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.
