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1
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[dramatic music]
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00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:18,944
(female narrator) "if a
life can have a theme song,
3
00:00:19,228 --> 00:00:21,606
"and I believe
every worthwhile one has,
4
00:00:21,897 --> 00:00:24,776
"mine is a religion,
an obsession, or a mania,
5
00:00:25,067 --> 00:00:29,117
"or all of these
expressed in one word...
6
00:00:29,404 --> 00:00:32,999
"individualism.
7
00:00:33,283 --> 00:00:34,876
"l was born
with that obsession,
8
00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,539
"and I've never seen and do not
know now a cause more worthy,
9
00:00:38,830 --> 00:00:41,208
"more misunderstood,
more seemingly hopeless,
10
00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:44,299
and more tragically needed."
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00:00:49,216 --> 00:00:51,469
Ayn Rand,
novelist and philosopher,
12
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,310
wrote these words
in 1936.
13
00:00:55,597 --> 00:00:58,521
"Call it fate or irony,"
she wrote,
14
00:00:58,809 --> 00:01:00,652
"but I was born,
of all countries on earth,
15
00:01:00,936 --> 00:01:06,614
"in the one lease suitable
for a fanatic of individualism,
16
00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:10,621
"Russia
17
00:01:10,904 --> 00:01:13,373
"l decided to be a writer
at the age of nine,
18
00:01:13,657 --> 00:01:19,380
"and everything I have done
was integrated to that purpose.
19
00:01:19,663 --> 00:01:23,042
"l am an American
by choice and conviction.
20
00:01:23,333 --> 00:01:26,007
"l was born in Europe,
but I came to America
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00:01:26,295 --> 00:01:28,468
"because this was the country
where one could be
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00:01:28,755 --> 00:01:30,883
fully free to write."
23
00:01:33,885 --> 00:01:36,559
Ayn Rand developed
the theory that everyone has
24
00:01:36,847 --> 00:01:38,815
a subconscious view
of the universe
25
00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:42,603
and of man's place in it.
26
00:01:42,894 --> 00:01:48,617
It is a person's most personal
emotional response to existence,
27
00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:51,699
and what she termed
a "sense of life."
28
00:02:15,344 --> 00:02:17,847
And now to our story.
29
00:02:18,138 --> 00:02:19,981
Down through history,
various political
30
00:02:20,265 --> 00:02:21,642
and philosophical movements
have sprung up,
31
00:02:21,933 --> 00:02:23,310
but most of them died.
32
00:02:23,602 --> 00:02:27,027
Some, however, like democracy
or communism
33
00:02:27,314 --> 00:02:30,113
take hold and affect
the entire world.
34
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,494
Here in the United States,
perhaps the most challenging
35
00:02:32,778 --> 00:02:34,325
and unusual new philosophy
36
00:02:34,613 --> 00:02:37,867
has been forged
by a novelist, Ayn Rand.
37
00:02:38,158 --> 00:02:40,456
IVls. Rand's point of view
is still comparatively unknown
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00:02:40,744 --> 00:02:43,463
in America, but if
it ever did take hold,
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00:02:43,747 --> 00:02:45,340
it would revolutionize
ourhves.
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00:02:45,624 --> 00:02:49,345
And Ayn, to begin with, I wonder
if I can ask you to capsulize
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00:02:49,628 --> 00:02:52,222
I know this is difficult
can I ask you to capsulize
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00:02:52,506 --> 00:02:55,760
your philosophy?
What is Randism?
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00:02:56,051 --> 00:02:57,928
First of all, I do not
call it "Randism,"
44
00:02:58,220 --> 00:02:59,938
and I don't like
that name.
45
00:03:00,222 --> 00:03:01,223
I call it objectivism.
46
00:03:01,515 --> 00:03:02,812
All right.
47
00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:06,604
Meaning a philosophy based
on objective reality.
48
00:03:06,895 --> 00:03:09,739
Let me explain it
as briefly as I can.
