenneth , vii i Gallup poll , 29 , 50 , 116 , 166 , 25 7 Gang Smashers, 13 3 Gang War, 14 0 Garfleld, John , 46, 58 , 210-212, 257 259 Gary American, o n Gone with the Wind, 23 Gentleman's Agreement, 217 , 219-220 , 236, 28 1 Gershwin, George , 96-97 , 211 Gibson, Truman , 104 , 112 , 114 , 118 120, 157 , 262 ; o n Island in the Sun, 264 Girl in Room 20, The, 14 8 Glass, George , 222-22 6 Glucksman, Emmanuel , 130-13 3 Go Down Death, 14 7 Go for Broke, 255-256 God Sends Sunday, 18 6 God's Little Acre, 27 0 God's Step Children, 131-13 2 "Goin' t o Heave n o n a Mule," 12 Goldberg, Jack , 105 , 114-115 , 130 , 132 133, 136-14 0 Golden Boy, 12 , 21 1 Goldilocks and the Jiving Bears, 19 7

Goldwyn, Samuel , 53 , 58 , 174 , 206 ; Nelson Poynte r on , 4 5 Gone with the Wind, 3 , 4, 7 , 11 ; premiere , 21; a s universal icon , 2 1 Good Will Days, 15 4 Goodbye My Lady, 28 5 Goodwin, Ruby , 11; on "nigger, " 21 "Goona goona " movies, 25 7 Graham, Frank , 2 9 Gramsci, Antonio , viii , 221; o n "clas s collaboration," 18 2 Granger, Lester , 11 , 15 7 Grant, Elspeth , o n Pinky, 23 8 Granz, Norman , 155 , 19 8 Grapes of Wrath, The, 4 3 Great Dictator, The, 15 , 216; Germa n consul's oppositio n to , 2 6 Great Gildersleeve, The, 93-94 , 18 5 Greatest Story Ever Told, The, 26 1 Greaves, William , 229 ; i n Lost in the Stars, 145 ; i n Sepia Cinderella, 11 9 Green, Eddie , 133 , 14 3 Green, Wendell, 19 4 Green Pastures, The, 8-9 , 31 , 81-82, 130 , 156 Greensboro sit-ins , 254, 269 , 282-28 3 Grierson, John , 16 , 160 , 162 , 16 5 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, 28 9 Gun Moll, 13 3 Guyse, Sheila , 14 5 Gyssling, George , Germa n consu l i n Los Angeles, 1 5 Haley, Bill , an d Hi s Comets, 144 , 28 7 Hall, Stuart , vii i Hallelujah!, 8 , 9 Handy, W . C., biopic of , 28 3 Hansberry, Lorraine , 28 4 Barbel (firm) , 22 6 Harder They Fall, The, 212 , 26 1 Hardwick, Leon , 188 ; an d "silen t boy cott," 185 Harlem Cavalcade, 30 Harlem Follies, 14 3 Harlem Hospital , in film , 16 3 Harlem on the Prairie, 13 2 Harlem Rides the Range, 12 8 Harlem rio t o f 1943 , 6 5 Harmon, Frances : o n Pinky, 239 ; o n The Song of the South, 19 0 Harris, Avenelle , an d Jump for Joy, 4 6 Hartley, Willia m H. , in audiovisua l move ment, 159-16 0 Hartung, Philip , an d OWI , 54 , 55 , 8 5 Hastie, Judge William , 103-10 4 Hawks, Howard , 6 6 Haynes, Daniel , 5 Hays, Will , 4, 6 ; o n Artists and Models, 81; o n Len a Home , 80 Hearts in Dixie, 8 , 1 1 Hecht, Ben , 105-106 ; an d Gone with the Wind, 1 8 Heckle an d Jeckle , animate d cartoon , 19 7 Hellman, Lillian , 12 , 31, 57-5 9 Hemingway, Ernest , 258-259 Henry Browne, Farmer, 107-108 , 11 7 Hepburn, Philip , in Bright Road, 26 2

Index Herbert, F . Hugh, scrip t doctor o n Since You Went Away, 8 7 Hernandez, Juano , 87 , 241-42, 258-259 Higher and Higher, 9 5 Highest Tradition, The, 16 3 Hill, Abram , 30 , 79 , 132 , 179 ; o n Big Timers, 145 ; o n "rac e movies," 4 3 Hill, Herbert , NAAC P labor secretary , an d Hollywood, 262 , 292 Hippler, Fritz , 68, 12 1 Hitchcock, Alfred , 73 , 79 , 10 1 Hobson, Laur a Z., 21 8 Hohl, Arthur , 20 3 Holley, John S. , 33 Holliday, Billie , 20 8 Hollingshead, Gordon , 56-58 , 60 , 100 , 202 Hollywood, 10 , 26, 27 , 31-32 , 65 , 151 , 177, 226 , 26 2 Hollywood, Africa n American , 11 , 45-48, 53; decline , 185 ; society , 17 9 Hollywood Anti-Naz i league, 2 6 Hollywood Democratic Committee, 6 3 Hollywood Independen t Citizen s Committee fo r the Arts , Science s an d Pro fessions, 62-63 , 18 2 Hollywood Victor y Committee, 53 , 15 5 Hollywood Writers ' Congress , 63 Hollywood Writers ' Mobilization , 11 5 Home of the Brave, 221-226, 256-25 7 Hopper, Hedda , 14 , 205, 253 ; o n Jame s Baskette, 179 ; o n Tales of Manhattan, 96 Home, Lena, 63 , 96 , 133 ; a s animate d cartoon, 197 ; cu t fro m Words and Music, 178 ; a s Julie in Showboat, 186 187; an d NAAC P film , 161 ; refusa l t o act i n St. Louis Woman, 187 ; i n Stormy Weather, 80 ; a s Swee t Georgi a Brow n in Cabin in the Sky, 81-82 ; i n Worl d War II , 48 Hot Lips Jasper, 19 8 Hot Mikado, The. 3 0 House I Live In, The, 200-201, 216 ; Os car for , 17 9 House Un-America n Activitie s Committee, 14 , 63, 67 , 125 , 176 , 181-183 , 212, 236 , 252-25 4 Howard, Sidney , write r o n Gone with the Wind, 3 , 1 9 Howards of Virginia, The, 6 7 Hubley, John, 16 6 Huffaker, Clair , script doctor o n Flaming Star, 28 2 Hughes, Howard , 178 , 21 0 Hughes, Langston , 110 , 154 , 164 , 277 78; o n Way Down South, 223-22 5 Hunter, Evan, 286 Hurst, Fannie , 211 , 27 0 Hurwitz, Leo , 1 6 Huston, John, 32 , 281 I&E (Informatio n an d Educatio n Division), 11 1 / Dood It, 9 6 / Married a Savage, 25 7 / Walked with a Zombie, 9 4

