I have to admit, I had no idea who Marsha Hunt was, and I have seen many of the films that she was in. It's not that she made a bad impression on me, just that she left no lasting impression in the films themselves. After finding out what a heart and a brain she has, I want to rewatch her films and see what I've been missing.
I've heard stories about the blacklists many times. Usually not in great detail. But this documentary really struck me. How ironic that the US would hardly be finished fighting fascism in Europe and then turn around and have the government and the film industry that it cowed behave like fascists in regards to actors and writers in their employ. They were literally blacklisting people because they had gone to Communist meetings in the 1930s. Versus what? Think what a great success capitalism was in 1935 as people were starving in the streets? And all Marsha Hunt really ever did was openly disagree with this behavior of her government, which is her right.
I guess what made this documentary be a such a standout was that so much of this story is being told by Marsha herself, not out of bitterness but as a cautionary tale. She's had the good fortune to live to be 103 as I am writing this.
She also goes into great detail about her trip around the world in 1955 and how what she saw on this trip caused her to work for the United Nations for many years. It is truly an inspiring story. And somehow Eddie Muller and film noir ends up part of the story too. Highly recommended.
I've heard stories about the blacklists many times. Usually not in great detail. But this documentary really struck me. How ironic that the US would hardly be finished fighting fascism in Europe and then turn around and have the government and the film industry that it cowed behave like fascists in regards to actors and writers in their employ. They were literally blacklisting people because they had gone to Communist meetings in the 1930s. Versus what? Think what a great success capitalism was in 1935 as people were starving in the streets? And all Marsha Hunt really ever did was openly disagree with this behavior of her government, which is her right.
I guess what made this documentary be a such a standout was that so much of this story is being told by Marsha herself, not out of bitterness but as a cautionary tale. She's had the good fortune to live to be 103 as I am writing this.
She also goes into great detail about her trip around the world in 1955 and how what she saw on this trip caused her to work for the United Nations for many years. It is truly an inspiring story. And somehow Eddie Muller and film noir ends up part of the story too. Highly recommended.