
In the early 1950s Howard Prince, who works in a restaurant, helps out a black-listed writer friend by selling a TV station a script under his own name. The money is useful in paying off gambling debts, so he takes on three more such clients. Howard is politically pretty innocent, but involvement with Florence - who quits TV in disgust over things - and friendship with the show's ex-star - now himself blacklisted - make him start to think about what is really going on.... (Full plot summary below)
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In the early 1950s Howard Prince, who works in a restaurant, helps out a black-listed writer friend by selling a TV station a script under his own name. The money is useful in paying off gambling debts, so he takes on three more such clients. Howard is politically pretty innocent, but involvement with Florence - who quits TV in disgust over things - and friendship with the show's ex-star - now himself blacklisted - make him start to think about what is really going on.
Leave your thoughts about The Front.
| eFilmCritic.comScott WeinbergThe Front may not be all you need to know about the 1950's blacklist tragedy, but it's certainly one of the finest films ever made on the subject. |
| Slant MagazineEric HendersonBernstein smartly suggests how capitalism actually benefited from the oppression of suspected communists. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrRitt's direction is all sweaty close-ups and mismatched shots. |
| Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)Ken HankeOffers the bonus of the reality of its makers' involvement, and one of the greatest closing lines in the history of film. |
| Ozus' World Movie ReviewsDennis SchwartzAlthough made by those who were punished by being blacklisted during that period, the film disappoints by being so politically mild. |
| EmanuelLevy.ComEmanuel LevyAs directed by Martin Ritt and played by Woody Allen, this is a well intentioned but oversimplified tale, which is mostly useful as an historical reminder of a shameful chapter in Hollywood's blacklisting era |
| New York TimesVincent CanbyIt recreates the awful noise of ignorance that can still be heard. |
| Spirituality and PracticeFrederic and Mary Ann BrussatProves that no one can escape the long and intrusive arm of politics and evade involvement |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe tragedy implied by this character tells us what we need to know about the blacklist's effect on people's lives; the rest of the movie adds almost nothing else. |
| DVDJournal.comMark BourneAny reminder of the tribulations undergone by the blacklistees serves a useful and eye-opening purpose, but good intentions and a sense of martyrdom don't by themselves fill the glass. |