Ayn Rand And Song Of Russia ─ Communism And Anti-communism In 1940s Hollywood

In October 1947, Ayn Rand testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating communist infiltration of the movie industry. The focus of her testimony was Song of Russia, a pro-Soviet film that Rand decried for its unrealistically flattering portrait of life under communism in her native country. Mayhew (philosophy, Seton Hall, U., NJ) examines the film and the furor that surrounded Rand's testimony. He provides a detailed history of the 1944 film's production and reception as well as an analysis of Rand's much-maligned HUAC appearance and the response to it. His study allows for a re-evaluation of the role of communism in Hollywood, the nature of the HUAC, and even the famously blacklisted Hollywood Ten. Of interest to those studying the life and thought of Rand, the history of Hollywood communism, or American film. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Robert Mayhew is Professor of Philosophy at Seton Hall University. He has written two books on Aristotle, translated a play of Aristophanes, and edited four collections of works by or about Ayn Rand, including Essays on Ayn Rand's We the Living (Lexington, 2004).