Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekecs!waltt
From: waltt@tekecs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Great Movie Credits
Message-ID: <1494@tekecs.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 24-Jun-83 13:23:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekecs.1494
Posted: Fri Jun 24 13:23:46 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Jun-83 13:37:41 EDT
Lines: 36


What about the mid-seventies Woody Allen movie "The Front"?  This
film differed from his usual style in that it fell into a more 
serious vein.  The movie was about a down-and-out writer/actor
(Allen) in Hollywood in the '50s who becomes a front for a number of screen
writers who have been black-listed because of suspected communist
affiliations (McCarthyism).  Allen is now coming up with this great
volume of material (3 writers submitting under his name) and
becomes one of the best TV screen writers in Hollywood.  Near the end of
the movie, someone finds out he is not really writing all this
stuff, and is acting as a front for suspected communists. He is
called to testify at the House Committee investigation on unamerican
activities (ever seen the file footage?) at the end of the movie,
where he tells the head of the committee to F**K OFF!  He goes to
jail rather than to reveal who he is acting as a front for.

Long intro, huh?

Anyway, the film stars a number of actors, including Zero Mostel and
Hershel Bernardi, all of whom were actually blacklisted in the McCarthy
era.  At the end of the movie, when the credits are listed, each actor's
name is followed by "(blacklisted:195x)", with "x" being the actual
year.

End of history lesson for today.

                              Someone is watching -

                              Walt Tucker
                              Tektronix

P.S.  When I first went to this movie, I was disappointed, primarily
since I expected a typical Woody Allen comedy.  I saw it again a 
couple of years later, and was able to view it for what it was. 
Extremely well made, go see it if you get a chance.  Expect to see
Woody Allen in a slightly different role. Four and a half out of five.