Writers could learn a lesson from 'Trumbo'

As Hollywood writers ponder the merits of going out on strike when their contract ends later this fall, there's a movie for them to see, one that can be seen as either a heroic fable or a cautionary tale about their chosen trade. Simply titled "Trumbo," it's a compelling portrait of Dalton Trumbo, one of moviedom's larger- than-life characters who battled the blacklist as a member of the Hollywood Ten and played a key role in the formation of the first union for screenwriters.

The film, which made its debut Monday night at the Toronto International Film Festival, isn't just another talking-heads history lesson. Directed by Peter Askin and based on a play by Trumbo's son, Christopher Trumbo, "Trumbo" is an unusual hybrid -- a documentary brimming with inspired acting performances. Though there is a wealth of archival and home-movie footage, much of the story is told through Dalton's Trumbo's letters, as read by a host of top-flight actors, including Michael Douglas, Joan Allen, Nathan Lane and Paul Giamatti.

At the end of World War II, Trumbo was the highest-paid writer in Hollywood, earning $3,000 a week. He'd published a much-praised novel, "Johnny Got His Gun," penned a series of hit pictures and had a regular sideline writing speeches, notably one delivered at a founding conference of the U.N. in San Francisco. He was also the first editor of the Screen Writer, the monthly magazine of what was then known as the Screen Writers Guild.

But after being held in contempt of Congress for refusing to discuss his ties with the Communist Party, everything came crashing down. By the end of 1947, Trumbo had been fired by MGM, blacklisted and was headed for prison. What makes "Trumbo" so fascinating to watch is that it captures a writer's life at the farthest swings of a pendulum. You hear him praise friends for their loyalty as well as bemoan the foolishness of trying to work in exile in Mexico City, saying, "we lived out an old truism -- the first time you see Mexico you are struck by the horrible poverty; within a year you discover it's infectious."

Listening to actors read from letters can often be a tedious experience, but these are no ordinary letters. Often written when Trumbo was in desperate straits, they soar and sizzle, capturing the sassy sophistication of midcentury Hollywood movie talk. After receiving an especially playful letter from his father, Chris Trumbo recalls that "the first thing I did was start laughing and the second thing I did was get a dictionary." Written from his 320-acre ranch in Frazier Park as well as from his tiny prison cell in Kentucky, the letters are, like their author, caustic, uncompromising and combative, whether Trumbo is mocking the FBI or chewing out his daughter's elementary school principal.