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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies
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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies Hardcover - 2012

by John Sbardellati


From the publisher

Between 1942 and 1958, J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a sweeping and sustained investigation of the motion picture industry to expose Hollywood's alleged subversion of "the American Way" through its depiction of social problems, class differences, and alternative political ideologies. FBI informants (their names still redacted today) reported to Hoover's G-men on screenplays and screenings of such films as Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), noting that "this picture deliberately maligned the upper class attempting to show that people who had money were mean and despicable characters." The FBI's anxiety over this film was not unique; it extended to a wide range of popular and critical successes, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Crossfire (1947) and On the Waterfront (1954).

In J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies, John Sbardellati provides a new consideration of Hollywood's history and the post-World War II Red Scare. In addition to governmental intrusion into the creative process, he details the efforts of left-wing filmmakers to use the medium to bring social problems to light and the campaigns of their colleagues on the political right, through such organizations as the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, to prevent dissemination of "un-American" ideas and beliefs.

Sbardellati argues that the attack on Hollywood drew its motivation from a sincerely held fear that film content endangered national security by fostering a culture that would be at best apathetic to the Cold War struggle, or, at its worst, conducive to communism at home. Those who took part in Hollywood's Cold War struggle, whether on the left or right, shared one common trait: a belief that the movies could serve as engines for social change. This strongly held assumption explains why the stakes were so high and, ultimately, why Hollywood became one of the most important ideological battlegrounds of the Cold War.

Details

  • Title J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies
  • Author John Sbardellati
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 264
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • Date 2012-05-15
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780801450082 / 080145008X
  • Weight 1.15 lbs (0.52 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 in (23.62 x 15.75 x 3.05 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
    • Chronological Period: 1950's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects United States, Cold War - Social aspects - United States
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2011038590
  • Dewey Decimal Code 384.809

Media reviews

Citations

  • Choice, 10/01/2012, Page 0

About the author

John Sbardellati is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Waterloo.

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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

by John Sbardellati

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Cornell University Press, 2012. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Between 1942 and 1958, J. Edgar Hoover s Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a sweeping and sustained investigation of the motion picture industry to expose Hollywood s alleged subversion of the American Way through its depiction of social problems, class differences, and alternative political ideologies. FBI informants (their names still redacted today) reported to Hoover s G-men on screenplays and screenings of such films as Frank Capra s It s a Wonderful Life (1946), noting that this picture deliberately maligned the upper class attempting to show that people who had money were mean and despicable characters. The FBI s anxiety over this film was not unique; it extended to a wide range of popular and critical successes, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Crossfire (1947) and On the Waterfront (1954). In J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the… Read More
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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War
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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

by John Sbardellati

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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War
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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

by John Sbardellati

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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War
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J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the Movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood's Cold War

by Sbardellati, John

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