49
00:03:10,023 --> 00:03:14,494
First, my philosophy
is based on the concept
50
00:03:14,778 --> 00:03:18,624
that reality exists
as an objective absolute,
51
00:03:18,907 --> 00:03:23,083
that man's mind, reason,
is his means of perceiving it,
52
00:03:23,370 --> 00:03:27,216
and that man needs
a rational morality.
53
00:03:27,499 --> 00:03:31,049
I am primarily the creator
of a new code of morality
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00:03:31,336 --> 00:03:33,805
which has so far been
believed impossible.
55
00:03:34,089 --> 00:03:37,844
Namely, a morality
not based on "face"
56
00:03:38,135 --> 00:03:40,058
- On faith?
- Not on faith,
57
00:03:40,345 --> 00:03:41,847
not on arbitrary whim,
58
00:03:42,139 --> 00:03:45,268
not on emotion,
not on arbitrary edicts,
59
00:03:45,559 --> 00:03:47,937
mystical or social,
but on reason
60
00:03:48,228 --> 00:03:51,983
a morality which can be proved
by means of logic,
61
00:03:52,274 --> 00:03:55,574
which can be demonstrated
to be true and necessary.
62
00:03:55,861 --> 00:03:58,831
(narrator)
February 2nd, 1905,
63
00:03:59,114 --> 00:04:01,583
St. Petersburg, Russia.
64
00:04:01,867 --> 00:04:04,165
Alisa Rosenbaum
came into world
65
00:04:04,453 --> 00:04:09,084
wrought with revolution
and oppression.
66
00:04:09,374 --> 00:04:12,469
It was a country
on the brink of war
67
00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:14,175
not a war between nations,
68
00:04:14,463 --> 00:04:16,841
but a war
against the individual,
69
00:04:17,132 --> 00:04:20,102
a war that would make way
for a form of collectivism
70
00:04:20,385 --> 00:04:23,184
history was never
to forget.
71
00:04:27,476 --> 00:04:28,819
Even at an early age,
72
00:04:29,102 --> 00:04:32,481
Ayn Rand did not believe in God
or in destiny,
73
00:04:32,773 --> 00:04:34,070
but she did hold
the conviction
74
00:04:34,357 --> 00:04:36,701
that there was a battle
she must fight,
75
00:04:36,985 --> 00:04:38,453
a battle
in the name of a truth
76
00:04:38,737 --> 00:04:41,160
that was as clear to her
as the red flags
77
00:04:41,448 --> 00:04:44,748
and bloodstained streets
of her native St. Petersburg,
78
00:04:45,035 --> 00:04:47,208
a battle to hold
an individual spirit
79
00:04:47,496 --> 00:04:52,047
above the dark, murderous horde
that was enveloping her country.
80
00:04:54,002 --> 00:04:56,630
"l had to get out of Russia,"
she later wrote,
81
00:04:56,922 --> 00:05:00,722
"if I wanted a chance
ever to be alive."
82
00:05:02,469 --> 00:05:04,597
Ayn Rand did
get out of Russia.
83
00:05:04,888 --> 00:05:06,765
She escaped to America
and became
84
00:05:07,057 --> 00:05:12,689
one of the most controversial
thinkers of the 20th century.
85
00:05:12,979 --> 00:05:16,529
Her philosophy gained
a worldwide audience,
86
00:05:16,817 --> 00:05:19,616
and her ideas are now
a part of university textbooks
87
00:05:19,903 --> 00:05:22,702
and curricula.
88
00:05:22,989 --> 00:05:26,539
Her novels, The Fountainhead
and Atlas Shrugged,
89
00:05:26,827 --> 00:05:31,128
sell over 200,000 copies
each year,
90
00:05:31,414 --> 00:05:34,167
and according to a joint survey
by the Library of Congress
91
00:05:34,459 --> 00:05:37,178
and the Book of the Month club
in 1991,
92
00:05:37,462 --> 00:05:38,759
Atlas Shrugged was named
93
00:05:39,047 --> 00:05:41,800
the second most influential book
for Americans,
94
00:05:42,092 --> 00:05:45,437
following the Bible.
