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Holt I HOLLYWOOD AHD POLITICS CAUOHT /?/ 7HE COLD WAR CROSSFIRE HOLLYWOOD AND POLITICS CAUGHT IM THE COLD WAR CROSSFIRE (1947) Jennifer Holt "Reallifeisbecomingindistinguishablefromthemovies." Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947) The powerful euphoria and optimism that gilded the surface ofpost-WWIIAmerica fueled the country's high-gloss image on both global and local scales. The United States had emerged as the world's preeminent and undisputed superpower. The war machine had revived the US. economy and more than doubled the gross national product (from $90 billion in 1939 to $212 billion in 1945).1 Initially, Hollywood appeared to be one of the many industries to benefit from the war effort and further revel in the afterglow of victory overseas. The studio system hit its peak in 1946, selling over 4 billion tickets and releasing 400 films.2 According to Thomas Schatz, the industry's overseas outlook was still "remarkablyupbeat " immediatelyfollowing the war, withforeignrevenues at a record $125 million in 1946 and holding strong in 1947 at an estimated $120 million.3 Almostimmediately, however, these gleaming facades would lose their luster. Within two years of the war's end, the cultural andpoliticaltensions thathadbeen simmeringintheUS. exploded; the hopeful optimism that had characterized post-War American society was swiftly replaced by the slow-burning fear, suspicion and paranoia that would sustain the Cold War. Foreign policy and public attention became obsessively focused on the newly vilified Soviet Union, monopolizing atomic weaponry, and containing the "Communist threat" as outlined in the Truman Doctrine. American society was experiencing a rebirth of alienation and racism at home, with women and people of color struggling against the oppressive forces of cultural "containment." As Lawrence Wittner has noted, "if Fortune smiled on the postwar United States, she reserved her keenest delights for the forces of privilege."4 Discriminatory practices were firmly entrenched in business, government and labor policy and racist violence was rampant. At the same time, the film industry began experiencing dramatic transformations of its own. In 1947, box office admissions began a rapid downward spiral that would continue forthe next 25 years. Labor union battles heated up between the mob-controlled International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)— the organization closely alignedwith studiomanagement—andthe Conference ofStudio Unions (CSU), aprogressive union ofartists whose ranks were accused of being Communists. As a result of declining attendance, strikes and litigation costs, and increased restrictions in foreign markets (especially in Great Britain), studio netprofits droppedofffrom $120 million in 1946to $48 million in 1948.5 Additionally, the lingering Justice Department lawsuit and the looming menace of television posed grave threats to the film industry's livelihood. Finally, the ultimate incarnation ofAmerican ColdWar culture came knocking on Hollywood's door again; the House Committee on Un-AmericanActivities (commonly and derisively referred to as HUAC) returned to rid motion pictures of the "red menace." As the committee explained, "Unless the people in control of the industry are willing to clean house of Communists, Congress will have to do it for them."6 Few Hollywood properties articulate these industrial and cultural tensions as effectively as Crossfire (RKO, 1947). A cultural dialogue steepedin fear andparanoia characterizes the film's history. Crossfire would be the first American film to directly confront the problem of anti-Semitism by combining the strains oífilm noir and the social problem or "message" picture. The result was a tightly woven, moody suspense-thrillerthat addressed numerous social issues and denounced intolerance to critical acclaim . Sadly, the filmmakers would have less success in their personal battles with Cold War prejudice: three months after the film's release, the director and producer, members of the Hollywood Ten, would be sentenced to jail for contempt of Congress. Crossfire and its troubledproduction history embody many ofthe dilemmas that facedAmerica in the wake ofWWII. Hollywood moguls, returning veterans, and everyday Americans struggled with the same crises of identity and bigotry as those haunting the text and context of the film. Ultimately, Crossfire serves as a memorial of a particular historical moment; it is not merely a reflection of its time, but also a major participant in the process ofnegotiating andreconstructing identities atthe onsetof the Cold War. The Best Planned Film Project of All...

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