The Front: A Satire That Doesn't Take Advantage of Its Potential (4K)

The Film:

Over the last several decades, there have been many films that have explored the dark period of American history involving The Blacklist, HUAC, and the desperate investigation into Communist activities of the 1950s, but it's rather interesting to note that they didn't really start appearing until the '70s, with "The Way We Were" from 1973 being credited as the first major film to use it as a central plot point. However, the first one to focus on it in a satirical fashion was a little film from 1976 called "The Front," which was even more notable for the fact that it was written by Walter Bernstein and directed by Martin Ritt, both of whom were on the infamous list.

The film was a modest success, receiving decent reviews and even an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, but with 50 years having gone by, it's one that's not brought up very often in discussion, even among the work of its star, Woody Allen. With it celebrating this incredible five-decade milestone, Sony Pictures has decided to put the spotlight on it by giving it an incredible 4K upgrade, so now's the perfect time to go back and revisit it to see if it deserves a little more attention than it's gotten over the last 50 years.

Taking place in 1953 New York City, we meet Howard Prince (Woody Allen), a cashier at a diner. His screenwriter friend Alfred Miller (Michael Murphy) shows up one day, and over lunch, tells him that he's been blacklisted due to his Communist sympathies, making it extremely difficult to sell his scripts. Alfred also reveals that he's come up with a plan in which Howard would sign his name on the scripts instead, acting as a "front" for him, while earning 10% of the sale.

The plan works so well that other blacklisted screenwriters soon join in, using Howard in the same fashion so that they can continue working. However, others soon become suspicious of Howard's sudden appearance on the scene, leading to an investigation of his past ties, with a producer (Herschel Bernardi) even going so far as to have an actor (Zero Mostel) spy on him. Will Howard be able to keep up this profitable scheme, or will he find himself cracking under the scrutiny that his new-found fame has brought?

As mentioned, we've gotten several films over the last 50-ish years that have touched on The Blacklist and McCarthyism in general, including "Trumbo" from 2015 and "Good Night, and Good Luck" from 2005, both of which were marvelous, riveting tales that told important true stories about the devastating effect the witch hunts of the era had. On first glance, it doesn't really seem like a topic that could make for a particularly captivating satirization, but given the historical importance of the events, one should be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in hopes of the filmmakers being able to churn out something rather compelling, perhaps even something that would act as a stern indictment of the reckless activities that ruined the lives of many hard-working people.

Unfortunately that's where "The Front" stumbles a bit. It starts off with a pretty interesting premise that has Howard helping out a friend & his colleagues during a difficult time, and screenwriter Walter Bernstein is able to use that to some comic effect, particularly as Howard tried to pass himself off as the writer of these scripts, but it quickly becomes a case of the film just kind of drifting along as Bernstein struggles to find something more to do with the idea. He tries to develop bits of subplot here & there throughout, including Howard's relationship with script editor Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci), and a desperate actor trying to investigate Howard's life, but they simply don't add anything particularly compelling to the story, nor do they go in any engaging directions.

The film does eventually culminate with Howard going before a small subcommittee to answer questions about his past connections, which was a great chance to send the film off with quite a bang (i.e. the aforementioned stern indictment of the entire witch hunt), but what we get instead is a surprisingly low-key conclusion that ends in a far-too-simple fashion. All that said, this was not a bad attempt to make light of these events, Bernstein just needed to do further development on the ideas he was presenting, as well as the supporting plot threads that are trying to help hold it up. There was a good start here, a good "front" you might say, but much like Howard's writer persona, it just doesn't hold up quite well-enough under scrutiny.

Video/Audio:

"The Front" comes to 4K in a 1.85:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality, presenting a beautifully sharp & clear picture throughout the entire 95-minute duration that perfectly highlights its various period details. Likewise, the 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & music in excellent quality. Overall, Sony Pictures has done a great job in both departments for the film's new 4K upgrade.

Special Features:

Commentary with Actress Andrea Marcovici and Film Historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman

Conclusion:

"The Front" presents a semi-intriguing attempt to satirize the terrible effects of the notorious Blacklist of the '50s using a pretty sturdy premise as its foundation. However, it sadly stumbles in trying to find ways to develop it or the various subplots that are trying to hold it up, ultimately resulting in a film that had a fair amount of potential, but which doesn't quite take full advantage of it in regards to the interesting ideas it contains.

Score: 3/5

Now available on 4K.

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