Witness

Elia Kazan: A Biography, by Richard Schickel (HarperCollins, 544 pp., $29.95)

OUTSIDE of North Korea and the English departments of certain American universities, Hollywood is one of the last places in the world where it’s advantageous to be an unrepentant Stalinist. That’s why Elia Kazan got into hot water when the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to give him an honorary Oscar in 1999.

About the Author

Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout is the drama critic of the Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. Satchmo at the Waldorf, his 2011 play about Louis Armstrong, has been produced off Broadway and throughout America.

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Elia Kazan: A Biography, by Richard Schickel (HarperCollins, 544 pp., $29.95)

OUTSIDE of North Korea and the English departments of certain American universities, Hollywood is one of the last places in the world where it’s advantageous to be an unrepentant Stalinist. That’s why Elia Kazan got into hot water when the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to give him an honorary Oscar in 1999.

About the Author

Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout is the drama critic of the Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. Satchmo at the Waldorf, his 2011 play about Louis Armstrong, has been produced off Broadway and throughout America.