95
00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,441
Ayn's father was a self-made man
who ran his own pharmacy.
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00:05:49,724 --> 00:05:53,274
He created a middle class
lifestyle for his wife, for Ayn,
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00:05:53,562 --> 00:05:57,442
and her two younger sisters,
Natasha and Nora.
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00:05:57,732 --> 00:06:00,360
Mr. Rosenbaum was conscientious
about his work,
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00:06:00,652 --> 00:06:03,121
and was proud
of his success.
100
00:06:03,405 --> 00:06:08,457
Ayn saw him as a principled man
of unbending character.
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00:06:08,743 --> 00:06:11,371
Ayn's mother saw herself
as an intellectual,
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00:06:11,663 --> 00:06:13,540
attending lectures,
French theater,
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00:06:13,832 --> 00:06:17,553
and holding salons
in her home.
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00:06:17,836 --> 00:06:19,338
Prone to fits of anger,
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00:06:19,629 --> 00:06:21,472
Mrs. Rosenbaum would
often comment to Ayn
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00:06:21,756 --> 00:06:26,808
that raising children
was a hateful duty.
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00:06:27,095 --> 00:06:29,314
Ayn, however, didn't take
her mother literally,
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00:06:29,598 --> 00:06:31,566
since her mother showed
a great deal of concern
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00:06:31,850 --> 00:06:35,070
for the family's health
and welfare.
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00:06:35,353 --> 00:06:38,903
Ayn Rand talked very little
about Russia
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00:06:39,190 --> 00:06:41,818
or her past in Russia.
As I understand,
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00:06:42,110 --> 00:06:44,454
she felt closer to her father
than to her mother.
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00:06:44,738 --> 00:06:45,830
She felt that she
and her father
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00:06:46,114 --> 00:06:47,707
had an intellectual
understanding,
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00:06:47,991 --> 00:06:50,710
whereas she and her mother
were completely at odds.
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00:06:50,994 --> 00:06:53,588
She always would preface
any statement against her mother
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00:06:53,872 --> 00:06:57,092
by her consciousness of how
indebted she was to her mother,
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00:06:57,375 --> 00:07:00,094
'cause mother was the one
who helped her leave Russia
119
00:07:00,378 --> 00:07:04,303
and insisted that Ayn would die
if she had to stay in Russia.
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00:07:04,591 --> 00:07:07,390
(narrator) Natasha, 21/2
years younger than Ayn,
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00:07:07,677 --> 00:07:08,769
was very feminine
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00:07:09,054 --> 00:07:12,604
and preoccupied with boys
and clothes.
123
00:07:12,891 --> 00:07:15,440
Nora shared with Ayn
a common interest in books,
124
00:07:15,727 --> 00:07:17,729
movies,
and movie actors.
125
00:07:18,021 --> 00:07:20,649
She wanted to be an artist,
and drew voraciously
126
00:07:20,941 --> 00:07:23,990
on any piece of paper
she could find.
127
00:07:24,277 --> 00:07:27,907
Full of color and glamour,
Nora's imaginative paintings
128
00:07:28,198 --> 00:07:30,200
expressed Ayn's sense
of what the world
129
00:07:30,492 --> 00:07:35,373
outside the dreary
Russian boundaries could be.
130
00:07:35,664 --> 00:07:37,883
But unlike her sisters,
more than anything,
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00:07:38,166 --> 00:07:40,760
Ayn longed to be
an adult entity.
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00:07:41,044 --> 00:07:43,388
Not particularly outgoing
in a social setting,
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00:07:43,672 --> 00:07:47,973
she would become violently
aroused when discussing ideas.
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00:07:48,259 --> 00:07:50,682
She had no interest
in approval or acceptance
135
00:07:50,971 --> 00:07:53,770
from her parents or others,
consciously aware
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00:07:54,057 --> 00:07:58,062
that anything she valued
had to come from within herself.
137
00:07:58,353 --> 00:08:00,902
This remarkable independence
was to be the benchmark
138
00:08:01,189 --> 00:08:04,443
of her own distinctive
outlook on life.
