The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-31

mental Cinema. COmrade Stern,
at present in New York, has been
working in Hollywood for several
years, where he has gained renown
as a stormy petrol through his con-
sistent unmasking of the artistic
bankruptcy of the bourgeois film
and his relentless champiOning of
the revolutionary Soviet movie.
Dear Lens:
During the past few weeks I have
read in the "Daily"-both in your
column and elsewhere-odd bits Of
information concerning the case of
Eisenstein, Sinclair and the soon-to-
be-released Thunder Over Mexico"
I believe your readers will be inter
ested in the following necessarily
sketchy facts which I contribute as
one closely connected with the case
during its protracted and tempestu-
GUS history. g.
1t is no longer secret that Eisen-
STEMS monumental revolutionary
epic on the workers and poems of
Mexico, originally called "Que Viva
Mexico" has been hopelessly man
gled politically, and criminally
butchered as masterpiece of film
art by Upton Sinclair and his back
ers among the bourgeoisie of South
ern California.
Sinclair recently made state
ment that Thunder Over Mexico
Gas the present bastard version is
called had been edited in accord
with Eisenstein's IDEAS" He further
stated that Eisenstein's scenario had
been followed exactly. No one knows
better than Sinclair himself that this
is not true.
Entire Film Mangled
Three of the most important cpl
sodes of the scenario have been COM
pletely omitted from Thunder Over
Mexico" and great deal of other
material, dealing with the ancient
Aztec Indians, has been edited in
the most unforgivably infantile
manner and appears in disjointed
fragments throughout the film. Be-
sides this, the episode which has
been taken from the scenario and
used as the main material Of "Thun-
J der Over Mexico" has been so edit
ed as to make it overwhelmingly OBJ
vious even to those specifically ac-
quainted with the work of Eisenstein,
that the latter's original conception
has been completely perverted. The
most outrageous atrocity committed
by Sinclair Is without question the
elimination Of the peon revolt at the
end. EisenStein had taken thousands
Of feet of film showing mass up
rising of the poems, but this crucial
material HAS BEEN DISCARDED
BY SINCLAIR'S VERSION FOR A
FRENzIED GLORIFICATION OF
THE PRESENT WALL STREET
BANDIT CONVENIENT OF MEX
ICOl
Turned Into Sticky Movie
AS il to better insure the ultra
reactic character of the film
as well as to make thorough job
of its destruction as a powerful work
of art, Sinclair made contract with
Sol Lesser, an independent distrib-
utor in Hollywood This man is a
fascist of tie blacklist dye. He is
responsible for the distribution of
German atrocity" films during the
war, out Of which he reaped huge
profit. Only lately he contracted to
release an anti-Soviet propaganda
film by that arch-enemy of the So
Wet Union, Carveth Wells. Lesser's
GROWING achievement in this realm,
however, is his mangling and dis
tortion of "Que Viva Mexico!' IN
der hts personal supervision, and
with Sinclair's unconditional approx
al, Eisenstein's anti-imperialist doc
ument was turned into sickly Hol-
| lywood movie, with special emphasis
on romantic melodramatic plot and
with an ending which would gladden.
the heart of Mussolini or Hitler.
Sinclair Stands Indicted
Why has Upton Sinclair sanctioned
| the spoliation of the greatest motion
picture ever photographed in Amer
lea? Why has he lent himself as the
prime mover in the criminal task of
hacking and butchering the $4,000
feet of material that Eisenstein sent
UP from Mexico, and selling pieces
to capitalist film concerns? Until Up
ton Sinclair chooses to offer salts
factory answers to these questions
he stands indicted in the eyes of the
masses of friends of the Soviet
Union, anti-imperialists and admir-
ers of the Soviet film all over the
world. What has happened to one of
the most important features of
Eisenstein's original, consisting of a
merciiess expose of the feudal-reac-
tionary Catholic Church of Mexico?
Eisenstein shot mass of unbeliev-
ably powerful material. grim priests,
priests blessing the "pulque" drink
("opiate" for the Mexican Masses
priests blessing poverty stricken
hordes on Mexican farms and haci-
endas, etc, etc. I SAW MOST OF
THE RELIGIOUS MATERIAL
OF QUE VIVA MEXICOl" BUT
1T HAS "MYSTERIOUSLY' DIS
APPEARED SINCE THAT TIME.
NO ONE SEEMS TO HAVE SEEN
OR HEARD OF 1T SINCE THEN
(about eighteen months ago..
This scandalous affair has now
become international In scope and
the release of the present version Of
Eisenstein's film is certain to meet
with worldwide protests. This is
something on which neither Sinclair
nor Lesser figured. apparently.