Glenn Frankel

An absolutely fantastic book that is impossible to put down. This is the back story of the film The Searchers, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. However, the back story is of 9 year old Cynthia Ann Parker who witnessed her family killed my Comanche Indians and then was taken and lived with them for almost 25 years, bearing three children. Then she was recaptured by whites and reunited with family members but continued to long for her Comanche family. The book explores the show more history of the Comanche in Texas, their abduction of women and children, and what eventually happened to the tribe. Cynthia Ann Parker's son, Quanah Parker, was considered the last Comanche chief who lived and worked with the Whites, both in Texas and DC. The story moves into Alan LeMay's writing of the book The Searchers and then the making of the film by John Ford and starring John Wayne in what was probably his best role. The tepid reaction to the film is also covered and the history of how the film has grown in stature over the years to be considered the best Western ever made. My only criticism is that I wish some of the photographs in the book had been larger as in many it was hard to make out people's faces. A great read for both film fans and historians. This is History and Hollywood at its best! show less

HIGH NOON is one of my favorite films, a movie I have adored since childhood, when I first watched the saga of Will Kane, a small town Sheriff in the Old West, challenged on his wedding day by Frank Miller, a killer he sent to prison years before, who has now been freed to seek his vengeance. While Miller’s gang wait at the station for him to arrive on the noon train, Kane seeks help from the townspeople, literally going hat in hand to friends and neighbors asking them to back him up when show more the time comes to face Miller and his gang, but one by one, all of Will Kane’s friends desert him, each relationizing their own cowardice, leaving the Sheriff alone on an empty street to meet his fate. Even Kane’s young bride walks out on him because upholding him in a gunfight would violate her Quaker faith. It’s a great story, simply and well told, and the lessons it teaches are inescapable. I’ve watched HIGH NOON more than a dozen times, and like any true fan, I can recite lines of dialogue from memory right along with the actors, and know every word of Tex Ritter’s theme song by heart.

But in Glenn Frankel’s book HIGH NOON: THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN CLASSIC, I learned the story behind the film, one that is as dramatic as anything on the screen, a story filled with heroes and villains, and just plain flawed human beings. And I learned what every viewer of HIGH NOON has always known in their hearts, that it was not the just the story of a little western town named Hadleyville in the 1880’s, but of another small town much further west called Hollywood, and set in the middle of the 20th Century. It is the story of the rise and fall of American Communism, its influence, such as it was, from the idealistic days of the Great Depression, to World War II, when everyone was on the same side to defeat Fascism, to the early years of the Cold War, when the Red Menace turned American against American, as people who considered themselves true patriots waged a new war against a home grown enemy.

The hero of Frankel’s book is Carl Foreman, a young man who came up in the film business in the 1940’s, gaining success as a scriptwriter after serving in WWII, and like many of his generation, was drawn to the Communist Party when it seemed like they were the only ones taking a stand against Hitler and supporting equal rights for all Americans. Never a very active member, Foreman drifted away from the Communist Party as he became more successful and the organization’s prominence declined in the post war period. Foreman went into a production partnership with the young producer, Stanley Kramer, who wanted to make important films about serious issues. Kramer owed one more film on an old contract with United Artists, and it was to be a western script Foreman had been working on and revising since the mid 40’s. Besides writing the script for HIGH NOON, Foreman handled most of the producer’s chores, being on set every day, and making most major and minor executive decisions, while Kramer was working on getting a multi film production deal up and going with Columbia Studios. Unfortunately for Foreman, he had just been fingered as a member of the Communist Party in testimony by a fellow writer before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which meant that he in turn would be called before the Committee, asked about his membership in the Party, and to name other Party members in an act of atonement. If he did not comply, he would face immediate blacklisting, making him unemployable in Hollywood. In short, Foreman refused to cooperate with the Committee, believing that his conscience wouldn’t let him rat out his fellow Party members – most of who, if not all, were already known to HUAC. For sticking to his guns, Carl Foreman was fired by his friend, Stanley Kramer, denied the producer’s credit he deserved, and ultimately forced to leave the country, working for most of the next 20 years in Great Britain. His marriage would fall apart, his writing would suffer, and his name would not appear in the credits of films he did write, one of whom, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAII, would win an Oscar for Best Screenplay. The parallels between Carl Foreman and Will Kane are clear and unmistakable, and the irony is deep.

