Cradle Will Rock

Plot synopsis:
At the height of the Great Depression, aspiring singer Olive Stanton (Emily Watson) dreams of getting a job as an actress with the Federal Theater Project (FTP). Playwright Marc Blitzstein (Hank Azaria) is working on his new musical, The Cradle Will Rock, but lacks the inspiration to finish it. While attending a public protest, he is visited by two imaginary figures representing his late wife and the famed German playwright Bertolt Brecht. They encourage him to make the play more relevant to the times rather than an abstract concept.
At the same time, the FTP faces increasing pressure from the federal government, which has begun investigating alleged leftist infiltration of American society through the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The WPA, faced with the threat of losing its budget, cuts funding for all FTP productions, lays off thousands of workers, and orders all ongoing projects, including The Cradle Will Rock, to cease their activities. The local unions for the musicians and actors refuse to let them perform without federal approval, forcing the show to close.
Rather than give in, the show's director, Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and producer, John Houseman (Cary Elwes), set up an improvised performance in a shuttered theater, with Blitzstein as both the cast and the orchestra. As he begins the first song, the other actors suddenly appear in the audience and perform the entire play without setting foot on the stage. The climax then cuts to a sequence showing a group of workers destroying the mural Man at the Crossroads, following a dispute between Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) and Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) over the latter's explicit support for communism.
As the cast and audience break into celebration, a group of former FTP performers stage a mock funeral down the street outside. The movie ends with the procession walking into present-day Times Square, which is lined with billboards advertising Broadway plays.

Tags: inspiring

Review:
Writer/director Tim Robbins, whose left-leaning sympathies are common knowledge in the film industry, has managed to create a screenplay of amazing complexity and depth, functioning on an enormous number of levels - political, historical, aesthetic, personal - without ever losing clarity and focus.
He has set up a dizzying array of characters, yet each one is fleshed out with enough depth and particularity to make him or her a vital part of the overall tapestry.Set in the turbulent 1930's, Robbins' tale focuses on the National Theatre Company, an organization set up by Roosevelt during the Depression to provide out-of-work artists a vehicle through which to ply their trade and culture-starved audiences a chance to revel in the glories of live theatrical performances.
The film centers on the production of a controversial musical play called `The Cradle Will Rock' that portrays the glorious coming of unionism to a steel factory, a scenario that parallels the events in the lives of several of the characters in the film.Given this fascinating historical background, Robbins has filled his film with a rich assortment of characters, from Orson Welles, as a fledgling young actor who sees unions as the ruination of artistic purity, to Nelson Rockefeller, as a well-meaning art patron who balks at the mural Diego Rivera has painted for him only after Rivera refuses to remove the image of Lenin from Rockefeller's monument-to-capitalism lobby.
Although at the beginning of the film, the casting of such familiar faces seems a bit disconcerting - leading to what critic Judith Crist refers to as the `hey there' syndrome, i.e. destroying the verisimilitude of a work by parading too many recognizable people before the camera - this technique actually helps the audience to differentiate the many characters who might otherwise pass by in a confusing and disorienting blur.
Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Cary Elwes, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro and Emily Watson comprise this truly fine cast.Liberal as his leanings might be, Robbins is able to focus on the bitter ironies that abound on both sides of the political spectrum.
As for the elite in the story, Robbins does a lovely job of spoofery at the end of the film; as the play is finally being performed at a nearby theatre - representing the triumph both on stage and in the world at large of the common man over the oppressive tyrants of industry - the tycoons, dressed in masquerade ball costumes of the 18th Century aristocracy and Catholic hierarchy, mull over their plans to retain control of the art world by bankrolling only those paintings depicting the scenes of utmost blandness and banality.
Tim Robbins has really done a magnificent job of putting all the pieces in the right places.And perhaps best of all, this is a film with real controversy - one that will get you thinking about art and politics and unions and the influence of money on everything.
A film that stands up in the face of adversity and squashed freedom.Robbin's telling of the legendary events surrounding the Orson Welles production of Marc Blitztien's Labor Opers, THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, not only puts forth the events but he masterfully presents his film in the style of a Brecht theatre piece.
