50 Years of Action! on AllMovie

One of the few documentaries to shine a spotlight on directors in Hollywood, this informative film sketches out the 50-year history of the Directors Guild of America. Formed at a time when people were still fighting for unions in the United States, the guild also had its problems when the studios refused to recognize it. Beginning with a group of twelve men and building up from there, the next major crisis in Guild history came in 1950 when Cecil B. DeMille tried to overthrow president Joseph L. Mankiewicz because Senator McCarthy's witchhunt had branded the latter as a closet Communist. Fortunately DeMille's efforts were squelched, thanks to the level-headed actions of director John Ford and others. Radio and televsion directors have been accepted into the Guild and the members were working up a "Bill of Rights" during the filming of this documentary.