Description
Between 1933 and 1939, representations of the Nazis and the full meaning of Nazism came slowly to Hollywood, growing more ominous and distinct only as the decade wore on. Recapturing what ordinary Americans saw on the screen during the emerging Nazi threat, Thomas Doherty reclaims forgotten films, such as Hitler's Reign of Terror (1934), a pioneering anti-Nazi docudrama by Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr.; I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany (1936), a sensational true tale of "a Hollywood girl in Naziland!"; and Professor Mamlock (1938), an anti-Nazi film made by German refugees living in the Soviet Union. Doherty also recounts how the disproportionately Jewish backgrounds of the executives of the studios and the workers on the payroll shaded reactions to what was never simply a business decision. As Europe hurtled toward war, a proxy battle waged in Hollywood over how to conduct business with the Nazis, how to cover Hitler and his victims in the newsreels, and whether to address or ignore Nazism in Hollywood feature films. Should Hollywood lie low, or stand tall and sound the alarm? Doherty's history features a cast of charismatic personalities: Carl Laemmle, the German Jewish founder of Universal Pictures, whose production of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) enraged the nascent Nazi movement; Georg Gyssling, the Nazi consul in Los Angeles, who read the Hollywood trade press as avidly as any studio mogul; Vittorio Mussolini, son of the fascist dictator and aspiring motion picture impresario; Leni Riefenstahl, the Valkyrie goddess of the Third Reich who came to America to peddle distribution rights for Olympia (1938); screenwriters Donald Ogden Stewart and Dorothy Parker, founders of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League; and Harry and Jack Warner of Warner Bros., who yoked anti-Nazism to patriotic Americanism and finally broke the embargo against anti-Nazi cinema with Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939).
Between 1933 and 1939, representations of the Nazis and the full meaning of Nazism came slowly to Hollywood. Recapturing what ordinary Americans saw on the screen at that time, Thomas Doherty reclaims forgotten films reflecting Hitler's rise to power, such as Hitler's Reign of Terror (1934), I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany (1936), and Professor Mamlock (1938). He also recounts how the disproportionately Jewish backgrounds of the studio executives and the workers on the payroll shaded reactions to what was never simply a business decision. As Europe hurtled toward war, a proxy battle played out in Hollywood over how to conduct business with the Nazis, how to cover Hitler and his victims in the newsreels, and whether to address or ignore Nazism in Hollywood feature films.
About the Author
Thomas Doherty is professor of American studies at Brandeis University. His previous books include Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934; Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture; and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration.
Reviews
With a rich blend of art and politics, Doherty brings to light the story of how Hollywood handled Nazism during Hitler's reign. Recommended. Library Journal (starred review) Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 tracks the advance of fascism, and the movie industry's reaction on screen and in private... [A] fascinating work. -- Kate Muir The Times (London) A lively study of Hollywood's relationship to Nazism. -- Emily Greenhouse Culture Desk blog, The New Yorker Wide-ranging and brightly written. -- Dave Kehr The New York Times Book Review A lively, detailed account and a worthy successor to his books Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration. -- Philip Kemp Times Higher Education A remarkable and stimulating account of an important part of movie history and American history. -- Rob Hardy The Commercial Dispatch [Doherty's] books on American cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s are essential reading: Pre-Code Hollywood and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen & the Production Code Administration... No one has told this story in as comprehensive or convincing a fashion. As always, Doherty's work is well researched. -- Clayton Koppes Cineaste A witty writer familiar with Hollywood history and manners, Doherty places the studios' craven behavior within a general account of the political culture of the movies in the thirties and forties. -- David Denby The New Yorker [A] riveting read. -- Merve Emre The Millions Mr. Doherty fully understands the studio system and how it juggled interference from its own internal agency, the Production Code Administration. He doesn't deny the greed and fear that motivated studios, but he puts the behavior in context. -- Jeanine Basinger Wall Street Journal Meticulously researched and captivating. -- Noah Isenberg Times Literary Supplement Doherty masterfully describes how the movie industry, mostly headed by Jews, ultimately came together at a time when the nation needed unity... The book is crisply written, well documented. -- Burton Boxerman St. Louis Jewish Light Doherty's well researched Hollywood and Hitler 1933-1939 throws fascinating new light on America and the rise of Nazism. -- Philip French The Observer [A] wide-ranging, scrupulously researched and highly entertaining study. -- Philip French Sight and Sound [A] judicious and comprehensive history of the period. -- Mark Horowitz Tablet Doherty provides a more nuanced and accurate account of Hollywood's relationship with Hitler, and his book should be considered the authority on the subject. -- M. Todd Bennett American Historical Review Hollywood and Hitler is an excellent addition to Doherty's impressive oeuvre, well worth reading for its important insights, strong narrative, and mastery of the period. -- David Welky Journal of American Studies Doherty's book is well documented and brings together a corpus made of lesser-known, yet signifying feature films. -- Yves Laberge Journal of American Culture Thorough and elegantly written. -- Saverio Giovacchini Journal of American History Doherty brings fresh eyes and a witty pen to re-examine the business of US cinema production and distribution in the turbulent pre-war years... A valuable contribution to scholarship on the subject. -- Vincent O'Donnell Media International Australia An important contribution to the history of Hollywood's response to the Nazi efforts to censor US films targeted for export to Germany... Highly recommended. Choice Vividly written, academically unpretentious, and indispensable for historians and students of film. -- Bernard F. Dick American Studies [Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939] is painstakingly researched and offers film historians, as well as historians of World War II, a rich, insightful, and engaging portrait of an industry and a world in turmoil. -- Brian Faucette Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television Meticulously researched... [Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939] provides an informed backdrop to scholars looking to contextualize and analyze individual films from the era. -- Rochelle Miller Film & History A tour de force of film history, deftly weaving together many strands of Hollywood and world history to explain Hollywood's vexed and often vexing relationship to the rise of Nazism. -- Leslie Fishbein American Jewish History Doherty offers a compelling prequel to his own Projections of War: Hollywood,American Culture,and World War II and an indispensible contribution to the emerging body of work on the relationships between Hollywood and Berlin in the 1930s. -- Hannah Graves Film Quarterly Top notch, exhaustively researched film history book by a superb historian. Hollywood Progressive
Awards
Winner of Best Film Books of 2013 2013.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231163934
Author Thomas Doherty
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
Between 1933 and 1939, representations of the Nazis and the full meaning of Nazism came slowly to Hollywood. Recapturing what ordinary Americans saw on the screen at that time, Thomas Doherty reclaims forgotten films reflecting Hitler's rise to power, such as Hitler's Reign of Terror (1934), I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany (1936), and Professor Mamlock (1938). He also recounts how the disproportionately Jewish backgrounds of the studio executives and the workers on the payroll shaded reactions to what was never simply a business decision. As Europe hurtled toward war, a proxy battle played out in Hollywood over how to conduct business with the Nazis, how to cover Hitler and his victims in the newsreels, and whether to address or ignore Nazism in Hollywood feature films.