What I really liked about this book was the deep dive in took into the Blacklist, and Graylist, years in Hollywood, how it came to be that a few opportunistic politicians, and their supporters created a true American reign of terror, driven by fear of a foreign enemy, one whose alien ideology was suspected of having hundreds of thousands of secret adherents in the United States. Frankel shows how HUAC far exceeded its authority, acting not as an investigative arm of Congress, but as a court of law, deciding guilt and meting out punishment, depriving those it found uncooperative of property and the ability to earn a living without anything resembling due process under the Constitution. In time, the Supreme Court would clip the committee’s wings, but by then, a tremendous amount of damage would be done, with lives and careers in ruins. What is also made clear is that the Blacklist would never have been possible if not for groups like then American Legion and the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a cabal of Hollywood super patriots, determined to kick each and every dirty Commie out of the business, and keep them out. Among them were more than a few who cracked under the fear, and threw their fellow Americans under the bus in order to keep on working. The resemblance between them and the good citizens of Hadleyville, not to mention Frank Miller and his gang, is also clear and unmistakable.

Carl Foreman is not the only hero in Frankel’s book, for the Gary Cooper that emerges from the pages in one that very much jibes with the men he played on the screen. Though looking every bit of his 50 years when he signed on to play Will Kane, and with his stardom on the wane, Cooper gave the performance of his life in HIGH NOON, being so much better than Marlon Brando or Charlton Heston, who were considered for the part. The Cooper we meet in this book is a man who stands by his word, and his friends; though a lifelong conservative Republican, Cooper was so impressed with Carl Foreman that he offered to go into partnership with Foreman after Kramer gave him the boot, knowing that an association with a known Communist could have hurt his career. Frankel is honest about Cooper’s womanizing, especially his long affair with Patricia Neal; it is the low estimation of his own talent that is the real reveal in the book; Cooper never considered himself a great actor, and faulted himself for not improving his talent, saying so in an interview only months before his death in 1961. Frankel makes the case that Cooper’s “minimalist” acting in HIGH NOON is anything but, that in fact it is a deeply nuanced piece of work, conveying pain, fear, disappointment, and resolve, often in the same scene, and just as often, wordlessly.

If there are heroes in this book, so are there villains, starting with Martin Berkeley, a scriptwriter who proudly gave up more than 150 of his colleagues to HUAC, among them Foreman’s. There are Alliance members Hedda Hopper, John Wayne, Ward Bond, and Roy Brewer who helped lead the witch hunts for Communists in their midst, along with the studio heads who were more than willing to light the match for this public burning. Both Hopper and Wayne publicly denounced Foreman after his HUAC testimony was deemed insufficient, yet he would patch things both of them in later years, pointedly shaking Wayne’s hand when he encountered The Duke at an LA restaurant in the 70’s, telling his family that he held no ill will because he considered Wayne a patriot, who, though mistaken, had done what he thought best for the country. It would be the former friend, Stanley Kramer, who had turned his back in a time of trouble, whom Carl Foreman would pointedly refuse to speak to when they came face to face years later. Wayne, for his part, would never tire of bad mouthing HIGH NOON for the rest of his life, considering it deeply un-American. I do wonder if, in his later years, when he was often defensive about his role in the Blacklisting of his fellow actors, Wayne’s true animus for the film came from the realization that in this real life story, many considered him either one of the cowardly citizens of Hadleyville, or even Frank Miller himself.

