Elia Kazan was one of the most important American directors in the 1950s and 1960s, having directed classics like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1952, Kazan appeared before the US House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities and informed on eight friends, all film folk, as having been, like Kazan, members of the American Communist Party. None of them were able to work in the film industry for many years, and in some cases, ever again. He was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar in the 1990s. Should it have been?
Elia Kazan was one of the most important American directors in the 1950s and 1960s, having directed classics like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1952, Kazan appeared before the US House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities and informed on eight friends, all film folk, as having been, like Kazan, members of the American Communist Party. None of them were able to work in the film industry for many years, and in some cases, ever again. He was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar in the 1990s. Should it have been?