The Front
Starring Woody Allen and Zero Mostel
Directed by Martin Ritt and written by Walter Bernstein
Reviewed by Kenneth Lyen
Rating 4 stars out of 4

The Front (1976) is a film set in New York during the McCarthy witch hunts against the communists some 50 years ago. It is about filmmakers and actors who were blacklisted as socialists or their sympathizers. The theme is eerily topical because of the recent blacklisting of singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) and other Muslims by the United States government.

Woody Allen neither wrote nor directed The Front. Instead he plays the lead role of a neurotic bum, Howard Prince. He is a deli cashier and pathetic part-time bookie, with no talent and no political convictions. His desires are making money with the least effort possible, and getting laid.

Howard is approached by an old friend, Alfred Miller, a TV writer who is blacklisted as a communist sympathizer. Unable to find work, Miller persuades Howard to submit scripts under his name. In other words Howard acts as Miller's "front." When the scripts are sold, he keeps a percentage of the fees. Easy money. But ever greedy, Howard asks to be the front for two other scriptwriters. He is quickly recognized by the television producers as a brilliant newly discovered screenwriter.

There are several wonderful comic moments in the film. One example is when the beautiful script editor, Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci), tries to discuss intricacies of the script, but Howard manages to evade answering her. A subplot involves the love relationship between Howard and Florence. He is worried that she only loves him because of his writing prowess, rather than who he really is. Meanwhile, Florence feels that Howard should fight the blacklist, instead of looking the other way.

Another funny scene is when Howard gets the better of himself and assumes the role of a critic, telling his authors that their works are substandard.

All goes well for Howard until the FBI begins investigating his life, and it is not long that Howard himself is asked by the House Committee on Un-American Activities to name names. His lack of moral fiber and his willingness to cooperate with the authorities leads to his break up with the highly principled Florence.

Zero Mostel gives one of his best performances as the genial clown Hecky Brown whose career is threatened when he is blacklisted. He represents the era's many dashed spirits, helpless when confronted with an enemy he cannot fight or understand. Mostel's life falls apart, and as he changes from a successful comedian to an unemployed one, his despair gives the film a tragic tonality. Zero's performance is indeed memorable, and well deserving of the British Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It was one of his last film roles, as he died in 1977.