375

/ Was a Communist for the FBI, 25 4 I Was A Fugitive from a Chain Gang, 1 0 Ickes, Harol d L., 28 Imitation of Life, 10 , 209 , 255 , 27 0 In Old Kentucky, 11 , 20 9 In the Street, 16 9 In This Our Life, 32-34 , 55 , 66 ; Walte r White on , 45 Ingram, Rex , 63, 67 , 72 , 78 , 155 , 198 , 207 International Fil m Association , 16 0 International Fil m Foundation, 164 , 16 6 Interracial Fil m an d Radi o Guild, 148 ; and St. Louis Woman, 18 7 Intruder in the Dust, 219 , 221 , 240-244 Island in the Sun, 263-26 5 It Happened in Springfield, 162 , 173 , 201 204, 208 ; Elizabet h Zutt on , 20 5 Jackie Robinson Story, The, 221, 244 , 255 , 257 Jackson, Fa y M., 1 1 Jackson, Lilli e M., o n No Way Out, 24 9 Jacobs, Lewis , 60 Jacoby, Irving , on documentary , 116 , 16 0 Jaffe, Henry , 51 , 5 3 Jammin' the Blues, 173 , 198-19 9 Jasper and the Beanstalk, 345 n Jasper's Music Lesson, 198 , 345 n Jazz at the Philharmonic, 155 , 19 8 Jazz in film , 13 , 18 , 20 8 Jazz Othello, 13 3 Jazz Singer, The, 8 Jeb, 156-157 , 22 0 Jeffries, Herb , 4 6 Jerome, V . J., o n "messag e movies," 224 , 230, 238 , 243 , 25 7 Jessye, Eva , 48-49 Jews, 27 , 38 , 88-89, 115 Jim Comes to Jo'burg, 27 4 Joe and Asbestos, comic strip , 15 4 John Henry and Inky Poo, 19 8 Johnson, Andrew , 57-58 , 69-7 1 Johnson, Dots , 248, 27 2 Johnson, Hall , choir, 20 , 4 9 Johnson, Nunnally, 10 , 12 ; and Flaming Star, 282 ; o n Island in the Sun, 265 Johnston, Eric , 286-287; on censorship , 226, 244 ; o n Lloy d Binford, 178 ; a s successor t o Wil l Hays, 18 8 Jolson, Al , 8, 12 , 97, 21 6 Jones, Doroth y B. , OWI, 5 4 Jones, Emily S., in audiovisua l move ment, 16 0 Jones, J . Richardson , 16-1 7 Jones, Jennifer, 19 6 Jones, Juli , 14 8 Jones, Rober t Earl , 30 Jordan, Louis , 144 Juke Joint, 140 , 14 8 Jump for Joy, 45 , 19 7 Jungle Captive, 18 4 Jungle Goddess, 18 4 Jungle Jive, 345 n Jungle Queen, 99 Jungle Siren, 9 9

376

Index

Kansan, The, 47 Katzman, Sam , 55 , 14 4 Kazan, Elia , 218 , 270 ; o n Pinky, 23 6 Kelly, Colin , 31 , 58 , 66 , 200 , 22 0 Kelly, Gene , 17 3 Kerima, 27 4 Kern, Jerome , biopic , 186-18 7 Kessel, Barney , 19 9 Killens, Joh n Oliver , 266-26 7 Killing, The, 26 1 King, Martin Luther , Jr. , 263 , 29 0 Kingsblood Royal, 20 5 Kitzmiller, John , 27 3 Kling, Ken , creato r o f Joe and Asbestos, 154 Knight, Arthur , 175-176 , 25 3 Know for Sure, 11 8 Kohner, Susan , 27 0 Korda, Zoltan , 279 , 28 4 Kraft, Hy , 83-84; an d Kingsblood Royal script, 20 5 Kramer, Stanley , 221-26 , 29 3 Kurtz, Wilbur , 1 9 La Dolce Vita, 140 , 27 3 La Guardia , Fiorello , 115 , 139 La Montagne Est Verte, 163 , 27 1 Lacy, Sam , an d Jacki e Robinson , 15 4 LaMar, Lawrence , 11 ; on Walte r White , 180 Land of Liberty, 16 , 163 ; propose d re make, 16 5 Landry, Ome r Stuart , 92 , 11 5 Lardner, Ring , Jr., 166 , 168 , 26 9 Lasky, Jess e L., Jr., 64-6 5 Last Angry Man, The, 27 0 LaTouche, John , 27, 81 Launching of the Booker T. Washington, The, 56-6 0 Laurents, Arthur , 22 2 Lawson, Joh n Howard , 67 , 75-76, 86 Lay My Burden Down, 18 9 LeBaron, William , producer , Stormy Weather, 8 4 Lee, Canada , 30 , 49, 72 , 79 , 105 , 211 213, 253 , 284 Lerner, A . R., 15 4 Lerner, Harr y M. , audiovisua l activist , lat e ofl&E, 16 2 LeRoy, Mervyn , an d The House I Live In, 200 Lesser, Sol , 24 , 4 2 Let My People Live, 1 7 Levene, Sam , 6 0 Levette, Harry , 11 , 85, 180 ; o n "reds, " 253 Levin, Meyer , legen d of , 31 , 66 , 200 , 22 0 Levitt, Alfred Lewis, 20 9 Levitt, Helen , 169-17 1 Lewis, Edwar d W. , blac k newsfilm , 15 0 Lewton, Val , 10 , 94, 22 2 Lichtman, Al , 7 2 Life (magazine) , on Home of the Brave, 225; o n Jammin' the Blues, 199 ; "Movie o f the Week, " 230 , 287 ; "Paris" cover, 2 7 Life ofEmile Zola, The, 15 , 21 6

