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In this post, I will look at CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE: Adrian Scott and the Politics of Americanism in 1940s Hollywood (Columbia University Press, 2008) by academic historian Jennifer E. Langdon. The book can be purchased from Columbia University Press and the eBook is available free on-line at gutenberg.org
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE is ostensibly a biography of the activist writer and producer, Adiran Scott, who at RKO produced three seminal noirs of the 1940s directed by fellow progressive Edward Dmytryk: Murder, My Sweet (1944), Cornered (1945), and Crossfire (1947). Scott and Dmytryk were two of the HUAC Hollywood Ten. Historian Langdon devotes a number of chapters in the book on the production of Murder, My Sweet, Cornered, and Crossfire. The focus is on Crossfire and Scott’s adaptation with leftist writer John Paxton of the novel by Richard Brooks. Politics and the historical context aside, the chapters on Crossfire are a fascinating study of film production during the classic noir period. Andrew Feffer, Associate Professor, Director of American Studies, Union College New York, in a review of the book concluded that Langdon’s “detailed study of film production and politics is simply marvelous and well worth the read”.
What is most striking in Langdon’s lengthy account of the making of Crossfire is that it is a robust corrective to auteur theory. When film critics talk of Crossfire they see it as largely Dmytryk’s achievement. True, to the extent that he directed the picture we can give Dmytryk credit, but the screenplay is integral to the movie, and the very long and labored efforts of Scott and Paxton on that script must be acknowledged as deserving of equal if not greater recognition. Scott and Paxton were also closely involved in the shooting of the film, which was deliberately collaborative, as in the making of Murder, My Sweet and Cornered. Langdon relates an interest anecdote from the making of Murder, My Sweet (1944), as told by scenarist Paxton (my emphasis):
As a writer-friendly producer, Scott brought Paxton into the collaboration in ways that were not common within the highly segregated studio system. For example, he consistently invited Paxton onto the set, not only to have him on hand for possible rewrites, but simply to watch the filming. He also invited Paxton to watch the rushes and introduced him to the actors. Paxton recalled a minor stir when Scott introduced him to Dick Powell during the filming of Murder, My Sweet. “I will never forget the look of alarm and confusion on the face of the star when Adrian presented me as the Writer. He was a talented and friendly enough man, this actor, but I don’t believe he had ever met a writer before.” Paxton fondly recalled being invited along on trips to scout locations. “This was exhilarating, to be out with the fellows, crowded into the back seat of a stretch-out [limousine], suffocated by cigar smoke.” Paxton’s memories suggest a sort of boy’s-school camaraderie, and he clearly felt honored to be included in these masculine rituals, which were exalted by their intermingling of work and play. However, Scott dragged Paxton along to view rushes and scout locations not simply because he and Paxton were old friends and enjoyed spending time together. There was plenty of time to socialize outside of work, to play cards at each other’s homes or to have cocktails across the street at Lucey’s Restaurant, a popular gathering place for studio workers from RKO and Paramount. Scott included Paxton because he was trying to create a collaborative creative process, to break down the barriers enforced by the studio and to build a working unit. This creative—and political—agenda, this quest for a seamlessness between work and politics, reflected Scott’s larger political commitments and the spirit of the Popular Front. Paxton makes clear that Scott’s inclusion of him was unusual: “We [writers] had our place and we were expected to keep it. I might never have met a motion picture star if my friend, sponsor, and producer had not been Adrian Scott—a quite remarkable, and in his quiet way, a very radical man.”Read more: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/books-digest-crossfire-jewish-directors-and-streets-with-no-names-%e2%80%93-part-2.html#ixzz1LRoFdjKe Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE is ostensibly a biography of the activist writer and producer, Adiran Scott, who at RKO produced three seminal noirs of the 1940s directed by fellow progressive Edward Dmytryk: Murder, My Sweet (1944), Cornered (1945), and Crossfire (1947). Scott and Dmytryk were two of the HUAC Hollywood Ten. Historian Langdon devotes a number of chapters in the book on the production of Murder, My Sweet, Cornered, and Crossfire. The focus is on Crossfire and Scott’s adaptation with leftist writer John Paxton of the novel by Richard Brooks. Politics and the historical context aside, the chapters on Crossfire are a fascinating study of film production during the classic noir period. Andrew Feffer, Associate Professor, Director of American Studies, Union College New York, in a review of the book concluded that Langdon’s “detailed study of film production and politics is simply marvelous and well worth the read”.
