Fred Zinneman and the Cinema of Resistance
by J. E. Smyth
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Pub Date Mar 04 2014 | Archive Date Jan 05 2015
Description
A compelling history of the director’s films of war and resistance
Fred Zinnemann directed some of the most acclaimed and controversial films of the twentieth century, yet he has been a shadowy presence in Hollywood history. In Fred Zinnemann: A Cinema Resistance, J. E. Smyth reveals the intellectual passion behind some of the most powerful films ever made about the rise and resistance to fascism and the legacy of the Second World War, from The Seventh Cross (1943) and The Search (1948) to High Noon (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), and Julia (1977). Smyth’s book is the first to draw upon Zinnemann’s extensive papers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and brings Fred Zinnemann’s vision, voice, and film practice to life.
In his engagement with the defining historical struggles of the twentieth century, Zinnemann fought his own battles with the Hollywood studio system, the critics, and a public bent on forgetting. Zinnemann’s films explore the role of women and communists in the antifascist resistance, the West’s support of Franco after the Spanish Civil War, and the darker side of America’s national heritage. Smyth reconstructs a complex and conflicted portrait of Zinnemann’s cinema of resistance, examining his sketches, script annotations, editing and production notes, and personal letters. Illustrated with seventy black-and-white images from his collection, Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance discusses the director’s professional and personal relationships with Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Audrey Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Gary Cooper; the critical reaction to his revisionist Western, High Noon; his battles over the censorship of From Here to Eternity, The Nun’s Story (1959), and Behold a Pale Horse (1964); the unrealized history of the communist Revolution in China, Man’s Fate; and the controversial study of political assassination, The Day of the Jackal (1973). In this intense, richly textured narrative, Smyth enters the mind of one of Hollywood’s master directors, redefining our knowledge of his artistic vision and practice.
J. E. Smyth is Associate Professor of History and Comparative American Studies at the University of Warwick (United Kingdom). She is the author of Reconstructing American Historical Cinema from “Cimarron” to “Citizen Kane” and Edna Ferber's Hollywood: American Fictions of Gender, Race, and History, and is the editor of Hollywood and the American Historical Film.
Advance Praise
“A stunning study of a complex but rather neglected director. Utilizing the brilliant combination of archival research and film analysis which marks her previous books, J. E. Smyth convincingly demonstrates that Zinnemann was a director who injected serious ideas about history, antifascism, memory, and nationalism into works which moved beyond the confines of traditional genres. Showing that he was a great historian of women on screen, Smyth argues that his unique blend of commitment and distance make him a filmmaker who speaks directly to our times.”
—Robert A. Rosenstone, author of History on Film/Film on History
“In Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance, Smyth has produced a study of sweeping scope that not only draws illuminating connections between the history of Hollywood and the way Hollywood depicts history, but also allows us to glimpse a new dimension of transatlantic auteurism, defined by a deep commitment to familiarize movie audiences with the phenomenon of political resistance. The book is as richly researched and rigorously argued as any landmark study in the field of film history. As such, it will profoundly change the way film historians view post-World War II Hollywood cinema. More remarkable still is the elegance of Smyth’s prose, which manages to convey dense archival detail and complex reasoning with verve and accessibility, catapulting the book far beyond academe into the realm of quality popular scholarship. A major publishing event.”
—Roy Grundmann, editor of The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film, Vols. I-IV
“The magnificence of Smyth’s work captures Zinnemann’s exquisite approach to filmmaking. She has put him on the page with an insight displaying the delicacy with which Fred approached chaos, and love and heightened desire delivered with surprise and without a sense of caution. He battled heavyweight producers and even a tough-as-nails Lillian Hellman, as well as a star actor when he was challenged. Smyth’s thorough research and affection for Zinnemann’s cinema history masters it all.”
—Alvin Sargent, Academy Award–winning writer of Julia (1977) and Ordinary People (1980)
“Deftly blending archival research and astute readings of Zinnemann’s films—a staggering output that included High Noon, From Here to Eternity, and Julia—Smyth probes the inner workings of a progressive and fiercely independent director at odds with the movie industry and at war with tyranny of all stripes, whose films and filmmaking were case studies in resistance.”
—Thomas Schatz, author of The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era
“This book is a model for the way to do rigorous film criticism. Smyth does more than just resuscitate Zinnemann—she provides an entirely new and original portrait and understanding of him as a truly independent genius of film. A great book.”
—Sam B. Girgus, author of Clint Eastwood’s America
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781617039645 |
| PRICE | $60.00 (USD) |
Average rating from 4 members
Featured Reviews
Kendahl C, Reviewer
Before I picked up Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance, I didn't think I had any set notions about the Vienna-born director's style. I only knew that if I saw his name in the credits of a film, it was inevitably going to be worth seeing. With the interesting exception of Oklahoma! (1955), he focused on crafting some of the best dramas of the studio age and beyond, from Act of Violence (1948) to The Day of the Jackal (1973).
Once I started the book, it didn't take me long to realize that there had always been a common thread that had attracted me to Zinnemann's movies: he gravitated towards stories of misfits and mavericks fighting against the system. With careful attention to historical detail, J.E. Smyth explores the films where he most diligently fought against fascism and systematic cruelty. She reveals a director who quietly, but deliberately funneled his anger about oppressive societal forces, much of which was inspired by his own childhood experiences, into strong work. He used popular films to communicate a serious message.
Smyth pays ample attention each film, focusing entire chapters on the production, reception and history behind projects including High Noon (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953) and The Nun's Story (1959). She finds fascinating details about Zinnemann's process and provides rich background on the events that inspired his work. Each chapter could stand on its own, though it is even more interesting to compare the films, which are striking both for their similarities and differences.
Zinnemann in the forties
While the stories and the world surrounding them vary widely, Smyth finds several interesting connections between Zinnemann's films. I was especially interested in the attention he gave to stories about women, particularly those whose had been overshadowed by the deeds of men who were no more accomplished. In High Noon (1952), he spotlights actresses Grace Kelly and Katy Jurado, powerful figures in the traditionally male-dominated western. Audrey Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave play heroic, complicated roles in The Nun's Story and Julia (1977) respectively.
There is also a strong focus on Zinnemann's compassion for people without a voice, and particularly children. With The Search (1947), he worked in partnership with the equally sensitive pre-stardom Montgomery Clift to alert American audiences to the plight of displaced children who suffered in concentration camps during World War II. While the director was often criticized for the way he told a story, and particularly one as sensitive as this one, Smyth shows the care with which he made decisions for every production. He always strove for maximum impact, and sometimes that required controversial decisions made for complex reasons.
Intelligent and strong-willed, Zinnemann delicately crafted a career of great integrity. He knew how to protect his vision without burning bridges, earning the title of "the iron hand in the velvet glove." He maintained control of his movies by cutting with his camera and approaching producers and studio heads firmly, but cordially. The director was also patient and attentive to his actors, winning admiration, and amazing performances from them. His strength helped him to outlast the studio system and produce strong work until the end of his career, unlike many of his contemporaries.
The Cinema of Resistance is a fascinating look into the work of an uncommonly brilliant and terribly overlooked director.
Many thanks to University Press of Mississippi for providing a copy of the book for review.