But this film is not only about artistic freedom, it is about freedom as a whole,about standing up for your freedom of belief and expression,could you imagine that there was actually a time in this "free" nation of ours when armed guards actually locked the doors of a theatre ,trying to prevent a show from being mounted.This film is an important one,and what Robbins accomplishes is  to present it as entertainment as well,this is not a history lesson but a well executed work of art.
Marc Blitzein, Hazel Huffman and Diego Riviera (and all connected) had a deep passion for their work that the authorities would soon destroy because of rules and regulations.Interesting is the fact that all the characters are based on true life people, and Robbins has assembled a fine cast who give noteworthy performances all across the board.
All star cast includes John and Joan Cusack, Ruben Blades, Hank Azaria, Tim Robbins (uncredited), Emily Watson, Susan Sarandon, Paul Giamatti, Angus MacFaden as Orson Wells (in a breakthrough performance) and Bill Murray in a wonderful role as a puppeteer.
While it was fun seeing "Cradle Will Rock" with my mother-in-law who had some memories of the time period, I also did a huge paper on the WPA Arts Projects in graduate school (I recommend Jerry Mangione's book on the Federal Writer's Project as a good introduction) and am quite familiar with the personalities and facts involved so was curious to see it as a docudrama.
But we plus my parents felt the film was too agit-prop and the 20% of it that's over-the-top (aw come on, Hearst -- "Citizen Kane" foreshadowing, Rockefeller and a steel magnate at a Versailles costume party at the climax?) weakens the historical telling of a confluence of happenings -- the strangulation of the Federal Theater Project as a precursor victim to McCarthyism through the Dies Committee (including actual testimony wherein Christopher Marlowe was accused of being a Commie, as were the classic Greek dramatists) and Nelson Rockefeller's benighted sponsorship and then destruction of the Diego Rivera murals at Rockefeller Center.
Effectively written and directed by Tim Robbins is how passionately political the artists were, not as "card carrying Communists" per se, but as committed anti-Fascists and unionists in every aspect of their personal lives--as equally committed as they were to the magic of the theater as a communication device.
It does go over the top (including Susan Sarandon as an elegant Jewish courier to Mussolini selling stolen Old Masters), it is effective to show how TPTB were sympathetic to and profited from alliances with the fascists and how much they hated That Cripple in the White House.Amidst the politics, the art for art's sake oversize egos of John Houseman and Orson Welles are also well portrayed, if a shade as buffoons compared to the grimness of everyone else around them, most of whom needed these WPA jobs to keep from starving (there's a toss away line that barely explains that FDR had to throw the Theater Project to the wolves in order to save his whole alphabet soup of programs for the vast majority).
The Vanessa Redgrave character is silly but I guess it's making a point that Radical Chic is not new.The climax of the factual occurrence, the one and only original performance of Marc Blitzstein's "ThreePenny Opera"-inspired political musical "Cradle Will Rock" is a delightful recreation, and from what I've read, true to the real story.
you get the picture, to make its point.You can tell this movie has the potential to be a complete bomb in the first 10 minutes, when the camera self-importantly tracks one character uninterruptedly a la Orson Welles and the rest throw away unintelligible expositional dialogue to let us know whether they are good (i.e., poor) or bad (i.e., rich).
But what a cast: John and Joan Cusack, Susan (Mrs. Tim Robbins) Sarandon, Cary Elwes, John Turturro, Jack Black, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Ruben Blades and Hank Azaria.
The main arc of the film is the story of Orson Welles' production of the play of the same name.The cast is excellent:  Hank Azaria, John Turturro, Bill murray, Joan and John Cusack, the guys from tenacious D, etc.
politics), is an underrated mosaic of some very exquisite personalities (Orson Welles, Nelson Rockefeller, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, John Houseman, Hazel Huffman, among others) that are, one way or another, involved with a musical play that's about to be closed down for being "communist", in 1936's New York.
Nicholls (who has a cameo as George Zorn) said that most of the actors worked almost for free, out of friendship for Robbins and love for theater, and that "Cradle Will Rock"'s poor reception at the box-office/critics, is the main reason why Robbins hasn't directed another movie since then.
