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associations with organizations that turned out to be
Communist fronts. Alicia notes that she resigned as soon as she found out the true nature of the organizations, but Duncan's incendiary revelations result in only a handful of people showing up to the meeting. Those who do attend express concern about being branded Communists themselves if they stand with Alicia. Upon hearing their concerns, Alicia informs the meeting that she no longer wishes to fight the city council, and wants to let the matter drop. With no opposition to her removal mounted, virtually the entire town eventually turns against Alicia.
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likely to corrupt and scar the young...However, the thesis is much better than the putting forth of it. The visualization of this drama is clumsy and abrupt...Mr. Blaustein and Mr. Taradash have tried nobly, but they have failed to develop a film that whips up dramatic excitement or flames with passion in support of its theme." Of Bette Davis, he wrote " a fearless and forceful performance as the middle-aged widowed librarian who stands by her principles. Miss Davis makes the prim, but stalwart, lady human and credible."
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felt that "the purpose and courage of the men who made this film not only are to be commended, but also deserve concrete rewards. They have opened a subject that is touchy and urgent in contemporary life... put a stern thought in this film, which is that the fears and suspicions of our age are most
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Freddie, convinced by the opinions of others, particularly his narrow-minded father, that Alicia is a bad person, is unable to handle the resulting feelings of betrayal. He becomes increasingly fearful even of books themselves, and he begins to break down completely, culminating in his setting fire
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wrote that the film "makes reading seem nearly as risky a habit as dope... is paved and repaved with good intentions; its heart is insistently in the right place; its leading characters are motivated by the noblest of sentiments. All that Writer-Director
Taradash forgot was to provide a believable
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Judge Robert
Ellerbe feels Alicia has been treated unfairly, and calls a town meeting, hoping to rally support for her. However, ambitious attorney and aspiring politician Paul Duncan, who is dating assistant librarian Martha Lockridge, undermines those efforts by publicly revealing Alicia's past
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Davis said "I was not overjoyed with the finished film...I had far higher hopes for it. The basic lack was the casting of the boy. He was not a warm, loving type of child...His relationship with the librarian was totally unemotional, and, therefore, robbed the film of its most important factor,
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wrote that the film "comes to grips with its central problem with a forthright honesty and integrity...It may be that in fashioning the story, the authors have made their film a bit too pat, a bit too glib, a bit too easy in its articulation of the various points of view expressed. Bette Davis's
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wrote that "While the film was forthright in its attempt to deal with censorship, the execution was dismal. The sudden alteration in the town's beliefs is just too nonsensical to accept. Davis, however, is quite convincing as the principled librarian, but there just isn't enough of a story to
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to the library. His actions cause the residents to have a change of heart, and they ask Alicia to return and supervise the construction of a new building. Alicia agrees, lamenting her earlier decision not to fight and vowing never again to allow a book to be removed from the library.
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from the library's collection. When she refuses to comply with their demand, she is fired, and branded as a subversive. Especially upset by this is young
Freddie Slater, a boy with a deep love of books whom Alicia has closely mentored.
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to replace her, but scheduling conflicts with his new star repeatedly delayed the start of filming. Kramer eventually dropped out of the project, and it remained in limbo until
Taradash decided to direct it himself with the new
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Strange it is that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free speech but object to their being “pushed to an extreme”, not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any
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dedicated to introducing children to the joy of reading. In exchange for fulfilling her request for a children's wing, the city council asks her to withdraw the book
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enlightened liberalism sounds at times as dangerously smug and self-righteous as the benighted politicos and anti-intellectuals who oppose her."
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420:. The opening title sequence features flames that eat away at both the face of a boy and pages from a book. The pages are from "On Liberty" by
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stated the "propaganda film offers a warped, over-simplified emotional solution to the complex problems of civil liberties in
American life".
