The Front

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The Front is a 1976 film starring Woody Allen and Zero Mostel about a man who acts as a front for writers blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s.

Tropes used in The Front include:

• Borscht Belt: Hecky has his roots there, and goes back to playing it after his blacklisting.
• Driven to Suicide: Hecky Brown, based on the real-life suicide of Philip Loeb.
• Large Ham: Hecky Brown, played by Real Life Large Ham Zero Mostel.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Alfred Miller, not to be confused with actual blacklisted playwright Arthur Miller.
• Precision F-Strike: The final line.
• Reality Subtext: Most of the cast and crew actually were blacklisted during the Red Scare, including actor Zero Mostel and director Martin Ritt. The dates of their blacklisting appear under their names in the end credits.
• Red Scare: The Second Red Scare, as it's known.
• Sad Clown: Hecky again.
• Stage Names: Hecky Brown's real name is Herschel Bronstein.
• Witch Hunt: The HUAC.