Stars and Swipes

William Wright's Hellman bio keeps on giving, serving up equal doses of the writer's stage and screen successes with world events, like Germany's June 22, 1941 invasion of Russia -- less than two years after the two agreed not to beat on each other. If I wanted to invade the Soviet Union (for Romanian oil and Ukrainian grain), I would choose the summer to do so, too. Before the cold weather, and in advance of the August harvest.

Although Russia had three times the tanks Germany had, and many more times the foot soldiers (more than Germany anticipated), Germany's technical superiority, especially in the air, left Russia vulnerable and in need of alliances. The U.S became an ally, and within days of that, Hellman was hired by the White House to write a screenplay intended to make Russians "more likeable" to Americans. The result was North Star (1943), directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

The choice of Milestone was a good one, since he in fact was born in Russia and spent his early years there. And whereas Hellman hadn't, she had as usual done her research and produced a script that she felt reflected that. Only Milestone disagreed ("Lillian knew nothing about Russia -- especially the villages"). But it wasn't so much Hellman's lack of knowledge about Russian life, it was her treachery, according to Milestone, that made working with her impossible. She refused Milestone's changes, complained to Goldwyn (who sided with Milestone) and bought herself out of their contract.

Yesterday I heard that Russia has asked China to assist with its invasion of Ukraine, and the day before that I wondered aloud (in this blog) if Russia and China had a non-aggression pact. If so, Russia more than certainly rubbed China's face in it by invading Ukraine before the end of the Beijing Olympics, something China had asked it not to do until the Para-Olympics were over. I'm sure not even North Korea would have done something like this without asking for China's permission first.

Some pundits have suggested China's long-term plan is to nurture Russia to the point of isolation, where its dependence on China turns it from the mighty empire Putin is striving for into a subordinate Chinese state. Something I haven't heard discussed is whether Putin's invasion is partially in service of the Trump camp's potential run at the 2024 election -- an open and free democratic election that many fear could be America's last (as if that country's electoral process isn't already compromised). Students of History will recall that not even successful wartime leaders like Winston "We shall never surrender" Churchill were re-elected once their wars were over.

Something else Wright points out is how Hellman's hatred of Nazi Germany was greater than her recognition of Germany and Russia as totalitarian regimes. George Orwell recognized this during the Soviet "Show Trials", as did Hannah Arendt, particularly during her coverage of the Eichmann Trial. Neo-liberalism is such that you can give the appearance of a liberal democracy while at the same time manipulate outcomes that serve the privileged few. And when we complain, we are told it is 'bots, algorithms, as if these "systems", like the dog who ate our homework, exist independent of us.

Biden (U.S.) and Trudeau (Canada) are content to work the neo-liberal levers, while Trump and Putin prefer to cast aside the artifice of democracy and parade around like the strong men they aren't, warriors in Brioni suits. For this they are regarded by there followers as honest, no bullshit types. Is it time to rethink our definition of "honesty"?

Here's how Wright sums up Hellman, post-North Star:

"Throughout her career she would try to avoid conflict by picking collaborators for whom her admiration was unrestrained (William Wyler, Tyrone Guthrie, Mike Nichols), or newcomers she outranked and could bully.  But once she had loaded the equation as much as possible in her favour, she was, from the testimony from many who worked with her, no more difficult than any other theatrical 'star' -- and a lot more reasonable than many." (169)