Actors on Red Alert [Hardcover]

Anthony Slide (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0810836491 | ISBN-13: 978-0810836495

The anti-Communist hysteria that began in the 1930s was further empowered in 1938 when the House of Representatives established the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities. Soon thereafter, the creation of the blacklist in the late 1940s brought the Hollywood film and television community into the fold. Provocatively capturing the controversy and sentiments surrounding this period of political imbalance, Actors on Red Alert explores the repercussions of the blacklist through career interviews with five prominent actors and actresses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...the five actors—Phil Brown, Rose Hobart, Marsha Hunt, Marc Lawrence, and Doris Nolan—form interesting case studies helped along through Slide's gentle prompting, utilising the blacklisting and graylisting as the bond holding each of the lives together...both vivid and invaluable...a valuable resource to students and enthusiasts alike...What is clear from Slide's patient and intelligent questioning is the vibrancy of the memories of five unequivocally different actors... (Historical Journal Of Film, Radio And Television )

Although the subject's been covered before, here is the personal record on how the blacklist, a result of the inquiry of The House On UnAmerican Activities Committee, personally hurt the careers and psyche of these people. (Rapport )

About the Author

Anthony Slide has published many books and articles on the performing arts. He is a highly respected scholar of film history, and has authored such books as The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry (1998), On Actors and Acting (1998), and Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian (1997).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (September 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810836491
• ISBN-13: 978-0810836495
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,589,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opening account of the insidious Hollywood blacklist., May 30, 2000

By 

Hans J. Wollstein (Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Actors on Red Alert (Hardcover)

Books with show business interviews are usually a waste of time in my opinion. But "Actors on Red Alert" by noted film historian Anthony Slide arrives as a welcome exception, not only due to the obvious intelligence and forthrightness of the five subjects but also because of Mr. Slide's perceptive questioning. All five -- Phil Brown, Rose Hobart, Marsha Hunt, Marc Lawrence and Doris Nolan -- were to various degrees affected by the notorious Hollywood witch hunt of the late 1940s. One -- Lawrence -- became an informer, in fact, and "named names," a treachery the man apparently has a tough time dealing with to this very day. Surprisingly, Lawrence blames the blacklist not on the rightwing politicians of the day but on the Communist Party itself! The remaining four interview subjects -- two of whom were longtime close friends of Mr. Slide -- offer a more balanced view of the tragedy. None, however, is boring and neither is Mr. Slide's wonderful book. In fact, all too little have been written about Doris Nolan, an actress rather better known for her stage work than her few film appearances. But Miss Nolan proves perhaps the most interesting subject for Mr. Slide's probing questions. Sadly, the actress passed away prior to the publishing of "Actors on Red Alert," and the book shall stand as a testament to an unjustly forgotten personality.