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Context Creator / LillianHellman

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1[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fa9e33f374bc186eeca03d14b14c6403.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:290:''"I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit\
3this year's fashions."'' [[note]] Hellman, in a 1952 letter to the House Un-American Activities Committee. [[/note]] ]]
4
5->''"Every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'"''
6-->-- '''Mary [=McCarthy=]''' on Lillian Hellman
7
8Lillian Florence "Lilly" Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and memoirist. She achieved her greatest success in writing dramatic plays for Platform/{{Broadway|AndTheWestEnd}} in the 1930s and '40s.
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10Hellman was known for her strong left-wing views and activism. She was briefly a member of the American Communist Party, and during the '50s RedScare era was targeted by UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist for refusing to name names.
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12By the 1970s, Hellman was widely regarded as a hero for having taken a stand against the blacklist. During this period, she published her memoirs. One chapter of her 1973 memoir ''Pentimento'' formed the basis for the 1977 film ''{{Film/Julia}}'', which starred Creator/JaneFonda as a young Lillian Hellman.
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14During an interview on ''Series/TheDickCavettShow'' in 1979, novelist Mary [=McCarthy=] (no relation to the [[UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy red-baiting Senator]]) accused Hellman of being a ConsummateLiar. After Hellman sued her for libel, [=McCarthy=]'s lawyers responded by unearthing evidence of Hellman's dishonesty, including the likelihood that the "Julia" chapter in ''Pentimento'' was BasedOnAGreatBigLie. Hellman died before the issue could be settled in court.
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16Although Hellman's writing is still respected, the controversy over her dishonesty went a long way to overshadowing and tarnishing her prior reputation as an [=anti-McCarthyite=] heroine, leaving her with a mixed legacy.
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18----
19!!Works by Lillian Hellman with their own trope pages include:
20
21* ''Theatre/TheChildrensHour''
22* ''Theatre/TheLittleFoxes''
23* ''Film/WatchOnTheRhine'' (from her play)
24* ''Film/TheNorthStar'' (screenplay)
25* ''{{Film/Julia}}'' (from a chapter of ''Pentimento'')
26
27!!Other works by Lillian Hellman contain examples of:
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29* {{Prequel}}: ''Another Part of the Forest'' is a prequel to ''Theatre/TheLittleFoxes'' set 20 years earlier.

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