Lifeboat, 66 , 72-74 , 76 , 78-79 , 86 , 20 7 Lilies of the Field, 68 , 252 , 289-29 0 Lincoln Compan y goals , 5 0 Lion Ma n comi c strip , 15 4 Little Foxes, The, 12 , 31 , 5 5 Littlest Rebel, The, 1 2 Liveliest Art, The, o n "thermidor, " 175 176 "Loch Lomond, " syncopated, 1 4 Locke, Alain , 16 ; and Wal t Disne y letter , 188-189 Loeb, Janice, an d The Quiet One, 169 , 172 Lomax, Almena , o n Odds Against Tomorrow, 268-26 9 Lonely Crowd, The, 254 , 28 9 Long Ships, The, 28 5 Lord, Fathe r Danie l J. , 8 Lorentz, Pare , 16 ; on Gone with the Wind, 21, 2 3 Los Angeles Sentinel, 141 , 148 , 179-180 , 194, 270 , 29 3 Lost Boundaries, 221 , 226-23 2 Lost in the Stars, 24 5 Lost Patrol, The, 7 3 Louis, Joe , 58-59 , 109-110 , 118 , 141 , 145, 26 1 Louis DeRochemont-Reader' s Digest , Inc., 228 , 23 1 Louisiana Purchase, 4 3 Lovejoy, Frank , 223 , 22 5 L-Shaped Room, The, 28 0 Luce, Claire , 28 7 Lucey's restaurant , a s liberal hangout , 181 Lunceford, Jimmy , 30 , 43 Lydia Bailey. 256 , 259-6 0 McCarthy, Senato r Josep h R. , 183 , 252 254 McDaniel, Hattie , 11 , 46-47, 86-88, 96 , 179; an d Oscar , 21-24 , 17 9 MacDougall, Ranald , 26 6 MacLeish, Archibald , an d OWI , 36 , 10 5 McQueen, Butterfly , 3, 21, 48 , 189 , 194 195; vs . Jack Benny , 17 9 Mabley, Jacki e "Moms, " 145 Mace, Borden , 227 , 231-23 2 Maciste series , 27 3 Maddow, Ben , 240-24 1 Malcolm X , 3 Maltese Falcon, The, blac k extra s in , 3 2 Maltz, Albert , 181 , 20 0 Mambo, 27 3 Man of Two Worlds, 275-27 8 Man. One Family, 16 3 Mankiewicz, Joseph , 244—246 ; se e als o No Way Out Mantan Messes Up, 180 , 19 0 March of Time, The. 18 , 53 , 22 7 March On, America, 64 , 9 3 March o n Washingto n Movement , 72 , 105 Marching On, 104-105 , 133 , 141-14 2 Mark of the Hawk, 28 5 Markham, Pigmeat , 133 , 14 3 Marshall, Gen . Georg e C , 103 , 11 1

Index Marshall, Thurgood , 115 ; and censorship , 178 Marshall, William , 26 0 Martins, Orlando , 276-27 7 Marxists, viii , 50 , 271-272; and The Negro Soldier, 116 ; and Teamwork, 124; and Tennessee Johnson, 7 0 Maryland Stat e Censo r Board , 38 , 93 , 257, 27 4 Mason, Clifford , o n Poitier , 29 1 Masses & Mainstream, o n Paisan, 27 1 Master Comics, 15 4 Mayan Theatre , 4 5 Mayer, Loui s B., 15 , 71, 73 , 240, 286287 Mead, Margaret , 3 7 Meanest Man in the World, The, 93 Meier, August , 15 3 Mein Kampf, 110 , 121 Mellett, Lowell , 44-45 , 57 , 61, 70-71, 216 Member of the Wedding, The, 261 Memphis Belle, 11 3 Memphis Bound, 14 5 Men o' War, 31 Mendez, Rafael , o n Jasper soundtrack , 198 "Message movie" cycle, 214, 220, 283 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 70 , 72, 81-82 , 96; an d ad-copy , 7 5 Meyers, Sidney , 16 9 Michaux, Elde r Solomo n Lightfoot , 105, 114-115, 136-14 0 Micheaux, Oscar , 36 , 104 , 128, 132-133, 146-147 Milestone, Lewis , 10 , 17 8 Mill, Gjon , 173 , 198; see als o Jammin' the Blues Miller, Clyd e R., and / ( Happened in Springfield. 20 1 Miller, Doric , 31 , 58 , 66 , 76 , 110 , 220 Miller, Warren , o n The Quiet One, 172 Mills Brothers , 14 3 Minnelli, Vincente , 81-82 , 9 6 Miracle in Harlem, 128 , 145 Mission to Moscow, 67, 9 3 Mississippi Blackout, 9 3 Mr. Adams's Bomb, 14 3 Mr. and Mrs. America, 9 3 Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, 207 Mr. Washington Goes to Town, 13 2 Mitchell, Margaret , 3 , 18-19 ; se e als o Gone with the Wind Mitchum, Robert , 90 , 21 7 Moby Dick, 26 1 Moffitt, Joh n C , 1 4 "Moguls," 49, 53 , 61 , 175 , 181, 215 Moon, Henr y Lee, 162-163, 240-241 Moonrise, 207-20 8 Moreland, Mantan , 43 , 48 , 129 , 133 , 143, 145 , 180, 184 Morning for Jimmy, A, 16 6 Morrison, "Sunshin e Sammy, " 54—5 5 Morros, Boris , 69 Mortal Storm, The, 216 Moss, Carlton , 22, 28-29, 70, 102-104 ,

