Abraham Polonsky

 Abraham Lincoln ‘Abe’ Polonsky was an American screenwriter and director. He was born in New York City to Jewish immigrants, and after a brief career as a teacher decided to become a writer. He wrote several novels and essays before transitioning to a career in Hollywood, upon which he became a screenwriter for Paramount Pictures. Polonsky was also a communist, and joined the Communist Party of the United States of America, something that would come back to haunt him later. However, US entry into the Second World War put his screenwriting career on hold, and he served in Europe as a writer and director of radio programs. After the war he returned to Hollywood, and in 1947 he wrote two plays for Paramount Pictures: Golden Earrings, and Body and Soul. Not long after Polonsky directed his first film Force of Evil, a film noir that has since been preserved in the National Film Registry for its significance.

 

Unfortunately, Polonsky’s career was upended by the House Un-American Activities Committee. As a result of his refusal to testify, Polonsky was blacklisted by Hollywood. While he did not publically write during this time period, it has since been revealed that he continued to write screenplays under pseudonyms that are still unknown to this day.

Polonsky made a triumphant return to the film industry in the late 1960s as a screenwriter for the police noir Madigan, in which he used his real name. He returned to directing in 1969 with Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, a western starring a Native American character. Polonsky continued to be active as a screenwriter, and as a communist, up until his death. Elia Kazan, a director who had testified for the House Un-American Activities Committee and reported names to the government, was heavily criticized by Polonsky. When Kazan was nominated for lifetime achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Polonsky said he hoped Kazan would be shot on stage, “It would no doubt be a thrill in an otherwise dull evening.” As can be seen, Polonsky remained a staunch communist up until his death in 1999 at age 88.