About the Author
Thomas Doherty is professor of American studies at Brandeis University. His previous books include Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934; Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture; and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration.
Reviews
With a rich blend of art and politics, Doherty brings to light the story of how Hollywood handled Nazism during Hitler's reign. Recommended. Library Journal (starred review) Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 tracks the advance of fascism, and the movie industry's reaction on screen and in private... [A] fascinating work. -- Kate Muir The Times (London) A lively study of Hollywood's relationship to Nazism. -- Emily Greenhouse Culture Desk blog, The New Yorker Wide-ranging and brightly written. -- Dave Kehr The New York Times Book Review A lively, detailed account and a worthy successor to his books Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration. -- Philip Kemp Times Higher Education A remarkable and stimulating account of an important part of movie history and American history. -- Rob Hardy The Commercial Dispatch [Doherty's] books on American cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s are essential reading: Pre-Code Hollywood and Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen & the Production Code Administration... No one has told this story in as comprehensive or convincing a fashion. As always, Doherty's work is well researched. -- Clayton Koppes Cineaste A witty writer familiar with Hollywood history and manners, Doherty places the studios' craven behavior within a general account of the political culture of the movies in the thirties and forties. -- David Denby The New Yorker [A] riveting read. -- Merve Emre The Millions Mr. Doherty fully understands the studio system and how it juggled interference from its own internal agency, the Production Code Administration. He doesn't deny the greed and fear that motivated studios, but he puts the behavior in context. -- Jeanine Basinger Wall Street Journal Meticulously researched and captivating. -- Noah Isenberg Times Literary Supplement Doherty masterfully describes how the movie industry, mostly headed by Jews, ultimately came together at a time when the nation needed unity... The book is crisply written, well documented. -- Burton Boxerman St. Louis Jewish Light Doherty's well researched Hollywood and Hitler 1933-1939 throws fascinating new light on America and the rise of Nazism. -- Philip French The Observer [A] wide-ranging, scrupulously researched and highly entertaining study. -- Philip French Sight and Sound [A] judicious and comprehensive history of the period. -- Mark Horowitz Tablet Doherty provides a more nuanced and accurate account of Hollywood's relationship with Hitler, and his book should be considered the authority on the subject. -- M. Todd Bennett American Historical Review Hollywood and Hitler is an excellent addition to Doherty's impressive oeuvre, well worth reading for its important insights, strong narrative, and mastery of the period. -- David Welky Journal of American Studies Doherty's book is well documented and brings together a corpus made of lesser-known, yet signifying feature films. -- Yves Laberge Journal of American Culture Thorough and elegantly written. -- Saverio Giovacchini Journal of American History Doherty brings fresh eyes and a witty pen to re-examine the business of US cinema production and distribution in the turbulent pre-war years... A valuable contribution to scholarship on the subject. -- Vincent O'Donnell Media International Australia An important contribution to the history of Hollywood's response to the Nazi efforts to censor US films targeted for export to Germany... Highly recommended. Choice Vividly written, academically unpretentious, and indispensable for historians and students of film. -- Bernard F. Dick American Studies [Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939] is painstakingly researched and offers film historians, as well as historians of World War II, a rich, insightful, and engaging portrait of an industry and a world in turmoil. -- Brian Faucette Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television Meticulously researched... [Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939] provides an informed backdrop to scholars looking to contextualize and analyze individual films from the era. -- Rochelle Miller Film & History A tour de force of film history, deftly weaving together many strands of Hollywood and world history to explain Hollywood's vexed and often vexing relationship to the rise of Nazism. -- Leslie Fishbein American Jewish History Doherty offers a compelling prequel to his own Projections of War: Hollywood,American Culture,and World War II and an indispensible contribution to the emerging body of work on the relationships between Hollywood and Berlin in the 1930s. -- Hannah Graves Film Quarterly Top notch, exhaustively researched film history book by a superb historian. Hollywood Progressive
Awards
Winner of Best Film Books of 2013 2013.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231163934
Author Thomas Doherty
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