377

165, 168 , 180, 222-223, 244, 329 Motion Pictur e Allianc e fo r the Preserva tion o f American Values , 63 Motion Pictur e Associatio n o f America , 11, 14 , 138 , 195, 231, 239 Munson, Gen . Lyman, 120 , 217, 253 ; and 20t h Century-Fox , 17 8 Murphy, Carl , 257; and censorin g o f No Way Out, 246 Murphy, George , 6 6 Murray, Joh n "Rastus, " 143 Muse, Clarence , 5-6 , 11 , 24-26, 48 , 62, 99, 179 , 190, 193 Museum o f Modern Art , 120, 139, 160 My Song Goes Forth, 27 4 Myrdal, Gunnar , 91-92 , 15 2 Myrick, Susan , 19-2 0 Mystery of the Riverboat. 9 3 Naked City, The genre, 227 , 246 Nash, Philleo , 115 , 119; and hop e for postwar OWI , 15 7 National Association fo r the Advance ment o f Colored People , 5 , 10 , 28, 56 , 62-63, 65 , 73 , 76-77, 243 ; as amicus curiae, 115 , 239; and army , 103 ; and The Burning Cross, 206 ; and cartoons , 197; an d censorshi p i n decline , 178 , 226, 231 ; convention o f 1942 , 28, 44 45, 53 ; an d Duel in the Sun, 195 ; and foreign films, 276-278; and fund raising film, 161-162 ; goal s and The Negro Soldier, 112 ; on Henry Browne, Farmer, 108 ; and Hollywoo d Bureau , 54, 101 , 164, 180-181, 187 ; and Hollywood liberals , 15 ; an d Home of the Brave, 224 ; vs. Michaux an d Goldberg , 136-140; o n Native Son, 279; on No Way Out, 246; on promotiona l films and pamphlets , 17 , 52; o n "race movies," 142-143 ; on venerea l diseas e training-films, 11 8 National Committe e o n Socia l Values , 11 National Counci l o f Christian s and Jews , and film , 16 6 National Counci l o f Negro Women , 115 , 192 National Jewis h Welfar e Board , 16 2 National Negr o Congress , 112 , 124; pro posed Hollywoo d office , 18 0 National Recover y Administration , 2 8 National Urba n League , 10-11 , 28 , 154, 165-166, 226, 230, 257, 262, 284 Native Land, 1 6 Native Son, 29-30, 166 , 278-279; an d censorship, 36 5 Nature of Prejudice, The, 152 Nazimova, Alia, 8 9 Negro Actor on Gone with the Wind, 2 3 Negro Actors Guild Newsletter, 9 5 Negro and the War, The, pamphlet, 135 , 137 Negro Colleges in Wartime, 107 , 117 Negro Digest, 21 7 Negro Educationa l and Documentar y Film Organization , 16 5 Negro Farmer, The, 160

378

Index

Negro Marches On, The, 13 6 Negro Soldier, The, 57 , 73 , 75 , 102-125 , 133, 136-140 , 153 , 158 , 163-16 5 New Masses, 12 4 New Orleans, 208, 21 0 New Trier Hig h Schoo l "red " bulleti n board, 15 4 New World A'Comin', 31 , 9 1 New York Times, 37 , 41, 67 , 83 , 243 , 277; o n The Burning Cross, 184 ; o n The Negro Soldier, 11 2 Newhart, Bob , 25 4 Next Voice You Hear, The, 17 3 Nichols, Dudley , on Pinky, 234-23 5 Nicholas Brothers , 8 5 "Nigger" as epithet, 5 , 21, 65 , 99 , 159 , 223, 241 , 246 , 254 , 27 8 Night of the Quarter Moon, The, 283-284 No Time for Romance, 14 5 No Way Out, 221 , 244-249 None Shall Escape, 25 4 Norford, George , 86 , 124 , 141 , 20 7 Norwanda (firm) , 14 5 Nothing Sacred, 1 0 Nunn, Willia m G. , and "Doubl e V, " 28 , 36 Nykino, 15 , 16 9 Nyoka the Jungle Girl, 99 Oboler, Arch , 26 1 Odds Against Tomorrow, 266-269, 363 n Odets, Clifford , 12 , 97, 181 , 211-21 2 Of Mice and Men, 10 , 12 , 6 7 Office o f War Information , 15 , 26-29, 36-37, 44-45, 59-61 , 65 , 69-72, 76, 86, 93-94, 103-106 , 112 , 157 , 216 ; and blac k opinion , 30 , 135 ; an d cam paign t o sho w The Negro Soldier to ci vilians, 111 ; film monitors' reports , 54 55; i n Hollywood , 51 ; o n / ( Happened in Springfield, 204 ; o n Jasper, 198 ; overseas branch, 120 ; postwa r markets , 158; "privat e OWI," 157-158 ; and "race movies, " 130-133 ; o n Since You Went Away an d Till the End of Time, 87, 89 , 9 3 One Dark Night, 13 3 One People, 16 6 One Tenth of a Nation, 107 , 150 , 16 3 One Third of a Nation, 1 0 One World, 16 3 Opportunity, 141 , 174 , 206-20 7 Orfeo Negro, 28 0 "Organic intellectuals, " vii i Osborn, Gen . Frederick , 103 , 11 1 "Oscar," 179 ; fo r Daybreak at Udi, 274 ; for The House I Live In, 200 ; Jame s Baskette's posthumou s award , 19 3 Otherness, viii , 209-210 Ottley, Roi , 31 , 91 ; an d New World A'Comin', 5 2 Our Daily Bread, 14 0 Our Gal Sunday, 3 1 Our Lan', 15 6 Our World, 17 9 Outcast of the Islands, 27 4 Owen, Chandler , 135 , 137

