American Masters on PBS

Examining director Elia Kazan's decision to “name names” to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952 and how it affected his long-time friendship---and artistic collaboration---with playwright Arthur Miller. The documentary is also a dramatic metaphor for McCarthy Era tensions, interweaving clips from Miller's “The Crucible” and Kazan's “On the Waterfront” (for which he won an Oscar as Best Director). And there's a little sex: Kazan's former mistress and Miller's former wife, Marilyn Monroe, plays an important role. Oliver Platt narrates. Writer-director Michael Epstein won a 2000 Emmy for his “American Masters” film “Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood.”