When Leni Riefenstahl Came to Hollywood (Guest Column)
In November 1938, Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl visited Hollywood to secure an American distribution deal for Olympia, her epic two-part, four-and-a-half hour long documentary record of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a dazzling showcase for athletic prowess, cinematic virtuosity, and Nazi pageantry. The trip did not go well. Riefenstahl’s winter of discontent in California has inspired […]
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When Moviegoers Started Watching Films From the Beginning (Guest Column)
Of the many cinematic "firsts" credited to Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' 60 years ago, the change it brought to the ritual of how people frequented cinemas may be the most consequential.
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The Segregated Past of Drive-In Movie Theaters (Guest Column)
It took the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and activists staging "drive-ins," to integrate many outdoor movie venues that had separated audiences by race.
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Revisiting Lindbergh and Winchell Ahead of ‘The Plot Against America’ (Guest Column)
Brandeis University professor Thomas Doherty, author of an upcoming book about the Charles Lindbergh kidnapping, weighs in ahead of the premiere of HBO's limited series 'The Plot Against America,' an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel.
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James Gunn, Old Tweets and the Return of the Hollywood Blacklist (Guest Column)
Disney's firing of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn for old, mindless tweets represents a new form of Hollywood blacklisting.
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Reflections on Hollywood’s Infamous Blacklist 70 Years Later (Guest Column)
On Nov. 25, 1947, the head of the MPAA issued what has come to be known as the Waldorf Declaration, calling for an industry-wide ban of communists — and the organization still has not disavowed the statement.
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In the Age of Trump, A Look Back at How Hollywood Has Welcomed Immigrants (Guest Column)
"In Hollywood, professional relationships, tribal kinships and human decency caused many in the community to rally to the refugee cause" during the reign of the Nazis, writes Brandeis University professor and film historian Thomas Doherty.
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Remembering the Hollywood Mogul Who Rescued Hundreds of Germany’s Jews (Guest Column)
Brandeis University professor and historian Thomas Doherty, author of 'Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939,' recounts the story of Universal founder Carl Laemmle and the Jews of Laupheim.
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‘The Birth of a Nation’ at 100: “Important, Innovative and Despicable” (Guest Column)
Brandeis University film professor and historian Tom Doherty revisits the release — and assesses the damage — of D.W. Griffith's landmark film.
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Film Expert: Sony “Surrender” Joins Long History of Studios Bowing to “Intimidation Tactics” (Guest Column)
But, says Brandeis University professor Tom Doherty, author of the book 'Hollywood and Hitler,' threats have never shut down the release of a film before 'The Interview'
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Does ‘The Collaboration’ Overstate Hollywood’s Cooperation With Hitler?
Brandeis professor Thomas Doherty, who wrote an earlier book on Hollywood and Hitler, calls the controversial "The Collaboration," which is excerpted in THR, "slanderous and ahistorical."
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