139
00:08:04,734 --> 00:08:13,336
[ragtime piano music]
140
00:08:13,618 --> 00:08:15,086
In the summers of her youth,
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00:08:15,370 --> 00:08:18,214
Ayn and her family traveled
beyond the borders of Russia
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00:08:18,498 --> 00:08:21,502
to resorts
in Switzerland and Finland.
143
00:08:21,793 --> 00:08:23,921
Days were spent
on the beach or in parks,
144
00:08:24,212 --> 00:08:26,806
where military bands
often played.
145
00:08:27,090 --> 00:08:28,592
This was Ayn's
introduction
146
00:08:28,883 --> 00:08:30,885
to what was to become
her favorite music,
147
00:08:31,177 --> 00:08:34,522
which she later referred to
as "tiddlywink music."
148
00:08:34,806 --> 00:08:36,479
(Leonard) Tiddlywink
music was basically
149
00:08:36,766 --> 00:08:40,020
turn-of-the-century
popular music,
150
00:08:40,311 --> 00:08:41,733
of which there's
no equivalent today.
151
00:08:42,022 --> 00:08:44,901
Completely joyful,
152
00:08:45,191 --> 00:08:50,163
but unserious, unheavy,
lighthearted, fast rhythms.
153
00:08:50,447 --> 00:08:52,916
There was an old song she liked
called Get Out and Get Under
154
00:08:53,199 --> 00:08:55,622
to crank
your model T Ford.
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00:08:55,910 --> 00:08:59,335
That was her top favorite
sense of life music.
156
00:09:02,625 --> 00:09:05,629
(narrator) It was the shimmering
notes of the tiddlywink music
157
00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:07,763
that transported
the young Ayn Rand
158
00:09:08,048 --> 00:09:10,142
to a world
of light and air,
159
00:09:10,425 --> 00:09:15,397
a world she could now
only imagine, a world abroad.
160
00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:17,603
Noticing that Ayn
didn't enjoy reading
161
00:09:17,891 --> 00:09:20,565
the dark, Russian fairytales
or children's stories
162
00:09:20,852 --> 00:09:22,320
that her sisters liked,
163
00:09:22,604 --> 00:09:26,404
Ayn's mother subscribed
to a French boys' magazine.
164
00:09:26,691 --> 00:09:30,616
The Mysterious Valley was
a Rudyard Kipling-like serial.
165
00:09:30,904 --> 00:09:33,077
It was the story
of English officers in India
166
00:09:33,364 --> 00:09:35,742
who were being attacked
by huge, trained tigers
167
00:09:36,034 --> 00:09:38,253
and carried off
into the jungle.
168
00:09:38,536 --> 00:09:41,130
An illustration
of the hero, Cyrus Paltons,
169
00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:43,963
who does not appear
until well into the story,
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00:09:44,250 --> 00:09:46,218
mesmerized Ayn.
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00:09:46,503 --> 00:09:50,599
She told me several times
that that was the book
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00:09:50,882 --> 00:09:53,180
that she read at nine
The Mysterious Valley
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00:09:53,468 --> 00:09:56,768
and that Cyrus, the British hero
of that story,
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00:09:57,055 --> 00:10:00,525
was her first real concept
of a hero,
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00:10:00,809 --> 00:10:02,152
that she was
in love with him
176
00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:04,779
so far as you could be
at the age of nine,
177
00:10:05,063 --> 00:10:08,408
and that all of her later heroes
for developments from that.
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00:10:08,691 --> 00:10:11,535
This is why when she got
to We The Living,
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00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:14,915
and she did not yet feel
ready to write a novel
180
00:10:15,198 --> 00:10:18,748
about man, the hero,
she gave the character
181
00:10:19,035 --> 00:10:21,504
the lead character,
the woman, the name Kira,
182
00:10:21,788 --> 00:10:24,962
which is the female
of "Cyrus" in Russian.