Owens, Jesse, 11 9 Ox-Bow Incident, The, 98-9 9 Padover, Saul , 119 , 15 7 Paine, J . M. , viii Paisan, 271-27 2 Pal, George , 197-19 8 Panama Hattie, 9 6 "Paper Doll," 186 Parade of Progress, 1 6 Paradise in Harlem, 13 3 Pardon My Sarong, 97 Paris Blues, 285-28 6 Parsons, Louella , 1 4 Patterns of Culture, 3 7 Peace Film s Foundation , 1 5 Peanut Man, The, 25 5 Peck, Gregory , 194-195 , 21 7 "Peola," 270, 36 3 People's Voice, 62 , 83 , 117 ; o n The Negro Soldier, 16 1 Perils of Nyoka, 99 Perry, Edwar d G. , on Gone with the Wind, 23 Peters, Brock , 28 0 Peterson, Caleb , 90 , 92 , 188 ; o n Bataan, 58, 7 4 Peterson, Louis , 28 4 Petrified Forest, The, 3 0 Petry, Ann , 20 6 Pigmeat's Laugh Repeals, 14 3 Pinky, 221 , 232-40, 249 Pittsburgh Courier, 28, 52 , 55 , 58 , 6 0 Platt, David , 182 ; o n Gone with the Wind, 22; and Tennessee Joohnson, 69-7 0 Plow That Broke the Plains, The, 16-17 , 102, 15 9 PM, 79, 92, 117 , 12 4 Poitier, Sidney , 68 , 91 , 251-252, 254 , 257, 261-262 , 284-294; i n Brother John, 293 ; i n Edge of the City, 289 ; a s indentured servant , 284 ; i n No Way Out, 245 , 247 ; i n Sepia Cinderella, 14 9 Polk, Oscar , 2 0 Polonsky, Abraham , vii , 182 , 207-208 , 211-214, 266-268 Pool of London, The, 274-279 Popkin, Harr y an d Leo , 130-133 , 140 , 260 Popular cultur e a s ideology, 27 , 50 , 61 , 102, 154 , 220 , 250-251 , 254-255 , 25 7 Porgy and Bess, 97; Federa l Theatr e re vival, 30-3 1 Powell, Ada m Clayton , 62 , 16 2 Poynter, Nelson , OWI , 45 , 53 , 57-58, 61 , 65, 70 , 7 6 Prades, Jaime , an d Native Son, 27 8 Presley, Elvis , 282 Pride of the Marines, 216 , 25 7 Prima, Louis , 30 , 15 5 Pringle, Henry , an d Mrs. Miniver, 1 5 Prinzmetal, I . H., 21 9 Prisoner of Shark Island, The, 1 2 Production Cod e Administration, 4, 7 , 8 , 10, 15 , 39-40, 194 , 204 , 209 , 226 , 231, 264-26 5 Propaganda, 5 , 15 , 16 , 30 , 37 , 42 , 50 , 52 ,

379

Index 65, 93 , 102 , 121, 124, 222, 228, 265 , 277

Quality, 205 , 232 Quiet One, The, 166, 169-173, 24 6 "Race movies," 126 ; on postwa r televi sion, 149-15 0 Race: Science and Politics, 3 7 Races of Mankind, The, 154, 16 4 "Racial goo d will " as educational goal , 153-154 Racket Doctor, 13 3 Rainbow on the River, 1 2 Raisin in the Sun, 283-284 Ramar of the Jungle, 17 9 Ramparts We Watch, The, 16 Randol, George , 13 0 Randolph, A . Philip, 28 , 72 ; see also March on Washington Movemen t Randolph, Lillian , 93; oppose d t o housin g covenants, 17 9 Rapf, Maurice , 165 ; on The Song of the South, 18 9 Rapper, Irving, 66 , 20 7 Ratoff, Gregory , 9 5 Raye, Martha, 10 ; as a white Topsy , 15 6 Raymond, Dalton , an d The Song of the South, 18 9 Reader's Digest, 205 , 227; see als o Lost Boundaries Reagan, Ronald , 66 , 119 , 207; as SAG president, 18 0 Real Glory, The. 12, 5 8 Reconstruction: The Battle for Democracy, 69 Red Ball Express, 120-121 , 255, 284 Red Hot Riding Hood, 19 7 Red Tails, 11 8 Reddick, Lawrenc e D. , and Harle m "street" films, 65 Reed, George , 4 8 Reel, Petit, and Gone, 14 4 Reeve, Arch: o n Song of the South, 188 ; on White' s pledges , 6 5 Reform School, 13 3 Reisner, Allen , 283 ; see also St. Louis

Blues

Respectful Prostitute, The, 271 Reunion in France, 10 1 Reuther, Walter , in UA W film, 167 Revenge of the Zombies, 9 3 Rhapsody in Blue, 96-9 7 Rhythm in a Riff, 14 5 Richardson, "Jaz z Lips, " 8 2 Riefenstahl, Leni , 68 Riesman, David , and "othe r direction," 30, 25 4 Rinaldo, Ben, 130 Rinaldo, Fred , 18 2 Riots, wartime , 80 , 85, 11 1 Ritt, Martin , on Edge of the City, 28 9 River, The, 102 Rivkin, Allen , 89, 91 , 25 4 RKO postwa r slump, 177-178 Robeson, Paul , 12 , 17 , 26, 30-31 , 37, 57 , 66, 69 , 74, 76, 118 , 131-132, 182-