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380:. The following year, she withdrew from the project, a month before filming was scheduled to begin, ostensibly due to the fact it was not a
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424:. The two pages are actually duplicates of a single page from chapter two of Mill's 1859 essay. The page contains this passage:
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responded to the Legion by suggesting "It's almost impossible to over-dramatize human liberty whether it's a depiction of
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439:, the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, librarian, and her struggle with the county commission over communist literature.
228:. The screenplay by Taradash and Elick Moll focuses on what were at the time two very controversial subjects—
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The film is also notable for featuring an early poster and title sequence created by noted graphic designer
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While the events in the movie were largely fictional, the character played by Bette Davis was based on
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It was released on DVD March 4, 2011. The Blu-ray was released by
Imprint Films on September 9, 2022.
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by
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American
Library Association (N.D.). Storm Center. Retrieved from
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Project MUSE - Bette Davis and the Cold War Career Woman in
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would return to the screen after an 18-year absence in
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was awarded the Prix de
Chevalier da la Barre at the
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their relationship...was the nucleus of the script."
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384:production. Within days, Kramer signed
683:at University of Pennsylvania website
641:http://www.ala.org/tools/storm-center
33:British theatrical release poster by
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256:Alicia Hull is a widowed small town
318:as Laura Slater (as Sallie Brophie)
402:release was filmed on location in
248:film to be produced in Hollywood.
236:—and took a strong stance against
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244:, and was the first overtly anti-
312:Kevin Coughlin as Freddie Slater
364:In 1951, it was announced that
324:Curtis Cooksey as Stacey Martin
321:Howard Wierum as Mayor Levering
838:American black-and-white films
547:List of American films of 1956
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853:Films scored by George Duning
509:complement her performance."
883:1950s English-language films
878:1956 directorial debut films
16:1956 film by Daniel Taradash
580:"Upcoming pic, The Library"
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486:National Legion of Decency
586:. 6 July 1955. p. 1.
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868:Films shot in California
618:at Turner Classic Movies
858:Films about McCarthyism
848:Columbia Pictures films
303:as Judge Robert Ellerbe
162:July 31, 1956
893:Films about censorship
873:Films set in libraries
863:Films about librarians
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404:Santa Rosa, California
813:Imprint Films trailer
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888:1950s American films
843:American drama films
527:Cannes Film Festival
297:as Martha Lockridge
262:The Communist Dream
217:is a 1956 American
138:Phoenix Productions
553:Hollywood on Trial
455:The New York Times
449:Critical reception
330:as Edgar Greenbaum
453:In his review in
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348:as Hazel Levering
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309:as George Slater
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707:. Retrieved
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340:Edward Platt
316:Sally Brophy
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234:book banning
224:directed by
214:Storm Center
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178:Running time
155:Release date
22:Storm Center
771:Blu-ray.com
396:New England
382:Technicolor
378:Irving Reis
370:The Library
307:Joe Mantell
289:Brian Keith
283:Bette Davis
246:McCarthyism
242:Bette Davis
90:Brian Keith
86:Bette Davis
72:Produced by
42:Directed by
828:1956 films
822:Categories
709:2007-11-23
566:References
533:Home media
301:Paul Kelly
295:Kim Hunter
238:censorship
182:86 minutes
166:1956-07-31
131:Production
94:Kim Hunter
67:Elick Moll
57:Elick Moll
521:In 1957,
517:Accolades
418:Saul Bass
258:librarian
230:Communism
219:film noir
206:$ 750,000
110:Edited by
35:Saul Bass
724:TV Guide
541:See also
506:TV Guide
469:story."
195:Language
120:Music by
82:Starring
62:Story by
699:review"
584:Variety
472:In the
444:Release
198:English
187:Country
164: (
133:company
743:
726:review
669:review
655:review
601:(1956)
398:, the
389:title.
203:Budget
428:case.
222:drama
803:IMDb
741:ISBN
667:Time
484:The
466:Time
277:Cast
252:Plot
232:and
808:BFI
801:at
824::
607:^
582:.
476:,
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747:)
712:.
695:"
406:.
168:)
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