Martin Ritt(1914-1990)
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Martin Ritt, one of the best and most sensitive American filmmakers of
all time, was a director, actor and playwright who worked in both film
and theater. He was born in New York City. His films reflect, like
almost none other, a profound and intimate humane vision of his
characters.
He originally attended and played football for Elon College
in North Carolina. The stark contrasts of the Depression-era South compared to his New York City upbringing instilled in him a passion for
expressing the struggles of inequality, which is clearly present in the
films he directed. After leaving St. John's University, he found work
with a theater group, and began acting in plays. His first performance
was as Crown in "Porgy and Bess". After his performance drew favorable
reviews, Ritt concluded that he could "only be happy in the theater."
He then went to work with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration's New Deal agency the
Works Progress Administration as a playwright for the Federal Theater
Project, a government-funded theater support program. With work
hard to find and the Depression in full effect, many WPA theater
performers, directors and writers became heavily influenced by the
radical left and Communism, and Ritt was no exception (years later he would state that he had never been a member of the Communist
Party, although he considered himself a leftist and found common ground
with some Marxist principles)
Ritt moved on from the WPA to the Theater
of Arts, then to the Group Theatre of New York City. It was at the
Group Theatre that he met Elia Kazan, then a director. Kazan cast Ritt as an understudy
in his play "Golden Boy". Ritt's social consciousness and political views
continued to mature during his time with the Group, and would
influence the social and political viewpoint that he would later
express in his films (he would continue his association with Kazan
for well over a decade, later assisting, and sometimes filling in for,
his erstwhile mentor at The Actors Studio, eventually becoming one of
the Studio's few non-performing life members). During World War II Ritt
served with the U.S. Army Air Forces and appeared as an actor in the
Air Force's Broadway play "Wiinged Victory" (also in the film version, Winged Victory (1944)). During the Broadway
run of the play, Ritt directed a production of Sidney Kingsley's play
"Yellow Jack", using actors from "Winged Victory" and rehearsing between
midnight and 3 a.m. after "Winged Victory" performances. The play had a
brief Broadway run and was performed again in Los Angeles when the
"Winged Victory" troupe moved there to make the film version.
After
working as a playwright with the Works Progress Administration, acting
on stage and directing hundreds of plays, Ritt became a successful
television director. In 1952 he was acting, directing and producing
teleplays and television programs when he was caught up in what became known as the "Red Scare", which was an attempt by ultra-conservatives in Congress to "root out" what they saw as Commuist influence in films and on Broadway, championed by Wisconsin Repubican Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Although not directly named by the committee conducting the investigation--The House Committee on Un-American Activities, aka HUAC--Ritt was mentioned in a right-wing
newsletter called "Counterattack", published by American Business
Consultants, a group formed by three former FBI agents. "Counterattack"
alleged that Ritt had helped Communist Party-affiliated locals of the
New York-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union stage their
annual show. He was finally blacklisted by the television industry when
a Syracuse grocer charged him with donating money to Communist China in
1951. Unable to work in the television industry, Ritt returned to the
theater for several years.
By 1956 the "Red Scare" had begun to fade away, and Ritt turned to film directing. His first film as a
director was Edge of the City (1957), an important film for Ritt and an
opportunity to give voice to his experiences. Based on the story of a
union dock worker who faced intimidation by a corrupt boss, the film is
a virtual laundry list of themes influencing Ritt over the years:
corruption, racism, intimidation of the individual by the group,
defense of the individual against government oppression and, most
notable, the redeeming quality of mercy and the value of shielding
others from evil, including sacrificing one's own reputation, career
and even life if necessary. Ritt went on to direct 25 more films, including such classics as The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Hud (1963), The Great White Hope (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and Murphy's Romance (1985).
all time, was a director, actor and playwright who worked in both film
and theater. He was born in New York City. His films reflect, like
almost none other, a profound and intimate humane vision of his
characters.
He originally attended and played football for Elon College
in North Carolina. The stark contrasts of the Depression-era South compared to his New York City upbringing instilled in him a passion for
expressing the struggles of inequality, which is clearly present in the
films he directed. After leaving St. John's University, he found work
with a theater group, and began acting in plays. His first performance
was as Crown in "Porgy and Bess". After his performance drew favorable
reviews, Ritt concluded that he could "only be happy in the theater."
He then went to work with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration's New Deal agency the
Works Progress Administration as a playwright for the Federal Theater
Project, a government-funded theater support program. With work
hard to find and the Depression in full effect, many WPA theater
performers, directors and writers became heavily influenced by the
radical left and Communism, and Ritt was no exception (years later he would state that he had never been a member of the Communist
Party, although he considered himself a leftist and found common ground
with some Marxist principles)
Ritt moved on from the WPA to the Theater
of Arts, then to the Group Theatre of New York City. It was at the
Group Theatre that he met Elia Kazan, then a director. Kazan cast Ritt as an understudy
in his play "Golden Boy". Ritt's social consciousness and political views
continued to mature during his time with the Group, and would
influence the social and political viewpoint that he would later
express in his films (he would continue his association with Kazan
for well over a decade, later assisting, and sometimes filling in for,
his erstwhile mentor at The Actors Studio, eventually becoming one of
the Studio's few non-performing life members). During World War II Ritt
served with the U.S. Army Air Forces and appeared as an actor in the
Air Force's Broadway play "Wiinged Victory" (also in the film version, Winged Victory (1944)). During the Broadway
run of the play, Ritt directed a production of Sidney Kingsley's play
"Yellow Jack", using actors from "Winged Victory" and rehearsing between
midnight and 3 a.m. after "Winged Victory" performances. The play had a
brief Broadway run and was performed again in Los Angeles when the
"Winged Victory" troupe moved there to make the film version.
After
working as a playwright with the Works Progress Administration, acting
on stage and directing hundreds of plays, Ritt became a successful
television director. In 1952 he was acting, directing and producing
teleplays and television programs when he was caught up in what became known as the "Red Scare", which was an attempt by ultra-conservatives in Congress to "root out" what they saw as Commuist influence in films and on Broadway, championed by Wisconsin Repubican Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Although not directly named by the committee conducting the investigation--The House Committee on Un-American Activities, aka HUAC--Ritt was mentioned in a right-wing
newsletter called "Counterattack", published by American Business
Consultants, a group formed by three former FBI agents. "Counterattack"
alleged that Ritt had helped Communist Party-affiliated locals of the
New York-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union stage their
annual show. He was finally blacklisted by the television industry when
a Syracuse grocer charged him with donating money to Communist China in
1951. Unable to work in the television industry, Ritt returned to the
theater for several years.
By 1956 the "Red Scare" had begun to fade away, and Ritt turned to film directing. His first film as a
director was Edge of the City (1957), an important film for Ritt and an
opportunity to give voice to his experiences. Based on the story of a
union dock worker who faced intimidation by a corrupt boss, the film is
a virtual laundry list of themes influencing Ritt over the years:
corruption, racism, intimidation of the individual by the group,
defense of the individual against government oppression and, most
notable, the redeeming quality of mercy and the value of shielding
others from evil, including sacrificing one's own reputation, career
and even life if necessary. Ritt went on to direct 25 more films, including such classics as The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Hud (1963), The Great White Hope (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and Murphy's Romance (1985).