183
00:10:26,501 --> 00:10:27,844
(narrator)
One scene in the story
184
00:10:28,128 --> 00:10:29,846
depicts the English prisoners
being carried
185
00:10:30,130 --> 00:10:32,132
through the streets
in a cage.
186
00:10:32,423 --> 00:10:34,801
They're all on the floor
of the cage, cringing
187
00:10:35,093 --> 00:10:38,063
Only Cyrus stands,
gripping the bars.
188
00:10:38,346 --> 00:10:41,850
Self-confident and defiant,
he swears at the evil Raja
189
00:10:42,142 --> 00:10:43,689
that he will get even
no matter how much torture
190
00:10:43,977 --> 00:10:46,105
he must go through.
191
00:10:46,396 --> 00:10:48,319
"He's not afraid of anything,
and he has a purpose,"
192
00:10:48,606 --> 00:10:50,950
Ayn thought.
"Intelligence, independence,
193
00:10:51,234 --> 00:10:53,737
"courage"
the heroic man
194
00:10:54,028 --> 00:10:57,032
this is what's important
in life."
195
00:10:57,323 --> 00:11:00,793
Cyrus was the projection
of purposefulness and strength
196
00:11:01,077 --> 00:11:03,171
that now became
the masculine qualities
197
00:11:03,454 --> 00:11:08,130
at the core of Ayn's romantic
and literary desires.
198
00:11:08,418 --> 00:11:10,091
(Harry) She thought of
herself as a woman,
199
00:11:10,378 --> 00:11:11,470
enjoyed being a woman,
200
00:11:11,754 --> 00:11:14,507
but she was the opposite
of a feminist.
201
00:11:14,799 --> 00:11:18,520
Man worship was
very important to her,
202
00:11:18,803 --> 00:11:21,977
and her idea of femininity
was that it was
203
00:11:22,265 --> 00:11:27,021
a woman's admiration
for masculine qualities.
204
00:11:27,312 --> 00:11:28,529
(narrator)
Now that Ayn had discovered
205
00:11:28,813 --> 00:11:31,657
the kind story and hero
she could admire,
206
00:11:31,941 --> 00:11:34,945
she made the conscious decision
to become a writer.
207
00:11:35,236 --> 00:11:37,159
Her mother took her
to see her first movie,
208
00:11:37,447 --> 00:11:39,245
and Ayn quickly developed
a passion
209
00:11:39,532 --> 00:11:42,331
for writing
movie scenarios.
210
00:11:46,122 --> 00:11:49,001
Then, one day, from her house
on the big public square
211
00:11:49,292 --> 00:11:51,670
in St. Petersburg,
she saw red flags
212
00:11:51,961 --> 00:11:53,463
rise up on the streets.
213
00:11:53,755 --> 00:11:54,927
Armed Cossacks appeared,
214
00:11:55,215 --> 00:11:57,593
and one man descended
from a horse.
215
00:11:57,884 --> 00:12:00,262
He walked into the crowd,
raised his sword,
216
00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:02,476
and then brought it down.
217
00:12:02,764 --> 00:12:07,816
The year was 1917.
A revolution had begun.
218
00:12:08,102 --> 00:12:09,649
Called
the Bloodless Revolution,
219
00:12:09,938 --> 00:12:13,238
it was led by Alexander Kerensky
against the czar.
220
00:12:13,524 --> 00:12:15,401
A great orator,
Kerensky inspired
221
00:12:15,693 --> 00:12:18,242
an atmosphere of hope
in the people of Russia.
222
00:12:18,529 --> 00:12:20,873
Amidst an unbridled
exchange of ideas,
223
00:12:21,157 --> 00:12:22,875
he promised freedom
from oppression,
224
00:12:23,159 --> 00:12:27,039
and became the head
of a provisional government.
225
00:12:27,330 --> 00:12:29,424
To the 12-year-old Ayn,
it seemed as if
226
00:12:29,707 --> 00:12:34,258
he was speaking up for her
and for individualism,
227
00:12:34,545 --> 00:12:36,639
but in October
of that same year,
228
00:12:36,923 --> 00:12:40,598
another revolution
took place.
