This encore program was originally broadcast in September, 2017.
Hollywood usually is viewed as a symbol of the American Dream. But in the 1930s and ’40s, it became a symbol of something much darker: the Communist threat to American values that must be publicly rooted out at all costs.
In his book, High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic, Glenn Frankel expertly weaves the history of Hollywood’s Blacklist era with the making of this iconic Western film. High Noon starred screen legend Gary Cooper and was written by an accused Communist, Carl Foreman, as a parable for the moral and political collapse of a community he once respected. High Noon won four Academy Awards in 1953, including Best Actor for Cooper. Today, this classic film from Hollywood’s golden age remains entrenched in popular culture, and is celebrated around the world.
Glenn Frankel is a former longtime journalist at the Washington Post and the winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. He taught journalism at Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he directed the School of Journalism. He is the author of several other books, including the bestseller, The Searchers , about John Ford’s film classic.
