Cradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein. Tim Robbins, in his third film as director, adapts history to create this fictionalized account of the original production, bringing in other stories of the time to produce this commentary on the role of art and power in the 1930s, particularly amidst the struggles of th...
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Cradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein. Tim Robbins, in his third film as director, adapts history to create this fictionalized account of the original production, bringing in other stories of the time to produce this commentary on the role of art and power in the 1930s, particularly amidst the struggles of the 1930s labor movement and the corresponding appeal of socialism and communism among many intellectuals and working class people of that time.
In telling the story of The Cradle Will Rock, a leftist labor musical that was sponsored by the Federal Theater Project (FTP), only to be banned from going on after the WPA cut the project and diverted its funds elsewhere, Robbins is able to tie in issues such as labor unrest, the repression of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, as well as questions the role and value of art in such a...
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