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An Army of Phantoms

American Movies and the Making of the Cold War
by J. Hoberman
An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War. New Pr., dist. by Perseus. Apr. 2011. c.400p. index. ISBN 9781595580054. $27.95. FILM
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Hoberman (senior film critic, Village Voice; The Magic Hour: Film at Fin De Siècle) here delivers the second installment (after The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties) of a three-volume study of American film as viewed through the lens of politics. Hoberman's exhaustive research taps into the mainstream, entertainment, and alternative press coverage; House Un-American Activities Committee testimony; FBI files; and archival sources. He discusses the period from 1946 to 1956 in a minutely detailed and richly textured chronology that interweaves cinematic, political, military, and social history. The activities of motion picture producers, actors, and screenwriters swept up in the investigations of communist activity in the entertainment industry are paralleled with those of political and military personnel and set against the backdrop of the movies themselves—the plots, premieres, and reviews.
VERDICT Serious readers will appreciate the attention to detail and thorough treatment of the subject. Recommended for film historians and Cold War scholars.
Reviewed by Donna L. Davey, New York Univ. Libs. , Mar 01, 2011
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