Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner
A Very Dangerous Citizen
Abraham Lincoln Polonsky and the Hollywood Left
$21.95, £14.95 paperback
9780520236721
Available Now
285 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 18 b/w photographs
June 2001, Available worldwide
Also in: American Studies; United States History
June 2001, Available worldwide
Also in: American Studies; United States History
When he was summoned before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1951, Abraham Lincoln Polonsky (1911-1999) was labeled "a very dangerous citizen" by Harold Velde, a congressman from Illinois. Lawyer, educator, novelist, labor organizer, radio and television scriptwriter, film director and screenwriter, wartime intelligence operative, and full-time radical romantic, Polonsky was blacklisted in Hollywood for refusing to be an informer. The New York Times called his blacklisting the single greatest loss to American film during the McCarthy era, and his expressed admirers include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Sidney Lumet, Warren Beatty, and Harry Belafonte. In this first critical and cultural biography of Abraham Polonsky, Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner present both an accomplished consideration of a remarkable survivor of America's cultural cold war and a superb study of the Hollywood left.
The Bronx-born son of immigrant parents, Polonsky—in the few years after the end of World War II and just before the blacklist—had one of the most distinguished careers in Hollywood. He wrote two films that established John Garfield's postwar persona, Body and Soul (1947), still the standard for boxing films and the model for such movies as Raging Bull and Pulp Fiction; and Force of Evil (1948), the great noir drama that he also directed. Once blacklisted, Polonsky quit working under his own name, yet he proved to be one of television's most talented writers. Later in life he became the most acerbic critic of the Hollywood blacklist's legacy while writing and directing films such as Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1970).
A Very Dangerous Citizen goes beyond biography to help us understand the relationship between art and politics in American culture and to uncover the effects of U.S. anticommunism and anti-Semitism. Rich in anecdote and in analysis, it provides an informative and entertaining portrait of one of the most intriguing personalities of twentieth-century American culture.
The Bronx-born son of immigrant parents, Polonsky—in the few years after the end of World War II and just before the blacklist—had one of the most distinguished careers in Hollywood. He wrote two films that established John Garfield's postwar persona, Body and Soul (1947), still the standard for boxing films and the model for such movies as Raging Bull and Pulp Fiction; and Force of Evil (1948), the great noir drama that he also directed. Once blacklisted, Polonsky quit working under his own name, yet he proved to be one of television's most talented writers. Later in life he became the most acerbic critic of the Hollywood blacklist's legacy while writing and directing films such as Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1970).
A Very Dangerous Citizen goes beyond biography to help us understand the relationship between art and politics in American culture and to uncover the effects of U.S. anticommunism and anti-Semitism. Rich in anecdote and in analysis, it provides an informative and entertaining portrait of one of the most intriguing personalities of twentieth-century American culture.
