Introduction: no regrets? -- Viva Zapata! (1952) and Cold War liberalism -- Kazan and the anticommunist film genre: Man on a tightrope (1953) -- The ambivalence of informing: On the waterfront (1954) -- Father and sons and the cost of pursuing the American Dream: East of Eden (1955) -- Sexuality and the new south: Baby doll (1956) -- A return to progressive principles and the shape of things to come: A face in the crowd (1957) -- Looking backward and the cost of progress: Wild river (1960) -- Anticipating the youth rebellion: Splendor in the grass (1960) -- The Anatolian smile and the immigrant experience: America America (1963) -- Rebelling against the arranged life: The arrangement (1969) -- The final films: The visitors (1971) and The last tycoon (1976).
