Hitler In Hollywood
Between 1933 and 1939, representations of the Nazis and the full meaning of Nazism came slowly to Hollywood, growing more ominous and distinct only as the decade wore on. Recapturing what ordinary Americans saw on the screen during the emerging Nazi threat, Thomas Doherty reclaims forgotten films, such as Hitler's Reign of Terror (1934), a pioneering anti-Nazi docudrama by Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr.; I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany (1936), a sensational true tale of 'a Hollywood girl in Naziland!' ; and Professor Mamlock (1938), an anti-Nazi film made by German refugees living in the Soviet Union. Doherty also recounts how the disproportionately Jewish backgrounds of the executives of the studios and the workers on the payroll shaded reactions to what was never simply a business decision. As Europe hurtled toward war, a proxy battle waged in Hollywood over how to conduct business with the Nazis, how to cover Hitler and his victims in the newsreels, and whether to address or ignore Nazism in Hollywood feature films. Should Hollywood lie low, or stand tall and sound the alarm? With a rich blend of art and politics, Doherty brings to light the story of how Hollywood handled Nazism during Hitler's reign.
Library Journal (starred review) Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 tracks the advance of fascism, and the movie industry's reaction on screen and in private. A fascinating work. Kate Muir, The Times (London) A lively study of Hollywood's relationship to Nazism. Emily Greenhouse, Culture Desk blog, The New Yorker Wide-ranging and brightly written. Dave Kehr, The New York Times Book Review A lively, detailed account and a worthy successor to his books Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration.
Polaris Film Production & Finance
This mockumentary thriller uncovers Hollywood's unsuspected plot against the European motion picture industry. Starring Ana De Madeiros and Micheline Presle, with cameo appearances from Wim Wenders, Emir Kusturica, Marisa Berenson, Gilles Jacob, Edouard Baer and many more famous faces from European cinema, this is a choice.
Philip Kemp, Times Higher Education A remarkable and stimulating account of an important part of movie history and American history. Rob Hardy, The Commercial Dispatch Doherty's books on American cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s are essential reading: Pre-Code Hollywood and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen & the Production Code Administration. No one has told this story in as comprehensive or convincing a fashion. As always, Doherty's work is well researched. Clayton Koppes, Cineaste A witty writer familiar with Hollywood history and manners, Doherty places the studios' craven behavior within a general account of the political culture of the movies in the thirties and forties. David Denby, The New Yorker A riveting read.
Merve Emre, The Millions Mr. Doherty fully understands the studio system and how it juggled interference from its own internal agency, the Production Code Administration. He doesn't deny the greed and fear that motivated studios, but he puts the behavior in context. Jeanine Basinger, Wall Street Journal Meticulously researched and captivating. Noah Isenberg, Times Literary Supplement Doherty masterfully describes how the movie industry, mostly headed by Jews, ultimately came together at a time when the nation needed unity.
The book is crisply written, well documented. Burton Boxerman, St.
Louis Jewish Light Doherty's well researched Hollywood and Hitler 1933-1939 throws fascinating new light on America and the rise of Nazism. Philip French, The Observer A wide-ranging, scrupulously researched and highly entertaining study. Philip French, Sight and Sound A judicious and comprehensive history of the period. Mark Horowitz, Tablet Doherty provides a more nuanced and accurate account of Hollywood's relationship with Hitler, and his book should be considered the authority on the subject. Todd Bennett, American Historical Review Hollywood and Hitler is an excellent addition to Doherty's impressive oeuvre, well worth reading for its important insights, strong narrative, and mastery of the period. David Welky, Journal of American Studies Doherty's book is well documented and brings together a corpus made of lesser-known, yet signifying feature films.
Yves Laberge, Journal of American Culture Thorough and elegantly written. Saverio Giovacchini, Journal of American History Doherty brings fresh eyes and a witty pen to re-examine the business of US cinema production and distribution in the turbulent pre-war years. A valuable contribution to scholarship on the subject.
Vincent O'Donnell, Media International Australia An important contribution to the history of Hollywood's response to the Nazi efforts to censor US films targeted for export to Germany. Highly recommended.
Choice Vividly written, academically unpretentious, and indispensable for historians and students of film. Dick, American Studies Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 is painstakingly researched and offers film historians, as well as historians of World War II, a rich, insightful, and engaging portrait of an industry and a world in turmoil. Brian Faucette, Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television Meticulously researched. Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 provides an informed backdrop to scholars looking to contextualize and analyze individual films from the era. Rochelle Miller, Film & History A tour de force of film history, deftly weaving together many strands of Hollywood and world history to explain Hollywood's vexed and often vexing relationship to the rise of Nazism.