"Buhle and Wagner have succeeded in bringing Polonsky's history back to life: both he and the book deserve the attention."—Mike Wayne, Labour/le Travail
"The book not only provides an intelligent discussion of Polonsky's novels, broadcast dramas, and films, but also identifies and describes much of his uncredited, unpublished, or unproduced work. An impressive synthesis of political history and esthetic analysis, it adds considerably to our understanding of the blacklist."—James Naremore, Cineaste
"Covers enormous ground and effectively reflects the vastness of Polonsky's career and personal life."—Variety
"An engaging and provocative account of a courageous writer who ultimately prevailed over the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
"Buhle and Wagner have written an exceedingly well-researched, nuanced and highly informative biography and social history. It's a welcome addition not only to film literature but to the political history of the 1950s."—Publishers Weekly
"Abe Polonsky offers a fascinating case of a gifted artist wrestling resiliently with political stooges of both left and right…This book ought to be on every film scholar's shelf."—Sunday Tribune, Dublin
"In their engrossing and meticulously researched book, Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner give Polonsky his just due."—Providence Sunday Journal
"A Very Dangerous Citizen makes an unparalleled contribution to our understanding of the era."—San Francisco Chronicle
"An engaging and provocative account of a courageous writer who ultimately prevailed over the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era."—Los Angeles Times
"In A Very Dangerous Citizen, the first critical and cultural biography of Polonsky, the authors present both an accomplished consideration of a remarkable survivor of America's cultural cold war and a superb study of the Hollywood left. . . . An adept biographical analysis of one of the most intriguing personalities of twentieth-century American culture. But it is more than that. It helps us understand the relationship between art and politics in American culture and to uncover the effects of U.S. anti-Communism and Anti-Semitism."—Gadfly
"Polonsky's work as a righteous man asking awkward questions deserves the detailed treatment given in this welcome volume."—Times Higher Education Supplement
"The book not only provides an intelligent discussion of Polonsky's novels, broadcast dramas, and films, but also identifies and describes much of his uncredited, unpublished, or unproduced work. An impressive synthesis of political history and esthetic analysis, it adds considerably to our understanding of the blacklist."—James Naremore, Cineaste
"Covers enormous ground and effectively reflects the vastness of Polonsky's career and personal life."—Variety
"An engaging and provocative account of a courageous writer who ultimately prevailed over the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
"Buhle and Wagner have written an exceedingly well-researched, nuanced and highly informative biography and social history. It's a welcome addition not only to film literature but to the political history of the 1950s."—Publishers Weekly
"Abe Polonsky offers a fascinating case of a gifted artist wrestling resiliently with political stooges of both left and right…This book ought to be on every film scholar's shelf."—Sunday Tribune, Dublin
"In their engrossing and meticulously researched book, Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner give Polonsky his just due."—Providence Sunday Journal
"A Very Dangerous Citizen makes an unparalleled contribution to our understanding of the era."—San Francisco Chronicle
"An engaging and provocative account of a courageous writer who ultimately prevailed over the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era."—Los Angeles Times
"In A Very Dangerous Citizen, the first critical and cultural biography of Polonsky, the authors present both an accomplished consideration of a remarkable survivor of America's cultural cold war and a superb study of the Hollywood left. . . . An adept biographical analysis of one of the most intriguing personalities of twentieth-century American culture. But it is more than that. It helps us understand the relationship between art and politics in American culture and to uncover the effects of U.S. anti-Communism and Anti-Semitism."—Gadfly
"Polonsky's work as a righteous man asking awkward questions deserves the detailed treatment given in this welcome volume."—Times Higher Education Supplement
"Abe Polonsky was fascinating, brilliant, mercurial, a giant of our time. He held the line against McCarthyism in all its forms and phases all his life. He did it with vigor and the joy of fighting for right. His history is the best of the left. As a man he was charming, amusing, concerned—a great listener and a greater raconteur, and an even better friend. This much needed book is a tribute to him."—Lee Grant, Oscar-winning director/actress
"A long-overdue critical biography of a significant talent and political intellect lost to the cold war waged in and on Hollywood. Buhle and Wagner expertly trace the roots of the Hollywood Red Scare to the streets of New York, the streets that produced the likes of writer-director-activist-teacher Abe Polonsky."—Jon Lewis, author of Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry
"A long-overdue critical biography of a significant talent and political intellect lost to the cold war waged in and on Hollywood. Buhle and Wagner expertly trace the roots of the Hollywood Red Scare to the streets of New York, the streets that produced the likes of writer-director-activist-teacher Abe Polonsky."—Jon Lewis, author of Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Adventures of the Artist as Intellectual
2. The Good War and After
3. The Politics and Mythology of Film Art: Polonsky's Noir Era
4. Polonsky's Fifties
5. Triumph and Retrospect
Appendix
Notes
Bibliographical Note
Index
Introduction
1. Adventures of the Artist as Intellectual
2. The Good War and After
3. The Politics and Mythology of Film Art: Polonsky's Noir Era
4. Polonsky's Fifties
5. Triumph and Retrospect
Appendix
Notes
Bibliographical Note
Index
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