Red Star Over Hollywood: The Film Colony's Long Romance With The Left (book)

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[EveningStar]

Red Star Over Hollywood: The Film Colony's Long Romance With The Left

by Ronald Radosh, Allis Radosh

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Until now, Hollywood's political history has been dominated by a steady stream of films and memoirs decrying the "nightmare" of the Red Scare and how it victimized political innocents. But in RED STAR OVER HOLLYWOOD, Ronald and Allis Radosh tell for the first time the "backstory" behind this myth.

[EveningStar]

Has anyone read this book? David Horowitz, sitting in for Dennis Prager, is interviewing one of the authors. Sounds like an interesting book.

[rabidralph]

I have not but The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood, by Diana McLellan, also chronicles how communism came to Hollywood by way of the NY theater scene in the early '20s. It meshes the rumors about Dietrich, Bankhead, Garbo and all the others with a great narrative on the infiltration of communists into Hollywood. Also noted is how the freedom fighter character in Casablanca is based on a communist spy who was revered by the Hollywood crowd.

[T Lady]

No I haven't read it, but sure would like to. It sounds as though it will remove the shroud of mystery surrounding a few Hollywood 'Legends'. I'll go see if it's available locally.

-Regards, T.

[Steve_Seattle]

I re-watched "Casablanca" the other day and noticed that Rick (Humphrey Bogart) spoke of fighting with the "Loyalists" (communists) during the Spanish Civil War. Of course, it was described as fighting "against the fascists," but that is a very misleading way of describing what Franco stood for; his movement had very little in common with the Nazis other than a shared opposition to Marxian communism.

[el_texicano]

I had heard about this book years ago, but all attempts to find it was futile. It was out of print, not stocked at any library that I had access to.

One story I heard this book tell about was about Lucille Ball as being one of the top ringleaders of her time. I don't know this for sure, but that is one thing I want to get ahold of this book and find out.

[LibFreeOrDie]

Ronald Radosh, who was raised a communist in NYC then later became a conservative, has authored many books and articles exposing the Communists in the U.S. So he knows what he's talking about.

[Ragtop]

That would be good to find out. I always thought that Lucy and Desi were Conservatives with John Wayne and Bob Hope. Especially after Castro's take over, I think Desi really became right wing. I could be wrong...

[AngieGOP]

Lucille Ball did have a card from the Communist Party. She signed up as a young woman because her dying grandfather (who was a communist) asked her to do son. Desi Arnaz did say once "the only thing "red" about that kid is her hair and that even isn't real".

[drjimmy]

One story I heard this book tell about was about Lucille Ball as being one of the top ringleaders of her time.

She sure looks like a "red" to me. And notice the featured story. Coincidence? I think not!

[Ragtop]

Thanks for the info! That's good to know!

[Rdev]

I saw this guy on bootnotes and he was fantastic! I have wondered why we keep being told how bad the blacklist was by the hollywood crowd and the relatives from the "10". One died within the last couple of years in Santa Barbara and he was openly a life long commie.

I didn't see the start of the program, so I didn't hear that he was raised a communist, but he certainly had Jack Valenti backpedalling. He offered a very concise and knowledgeable prespective to hollywood activities throughout that time and beyond.

I ordered the book . . .

[Question_Assumptions]

I think the left plays a game to it's advantage by defining all fascists or right win dictators as being just like Nazis. If it weren't for Hitler, could any other fascist really hold a candle to Stalin, Mao, Castro, and Pol Pot for the number of civilians murdered, the suffering they caused, or the horrible shape that they left their countries in? At least the right rejects Nazism. When was the last time someone in the mainstream left had a disparaging thing to say about a communist hell-hole like North Korea?

[elbucko]

My grandfather was a Hollywood studio union carpenter in the 1940's and his brother was a stunt man as well. They were both FBI informants regarding communist activities where they worked. My G'father died before my birth, but my Uncle could tell stories that would curl your hair. My Uncle "Vin" was instrumental in my becoming a "Youth for Goldwater". The "commies" it seems, are like the poor; "they will always be with us".

[smiley]

Michael Medved has been speaking about this for years...even those Hollywood brats of today are leaning way, way to the hateful left and denigrating our country and military in their "movies." More pandering from Hollywood to the leftist dictators and they will not stop until they feel they can claim victory...while...(and this is their fervent prayer)....while....America burns.....

[Sam Cree]

Good point RE the fascists vs the socialists.

I just read on the Amazon blurb that even Groucho had toured the USSR and came back a commie. I wonder if he ever had 2nd thoughts after learning of the horrors perpetrated by Stalin. Reading that about him saddened me. I've always gathered from watching some of their films that the Marx brothers were leftists, but I've also always enjoyed most of their work.

[Fred Hayek]

When I was a kid living at home (1970's), my folks had the Academy Awards on the tube. One award winner, some director, gave some speech praising the Khmer Rouge for "liberating" Cambodia. My folks could not understand at the time why their son was giving the finger at the TV, and cursing that director to hell (including bleeping traitor scum). Then later the stories about the killing fields in Cambodia emerged.

[EveningStar]

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[Borges]

Closer to late 20s. When Sound came in the Studio bosses raided the NY Theater world for writers, directors and actors with good voices. The NY Theater world at the time was of course made up of Clifford Odets types.

[AnnGora]

I once did a research paper on the Great Groucho. From what I learned, while he was a lefty in the twenties and thirties, he gradually became disillusioned with the Hollywood left, particularly those who embraced Communnism. In fact, he once said that he could not take seriously those pink screenwriters who sang "Let the People Arise" while doing laps in their pools in Beverly Hills." As an old man, he said in an interview that if someone was so crazy about Communism, then let them go "over there and live."

[EveningStar]

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