183; an d film wit h Te d Toddy, 104 ; on Hollywood, 49 ; an d HUAC , 253; in My Song Goes Forth, 274; as Othello , 15 6 Robin Hood of the Pecos, 67 , 9 7 Robinson, Bill , 11 , 31, 46-48, 8 4 Robinson, Earl , 27 Robinson, Jackie , 154 ; and HUAC , 183; The Jackie Robinson Story, 24 4 Robson, Mark , 22 2 Rock All Night, 14 4 Rock Around the Clock (fil m an d song) , 144, 255 , 287 Rogers, Will , 12 , 48 Rogue's Regiment, 67 , 20 7 Roosevelt, Eleanor , 12 , 28, 36 , 170-171; and Maria n Anderson , 29 ; an d Walte r White's campaign, 4 6 Roosevelt, Frankli n D. , 28-29, 36 , 102; and appointmen t o f Mellett, 4 4 Rosamond, Clinton , 99-10 0 Rosenwald Fund , 8 , 115 , 164 Rossellini, Roberto , 27 1 Rossen, Robert , 211-212 , 263 Rowe, Billy , 79, 8 2 Rudwick, Elliott , 15 3 Rushmore, Howard , o n Gone with the Wind, 2 2 Ryan, Robert , 213-214, 269 Sack, Alfred , 104-105 , 130-134 , 143, 147 Sack, Lester , 134 ; see als o Blood of Jesus,

The

Sahara, 66-67 , 72-73 , 75-76 , 78 St. Louis Blues, 14 , 28 3 St. Louis Woman, 186-187 , 25 9 Salute to the Negro Troops, 2 9 Sante Fe Trail, 43, 67 , 97-9 8 Savage, Archie , 19 9 Savini, Robert , 140-142 , 144 , 147 Scar of Shame, The, 8, 12 6 Schary, Dore , 72-73 , 173 , 200, 240, 286 ; to Clarenc e Brown , 244 ; and The House I Live In, 200 ; speech t o MG M sale s staff, 218-21 9 Schoelcher, Victor , 161 , 271 Schomburg Center , 65 ; an d The Negro Soldier, 10 8 Schulberg, Budd , 21 2 Scott, Adrian , 209-210 , 217 Scott, Hazel , 95-97, 10 5 Screen Actors Guild, 50 , 141 ; and racia l casting, 18 0 Sea Wyf, 28 0 Sears, Gradwell , and censorship , 93 , 17 8 Segregation, 126-129 ; of blood plasma , 200; an d Pinky, 239 ; in Washington , 159 Seiden, Joseph , 130 , 134 Sekka, Johnny, 28 0 Selassie, Haile , 67 Selznick, Davi d O. , 3-4, 7 , 10 , 18 , 26, 61, 86-89 , 152 , 193-195, 199 , 205206; an d Bataan, 72 ; an d Gone with the Wind, 18 , 20; o n Ji m Thorpe , 281; on McDaniel , 24 Sensations of 1945, censoring of , 17 8

380

Index

Senza Pieta, 272 Sepia Cinderella, 145 ; premiere , 14 9 Sergeant Rutledge, 27 0 Set-Up, The, 212-21 4 Sherman, Vincent , 58 , 6 0 Shoeshine Boy, 6 0 Shotwell, Jame s T. , on "th e thinkin g pic ture," 16 , 80 Showboat, 12 , 26 1 Shuffle Along, 8 5 Sidney, George , 20 7

Sieg im Western, 12 1

Siegel, Don , director , Flaming Star, 28 2 Silberberg, Mendel , 53 , 21 7 Silvera, Frank , 26 1 Simba, 27 9 Simpson, Napoleon , 9 9 Sinatra, Frank , 95 , 155 ; an d The House I Live In, 20 0 Since You Went Away, 66, 86-8 9 Siodmak, Curt , 9 4 Sir Lancelot , 94 , 18 2 Sirk, Douglas , an d Imitation of Life, 27 0 Skouras, Spyros , 105 ; o n postwa r reces sion, 152 , 17 7 Slesinger, Donald , AFC , 16 4 Smart Alecks, 55 , 33 1 Smith, Christine , 8 , 178 , 231 ; o n Pinky, 239 Smith, Kate , an d We the People, 3 1 Smith, Lillian , 29, 98 , 15 6 Snead, James , o n blac k cinem a aesthetic , viii, 4 So Red the Rose, 5- 6 "Social engineering, " 27 , 37 , 102-103 , 162, 18 7 Something of Value, 28 5 Something to Shout About, 9 5 Song Is Born, A, 178 , 20 7 Song of the South, The, 179 , 187-19 4 Sound and the Fury, The, 27 1 Soundies, 133 , 143 , 14 9 Southerner, The, 9 3 Southward Ho, 9 7 Spartacus, 27 0 Spaulding, C . C, a s biopic subject , 6 8 Spencer, Kenneth , 63 , 72 , 77 , 8 1 Spiegel, Sa m (pseud. , S . P. Eagle), 6 9 Spingarn, Hope , o n The Song of the South, 192 Spingarn, Joel , 1 5 Spirit, The, comi c strip , 15 4 Spoilers, The, 4 3 Spooks Run Wild, 22 2 Stahl, Joh n M., 209 Stampp, Kennet h M. , 211 , 226 , 28 9 Star Spangled Rhythm, 62 , 66 , 95 , 9 7 Starr, Cecile , on audiovisua l movemen t and Worl d Wa r II , 16 0 Steinbeck, John , 12 , 67, 73 , 79 , 27 8 Stewart, Donal d Ogden , 18 1 Stewart, James , 200 , 28 1 Stewart, Nick , 17 9 Still, Willia m Grant, an d Stormy Weather score, 8 4 Stimson, Henr y L. , 103 , 11 1 Stone, John , 25 4