Besides the all the politics, the other thing great about Frankel’s book is the pure Hollywood history it recounts. I love reading the details of the creative process, how Cooper took most of the casting budget, necessitating the hiring of supporting actors, like Thomas Mitchell and Lon Chaney Jr., for only a week’s work; how Mexican actress Katy Jurado, who played the awesome Helen Ramirez, Kane’s former mistress, was so new to English, that a character’s name had to be changed because she couldn’t pronounce it; the controversy over who “saved” the film in post production after it was deemed a “disaster” in post production. Film editor Elmo Williams would loudly take credit in later years, but so would Stanley Kramer, who had no small ego himself; Frankel presents the facts as best as they seen decades later and lets the reader decide. How Grace Kelly worried about the overacting she was doing her part as Kane’s young Quaker bride. I love the story of Dimitri Tiomkin, the Russian who became Hollywood’s master of writing music for American westerns, and how the immortal song, “Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling,” came to be, and how there were dueling versions on the radio at the same time by Tex Ritter and Frankie Laine. Caught in the middle of all this was the Austrian born director, Fred Zinneman, another immigrant who contributed to one of the most definitive American movies of all time.

HIGH NOON the film is one of those unique movies that speaks across the political spectrum, championed by liberals and conservatives alike, becoming one of the most popular films worldwide. It lost the Best Picture Oscar in 1952 to the inferior THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, in no small part because of its connections to accused Communists, but in the hearts of Americans, and movie lovers in every foreign land, including those once ruled by Communists, it is even more beloved today than at the time of its release. There is something in this story of a frightened, but still brave, man, who shoulders the indignity of betrayal, and walks alone down a street to meet his fate, comforted only by the knowledge that he has done the right thing. Glenn Frankel’s book does this great movie justice, and tells us how it came to be. It is a must read for any movie lover. show less

As I have stated in many other similar reviews, I am a huge fan of a subgenre of film books that can best be described as “The Making Of (insert title).” These books are essentially a biography of a movie, the story of how the creative team came together, made it, and then put it before the movie going public. Glenn Frankel has excelled in writing these kind of books; I really enjoyed the ones he wrote on the classic westerns, THE SEARCHERS and HIGH NOON. His latest takes on another show more classic, one that has a western archetype in its title, but is as about as far from those films in style and theme as one could get: MIDNIGHT COWBOY, the only X-rated film to not only receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, but to go on and win the Oscar itself. Its full title is SHOOTING MIDNIGHT COWBOY: ART, LONELINESS, AND THE MAKING OF A DARK CLASSIC, and it is a real look back at a moment in time when American popular culture undergoing a revolution, and taking a look at aspects of that culture which had been deliberately long ignored.

As with most of these books in this subgenre, the story starts with a creative person who latches onto a premise or an idea, and then, with great perseverance, makes something of it, and in the process, draws in other creative people, who add their talents to the mix. Frankel’s book starts with two such special talents, the author James Leo Herlihy, and the British film director, John Schlesinger, both of whom were discreet homosexuals in a time when society was hardly accepting of them. Herlihy, who had some moderate success as an author and playwright, penned the original novel the film was based on, published in 1965. It was the story of Joe Buck, a poor, but handsome young man from Texas who fancies himself a stud with the ladies, and who journeys to New York City in hopes of supporting himself by servicing lonely, but wealthy, older women. Things don’t go as planned, and the big city is not kind to the country boy, but he does strike up a friendship with a crippled street hustler named Ratzo Rizzo, who walks with a distinctive limp; it is the relationship of these two men living on the margin of society that is the heart of Herlihy’s story. Schlesinger was a film director whose specialty was telling dramatic character driven narratives on screen. He’d had a big success with the film, DARLING, which made a huge star of the gorgeous Julie Christie, and Hollywood came courting, but Schlesinger’s next film was a box office disappointment, and he was looking for a project that might restore his reputation. I really like how Frankel portrays MIDNIGHT COWBOY as something of a redemption project, not just for Schlesinger, but for Jerry Hellman, the producer who had suffered professional and personal setbacks before taking on the film, and for Waldo Salt, the screen writer who penned the final script, who had been on the McCarthy era blacklist. All these people came together, along with a casting director (who didn’t get the credit she deserved), a costume designer, cinematographers, and the executive artists at United Artists, who all availed their best talents for a film that included male and female nudity, blatant homosexual acts, sexual assault, and an unflinching look at the underside of NYC in a way never seen before in a big budget Hollywood production.

