Art and politics interface in a dynamic and dangerous way in Tim Robbins’ The Cradle Will Rock, a semi-successful effort to evoke a collective portrait of some creative individuals during the Depression era.
The movie, which premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Fest (in competition), was seven years in the making due to all kinds of problems, including its topic and politics.
Made on a decent budget of, The Cradle Will Rock was released by Disney’s Touchstone, and bombed at the box-office, failing to attract any demographic segment of the audience.
The filmmaker’s intent was to capture a unique moment in the history of American culture and politics. The tale is based on events surrounding an actual 1937 musical directed by Orson Welles, which was shut down by government injunction due to the cast’s alleged left-wing politics. It was then performed guerrilla-style without costumes, scenery, or props, and ultimately taken to Broadway.
Robbins should be commended for assembling together a most interesting cast, John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller, Cary Elwes as a dashing young John Houseman, Susan Sarandon as art dealer Margherita Sarfatti, Vanessa Redgrave as a rich countess, Ruben Blades as painter Diego Rivera, and Hank Azaria as Marc Blitzstein, the musical’s composer.