It's true you have to know at least a little bit about the people portrayed here in order to fully appreciate/understand the film, and movies like this don't usually become blockbusters, but the fact that "Cradle Will Rock" was ignored altogether and seems quite forgotten is really sad.
The ensemble cast is one of the best I've ever seen - Emily Watson, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Joan Cusack, Cherry Jones, John Turturro, Susan Sarandon, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Angus Macfadyen, Paul Giamatti, Bob Balaban, Hank Azaria, Jack Black, Philip Baker Hall, among others - and the screenplay is Altmanesque tapestry at its best.
The play is being funded by Federal Theater, which itself is being investigated by congress for being infested with communists.At the same time, a wealthy steel magnate meets an ambassador from Mussilini and Nelson Rockafeller (played by John Cusack) asks Diego Rivera to paint a mural inside the newly completed Rockafeller center.Tim Robbins, who directed the movie, does a brilliant job, weaving all the stories together flawlessly and painting a picture of the Depression and pre-war era.
This film depicts the true story of a communist play staged by Orson Welles and Jon Houseman (anyone familiar with the Mercury Theater, Citizen Kane, or the Oscar-winning Paper Chase performance will know of these two historic figures) that ran afoul of the government for its Communist leanings.
"Cradle Will Rock"(**) is an overbaked stew into which writer/director Tim Robbins lavishly mixes such real-life figures as Orson Welles, Nelson Rockefeller, Diego Rivera and Marc Blitzstein together along with many other assorted fictional characters from every walk of life, social strata and political persuasion from the far right to the far left (it's pretty clear where arch-liberal Robbins' sympathies lie).
(Joan Cusack's and Bill Murray's scenes seemed like they could have been from another movie!!!) The ending is obvious and over-dramatic.AND Susan Sarandon's gave one of the most unintentionally hilarious performances I've seen in a long time.Stay away by all means...unless you're easily manipulated and aren't insulted by being manipulated..
Before Orson Welles made movies he was a director in theatres and this is the story of the musical he directed ('Cradle will rock') in the 30's.
Robbins gives us lot of different stories that clash at the end and it's somewhere unbelievable that for such an intelligent (but failed at advance) movie he could have such a great cast, they all play perfect with Bill Murray performing the best thing I have ever seen from him (you can't think that this man once did stupid stuff like the Ghostbusters).
I don't see anything wrong with artists putting politics in their art, in fact I encourage it, but Tim Robbins' characters are like Duracell rabbits who carry their messages without any personality or depth (is 'investment' better?).
Only this time, he is directing a film about a group of people that do not so much need a reality check and to go through a blender of facing the repercussions one brings upon one's self, as much as he directs a bunch of characters trying to survive as the Great Depression consumes everything around it and desperation threatens creeps in.Like The Player, Cradle Will Rock opens up with a wonderful long take in a theatre, detailing the necessary surroundings; the sorts of people the film will be spending time with and gets across a general feel for the era in which it's set by having a news reel play in the background.
The film is often quite funny, even surrealistic in its gags, but it never trivialises the bigger picture of the situation and nor does it exploit those struggling for means of entertainment even though they are working within the boundaries of an entertainment medium.Amongst the all star cast is Marc Blitzstein (Azaria), a deep thinking and spiritual piano player desperately looking for inspiration and a tune to nail to his upcoming musical entitled Cradle Will Rock, the very piece everyone will come together and find solace with.
A wonderful, large cast recreates the story behind "The Cradle Will Rock" in this 1999 film, written and directed by Tim Robbins and starring Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Bill Murray, Cherry Jones, John Turturro, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, Jamey Sheridan, Gretchen Mol, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban - etc.Before the Depression and the turbulence of the 1930s, plays focused on the upper class.
The politics of the FTP come under question, the theater is locked, and the actors are forbidden to appear on stage.Orson Welles finds another theater for the production, and the story of the opening night performance, spontaneously performed by the cast from the audience as Blitzstein sat up on stage and played, was thought to be one of the most exciting moments in theater history by those who were there.Robbins focuses on the controversy surrounding the musical but also on several other important events.