There was so much in Frankel’s book that I really liked, especially how he recreates the movie industry of the late ‘60s, when the old Production Code was no longer in force, but where movie makers were not sure what to do with all this new found freedom, and very unsure of themselves in what the public would accept. The drama and friction of the creative process are at the heart of much of the book. The tension between the insecure gay British director and his boyfriend, who got a job on the film, and the American film making crew during the shoot during the hot summer of 1968 makes for an interesting section. The casting process is discussed in detail, and I learned just how Jon Voight, a relative unknown, and Dustin Hoffman, fresh off the smash success of THE GRADUATE, were cast as Joe and Ratzo respectively. I loved reading about some of those considered for parts in the film, but were passed on, including the very talented, but now nearly forgotten, Michael Sarrazin for the part of Joe, along with the Six-Million Dollar man himself, Lee Majors. The tension between Voight and Hoffman, two very intense actors (very much so in Hoffman’s case) is recounted and how it contributed mightily to the success of the final product. More surprising to me was some of the other names considered for parts in the film, actors no one would ever associate with an X rated film. I’m glad Frankel pays respect to John McGiver and Bernard Hughes, two fearless character stars who contributed memorable moments, along with Sylvia Miles, whose portrayal of one of Joe’s would be clients would win her an Oscar nomination. There is much detail about late ‘60s NYC, which is very much a character in its own right in the film, and the state of decline it was in by then. But the part I found most enlightening was just how MIDNIGHT COWBOY got its X rating from the MPAA. A lot of myths have been associated with this piece of Hollywood lore, and Frankel helps set the record straight. It was interesting to read about the critical reception to the film, which was mostly acclaim for its daring honesty, but more than one major critic in a mainstream publication did little to hide their disdain for homosexuals, and clearly considered it a “gay film,” which it is not. There’s an epilogue at the end that I found sad in some parts because success, no matter how great, is so often fleeting, and in some cases, no amount of it can the heal the wounds inflicted by choices made.

While reading Frankel’s book, I re-watched MIDNIGHT COWBOY online to see how well it holds up. It is certainly a film of its time, but that is ultimately what makes it great because it is filled with the energy of an America leaving the past behind and pushing onward into uncharted territory. Schlesinger’s direction is daring and challenging, while the lonely heart that was at the center of Herlihy’s novel is very much in evidence. The performances of Voight and Hoffman still shine bright, this might just be Hoffman’s best acting ever, but this is really the young Jon Voight’s film. He is simply stunning in it, and when you see the older man he is today on social media and cable news channels, you really have to ask what happened?

In the end, Frankel’s book brings it all together in the story how a most unlikely film classic got made in a Hollywood that was still willing to take risks, and dare mightily in the pursuit of both art and profit. Shame we don’t see more of that these days. show less

You know the film. Sheriff Kane has married a Quaker beauty and is hanging up his gun and turning in his badge to run a shop. Then Kane learns that a gang is out to get even--Kane's life to pay for his arrest of their leader, now out of jail.

Get out of town, everyone advises. This two-bit town wasn't worth dying for.

Kane knows you can't escape the past. He had to face the danger and end it once and for all. As he tries to form a posse Kane discovers he is alone; everyone else in town show more justifies retreating into their protective shells.

Clocks tick off the minutes until noon when the train carrying his nemesis arrives. Kane is left alone on the empty street of a town without moral conviction, friendless; even his pacifist wife is leaving town without him. It is Kane alone against four armed men bent on murder.

