Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s HollywoodIn October 1947, more than twenty years after leaving Russia, Ayn Rand testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which was investigating communist infiltration of the motion picture industry. The focus of that testimony was Song of Russia, a 1944 pro-Soviet film that Rand decried for its unrealistic, absurdly flattering portrait of life in the communist country. Ayn Rand scholar Robert Mayhew focuses on this controversial period of American and Hollywood history by examining both the film and the furor surrounding Rand's HUAC testimony. His analysis provides the first detailed history of any of the pro-Soviet films to come out of 1940s Hollywood. Mayhew begins by offering a brief synopsis of the MGM film, followed by an account of its production, as well as its reception. Most significantly, Mayhew analyzes Rand's appearance before HUAC and discusses the response to her much-maligned testimony. By carefully scrutinizing this one episode in the history of communism and anti-communism in 1940s Hollywood, Mayhew presents a more accurate picture of those times and the issues surrounding them. His study allows for a re-evaluation of the role of communism in Hollywood, the nature of the HUAC, and even the Hollywood Ten. This book should be of interest to anyone interested in the life and thought of Ayn Rand, as well as to anyone interested in the history of Hollywood communism and of American film. |
Contents
Song of Russia A Synopsis | 3 |
The Making of Song of Russia | 13 |
Reactions to Song of Russia | 57 |
From Russia to Washington DC via Hollywood | 71 |
Ayn Rand on the House UnAmerican Activities Committee | 83 |
Big Lies Song of Russia versus Soviet RussiaAn Analysis of Ayn Rands HUAC Testimony Part 1 | 103 |
Noble Lies Rejecting the Standard Defense of Song of Russia An Analysis of Ayn Rands HUAC Testimony Part 2 | 145 |
Russian Smiles The Leftist Response to Ayn Rands HUAC Testimony | 159 |
Ayn Rands HUAC Testimony | 179 |
Files on Song of Russia at the Margaret Herrick Library | 191 |
From the FBI Files Schedule for the October 1947 HUAC Hearings | 195 |
From the FBI Files The Motion Picture Alliance and the Other Blacklist | 201 |
205 | |
209 | |
About the Author | |
Conclusion | 171 |
Common terms and phrases
ally American Arrested Voices asked Ayn Rand Archives Ayn Rand's HUAC Biographical interviews Black Book blacklist Book of Communism Boris Breen Buhle Communist Infiltration Communist Party Communist propaganda Courtois Everyday Stalinism fight File Number film Fitzpatrick freedom friendly witnesses Germans Guy Trosper Hays Office Hearings Regarding Hollywood Blacklist Hollywood Communists Hollywood Goes Hollywood Ten Information Interview with author Jarrico and Richard John Meredith Koppes and Black later leftist Leonard Peikoff Lillian Hellman Living Louis Mayer McGilligan Mellett Miss Rand Moscow Motion Picture Industry movie Nadya name crossed Naming Names Nazis pact Paul Jarrico Peikoff Peter Picture Industry 1947 political pro-Soviet radio Rand's HUAC Testimony Regarding the Communist Richard Collins Robert Taylor scene SCORCHED EARTH screenplay script Shentalinsky Song of Russia Soviet Russia Soviet Union Stalin's Peasants story Stripling studio Susan Peters tell Tender Comrades terror Tschaikowskoye village Wood writes York