Storm Warning censored , 27 0 Stormy Weather, 55 , 66 , 80 , 83 , 9 7 Story Departmen t Bulletins , Selznick's , 206 Story of Irene and Vernon Castle, The, 1 0 Story They'll Never Print, The, 165-16 6 Stouffer, Samuel , 103 , 15 3 Strange Fruit, 98 , 156 , 205 , 335 n "Strategy o f truth," 103 , 13 6 Street, The, 20 6 Strode, Woody , 261 , 27 0 "Structured absence, " 8 Sullivan, Maxine , 1 4 Sullivan's Travels, 53 , 94-95 Sumner, Ci d Ricketts, 205 , 23 2 Sun Tan Ranch, 14 5 Sundown, 38-41 Surles, Gen . A . D., Army "p . r., " 11 1 Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, 29 3 Swerling, Jo , 73-7 5 Sydenham Plan, The 16 3 Syncopation, 12-1 3 Take a Giant Step, 283-28 4 Tales of Manhattan, 49 , 66 , 68-69 , 74-7 6 Talk of the Town, 6 7 Tall, Tan and Terrific, 14 4 Tanneyhill, Ann , o n The Song of the South, 161 , 192-19 3 Tarzan, 12 , 41-42, 53 , 17 9 Taste of Honey, A, 28 0 Teaching Fil m Custodians , 17 2 Teamwork, 107 , 136 , 158,24 4 Teen culture , 25 5 Tennessee Johnson, 57 , 66 , 69-73 Tenney Committee , Californi a legislature , 181 Texans, The, 97 Thank Your Lucky Stars, 95-9 6 Thanks Pal, 83 ; se e als o Stormy Weather That Gang of Mine, 5 4 "That Ol d Blac k Magic," 149 , 18 6 Theatre an d conscience-liberalism , 15 6 Theatre Arts Magazine, 15 5 Thermidorean reaction , 175-176 , 196 , 269 These Are Americans, 3 1 They Died with Their Boots On, 9 8 They Dream of Home, 8 9 "Thinking picture, " 17 3 This Is the Army, 66 , 9 5 Thompson, Donald , 169 ; se e als o Quiet One, The Thompson, James, G. , 52 ; see also "Dou ble V " Tierney, Gene , 3 9 Till the Clouds Roll By, 261 ; see also Home, Lena , a s "Julie" Till the End of Time, 89-92 , 214 , 21 6 Tingley, Hele n C. , 93 ; see also Marylan d State Censo r Boar d To Have and Have Not, 157-15 8 To Secure These Rights, 153 , 239, 259 ; a s film, 159 , 163-16 5 To Sir with Love, 29 3 Toddy, Ted , 130 , 132-134 , 149 ; an d pro posed Pau l Robeso n film , 10 4

Index "Togetherness," 173 , 20 0 Tom and Jerry, 19 6 "Tom o f the Week, " Los Angeles Sentinel feature, 18 0 Toones, Fred , a s "Snowflake," 4 8 Tourneur, Jacques , 9 4 Trader Horn, 4 1 Trial, 25 4 Triumph des Willens, 6 8 Trotti, Lamar , 10 , 12 , 98-99 True Comics, 31 , 15 4 Truman, Harr y S. , 153 , 236 , 23 9 Trumbo, Dalton , on CPUSA' s racial pol icy, 18 2 Tuchock, Wanda , 209-210 ; se e also Foxes of Harrow, The Tucker, Lorenzo , 80 , 14 9 20th Century-Fox , 84 ; an d postwa r reces sion, 17 7 Twist All Night, 14 5 Ulmer, Edgar , 13 0 Uncle Remus, 19 , 188-193 Uncle Tom's Cabana, 19 7 Uncle Tom's Cabin, 11 , 15 6 United Aut o Workers , 113 ; an d film , 163 , 165-168, 172-17 3 United Daughter s o f the Confederacy , 2 0 Unknown Soldier Speaks, The, 133 , 13 6 Up Tight, 252 ; an d audience , 29 2 UFA Studio , 166-16 8 Van Peebles , Melvin , 29 3 Vanishing Virginian, The, 9 3 Variety, 9, 43, 57 , 63 , 140-141 , 154 , 156, 184 , 215-216 , 223 , 244 , 255 , 268-270, 274 , 281 , 285 , 294 ; o n Flame in the Streets, 280; o n "goon a goona" pictures, 257 ; o n Island in the Sun, 265; o n Kingsblood Royal, 205 ; o n Long Ships, 285 ; o n Native Son, 278 ; o n Pinky, 238 ; o n postwa r audiovisua l trend, 161 ; o n "race movies," 131 ; o n receptivity an d blacks , 81 ; o n "reds, " 238-239; on Sapphire, 279 Vidor, King , 5 , 9 , 140 , 19 3 Virginia, 6 7 Virginia City. 9 8 Viva Zapata, 25 6 Vivere in Pace, 27 3 Vroman, Elizabeth , 26 2 Walcott, Joe , 26 1 Wald, Jerry , o n Kingsblood Royal, 20 5 "Waldorf Statement, " 182 , 25 3 Waldron, Gloria , 20t h Centur y Fund , 163-164 Walk Hard, 3 0 Walk in the Sun, A, 216 Walker, William F. , 14 5 Wallace, Babe , 84 , 14 4 Wallace, Coley , 261 Wallace, Henr y A. , 28 , 15 6 Waller, Fats , 84-85 Walton, Lester , 256 Wanger, Walter , 15 , 26, 35 , 39 , 53 , 67 , 189