The simple song with the hoofbeat rhythm tells the story, and its melody morphs and evolves, becoming menacing and persistent, until it is High Noon.

Stanley Kramer owed United Artists one more film to fulfill his contract, then he could get on making movies under his own studio. Screenwriter Carl Foreman had been working on an idea for several years, High Noon. They secured the over-the-hill but still box worthy actor Gary Cooper to play the lead, and newbie Grace Kelly to be his wife.

No one thought the film would amount to much. Cooper's acting lacked oopmh, Kelly was too young, and, used to emoting to the back row in the theater, over-acted. The early film version was deemed awful and needed cutting and remaking.

I was thrilled to read Glenn Frankel's book High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic. High Noon is a favorite film in my household. I know it scene by scene. Frankel's account of how the film was made was fascinating and exciting. Frankel portrays Gary Cooper as a handsome Lothario, also described as one of the nicest, greatest guys; Carl adores Coop. Frank Cooper was the son of a Montana lawyer who wanted to be an artist but could not afford art school. He went to Hollywood after learning they needed stunt artists. He was a quick study. His handsome good looks caught the eye of Clara Bow for her famous movie It. Gary Cooper was born.

What really makes this book relevant and important is learning how the Cold War fostered an era of fear that allowed wholesale persecution.

Before High Noon was complete Carl Foreman's name was given to the House Un-American Committee as a member of the Communist Party. Carl had been a member, drawn to its Anti-Fascism and promotion of the rights of minorities, Jews, immigrants, and unions. Carl had signed an oath in 1950 saying he was not (then) a member of the Communist Party.

The Communist Party of the early 20th c attracted progressive liberals and intellectuals who supported such 'un-American' ideals as unionizing and workers rights; their agenda did not include the overthrow of the United States. The Communist Party was seen as a social club, a place for making connections. When Russia became an ally against Hitler, Hollywood was called upon to portray positive images in films like Song of Russia and Mission to Moscow.

The House Un-American Committee 'quizzed' accused Communists, rewarding those who cooperated with reprieve, but not always forgiveness. Milton Berkeley gave the Committee 150 names and was their darling; yet when his son graduated from Yale he was denied acceptance into the Navy's Officer Training Program, blacklisted because his father had once been a Communist!

Carl could have played their game, admit his sins and name several Communist party members they already knew about. He'd be off the hook, perhaps with his career damaged, but not over. Carl would not bend his convictions; he'd rather go to jail. Alone and afraid he faced the tribunal. They were not pleased.

Carl was a liability. Kramer fired Carl; no studio could afford to be associated with Communism. Cooper, a Republican anti-Communist, believed in and supported Carl and wanted to help him start his own company; the deal fell through. Even Cooper couldn't defeat the HUAC and stand up to the threat of blacklisting. Foreman went to England and went on to write The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Guns of Navarone, The Mouse that Roared, Born Free, and Young Winston.

The HUAC's abuse of power was finally addressed by the Supreme Court in an a1957 ruling, stating that "There is no general authority to expose the private affairs of individuals without justification in terms of the functions of Congress. Nor is the Congress a law enforcement or trial agency." Senator Joseph McCarthy's fall also damaged the HAUC's credibility.

Carl Foreman had lost his job; his name was expunged in the credits of High Noon and The Bridge on the River Kwai; his passport had been revoked; and his marriage damaged. And yet years later, back in America, he ran into John Wayne, an ardent anti-communist. They embraced as old friends. When Carl asked how he could accept an old enemy so nicely he replied that Wayne was a patriot and had only been doing what he thought was right.

In times of national stress fear manifests in attacks against perceived threats, which in hindsight are seen as ill-advised, unconstitutional, and morally suspect. The red-baiting witch hunts of the 1950s were such a time. Frankel's book reminds us of the cost of allowing our fear to negate the rights guaranteed by our laws and warns against the misuse of power.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. show less