Front, The

Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: February 21st, 2014.
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Andrea Marcovicci, Herschel Bernardi, Joshua Shelley
Year: 1976
Purchase From Screen Archives Entertainment

The Movie:

Directed by Martin Ritt in 1976, The Front was the first major studio film to take on the still touchy subject of the Hollywood blacklist that was put into place during the McCarthy era. When the movie begins we meet Howard Prince (Woody Allen), a fairly unambitious man who gambles and works as a cashier. His entire life changes when his friend, Alfred (Michael Murphy), talks him into working as a front. See, Alfred has been blacklisted for his supposed communist leanings and as such, no studio in their right mind will even entertain the idea of buying on of his scripts. Alfred still needs to put food on the table though, so Howard agrees to put his name on Alfred's scripts and shop them around for him, and in doing so, he'll earn ten percent of whatever the scripts make and give the rest back to Alfred. It's easy money, right?

Right. At least at first. Before you know it, Howard is fronting not just for Alfred but for a few other blacklisted writers as well. As he starts to work his way up the studio ladder he befriend an actor named Hecky Brown (Zero Mostel) who also winds up in trouble with the House Un-American Activities Committee and strikes up a romance with Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci), the assistant to his producer, Sussman (Herschel Bernardi). It all comes to a head just as Howard starts to get a taste for the good life when the Feds begin to question Howard's loyalties as well…

One of the few times Woody Allen acted in a movie that he didn't direct, The Front is interesting not only for that reason but also because it was put together by a group of men who were quite literally on the HUAC's blacklist years before. Director Martin Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein and actors Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Lloyd Gough and Joshua Shelley all wound up on the wrong side of the committee and their lives suffered for it. Much of that is reflected in what we see transpire in the movie.

The film moves at a good pace and is frequently as funny though a completely somber subplot involving Mostel's character and the effects of that HUAC on his life and career serves to remind us that as lightly and humorously as the subject may be treated in this film, the blacklisting of left leaning Americans was indeed a very serious matter.

The characters are well written and full of personality and the performances from the principal cast members reflect this well. Allen is his typically nebbish self throughout but it's interesting to see his character evolve over the course of the storyline and he really turns in very good work here. His relationship with Marcovicci's character adds some further emotional depth to the story, as once the HUAC's activities intensify they start to adversely affect the couple. There's also the issue of his honesty with her about the reality behind his output. Mostel is excellent here as well. His character starts off as a typically goofy comedian type but again, as the story develops, we see a more serious side of him and he obviously invests enough of himself into this part to really make it work.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The Front debuts on Blu-ray from Twilight Time, framed in its proper 1.85.1 widescreen aspect ratio in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer on a 50GB disc, and it looks very good. Detail is strong throughout the presentation and while the film is moderately grainy throughout, the image remains clean throughout. Some scenes look a little softer than others, much of this looks like it has to do with the lighting more than anything else, but there are no obvious noise reduction or edge enhancement to note while skin tones appear lifelike and natural. Black levels are decent as well and colors would seem to be pretty accurately reproduced. Detail and texture definitely rise above what DVD could provide and all in all this seems like an accurate transfer.

The English language DTS-HD Mono track is also of nice quality. It has more depth than most single channel tracks do and the dialogue sounds quite natural and properly mixed in against the score. This isn't a particularly effects heavy track as most of the mix is simply made up of dialogue, so Mono works just fine. The score has good range and presence to it and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion. Optional English subtitles are provided.

Extras on the disc itself include an interesting commentary track with actress Andrea Marcovicci, and film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman. Marcovicci talks about what it was like working with Allen on this, her feature film debut, and she shares some interesting stories about how he was on set and what it was like being around him and Mostel at the same time. Kirgo and Redman keep her talking but also provide some welcome background about the film, the people who made it and the blacklisting that inspired it. It's a solid track, one worth listening to.

On top of that we also get an isolated score track, a trailer for the feature, static menus and chapter selection. Inside the keepcase is a booklet of liner notes from essayist Julie Kirgo that are quite a good read as they offer up some nice, concise background information on the blacklist and how it affected the various players involved in this production as well as some welcome critical insight into the quality of the feature in relation to its subject matter.

The Final Word:

The Front slips in a few places in terms of how the tone shifts from serious to comedic in a few spots but outside of that complaint, it's a clever comedy that tackles what was obviously a very touchy subject. Allen and Mostel are both a lot of fun to watch here and Marcovicci makes an impressive debut in this picture as well. The Blu-ray debut of the film from Twilight Time presents it in very nice shape and with a few interesting extras as well. This is absolutely worth seeing, it's well made and historically quite significant.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!