Edward Dmytryk: Reassessing His Films and Life

By Fintan McDonagh

Edward Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" jailed for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.

Finding himself blacklisted after his prison sentence and unable to operate under a pseudonym, he took the step of testifying and naming names to the Committee. His career resumed to considerable commercial success, but also to prolonged and bitter criticism from the left and persistent mistrust from the right. Acknowledged as one of the key figures in the development of the film noir genre, having directed one of its first films, Murder, My Sweet, Dmytryk has otherwise frequently been sidelined in critical studies because of the controversy. This book is the first to critically evaluate each of the dozens of films he made between the 1930s and the 1970s including The Young Lions, Crossfire and The Caine Mutiny, among many others.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1476680922
• ISBN13: 9781476680927
• Release Date: July 2021
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.8" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Monumental Achievement

Having read McDonagh’s work in The Guardian, I eagerly anticipated this in-depth exploration of one of Hollywood’s lesser known great directors with high expectations – and it’s even more wonderful than I hoped it would be. McDonagh’s prose will be equally appealing to film aficionados and novices; he somehow manages to maintain that difficult balance with enviably deftness and dexterity. And his painstaking research – which, thankfully, was fully supported by Dmytryk’s family – is so thorough you’ll feel you’ve come to know the man as well as the filmmaker. Moreover, McDonagh is both thorough and objective in discussing Dmytryk’s inclusion in the blacklisted and imprisoned “Hollywood Ten” – an infamous distinction fraught with political complexity, which would surely induce a less capable writer to tip his hand. But the most stunning aspect of this beautiful book is its heart. It’s clearly been an exhaustive labor of love for this masterful film writer – there’s inspiration on every page, and every page inspires. Whether or not you know anything about Dmytryk’s life or work (I didn’t) you’re bound to come away from this book torn between which man to admire more: the filmmaker who overcame obstacles that would have smothered lesser artists; or the generous, meticulous writer whose skill with words is matched only by his generosity as a human being.