"Keep 'em in the East" - (Film and Culture) by Richard Koszarski (Paperback)

About the Book

"Away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the watchful eyes of the big studios, New York City re-emerged as a filmmaking center in the 1940s and 1950s. Filmmakers such as Elia Kazan, Sidney Lumet, Stanley Kubrick, and John Cassavetes built on their prior experience in theater, television, industrial films, and other aspects of the city's diverse cultural life, to create a film culture that would increasingly influence the financing, production and aesthetics of Hollywood films. Using on-location shooting to create a realistic, documentary style and relying on improvisatory practices, New York films had a distinct look and feel. Without studio financing, directors and producers raised funds and established independent production companies, creating the model that would go on to dominate Hollywood in the years to come. Richard Koszarski's magisterial history of the birth of independent cinema in New York City includes behind-the-scenes production histories of such iconic film as Kazan's On the Waterfront and Kubrick's The Killer's Kiss . The book also reveals the importance of "race films" in the history of New York City film. These all-black productions intended for African American audiences in urban ghettos and the rural South had been around New York City since the 1920s. They not only helped to keep the film business afloat in New York City but also nurtured and developed a core group of writers, directors, designers, and technicians that would become instrumental in the city's later growth as a center for filmmaking. New York's independent production companies also provided jobs for women that were not open to them in Hollywood. Finally, the book tells how Mayor O'Dwyer helped bring filmmaking to New York and how the relatively stable labor situation, particularly in comparison to Hollywood at the time, made New York a more hospitable place for directors"--

Book Synopsis

The year 1955 was a watershed one for New York's film industry: Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront took home eight Oscars, and, more quietly, Stanley Kubrick released the low-budget classic Killer's Kiss. A wave of films that changed how American movies were made soon followed, led by directors such as Sidney Lumet, William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. Yet this resurgence could not have occurred without a deeply rooted tradition of local film production.

Richard Koszarski chronicles the compelling and often surprising origins of New York's postwar film renaissance, looking beyond such classics as Naked City, Kiss of Death, and Portrait of Jennie. He examines the social, cultural, and economic forces that shaped New York filmmaking, from city politics to union regulations, and shows how decades of low-budget independent production taught local filmmakers how to capture the city's grit, liveliness, and allure. He reveals the importance of "race films"--all-Black productions intended for segregated African American audiences--that not only helped keep the film business afloat but also nurtured a core group of writers, directors, designers, and technicians. Detailed production histories of On the Waterfront and Killer's Kiss--films that appear here in a completely new light--illustrate the distinctive characteristics of New York cinema.

Drawing on a vast array of research--including studio libraries, censorship records, union archives, and interviews with participants--"Keep 'Em in the East" rewrites a crucial chapter in the history of American cinema.

Review Quotes

Keep 'Em in the East is an extraordinary achievement. Koszarski knows more about the history of filmmaking in New York City than anyone else, living or dead. This distills the central part of his lifelong research. No one will ever match it. For those who love New York and the movies, this book's many surprises will provide an unending source of fascination and information.--Charles Musser, author of The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907

Keep 'Em In the East is a valuable (and long overdue) work of cinema scholarship. It broadens the parameters of American film history to include the boroughs of New York, where independent artists thrived far from Hollywood's picture factories. Koszarski's exemplary research shows that New York's influence extended beyond Broadway's influential writers, directors, and performers; it included a whole cadre of cinematic talent who'd have a profound impact on American movies.--Eddie Muller, host of TCM's Noir Alley

In this reassessment of the role of New York City in the history of film, "Keep 'Em in the East" restores the city's filmmaking reputation with impeccable research and enthusiasm. No one would dispute that Richard Koszarski is the only film historian who could have written this book.--Jeanine Basinger, author of The Star Machine

Richard Koszarski is a bold historian, a meticulous researcher, and a spellbinding storyteller. "Keep 'Em in the East" masterfully displays all his talents. Only Koszarski could so deftly weave together industrial history, political infighting, social conditions, personal and very human biographies, and pointed appreciation of films as different as Naked City and Tall, Tan, and Terrific. In the process, Koszarski brings to light forgotten movies and trends, from little-known urban docudramas to the important 'race films' made for Black audiences. The book's final stretch "crosscuts" Kazan's making On the Waterfront with Kubrick's preparing Killer's Kiss, and the result is as exciting as a Hollywood chase. "Keep 'Em in the East" permanently reshapes our understanding of American film as an art, a business, and a cultural force.--David Bordwell, author of Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling

Keep 'Em in the East is absorbing and enlightening. The dramas and disasters are expertly told and brilliantly researched. The book is a pleasure to read.--Kevin Brownlow, author of The Parade's Gone By ...

About the Author

Richard Koszarski is professor emeritus of English and Cinema Studies at Rutgers University. He was formerly a curator at the Museum of the Moving Image and is the founder and editor emeritus of Film History. His many books include Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff (2008).