Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director—a new
biography of a major American filmmaker  By Charles Bogle 12
September 2011  In researching and writing Nicholas Ray: The
Glorious Failure of an American Director, Patrick McGilligan
performs the valuable service of tracing the fitful arc of a
great and troubled director’s life and career. Nicholas Ray’s
early life and its psychological connection to his movie years
are established. McGilligan also unearths the profound influence
of various Depression-era institutions and artists on Ray’s own
efforts. The biographer’s discussion of Ray’s work habits is
valuable as well.  RayNicholas Ray interviewed in the Martin
Scorsese documentary A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese
through American Movies  McGilligan condemns the anticommunist
witch-hunts spearheaded By the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s and
underscores their disastrous consequences for Hollywood and Ray
specifically. However, the book is w