What is most striking in Langdon’s lengthy account of the making of Crossfire is that it is a robust corrective to auteur theory. When film critics talk of Crossfire they see it as largely Dmytryk’s achievement. True, to the extent that he directed the picture we can give Dmytryk credit, but the screenplay is integral to the movie, and the very long and labored efforts of Scott and Paxton on that script must be acknowledged as deserving of equal if not greater recognition. Scott and Paxton were also closely involved in the shooting of the film, which was deliberately collaborative, as in the making of Murder, My Sweet and Cornered. Langdon relates an interest anecdote from the making of Murder, My Sweet (1944), as told by scenarist Paxton (my emphasis):
As a writer-friendly producer, Scott brought Paxton into the collaboration in ways that were not common within the highly segregated studio system. For example, he consistently invited Paxton onto the set, not only to have him on hand for possible rewrites, but simply to watch the filming. He also invited Paxton to watch the rushes and introduced him to the actors. Paxton recalled a minor stir when Scott introduced him to Dick Powell during the filming of Murder, My Sweet. “I will never forget the look of alarm and confusion on the face of the star when Adrian presented me as the Writer. He was a talented and friendly enough man, this actor, but I don’t believe he had ever met a writer before.” Paxton fondly recalled being invited along on trips to scout locations. “This was exhilarating, to be out with the fellows, crowded into the back seat of a stretch-out [limousine], suffocated by cigar smoke.” Paxton’s memories suggest a sort of boy’s-school camaraderie, and he clearly felt honored to be included in these masculine rituals, which were exalted by their intermingling of work and play. However, Scott dragged Paxton along to view rushes and scout locations not simply because he and Paxton were old friends and enjoyed spending time together. There was plenty of time to socialize outside of work, to play cards at each other’s homes or to have cocktails across the street at Lucey’s Restaurant, a popular gathering place for studio workers from RKO and Paramount. Scott included Paxton because he was trying to create a collaborative creative process, to break down the barriers enforced by the studio and to build a working unit. This creative—and political—agenda, this quest for a seamlessness between work and politics, reflected Scott’s larger political commitments and the spirit of the Popular Front. Paxton makes clear that Scott’s inclusion of him was unusual: “We [writers] had our place and we were expected to keep it. I might never have met a motion picture star if my friend, sponsor, and producer had not been Adrian Scott—a quite remarkable, and in his quiet way, a very radical man.”Read more: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/books-digest-crossfire-jewish-directors-and-streets-with-no-names-%e2%80%93-part-2.html#ixzz1LRoFdjKe Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
RUNNER UP NOIRS
4/4.5 star Noirs
La Chienne
1931
France
Fury
1936
US
Pépé le Moko
1937
France
La Bête Humaine
1938
France
La Jour se Lève
1939
France
Macao,L’enfer Du Jeu (aka ‘Gambling Hell’)
1939
France
Stranger on the 3rd Floor
1940
US
Blues in the Night
1941
US
High Sierra
1941
US
The Face Behind the Mask
1941
US
Ossessione
1942
Italy
This Gun For Hire
1942
US
The Fallen Sparrow
1943
US
The Ghost Ship
1943
US
Betrayed (aka ‘When Strangers Marry’)
1944
US
Moontide
1944
US
Phantom Lady
1944
US
The Mask of Dimitrios
1944
US
The Woman in the Window
