LEADER 04413cam a2200433Ia 4500001 77271 005 20240621173207.0 008 021210s2000 xx rb 000 0 eng d 035 (OCoLC)ocm51196354 035 77271 049 LHMA 040 LHM |beng |erda |cLHM 090 PN1998.3.S36 |bL36 2000 100 1 Langdon, Jennifer E. 245 10 Caught in the crossfire : |banti-fascism, anti-communism and the politics of Americanism in the Hollywood career of Adrian Scott / |cby Jennifer Langdon-Teclaw. 264 1 [Place of publication not identified] : |b[publisher not identified], |c2000. 300 ix, 528 pages 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 502 Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, History Department, 2000. 504 Includes bibliographical references (pages 514-528). 520 This dissertation uses the work of radical filmmaker Adrian Scott, particularly Crossfire (RKO-1947), to explore postwar discourses on Americanism, focusing especially on the intersection of anti-fascism and anti-Communism in the cultural construction of an imagined community of Americans. Crossfire a powerful, if sometimes pedantic, thriller in which a bigoted ex-GI murders a Jew, warned "good Americans" of the violent consequences of anti-Semitism and the American potential for fascism. Produced in the wake of the Allied victory over fascism and the revelation of the Holocaust, and at the nexus of the emerging Cold War, Crossfire represents a fascinating intervention into key debates in the postwar order: the place of difference within the American democratic tradition, and specifically the relationship of "Jew" and "radical" to the cultural construction of "America" and "American;" the relationship of Americanism to fascism and communism-equated as totalitarianism-in the postwar order; the role of film in shaping and reflecting the imagined community; and the possibilities and limitations of the American commitment to liberalism, universalist humanism, and cultural pluralism. This study weaves together industrial practices, cultural texts, and changing historical contexts to locate and understand Crossfire's significance at this critical cultural moment. The first two chapters are broadly contextual, focusing first on the struggles of Scott and his collaborators, screenwriter John Paxton and director Edward Dmytryk, to produce progressive films within the studio system, and next on Hollywood's role in the articulation of an anti-fascist, anti-racist, internationalist popular nationalism during World War II. The next section offers close readings of three key texts: the Scott-Paxton-Dmytryk anti-fascist thriller, Cornered (RKO-1945); Richard Brook's novel, The Brick Foxhole, the literary vehicle for Scott's expose of American anti-Semitism; and Crossfire itself. This section focuses particularly on the ideological work of the adaptation and production process, exploring changes from novel to film and within versions of the screenplay. The final section explores the public response to Crossfire by Jewish defense organizations, "average" Americans, and the House Un-American Activities Committee, arguing that the debates over Crossfire reflected the larger postwar struggle over the political meanings and uses of Americanism and un-Americanism. 530 Electronic version(s) |bavailable internally at USHMM. 533 Photocopy. |bAnn Arbor, Mich. : |cUMI Dissertation Services, |d2002. |e22 cm. 590 Dissertations and Theses 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 20 January 2012. 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 21 June 2024 600 10 Scott, Adrian, |d1912-1973. 650 0 Motion picture producers and directors |zUnited States |vBiography. 650 0 Fascism and motion pictures |zUnited States |xHistory |y20th century. 650 0 Communism and motion pictures |zUnited States |xHistory |y20th century. 655 7 Biographies. |2lcgft 856 41 |uhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=727778411&sid=16&Fmt=6&clientId=54617&RQT=309&VName=PQD |zElectronic version from ProQuest 956 41 |u http://dc.ushmm.org/library/bib77271/9988866.pdf |z Hosted by USHMM. 994 X0 |bLHM 852 0 |bstacks |hPN1998.3.S36 |iL36 2000 852 |bwww 852 |bebook