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''The Front'' is a 1976 comedy-drama film about the Hollywood blacklist during the age of live television. It is written by Walter Bernstein, directed by Martin Ritt and stars Woody Allen and Zero Mostel. Because of the blacklist, a number of artists, writers, directors and others were rendered unemployable, having been accused of subversive political activities in support of Communism or of being Communists themselves. Several people involved in the making of the film – screenwriter Bernstein, director Ritt, and actors Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, and Lloyd Gough – had themselves been blacklisted. (The name of each in the closing credits is followed by "Blacklisted 19--" and the relevant year.) Bernstein was listed after being named in the ''Red Channels'' journal that identified alleged Communists and Communist sympathizers. ==Plot== In the early 1950s, in New York City, restaurant cashier and small-time bookie Howard Prince (Woody Allen) has a friend who writes for television. Because the friend, Alfred Miller (Michael Murphy) has been blacklisted, he asks Howard to sign his name to the TV scripts. Howard agrees out of friendship and because he needs the percentage of the writer's fee that Miller will pay him. The scripts are submitted to network producer Phil Sussman (Herschel Bernardi), who is pleased to have a writer not contaminated by the blacklist. Howard's script also offers a plum role for one of Sussman's top actors, Hecky Brown (Zero Mostel). Howard becomes such a “success” that Miller’s other friends hire him to be their front. The quality of the scripts and Howard's ability to write so many impresses Sussman's idealistic script editor, Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci), who mistakes him for a principled, artistic talent. Howard begins dating her but changes the subject whenever she wants to discuss his work. McCarthyism is rampant and investigators are trying to expose and blacklist Communists in the entertainment industry. They are making life hell for Hecky Brown. They affect his ability to find work and pressure Sussman to drop him from the show. Hecky takes a liking to Howard and invites him to the Catskills, where he is booked to perform on stage. The club owner short-changes the entertainer on his promised salary, furthering Hecky's distress. The professional humiliation and loss of income take their toll, resulting in Hecky's suicide. Howard witnesses the harsh reality of what the terrible actions of the right-wing “Freedom Information Services” can do. Suspicion is cast his way and Howard is called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He ends up revealing privately to Florence that he is not a brilliant writer at all, just a humble cashier. Howard decides to outwit the committee. He hatches a scheme in which he will respond to all questions, not refusing to answer but in such a general way that he will admit or deny nothing. After briefly enduring the HUAC questioning – including being asked to speak ill of the dead Hecky Brown – Howard takes a stand. He ends the interview with a blatant act of defiance, which gets him arrested and convicted for contempt of Congress, a punishment he accepts with pride. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Front」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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