Woody Allen as Howard Prince gives comedic relief in the 1976 historical drama, The Front. The movie is a fictionalized account of the affects of blacklisting on the lives of film and television screenwriters and actors in the early 1950s.
In the midst of the cold war (1945-1991) between the US and the USSR, the US Congress House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), advancing the fear of the threat of domestic communist conspiracy, held public hearings in an attempt to flesh out communist subversion.
Any person with the slightest connection to the communist party or one of its members was suspect. Innocent people were required to 'name names' (the phrase used to inform on a friend or associate) of those linked, however remotely, with a communist. Refusal to cooperate indicated contempt for the committee and often resulted in imprisonment.
The committee singled out the entertainment industry for particular scrutiny. Protective of their shows’ ratings, production studios, television networks and advertising agencies were fearful of working with anyone tainted by the communist label.
They worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to frighten people into complying with the HUAC. Anyone who refused to testify or showed signs of communist sympathy was denied employment.
Having no legal grounds for expulsion, the executives gave false reasons for dismissal and placed workers on a secret blacklist. For refusing to name names, ordinary people lost their careers and livelihoods. A few heroes stepped up to help these innocent citizens. Howard Prince is one of those heroes.
Howard works as a restaurant cashier and low-level bookmaker. He hasn’t given much thought to the HUAC and the suffering it has caused until his friend Alfred pays him a visit. Al (Michael Murphy) is a blacklisted writer.
Al asks Howard to front for him by claiming authorship of his television show scripts. Howard readily agrees saying, 'Life is risk.' In gratitude, Al insists on giving Howard ten percent of the wages. The arrangement pleases Howard because he needs to repay a debt to his brother and settle the payouts to his gambling clients.
Howard arrives at the studio to meet producer Phil Sussman (Herschel Bernardi) and script editor Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci). Florence is excited about the script, but Phil wants to shorten it.
In this scene we see how the imposter evades any commitment to changes in the script. The network people attribute his hesitance to make changes as a writer’s reluctance to compromise his work. However, they do not need the changes until the next morning, time enough for Al to make the requested adjustments to his script.
Later, when they need changes immediately, Howard doesn’t get away so easily. They insist that Howard remain sequestered in an office with a typewriter until the changes are complete. This time he must rely on more than evasion to please his employer. Here this happy-go-lucky fellow confronts the closeness of the risk he is undertaking.
While at the studio Howard meets Hecky Brown (Zero Mostel), the show’s narrator. A demonstrative, jolly, family man, Hecky is being pressured by FBI Agent Hennessy to supply the names of people whom he saw at a parade he attended.
After an investigation, Hennessy clears Howard for employment at the studio. However, he deems Hecky’s cooperation insufficient, thereby causing the studio to blacklist Hecky and fire him from his job.
Hecky goes to Hennessy and begs for a chance to clear his name. With no reason to suspect Howard of any wrongdoing, the FBI agent instructs Hecky to spy on Howard, to find out 'where he hangs out, who his friends are.'
The show is a success and Howard becomes famous. Howard is enjoying the surreptitious adventure, the attention and the chance to help his friend. He woos Florence. With the extra cash he buys a custom-tailored suit and leases a plush apartment. Al arranges to connect Howard with two other blacklisted writers, Herbert Delaney (Lloyd Gough) and Bill Phelps (David Margulies).
Upset by the network’s treatment of Hecky and others, Florence quits her job and sets about writing a pamphlet entitled, 'Facts about Blacklists.' She attempts to involve Howard in the project. He refuses. She interprets his attitude as indifference to the plight of those affected by the blacklist.
Hecky befriends Howard and together they drive to a mountain resort where Hecky performs a comedy act. During the journey Hecky tries to obtain information about Howard’s personal life, without success.
Later that evening, Hecky becomes belligerent after his resort contact (Joshua Shelley) pays him less money than promised for his performance. Howard brings him back to his apartment and gets him settled down on his sofa. After Howard retires, Hecky goes through Howard’s desk and finds his account book. Soon after, Howard is subpoenaed to testify before the HUAC.
Howard joins Bill and Herb for a visit with Al in the hospital where he is being treated for a stomach ulcer. Bill wants Howard to cooperate with the committee without naming names. Al thinks the committee is out to get Howard and that they will break him because, 'They want to show there’s nothing they can’t get people to do.'
Herb advises Howard to plead the fifth, a reference to the fifth amendment to the constitution that states, 'nor shall [any person] be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself'
The Front is more than a fictionalized account of historical events. It is a mythological story of a democratic country, a fictional representation of a society’s struggles with the fulfillment of its collective standards and ideals.
The democratic government of the United States is charged with defending the citizenry from enemies, domestic and foreign. It is equally responsible with preserving the liberties of the individuals as defined in the constitution. As Florence rightly surmised, 'They [the government officials] count on our silence' when they overstep their authority and undermine the peoples’ liberties.
Howard stressed to Al and Florence the need to look out for themselves, espousing the inherent human tendency toward self-preservation in the face of danger. However, he failed to take his own advice. Instead, he worked to protect his friends and defied the HUAC and those enabling its unwarranted methods.
Woody Allen’s portrayal of the fearless Howard Prince provides a lighthearted tone to a disturbing story of overreach by the government, insensitivity to the suffering of others, the betrayal of friends and the consequences of the resulting heartache.
More importantly, the characters of Howard and Florence embody the courage to take a stand for the ideals that define a democratic nation and the altruism that binds the members of a community to one another.
Zero Mostel was nominated for a Bafta Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Front was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Walter Bernstein wrote the screenplay, and Martin Ritt directed and produced the film. These three men and actors Herschel Bernardi, Lloyd Gough and Joshua Shelley were among those blacklisted during the early 1950s.
The movie, Roman Holiday, winner of an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, was written by blacklisted writer, Dalton Trumbo.
Ian McLellan Hunter fronted for him, paid Mr. Trumbo from his earnings and accepted the Oscar. In 1993 the Motion Picture Academy posthumously awarded the Oscar to Dalton Trumbo. His widow accepted the statuette.