Elia Kazan

by Scirish

I have been reading an autobiography of Elia Kazan…..brief history… he was the director of: On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Streetcar Named Desire, to name a few. The man behind these enduring movies was a conflicted soul both in his boyhood life and his professional and married life. He was a boy that his Father deemed worthless, as he had no desire or talent for the family rug business. He was gawky and unattractive in his youth. When he entered his teen years he had all the angst of a boy, but also had to come to terms with being a bit lopsided “down there” because of a case of teenage mumps. He did not come into his own in his career easily. He started on the Theater stage although he wasn’t sure he liked acting. He studied with the “Group Theater Company” which is where he picked up the nickname “Gadget” because of his talent with stage management. It is also when he joined the Communist Party. Now please remember, this was about 1934, the depression was rampant, and the Communist Party was embraced by many, as a solution to the terrible ills that were plaguing the country. About 18 months later, Elias Kazan formally resigned from the party. His resignation was due to a dawning recognition that “The Party” was not about “freedom” or “independent thinking”, He dared to step out of the boundaries and was chastised publicly in a meeting. During and after that meeting, none of his “party” friends would meet his gaze. He felt that he made the right decision to resign.

Fast forward to the 1950’s… From Wikipedia

Kazan remained controversial until his death for testimony he gave before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, in which (after previously refusing to do so) he provided the names of associates from his days as a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America in the 1930s.

In his autobiography you can just hear the conflict he still has about this. He originally was not going to name anyone. He was expecting the summons, even talked it over with his studio head and backers (by this time he was a golden boy, with not only movies that were extraordinarily successful, but successful plays on Broadway as well) He says in his book that if he didn’t name names he would never be able to work again, and if he couldn’t work he would have died. He also says that he talked to his closest friends and they already knew they were being investigated, so they were not going to be upset about him naming them.

All that changed when he did actually name names….He became a pariah… people that had curried favor before actually crossed the street to avoid him. Playwrights pulled their plays…Movie backers disappeared. The amount of hate directed at him AND his wife and children was astronomical. In fact in 1999, he was given a lifetime achievement award and people that were not even born when this all happened booed him.

I am not sure if he did what he did out of really feeling that the Communist Party and their teachings were inappropriate and bad for the country or if he just did it to survive, but he certainly did pay for his brief foray into unacceptable politics.

What do you think? Was he really convinced that the Communist Party should be thwarted, or was he saving his butt? Should he have named names or kept quiet and hoped that he could still work? Did he deserve the award?