Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood [Paperback]

Robert Mayhew (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810852764 | ISBN-13: 978-0810852761 | Publication Date: December 8, 2004

In 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Including an excellent bibliography, this volume is a welcome addition to all collections that include works on HUAC and the Hollywood film industry. Highly recommended. All levels. (Choice )

...Mayhew feels passionately about his subject, which he presents in exhaustive detail. (American Communist History )

In October 1947, Ayn Rand testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating communist infiltration of the movie industry. The focus of her testimony was Song of Russia, a pro-Soviet film that Rand decried for its unrealistically flattering portrait of life under communism in her native country. Mayhew (philosophy, Seton Hall, U., NJ) examines the film and the furor that surrounded Rand's testimony. He provides a detailed history of the 1944 film's production and reception as well as an analysis of Rand's much-maligned HUAC appearance and the response to it. His study allows for a re-evaluation of the role of communism in Hollywood, the nature of the HUAC, and even the famously blacklisted Hollywood Ten. Of interest to those studying the life and thought of Rand, the history of Hollywood communism, or American film. (Reference and Research Book News )

About the Author

Robert Mayhew is Professor of Philosophy at Seton Hall University. He has written two books on Aristotle, translated a play of Aristophanes, and edited four collections of works by or about Ayn Rand, including Essays on Ayn Rand's We the Living (Lexington, 2004).

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (December 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810852764
• ISBN-13: 978-0810852761
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,408,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Naming Facts - The Truth about Hollywood Communism, February 2, 2005

By 

Tore Boeckmann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood (Paperback)

This is an excellent book on Ayn Rand's famous 1947 testimony, before the House Un-American Activities Committee, on MGM's 1944 movie Song of Russia.

Ayn Rand exposed the movie as pro-Soviet propaganda, a deliberate whitewash of the terrible reality of life under communism. Robert Mayhew discusses every point of her testimony in relation to the historical record of the Soviet Union, proving Ayn Rand right in every respect. His book is also an important work of original historical research. Dr. Mayhew interviewed the surviving co-writer of Song of Russia, ex-Communist Richard Collins, and dug deep in the historical archives. The result is a revealing picture of Communist influence in Hollywood - and Washington. One of many fascinating revelations is that the Roosevelt administration's Office of War Information - which claimed the right to "comment" on film scripts - had the Song-of-Russia script vetted by the Soviet Embassy!

Being a philosopher, Dr. Mayhew goes beyond the presentation of historical facts. He discusses the political and ethical implications of the HUAC investigations for such issues as free speech, blacklists, "naming names," honesty in relation to wartime propaganda, etc. In so doing, he gives us both Ayn Rand's views, drawing in part on previously unpublished material, and his own illuminating analysis.

Dr. Mayhew also reveals the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the Communists in Hollywood and of their leftist successors, refuting their smears of Ayn Rand's testimony, which continue to this day. Thus - in addition to being a fresh, first-hand investigation of a still controversial period of American history, and of Ayn Rand's part in it - Robert Mayhew's book is a sorely needed act of justice.

Thoroughly researched, richly textured with telling detail, clearly written and strongly argued, this new book should be on the must-read list of anyone interested in modern American history.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ayn Rand on Communism in Hollywood, August 7, 2005

By 

Diana M Hsieh - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood (Paperback)

As the title "Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood" suggests, this book by Robert Mayhew is an examination of Ayn Rand's testimony on the movie _Song of Russia_ before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.

Part I offers three chapters of helpful background information on the movie. Perhaps most importantly, Mayhew offers a detailed synopsis of _Song of Russia_. In addition to the synopsis, Mayhew includes a chapter on the making of the movie (with particular attention to the involved communists and the changes made in production) and a chapter on its reception in the press and elsewhere. (I was particularly surprised to learn of the nature and extent of the meddling in the production of movies by FDR's administration.)

In Part II, Mayhew turns to Ayn Rand's testimony before the HUAC. He begins with a chapter on her life up through the testimony, particularly focusing on her childhood in Russia, her work in Hollywood, and the publication of _We the Living_. He examines Ayn Rand's general view of the HUAC hearings, including a detailed and interesting discussion of the supposed moral crime of "naming names." In the next two chapters, Mayhew examines the accuracy of Ayn Rand's testimony about the utterly false picture of life in Soviet Russia in _Song of Russia_, as well as her rejection of the supposed need to lie about the true condition of our Russian ally during World War II. The final chapter considers the absurd responses of various leftists to Ayn Rand's testimony.

As I've come to expect from Robert Mayhew's work, _Ayn Rand and Song of Russia_ is a careful and thorough examination of the topic at hand. I particularly appreciated the clarity of Mayhew's writing, in both the structure and the prose. The analyses were methodical, but never dragged on. Although more can always be said about side topics in any writing, I finished the book with a good grasp of the core issues.

All in all, I highly recommend _Ayn Rand and Song of Russia_, particularly to those with an interest Ayn Rand's HUAC testimony or the communist influence in Hollywood.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Communists in Hollywood? Yes., April 14, 2007

By 

Janet Lee W. (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood (Paperback)

I was interested in reading Ayn Rand and Song of Russia because I had previously heard about the House Un-American Committee (HUAC) of the late 1940s, but I had always heard about it in a negative light. It always seemed to be associated with witch hunting and blacklisting. When I learned that one of my favorite authors, Ayn Rand, testified as a friendly witness, I wanted to know more. This committee wanted to find out the extent of communist infiltration into the movie industry. As a Russian who lived through the Russian Revolution, and as a writer in Hollywood, Ayn Rand was in a unique position to comment on the extent of propaganda in some of the movies coming out of Hollywood at the time. Ayn Rand was asked to comment specifically on Song of Russia, a movie very sympathetic to Russia released in 1944. This book does a fine job of explaining what propaganda is and the subtle nature of propaganda. It also describes the movie in detail and how it distorts what life was like in Russia after the revolution. The second part of the book contains the actual transcript of Rand's testimony along with the author's analysis. This book is well worth reading because it helps one to understand how bad ideas did, and still can, seep into our culture. It also points out that it wasn't the people sympathetic to communism that got blacklisted; rather, it was those people who were considered friendly witnesses. Finally, it shows Ayn Rand eloquently fighting for her values: a United States that upholds individual rights.