Not One of Us: The Immigrant Director in Hollywood
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Thomas H. Pauly. An American Odyssey: Elia Kazan and American Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983. 282 + viii pp. John Russell Taylor. Strangers in Paradise: The Hollywood Émigrés, 1933-1950. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. 256 pp. In June 1922 an article in the magazine Photoplay contrasting the character- istics of American cinema with those of the German films that were enjoying a fashionable success at the time came to the conclusion that the primary differences were those of national temperament and outlook. The Germans, representing the extreme of European behavior as a whole, were characterized as morbid, sexually immoral, cynical, sadistic and pessimistic. Americans, in contrast, celebrated "the eternal destiny of splendid youth," "the glory of motherhood," "the square deal," "the equality of the sexes," "equal opportunities for all," and "laughter." Though the wording may be dated, the article reflects a belief that has underpinned the American cinema up to the present day: it is assumed to be wholesome, optimistic and positive in its outlook, designed primarily to entertain, but also concerned with celebrating the ideals and the superior moral values of the American people. The society in which these ideals and values are embodied may have its imperfections, but it comes manifestly closer to achieving the aims of justice, tolerance and genuine equality than any other. Beliefs of this kind were probably conveyed most openly and unselfconsciously during the heyday of the studio system from the mid-1920s to the mid-1950s, the main exception being the brief flourishing of the film noir in the post-1945 period (itself, significantly, primarily the product of a foreign sensibility). Now, after the interlude of the late 1960s and early 1970s that permitted cynicism, pessimism and sexual immorality to have their fling, the previous beliefs are clearly and aggressively resurgent in Hollywood once more, during the presidency of a former film star whose whole philosophy has been shaped by, and reflects, exactly these concepts.