381

War Activitie s Council, 113 , 13 8 War movi e genre , 68 , 72 , 80 ; an d blacks , 63; in postwar era, 25 0 Ward, Theodore , 15 6 Waring, J . Waties, 24 3 Warner, Jack , 58 , 65, 105 , 236 ; an d Clyde R. Miller, 201 ; an d Hollywoo d Anti-Nazi League , 2 6 Warner Bros. , 6 , 45, 100 , 21 1 Washington, Booke r T. , 8, 17 , 53 , 108 , 160; se e als o Launching of the Booker T. Washington, The Washington, Fredi , 62-63 , 138 , 270 ; o n Lost Boundaries, 23 0 Washington, Kenny , 13 3 Waters, Ethel , 55 , 81, 83 , 179 , 26 1 Watt, Harry , 27 4 Waugh, Alec , 263 , 265 ; se e als o Island in the Sun Waugh, Coulton , 15 4 Way Down South, 24-2 5 Wayne, John , 43, 10 1 We the People, 3 1 Weems, Walter , 13 2 Weis, Don , 21 1 Weisbart, David , and Flaming Star, 28 2 Welcome to Britain, 11 7 Well, The, 26 0 Wellman, William , 98 , 28 5 Weltfish, Gene , 154 , 164 , 16 6 Werker, Alfred , 230-23 1 Wesley, Charles , 19-2 0 Westward Is Bataan, 11 7 We've Come a Long, Long Way, 105 , 114 115, 133 , 136-14 0 What the Negro Wants, 9 2 What the Soldier Thinks, 15 3 While Thousands Cheered, 13 3 Whipper, Leigh , 67 , 9 9 White, Jane , 241 ; o n Pinky script , 234 236 White, Josh , 15 5 White, Walter, 10-11 , 15 , 20, 36 , 73, 262, 279 ; o n The Birth of a Nation re make, 23 ; o n Broken Arrow, 281 ; a s Gone with the Wind consultant , 19 ; an d Hollywood campaign , 24 , 27, 35 , 43 44, 49-54, 56 , 67-68; and Hollywoo d Writers Committee , 108 ; an d Home of the Brave, 224 ; o n leftists , 62 ; an d Lena Home , 80-81; o n Lost Boundaries, 227-228 ; o n Man of Two Worlds, 277; o n No Way Out, 246 , 249 ; o n Pinky, 232 , 234-236; i n postwa r era , 159, 162-163 ; an d press , 76 , 205 ; o n St. Louis Woman, 186-187 ; o n Santa Fe Trail. 98 ; o n segregation , 127 , 180 ; on The Song of the South, 188 , 192 193; o n Stormy Weather, 85 ; o n Tennessee Johnson, 71 , 74 ; o n Tomahawk, 123 White, Willia m L., 205, 227 ; se e also lost Boundaries Whitman, Ernest , 42, 8 4 Why We Fight, 102 , 10 6 Widmark, Richard , 245 , 24 7 Wilbur, Crane , 201-202

382

Index

Wild River, 27 0 Wilder, Margare t Applegate , 8 6 Wilkerson, Doxey , o n CPUS A and blacks , 182 Wilkins, Martin , 1 2 Wilkins, Roy , 45, 63 , 79 , 114 ; on post war fil m cooperativ e 124 , 165 Williams, Spencer , 130 , 134, 141; see also Blood of Jesus, The Willkie, Wendell , 35 , 163 , 205; "open letter," 31; and Walte r White , 44 45 Wilson, Dooley , 43 , 95 , 129 ; and Stormy Weather, 84-8 5 Wilson, Teddy , 95 , 105 , 133 Wind from Nowhere, The, 146-14 7 Wings for This Man, 118-11 9 Wise, Robert , 94 , 124 , 211, 213214 Woman for Joe, The, 280 Woman of Straw, The, 280 Women's Arm y Corps , an d Since You Went Away retakes , 8 7 Wondebar, 1 2 Woodward, Joanne, 28 5 Worker, 69-71 , 76 , 154 , 156; on The Brotherhood of Man, 168 ; on Home of the Brave, 224 ; on The Quiet One, 172 ; on The Song of the South, 190 , 19 3 World, the Flesh, and the Devil, The, 261 , 265-66 World Wa r II , vii, ix, 5 , 7 , 14 , 28, 34-35 , 51, 153 , 207 World We Want to Live In, The, 166

Wright, Richard , 36 , 105 , 156, 166; and OWI, 2 9 Writers Wa r Board , 15 4 Yerby, Frank , 208 , 211 Yglesias, Jose , 230 , 243 Yiddish film , 127 , 130 Yordan, Philip , 30 , 245, 284 Young, A . S . "Doc," 28 3 Young, Donald , 103 , 109 Young, Stark , 5 Young, Thoma s W., 10 4 Young Dr. Kildare, 5 3 Young Don't Cry, The, 270 Young Man with a Horn, 25 9 Youngstein, Max , 266-267 Your Cheatin' Heart, 27 0 Zampa, Luigi , 271-272 Zangwill, Israel , 80 , 20 2 Zanuck, Darry l F. , 44, 55 , 73-74, 84-85 , 181-182, 209 , 216, 218, 260, 263264; addres s t o HWC , 63 ; an d austerit y at 20t h Century-Fox , 178 ; and John Ford, 233 , 236; and Lydia Bailey, 259; on The Negro Soldier, 207 ; and No Way Out, 245 ; and Pinky, 232-233 , 238 239; i n postwa r era , 152; on Ramona, 281 Zanzibar, 4 2 Zavattini, Cesare , o n blacks , 27 1 Zelikow, Nate , 15 0 Zugsmith, Albert , 28 3 Zutt, Elzabeth , 204-20 5

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