One of the first things Hunt said during the Q&A was:
“I think I am, without question, the luckiest person I have ever known.” As the
audience just watched during her documentary, she certainly was the recipient
of a range of luck throughout her life and career, some good and some bad.
Memos, who directed the documentary, first met Hunt while
he was working on a film on Carl Foreman, and Hunt came in to talk about her
experience on the 1952 film The Happy Time. Listening to her stories, Roger
couldn't believe how horribly Hunt was treated during the time of the HUAC and
Blacklist, and after learning more about her life and career, he knew her story
had to be told. So, almost ten years ago to the day, on January 29, 2006, he
asked Hunt if he could put her life on film, and she agreed. At first, Memos
said that he was a little "afraid" of Hunt's activism - he wanted to
make her story interesting and pertinent - but once he and his team got going
and saw how much of a pioneer, innovator, and peacemaker Hunt was, they made it
happen. Hunt "fought fear and ignorance by being herself," Memos
remarked, "she rose above adversity." Memos also mentioned that Hunt
was very open, generous, and gracious in sharing information with the team,
though he was a bit cautious about discussing her only child, who died at one
day old.
Hirsch then asked Hunt to expand upon a belief she
articulated in the documentary regarding her legacy: how she was concerned that
her fame connected with the blacklist would ultimately overshadow her work as
an actress. It's something Hunt
certainly thinks about, she began; she made over 50 films and again expressed
some apprehension that she won't be remembered for all those movies because her
career was suddenly cut short by those famous proceedings.
While her fear may have a shred of truth in it, Hirsch
said that he, for one, is grateful that she is one of the few survivors of that
period willing to talk about it, because it was a period of madness that must
be discussed so as not to be repeated. Hunt agreed and noted that the blacklist
destroyed many careers, hitting writers and directors hardest. When Foster
asked Hunt why the Bogarts withdrew their support in the Committee for the
First Amendment, she answered that since she wasn't there, she didn't know for
certain, but she guessed that whatever it was it must have been drastic, like
"one of the Warner Brothers" calling the Bogarts into the front
office and telling them they had to recant or else their contract would be
cancelled. Interestingly, Foster pointed
out that the Bogarts were never "tarred" as others who were involved
in the cause had been. In response, Hunt also noted that if that had happened,
some great movies would never had been made, like The African Queen.
On that note, Hirsch and Memos highlighted some powerful
scenes in the film, like Hunt's meeting with John Huston (which she said was
equally powerful for her) and the time she stood up to Roy Brewer and told him
that her father's teachings wouldn't allow her to swear to a lie. Again, Hirsch
pointed out that it was a very complicated period, and many recanted or
compromised to save their careers, but Hunt said we can't call them villains
for that; "we all respond to whatever is our own personal priority"
she said, and if that was a career or success for someone, then they acted in
sort. Hunt couldn't - she affirmed that people behave as they are steered from
the beginning - and she certainly missed
out on some opportunities because of it, but she's not sorry for her actions.
Thankfully, the blacklist didn't hit the theater, which
went on business as usual with cast and crew boasting a variety of politics and
beliefs. "Talent counted in the theater," Hunt remembered. Speaking
of the stage, Hirsch asked Hunt about working with Johnny Carson in Tunnel of
Love on Broadway. Hunt replied that he was delightful to work with, but she
never got to know him very well. In fact, the longest conversation she recalls
having with him was when she asked Johnny where he got one of his shirts
because she wanted to buy one for her husband!
Jumping back to Los Angeles but remaining on the subject
of the stage, Hirsch told the audience that at one point in the early 1950s, Hunt
was "sort of" the First Lady of the Carthay Circle Theater here in
town. The theater originally only showed movies - Hunt saw the premiere of The
Good Earth there in 1937 - but during the early 1950s they put on plays too. Hunt
remembered the theater as one of the most beautiful ones she ever performed in.
Sadly, years later it was torn down in favor of regular old office buildings
that Hunt lamented could have been erected anywhere.
Speaking of theaters, Memos also noted that Hunt first
visited the Egyptian Theater back in 1926, almost 90 years ago! Hunt recalls
visiting California on summer vacations in 1926 and 1929, and always stopped by
the Egyptian theater; "it was magic to me!" she exclaimed, because
NYC theaters weren't anything like the lavishly-decorated Egyptian or Chinese.
She added that for her to be sitting in the Egyptian watching a movie about her
and another one starring her was pretty overwhelming.
Hirsch then turned to the movie that followed the
Q&A, None Shall Escape, which he noted was a unique film in Hollywood
history because no other picture at the time - or virtually since - has dealt
with that subject matter; the movie anticipated the Nuremberg Trials before
WWII even ended. He also pointed out that the film was indicative of Hunt's
career, because she starred in a picture that no other studio or director would
have tackled at the time. Memos suggested programming the movie, and he thanked
Columbia for restoring the picture.
Hunt called None Shall Escape a memorable film for her in
several respects. She said they were aware that Hitler had to be defeated and
had heard about anti-Semitism at the time, but as far as she was aware, this
was the first movie to show the persecution of Jewish people. That fact in itself is rather remarkable, but
Hunt also pointed out another high note: Alexander Knox's performance as a
"bestial" Nazi. The most ironic part? His next role was Woodrow
Wilson!
To close the Q&A, Hirsch touched upon the fact that
the evening's festivities were in tribute to casting director Marvin Paige, a
great friend of Hunt's and the Cinematheque's. Hunt first met Paige in New York
City in the late 40s and early 50s, when Paige was in his early 20s and
"all over Broadway," she joked; he was a "hyperactive kid"
whose job was to get celebrities to appear on a radio show called
Breakfast at Sardi's. Hunt got to know Paige better years later and
remembered him as fun, eccentric, trustworthy, and a dear friend to many. "He loved talent, which led him to
loving talented people," she remarked.