Elia Kazan is a Traitor Enamel Pin
The first from a new set of enamel pins inspired by Directors. In 1982, Orson Welles was asked a question about Elia Kazan at the Cinémathèque française in Paris. Welles replied,
"Chère mademoiselle, you have chosen the wrong metteur en scène, because Elia Kazan is a traitor. He is a man who sold to McCarthy all his companions at a time when he could continue to work in New York at high salary, and having sold all his people to McCarthy, he then made a film called On the Waterfront which was a celebration of the informer.And therefore no question which uses him as an example can be answered by me. I have to add, I have to add that he is a very good director".
Orson Welles following the haters code of never saying someone you hate is bad at something they're ostensibly good at. As suggested by the Orson Welles quote above, Kazan sold out many friends and colleagues at the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952 at the time of the Hollywood blacklist. Kazans career continued to flourish, leaving a feeling of distain for many, Welles included. When Kazan was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1999, dozens of actors chose not to applaud as 250 demonstrators picketed the event.