229
00:12:40,885 --> 00:12:43,638
Ayn watched helplessly
as the Bolsheviks marched in
230
00:12:43,930 --> 00:12:45,898
and closed
her father's business.
231
00:12:46,182 --> 00:12:47,900
Placing a red seal
over the door,
232
00:12:48,184 --> 00:12:53,236
the family was now
officially expected to starve.
233
00:12:53,523 --> 00:12:55,366
Spurred on
by the revolution,
234
00:12:55,650 --> 00:12:58,654
Ayn soon formed the conviction
that communism,
235
00:12:58,945 --> 00:13:01,118
the idea that man
should live for the state,
236
00:13:01,406 --> 00:13:04,125
was an abhorrent concept.
237
00:13:07,662 --> 00:13:10,211
She read newspapers
and political pamphlets,
238
00:13:10,498 --> 00:13:14,924
and made many anti-communist
entries in her diary.
239
00:13:15,211 --> 00:13:16,963
She continued
to write stories,
240
00:13:17,255 --> 00:13:19,724
but her manner of thinking
had changed.
241
00:13:20,008 --> 00:13:21,134
Since her interest
in politics
242
00:13:21,426 --> 00:13:23,303
had intensified
during the revolution,
243
00:13:23,594 --> 00:13:26,188
she wanted to create
much more serious plots
244
00:13:26,472 --> 00:13:27,974
and important themes.
245
00:13:28,266 --> 00:13:31,816
Aspiring to the same caliber
of writing as Dostoyevsky,
246
00:13:32,103 --> 00:13:34,777
she was inspired
on an intensely personal level
247
00:13:35,064 --> 00:13:37,817
by the books her mother
would read to her grandmother,
248
00:13:38,109 --> 00:13:40,407
the books of Victor Hugo.
249
00:13:40,695 --> 00:13:43,665
"Hugo gives me the feeling
of entering a cathedral,"
250
00:13:43,948 --> 00:13:45,950
she once wrote.
251
00:13:46,242 --> 00:13:47,585
For Ayn,
discovering such books
252
00:13:47,869 --> 00:13:50,292
as The Man Who Laughs
and Les Misérables
253
00:13:50,580 --> 00:13:54,084
was tantamount
to stepping into Atlantis.
254
00:13:54,375 --> 00:13:57,754
Although she disagreed
with Hugo's explicit philosophy,
255
00:13:58,046 --> 00:14:00,640
she became consciously aware
that she wanted to write
256
00:14:00,923 --> 00:14:05,224
with the same literary grandeur
and heroic scale.
257
00:14:05,511 --> 00:14:09,891
She thought, "This was how
one should view life."
258
00:14:11,976 --> 00:14:14,946
Not willing to accept
any idea on faith,
259
00:14:15,229 --> 00:14:16,481
at the age of 12,
260
00:14:16,773 --> 00:14:21,244
Ayn Rand seriously weighed
the concept of God.
261
00:14:21,527 --> 00:14:24,246
"if God represented
the highest possible to man,"
262
00:14:24,530 --> 00:14:28,535
she reasoned, "then man,
by nature, is inferior to God,
263
00:14:28,826 --> 00:14:32,421
and can never reach
that ideal."
264
00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:36,130
Considering this a degrading
and unfounded claim,
265
00:14:36,417 --> 00:14:38,886
she simply made an entry
in her diary.
266
00:14:39,170 --> 00:14:42,674
"Today, I have decided
to be an atheist."
267
00:14:45,134 --> 00:14:47,808
The Orthodox Russian religion
that permeated the country
268
00:14:48,096 --> 00:14:50,474
was never a serious concern
for her.
269
00:14:50,765 --> 00:14:52,233
She knew that those
around her were not
270
00:14:52,517 --> 00:14:54,269
representative of mankind.
271
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,688
Someday, she would find
her kind of people
272
00:14:56,979 --> 00:14:59,448
rational, purposeful,
happy people,
273
00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:03,077
and that a proper life
would begin beyond the border.
