Mankiewicz Survived Hollywood's Golden Age: From the Ordeal of Cleopatra to Resistance against the Red Scare
A Man of Conviction Who Confronted the Red Scare
Hollywood in the early 1950s endured a dark period swept by the McCarthy-era Red Scare. As anticommunist pressure intensified in the film industry, Joseph L. Mankiewicz acted courageously to protect creative freedom. In 1950, he had been elected president of the Screen Directors Guild (SDG, later the Directors Guild of America, or DGA), and that very year a major political conflict erupted within the guild. Veteran director Cecil B. DeMille, a committed anticommunist, argued that every guild member should be required to sign an anticommunist loyalty oath. While Mankiewicz was away in Europe, the guild's board initially approved the proposal. On returning, however, Mankiewicz fiercely objected, saying that such a method was “just like Moscow.” For him, freedom of thought and belief lay at the heart of democracy, and defending it was itself an American value. Enraged, DeMille organized a petition campaign to remove Mankiewicz as president. At the general meeting held in October, however, prominent directors including John Huston, William Wyler, and Billy Wilder supported Mankiewicz, and an overwhelming majority voted for him to remain in office. Although the loyalty oath was ultimately softened into an optional pledge, filmmakers of the era widely praised Mankiewicz for protecting guild members' freedom of choice and solidarity. The episode shows that he was more than an outstanding filmmaker: he was a courageous person willing to act on his convictions.
A Creative Battle with the Studio System
Mankiewicz's career took shape through a tense relationship with the Hollywood studio system. He succeeded as a screenwriter and producer at MGM in the 1930s, but disagreements with studio magnate Louis B. Mayer led him to leave MGM in 1944. Behind the conflict lay a fundamental difference in values between Mankiewicz, who sought creative freedom, and the studio, which put commercial success first. After moving to 20th Century Fox, Mankiewicz began directing and could realize his artistic vision more directly. In 1949 and 1950, he achieved the remarkable feat of winning Academy Awards for both directing and screenwriting in consecutive years, for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve. That success gave him a measure of creative freedom even within the studio system. In 1953, he established the independent production company Figaro and served as producer, writer, and director on The Barefoot Contessa. The film offered a scathing critique of Hollywood's star-making machinery through the tragedy of an actress manipulated by wealthy men who control the film industry. While working inside the system, Mankiewicz continued to create films that incisively identified its contradictions and problems. His work retained its entertainment value without losing a critical perspective on the industry and society.
The Enormous Ordeal of Cleopatra
In 1961, Mankiewicz faced the greatest trial of his career when he was suddenly selected to direct 20th Century Fox's epic Cleopatra. The production had suffered problems from the outset: the previous director's departure, leading actress Elizabeth Taylor's illness, changes in location, and one difficulty after another. Mankiewicz struggled to restore order to the chaotic set, but costs rose to many times the initial budget and the shooting schedule expanded dramatically. The affair between Taylor and Richard Burton that began during production attracted media attention around the world, making gossip a larger subject of discussion than the film itself. Darryl F. Zanuck, who returned midway through production as president of 20th Century Fox, even temporarily dismissed Mankiewicz over responsibility for the overrun. The completed Cleopatra became the highest-grossing film of 1963, yet failed to recoup its enormous production costs and drew mixed critical reactions. The epic's failure badly damaged Mankiewicz's reputation and led him to step away from directing for a time. Yet the bitter experience gave him an opportunity to think deeply about the limits and possibilities of filmmaking. He later recalled that Cleopatra “was not a film, but a phenomenon.” How to preserve artistic quality amid enormous scale and commercial pressure remains a universal challenge in filmmaking today.
A Late-Career Return and Contribution to Film History
Several years after the setback of Cleopatra, Mankiewicz returned to cinema in 1967 with The Honey Pot. He continued exploring new genres with films such as the Western comedy There Was a Crooked Man.... Then, in 1972, he directed the psychological suspense drama Sleuth, a critical and commercial success. The tense battle of performances between two distinguished actors, Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, earned high praise, and Mankiewicz received his fourth Academy Award nomination for directing. Although he retired from directing after that film, he continued sharing his views and experiences with younger generations through interviews and documentary appearances. His body of work still offers new discoveries and pleasures to film enthusiasts and scholars across generations. All About Eve, in particular, consistently ranks highly on lists from the American Film Institute and has been adapted for the stage and as a musical, demonstrating undiminished influence. Mankiewicz's fusion of intelligent, polished screenwriting and meticulous direction was inherited by later filmmakers including Billy Wilder, Woody Allen, and Aaron Sorkin. Mankiewicz died in 1993 at the age of 83, leaving a permanent place in film history as a master of Hollywood's Golden Age and as a filmmaker who maintained his convictions despite the turbulence of his time. His life and work continue to demonstrate that film can transcend entertainment and become an art that portrays human truth.
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