Leslie Fishbein, American Jewish History Doherty offers a compelling prequel to his own Projections of War: Hollywood,American Culture,and World War II and an indispensible contribution to the emerging body of work on the relationships between Hollywood and Berlin in the 1930s. Hannah Graves, Film Quarterly Top notch, exhaustively researched film history book by a superb historian. Hollywood Progressive. Prologue: Judenfilm!
Hollywood–Berlin–Hollywood 'The Hitler Anti-Jew Thing' The Aryanization of American Imports The Aryanization of Hollywood's Payroll 2. Hitler, 'A Blah Show Subject' The Disappearance of Jews qua Jews The Unmaking of The Mad Dog of Europe 'What about the Jews The Story of a Hollywood Girl in Naziland: I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany (1936) 3. The Nazis in the Newsreels 'The Swastika Man' 'Naziganda' 4.
The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League 'Unheil Hitler!' The Politics of Celebrity 5. Mussolini Jr. Goes Hollywood 6. The Spanish Civil War in Hollywood 'Censored Pap!'
Walter Wanger's Blockade (1938) Loyalist Red Screen Propaganda 7. Foreign Imports 'German Tongue Talkers' Anti-Nazism in the Arty Theaters 'Nazi Scrammers' 8. 'The Blight of Radical Propaganda' Trouble from Rome Over Idiot's Delight (1939) Trouble from Berlin Over The Road Back (1937) Trouble from Washington with the Dies Committee 9. Inside Nazi Germany with the March of Time 10. 'Grim Reaper Material' History Unreels 'The Present Persecutions in Germany' 11. There Is No Room for Leni Riefenstahl in Hollywood 12. 'The Only Studio with Any Guts' The Warner Bros.
Patriotic Shorts The Activist Moguls 'The Picture That Calls a Swastika a Swastika!' : Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) 13. Hollywood Goes to War Epilogue: The Motion Picture Memory of Nazism Thanks and Acknowledgments Notes Index.
With: With: Maria de Medeiros, Micheline Presle, Wim Willaert, Hans Meyer, Tonie Marshall, Josiane Stoleru, Manoel de Oliveira. (French, English, Portuguese dialogue) The battle between the Hollywood juggernaut and indigenous filmmaking for dominance of Europe’s cinemas lies at the heart of the provocative and intermittently amusing mockumentary “ in Hollywood,” from Belgian helmer Frederic Sojcher.
Portuguese-born, Paris-based actress-director Maria de Medeiros winningly plays a camp version of herself as a documaker who discovers evidence of a conspiracy while working on a biopic of iconic French star Micheline Presle. Packed with cameo appearances by celebrities in settings such as the Cannes Film Festival, this playful Karlovy Vary Fipresci winner should brighten pan-European smallscreens after niche theatrical and fest runs. When Micheline reveals that one of her favorite directors is now-unknown Luis Aramcheck (Hans Meyer), it leads Maria and her amorous cameraman, Thomas (Wim Willaert), on an increasingly dangerous course through the archives of national film and security organizations and the homes of private collectors. Helmer Sojcher also satirizes the means of production, using camera tricks that make the kookily costumed Maria appear in vivid color while others seem almost monochrome. Not-to-be-missed end credits include a parade of Euro auteurs, including centenarian Manoel de Oliveira, discussing the demise of the European film industry. Hitler in Hollywood Belgium-France-Italy Production: A Saga Film/Polaris Film Prod.
& Finance/Intelfilm/RTBF production with the support of the Centre du Cinema and de L'Audiovisuel de la Communaute Francaise de Belgique et des Teledistributeurs Wallons, Regions Wallonne et de Bruxelles Capitale Motion Investment Group, Pole Image de Liege, Baya Prods., Banque Populaire Images 10, Arte/Cofinova, CineCinema, Media de l'Union Europeenne, la Direction generale des Affaires culturelles de la Province de Hainaut, de l'asbl Hainaut Cinema et du Batch. (International sales: Wide, Paris.) Produced by Hubert Toint, Jean-Jacques Neira, Christophe Mazodier, Mario Mazzarotto. Directed by Frederic Sojcher.
Screenplay, Renaud Andris, Lionel Samain. Crew: Camera (color/B&W, DV-to-35mm), Carlo Varini; editor, Ewin Ryckaert; music, Vladimir Cosma; production designers, Frederic Delrue, Francoise Joset; costume designer, Monic Parelle. Reviewed at Karlovy Vary Film Festival (competing), July 7, 2010.
Running time: 85 MIN. With: With: Maria de Medeiros, Micheline Presle, Wim Willaert, Hans Meyer, Tonie Marshall, Josiane Stoleru, Manoel de Oliveira. (French, English, Portuguese dialogue).