We thought members of the communist party had it bad during the Hollywood blacklist. In fear of losing their jobs, those brought to testify before the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee knew their livlihood was on the line. When it convicted Hollywood members for having commie ties or sympathies, the House ruined careers and left many writers working under pseudonyms.
But a similar fear grabbed critic Kyle Smith of the NY Post when he attempted to review Trumbo, a documentary now in limited release that focuses on one of the Hollywood Ten. Hardly an objective word appears in Mr. Smith's review, as he cowardly panders to the politics of his rag. With an opening line that compares socialists to Klan members, we see that Kyle Smith, nervous about his own job in the current critic-demising environment, channelling all the red scare he can to please his boss. I know Mr. Smith is known to be a humorist, but this is just too moronic to be ironic. A poor excuse for criticism that leaves a flag-waving nut yellow.
I found Trumbo to be a capable document on a very interesting character. [review here] A critic that makes his column into a political soapbox should be next for the pink slip.
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