274
00:15:03,361 --> 00:15:05,614
Ayn, in general,
hated Russia,
275
00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:07,953
pre-communist
and post-communist.
276
00:15:08,241 --> 00:15:12,417
She thought it was a mystical,
backward, uncivilized country,
277
00:15:12,703 --> 00:15:15,752
that it was perfectly logical
that the czarist regime
278
00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:17,758
should give rise
to communism,
279
00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:19,134
and that the only thing
to do is get
280
00:15:19,419 --> 00:15:21,137
as far from it
as she could.
281
00:15:21,421 --> 00:15:23,674
It is the ugliest,
and incidentally,
282
00:15:23,965 --> 00:15:26,343
most mystical country
on Earth.
283
00:15:26,634 --> 00:15:28,307
But they're the ones
that decry atheism.
284
00:15:28,594 --> 00:15:29,766
They're singing
yoursong
285
00:15:30,054 --> 00:15:31,397
Oh, no.
286
00:15:31,681 --> 00:15:33,103
I'm sorry, decry Christianity
I'm sorry.
287
00:15:33,391 --> 00:15:34,893
"Decry religion" is
what I meant to say.
288
00:15:35,184 --> 00:15:36,310
They really don't.
They have
289
00:15:36,602 --> 00:15:39,981
a materialistic mysticism
of their own,
290
00:15:40,273 --> 00:15:42,947
because if the mystics,
the religious people,
291
00:15:43,234 --> 00:15:45,908
tell you the mind
it
292
00:15:46,195 --> 00:15:48,573
well, they don't speak
of the mind, but usually
293
00:15:48,865 --> 00:15:52,085
the soul is the only thing
of value about you.
294
00:15:52,368 --> 00:15:55,542
The body is evil,
and the Russians will say,
295
00:15:55,830 --> 00:15:58,049
"No, there isn't such a thing
as a soul or a mind.
296
00:15:58,332 --> 00:16:00,801
There's only your body."
it's materialism.
297
00:16:01,085 --> 00:16:02,428
They believe that
you are not a man,
298
00:16:02,712 --> 00:16:05,010
but a collection of...
atoms.
299
00:16:05,298 --> 00:16:06,424
And give that body
to the state
300
00:16:06,716 --> 00:16:08,218
for the collective effort
of the
301
00:16:08,509 --> 00:16:09,931
That's right,
for the good of the whole,
302
00:16:10,219 --> 00:16:11,641
and sacrifice
to the state,
303
00:16:11,929 --> 00:16:15,650
and whoever says it is
or wants to be the state.
304
00:16:15,933 --> 00:16:18,527
(narrator)
In 1918, Mr. Rosenbaum moved
305
00:16:18,811 --> 00:16:22,190
his family out of St. Petersburg
to escape the communists.
306
00:16:22,482 --> 00:16:25,361
Thinking the Bolsheviks would
not remain in power for long,
307
00:16:25,651 --> 00:16:27,779
he was optimistic
that the family would return
308
00:16:28,070 --> 00:16:31,700
to reclaim his business
and his property.
309
00:16:31,991 --> 00:16:34,585
Almost killed by bandits
near Odessa,
310
00:16:34,869 --> 00:16:37,122
they finally made it
to the Crimean Peninsula,
311
00:16:37,413 --> 00:16:39,586
where he opened
an apothecary.
312
00:16:39,874 --> 00:16:41,672
The country was riddled
with black markets
313
00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:45,008
and food shortages.
314
00:16:45,296 --> 00:16:49,051
It wasn't long before his
new business was nationalized.
315
00:16:49,342 --> 00:16:52,892
In 1921, Ayn graduated
from high school,
316
00:16:53,179 --> 00:16:58,106
while the Red Army
now also occupied the Crimea.
317
00:16:58,392 --> 00:17:01,066
Mr. Rosenbaum,
still hoping to regain
318
00:17:01,354 --> 00:17:03,777
his rightful belongings,
decided to move the family
319
00:17:04,065 --> 00:17:08,866
back to St. Petersburg,
which was now called Petrograd.
