One of the Hollywood Ten
One of the Hollywood Ten
| 07 June 2002 (USA)
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Herbert Biberman struggles as a Hollywood writer and director blacklisted as one of The Hollywood Ten in the 1950s.

Reviews
Karry

Best movie of this year hands down!

Lovesusti

The Worst Film Ever

Humaira Grant

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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Fatma Suarez

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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blanche-2

"One of the Hollywood Ten" attempts to tell two fascinating stories: one about writer/director Herbert Biberman and the other about the filming of "Salt of the Earth." This film could not have had a very big budget, and the direction is not very good, so how anyone expected to accomplish these massive feats is anyone's guess.I am at a disadvantage: I can't possibly write anything that can compare to the comments about this film posted on IMDb, and I haven't seen Salt of the Earth. I did, however, grow up amidst the Red Scare. We in Catholic schools were warned by the nuns that the commies were coming. They would hold guns to our heads, ask us our religion, and when we answered "Catholic" (like we were all going to be real anxious to do that), we'd be shot. Communism was going to destroy the world, there were Communists under every bed, and everybody was insane on the subject. I have read and seen a good deal on HUAC, the McCarthy hearings, and Red Channels. Am I an expert? No.I will reference a couple of the IMDb postings. One states that Gale Sondergaard was NOT a major actress and that Biberman was a minor writer. I'm unsure of the implication the poster was trying to make, but I venture to say that if Biberman and Sondergaard (who were married for 40 years, until Biberman's death in 1971) had been allowed to work for the next 20 years or so, who knows what might have happened to their careers? This insanity ruined lives.Another poster made a comparison to tactics used by today's government. Well, I'll second that emotion. As he states, freedom of speech is not to be taken lightly. No, it isn't. And if anyone believes there isn't a move afoot to squelch it today, they're wrong.Others mentioned inaccuracies. I'll bring up one. According to writer Patricia Bosworth, whose father, attorney Bartley Crum, defended the Hollywood Ten, the "Hollywood Ten" were not friends, and in fact, many of them did not know one another. Crum advised them all to tell the truth at the hearings -- that when asked if they were now or had been a member of the Communist party, to disarm the committee by answering truthfully. This was shot down by whomever their adviser was because asking about anyone's political leadings is unconstitutional, and the Ten wanted to fight the hearings on constitutional grounds. In the film, one got the impression they were all friends. Crum, by the way, labeled a subversive, was haunted by the FBI until he finally got rid of them by killing himself in 1959. Also, I know this is off topic a bit, but the FBI's largest file was on Frank Sinatra, who was believed to have been sent by the communists to influence the youth of America. Great group.As far as this film, the stories were interesting, the direction was detached, and overall, it's not great. Jeff Goldblum is marvelous as Biberman, and there are some other excellent performances as well. I think the most important thing were the points made on the chirons at the end, one of which is that Salt of the Earth is the only film ever to be blacklisted. I am so grateful that it was; otherwise, we would all be communists today. Right.

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caburns90

I thought this was a well-made film by a director of integrity about another director of integrity. It showed the devastating effects of HUAC witch-hunts on the careers and families of brilliant filmmakers in Hollywood, during the late '40s and early '50s. It exposed the split between those who were able to withstand the crass interrogations and those who failed. It was possible to identify with the tragedy of those who were jailed and feel joy when they found a way of escaping from their victimization. I attended a showing of the film with the director answering questions about his film. I was struck by his humility and empathy.

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sheldonmandrake

I saw this movie on the Starz channel. I'd never heard of it. I watched it because I thought that Jeff Goldblum, being a star, would pick good projects. This movie is one of his poorer choices.Theres not much I can say about this film other than it was boring and preachy in a very amateurish kind of way, with B-movie style dialogue and unconvincing performances.I walked away from watching this mess not giving a hoot or a holler about the Hollywood Ten, Salt of the Earth, the Blacklist and above all this dreadful "student" film.In fact I hope I never hear about it ever, ever again!

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buffy-40

This is a superb film about Blacklisting of Hollywoods writers/directors and actors. Jeff Goldblum is fantastic as Director Herbert Biebelmen who made the acclaimed film "Salt Of The City". This is a very powerful film superbly Directed by veteran Welsh film maker Karl Francis. It also features a great supporting cast. Possible Oscar noms for this film.

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