1944
US
Cornered
1945
US
Detour
1945
US
Fallen Angel
1945
US
Leave Her to Heaven
1945
US
My Name Is Julia Ross
1945
US
Black Angel
1946
US
Deadline at Dawn
1946
US
Decoy
1946
US
Gilda
1946
US
High Wall
1946
US
Night Editor
1946
US
Panique
1946
France
Suspense
1946
US
The Blue Dahlia
1946
US
The Chase
1946
US
The Dark Corner
1946
US
The Dark Mirror
1946
US
The Locket
1946
US
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946
US
The Stranger
1946
US
Born to Kill
1947
US
Brute Force
1947
US
Crossfire
1947
US
Dead Reckoning
1947
US
Desperate
1947
US
Kiss of Death
1947
US
Odd Man Out
1947
UJ
Railroaded
1947
US
The Devil Thumbs A Ride
1947
US
The Long Night
1947
US
The Unsuspected
1947
US
The Woman On the Beach
1947
US
They Made Me a Fugitive
1947
UK
They Won’t Believe Me
1947
US
Blood on the Moon
1948
US
Call Northside 777
1948
US
Cry of the City
1948
US
I Love Trouble
1948
US
I Walk Alone
1948
US
Key Largo
1948
US
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
1948
US
Moonrise
1948
US
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
1948
US
Pitfall
1948
US
Road House
1948
US
Ruthless
1948
US
Secret Beyond the Door
1948
US
The Amazing Mr. X
1948
US
The Big Clock
1948
US
The Iron Curtain
1948
US
The Naked City
1948
US
A Woman’s Secret
1949
US
Alias Nick Beal
1949
US
Bitter Rice (aka ‘Riso Amaro”)
1949
Italy
Caught
1949
US
Follow Me Quietly
1949
US
I Married a Communist
1949
US
The Big Steal
1949
US
The Bribe
1949
US
The Clay Pigeon
1949
US
The Man Who Cheated Himself
1949
US
The Window
1949
US
Whirlpool
1949
US
Armored Car Robbery
1950
US
Gambling House
1950
US
Gun Crazy
1950
US
Manèges
1950
France
No Way Out
1950
US
Panic In the Streets
1950
US
Side Street
1950
US
Tension
1950
US
The File On Thelma Jordan
1950
US
The Killer That Stalked New York
1950
US
The Second Woman
1950
US
The Tattooed Stranger
1950
US
Union Station
1950
US
Walk Softly, Stranger
1950
US
Where Danger Lives
1950
US
Where the Sidewalk Ends
1950
US
Woman on the Run
1950
US
Young Man with a Horn
1950
US
Detective Story
1951
US
His Kind of Woman
1951
US
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
1951
US
I was a Communist for the FBI
1951
US
Roadblock
1951
US
The Big Night
1951
US
The Well
1951
US
Tomorrow Is Another Day
1951
US
Angel Face
1952
US
Kansas City Confidential
1952
US
Scandal Sheet
1952
US
The Narrow Margin
1952
US
The Sniper
1952
US
99 River Street
1953
US
Pickup On South Street
1953
US
Split Second
1953
US
The Blue Gardenia
1953
US
The Glass Wall
1953
US
The Hitch-Hiker
1953
US
Human Desire
1954
US
Pushover
1954
US
The Good Die Young
1954
UK
Touchez pas au Grisbi
1954
France
Witness to Murder
1954
US
World For Ransom
1954
US
Bob le Flambeur
1955
France
The Phenix City Story
1955
US
Patterns
1956
US
People of No Importance (aka ‘Gens san Importance’)
1956
France
The Wrong Man
1956
US
The Killing
1956
US
Voici le temps des assassin (aka ‘Deadlier Than the Male’)
1956
France
While the City Sleeps
1956
US
Elevator to the Gallows
1958
France
Endless Desire
1958
Japan
Tread Softly Stranger
1958
UK
Underworld Beauty (aka ‘Ankokugai no bijo’)
1958
Japan
Odds Against Tomorrow
1959
US
The Crimson Kimono
1959
US
The Bad Sleep Well (aka ‘Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru’)
1960
Japan
Shoot the Piano Player
1960
France
Blast of Silence
1961
US
Underworld USA
1961
US
Le Doulos
1962
France
High and Low (aka Tengoku to jigok)
1963
Japan
The Naked Kiss
1964
US
Read more: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/best-film-noir-movies-the-runners-up.html#ixzz1LRp4WgQK Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
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