Mitchum Lights Up Hollywood Again

By Zach Foster

Veteran actor Christopher Mitchum spoke Wednesday night during the Hollywood Congress of Republicans meeting at the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood.  The son of legendary actor Robert Mitchum, Christopher co-starred with John Wayne in the westerns Chisum, Rio Lobo, and Big Jake.  He also starred in action films like Striking Point, Lethal Cowboy, and Summertime Killer.

In his narrative speech, “The Politics of Glamour,” Mitchum delivered many delightful anecdotes of life with his father, working with John Wayne, and getting involved in politics.  One of the most fascinating points in his speech was his coverage of the “SAG Wars,” a series of power struggles within the Screen Actors Guild to control who would hold what positions, as well as the ability to uphold or change the rules restricting SAG actors from working non-union films.

He made an excellent point about how the film industry has seemingly made a complete turnaround from the early Cold-War era of the Hollywood Blacklist, where nowadays it is dangerous to be openly Republican in Hollywood.  Mitchum was able to tell many stories and instances of Republicans stating their politics or even being “outed,” and being guaranteed no work.

He also spoke on the decline of the true western film for political purposes.  He told about how westerns were basically morality plays founded on traditional Republican values, where one man (a good citizen) would stand up against the establishment (big government) and defend the rights of oppressed individuals (Constitutional rights).  The good guy always won.  The end of the western began with films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Wild Bunch—excellent films but terrible westerns—where the bad guys are the heroes and are presented in a positive light while breaking laws and turning order into chaos in the West (similar to social anarchy).

There is hope, however, in a few modern films.  Films like The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, and The Hurt Locker are among the few war films these days that show the bravery of America’s wartime soldiers rather than the popularized leftist image of American soldiers slaughtering civilians on a regular basis (Fahrenheit 9/11, Green Zone, Casualties of War).  There are also films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Star Wars saga which show the underdog prevailing against evil to restore good, and then retiring back to living a simple life after evil is defeated.  Perhaps Frodo Baggins is the new Shane?  There is also the Twilight Saga which encourages young people to look deep inside themselves to decide whether or not they want to make the lifelong commitment to marriage.

His speech was followed by a Q&A segment.  Mitchum plans to run for Congress in 2012 to represent California’s 35^th District.  Also present at the meeting was talk radio host Mark Isler of The Mark Isler Show, speaking about his bid as a write in candidate for the LA College Board of Trustees.  Isler supports higher standards for quality education.

Photo courtesy of the Hollywood Congress of Republicans