One of the actors, played by John Turturro, has to deal with a family that supports Mussolini's Black Shirts.Marc Blitzstein, in focusing on a prostitute in "The Cradle Will Rock," asks us who the real prostitutes are, and Robbins shows us in his depictions of Rockefeller, Hearst, and the Senate committee before which Hallie Flanagan testifies, the thin and sometimes nonexistent line between art and politics.The performances are terrific.
The musical numbers in this film were wonderful as well as the acting of the Cusacks, Vanessa Redgrave and Bill Murray.I think that a person who likes theater will really be into this play.
So much that it was almost like they imported him back in time from the Citizen Kane movie.The only disappointment I actually had here was that in the beginning of the film this is listed as a "Mostly True Story," but then at the end there wasn't some post script that sort of tied up the loose ends to let us know what finally happened to the individual primary characters and the play production after the opening night.
The plot is about the events leading up to and surrounding Orson Welles and John Houseman's staging of Marc Blitzstein's Federal Theatre Musical in the face of great unemployment, tantrums and the accusations of communism.
The direction is great and the cast all take to the ensemble script like ducks to water- more than making up for the fact that the film never looks too hard at any one character for too long.
Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock is an interesting movie about real-life social issues, politics, the arts, and events during the Great Depression era.
Chief among the stories are pro-Union play Cradle Will Rock, the Diego Rivera painting Lenin in Rockefeller Center, and accusations of communism being represented in plays funded by the Federal Government.Robbins brings to life the attitudes of the day through the eyes of several fictional and non fictional participants in these events.
And while the event regarding the much fabled first performance of Cradle Will Rock is heavily dramatized, it's beautifully played out.Of course, Robbins has his hands in politics and this film is an example of that, but, politics aside, this is a brilliantly acted piece illustrating events in history long forgotten.
If you (a)share Tim Robbins leftest philosophy and politics (b)somehow fail to see same in this film or (c)judge it in a sterile environment disconnected from any real time reality, then you will love this movie.
It combines the story of a real musical, Cradle Will Rock (which was produced by the Federal Theatre Project of the Works Progress Administration in the 30s) with historical figures of the time to create a wild and fun journey through New York life in the 30s.
Based on a "mostly true" story of the W.P.A. Federal Theatre Project in the early thirties, the beginnings of Congressional anti-communist hysteria, and the production of Marc Blitzstein's musical, "The Cradle Will Rock," the movie chronicles a turbulent moment in American history.
If you personally lived through the movie's events, you may follow the story better than I could...but that's hardly a realistic expectation for audiences in 1999.This film is full of interesting situations and people (John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller-- fascinating casting, but we get only the barest glimpse into what he could do with the character), but they do not add up to a good movie..
A brilliant triumph by actor turned director Tim Robbins, Cradle Will Rock is based on the real story of the Federal Theatre in the late 30's.
Featuring characters like Orson Welles, the Rockefellers, Diego Garcia and a slew of U.S. political figures, the movie is grounded in the "mostly" true stories of the pre-war red scare, as the Federal funded arts came under attack from the House Un-American Activities committee.
The acting is superb, featuring yet another energetic and truthful performance by Turturro, a revisited melancholy malaise by Bill Murray, a dead-on Welles played by underrated MacFayden, and really just splendid performances by everyone in this cast.Cradle Will Rock will not appeal to everyone's taste, as it takes a rather hard line towards leftist viewpoints, but the message of the movie goes beyond the politics of left or right.
Tim Robbins made an assured if unconventional film director debut with Bob Roberts, and his follow-up could barely be more different.Taking his stylistic cue from Robert Altman, with whom he worked on The Player, the story is about a play, the eponymous The Cradle Will Rock, to be directed by the up and coming Orson Welles.
It's about a play called "Cradle Will Rock" but with Tim Robbins at the helm, you expect that this will go loudly political and it is.
Whether you agree with Tim Robbins' politics or not, Cradle Will Rock will make you think, if you are indeed open to its message..