320
00:17:09,153 --> 00:17:10,621
It was on this trip
321
00:17:10,905 --> 00:17:16,162
that the 16-year-old Ayn caught
her first sight of Moscow.
322
00:17:16,452 --> 00:17:17,999
She was suddenly struck
by the thought
323
00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:20,506
of how many people
there were in the world.
324
00:17:20,790 --> 00:17:22,042
She felt a door opening,
325
00:17:22,333 --> 00:17:24,882
and the nature of her ambition
took shape
326
00:17:25,169 --> 00:17:26,796
to communicate
through her writing
327
00:17:27,088 --> 00:17:29,887
that life had a profound
and special meaning.
328
00:17:40,142 --> 00:17:43,112
(Ayn) Every argument for
the existence of God
329
00:17:43,396 --> 00:17:47,196
is incomplete, improper,
and has been refuted,
330
00:17:47,483 --> 00:17:50,487
and people go on and on
because they want to believe.
331
00:17:50,778 --> 00:17:55,124
Well, I regard it as evil
to place your emotions,
332
00:17:55,408 --> 00:17:59,538
your desire above the evidence
of what your mind knows.
333
00:17:59,829 --> 00:18:03,333
Okay, and I regard it
as intellectually lazy
334
00:18:03,624 --> 00:18:05,547
to look at the universe
and to suggest,
335
00:18:05,835 --> 00:18:09,135
as you seem to be doing,
that this is all some accident.
336
00:18:09,422 --> 00:18:10,765
I didn't say that.
337
00:18:11,048 --> 00:18:12,675
Well, how in the world did we
get all this order?
338
00:18:12,967 --> 00:18:14,844
Aren't you impressed
with that?
339
00:18:15,136 --> 00:18:19,357
No, because order
is only, in good cases,
340
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,017
in the minds
of your scientists,
341
00:18:21,309 --> 00:18:23,937
who are able to understand
some part of it,
342
00:18:24,228 --> 00:18:27,653
but there isn't an artificial
order in the universe,
343
00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:29,157
and it's not chance.
344
00:18:29,442 --> 00:18:31,365
What would be the alternative?
Nature.
345
00:18:31,652 --> 00:18:33,370
So the universe
346
00:18:33,654 --> 00:18:36,282
and remember, the universe
is everything that exists--
347
00:18:36,574 --> 00:18:37,700
has always been here,
348
00:18:37,992 --> 00:18:41,587
but you cannot discuss
or know anything
349
00:18:41,871 --> 00:18:45,421
about what was here
before anything existed.
350
00:18:45,708 --> 00:18:47,585
That's what you're doing
with the idea of God,
351
00:18:47,877 --> 00:18:49,129
- speaking philosophically.
- True.
352
00:18:49,420 --> 00:18:51,969
You say you need someone
to explain the order,
353
00:18:52,256 --> 00:18:55,226
but what will you then
have to explain God?
354
00:18:56,510 --> 00:18:58,103
(narrator)
At 16, Ayn entered
355
00:18:58,387 --> 00:19:01,357
the University of Leningrad
is history major.
356
00:19:01,641 --> 00:19:03,689
Although teacher after teacher
bored her,
357
00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:06,024
it was the discovery
of great philosophers,
358
00:19:06,312 --> 00:19:08,280
such as Aristotle
and St. Thomas Aquinas,
359
00:19:08,564 --> 00:19:11,113
that intensely
aroused her.
360
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,200
For Ayn, Aristotle's belief
that there is only one reality,
361
00:19:15,488 --> 00:19:17,115
the one the man perceives,
362
00:19:17,406 --> 00:19:19,909
and that his mind is
his only tool of knowledge,
363
00:19:20,201 --> 00:19:22,920
became the core
of her own philosophic thought.
364
00:19:23,204 --> 00:19:26,174
It also conflicted with
the dominant philosophic view,
365
00:19:26,457 --> 00:19:28,505
originated by Plato,
that there is
366
00:19:28,793 --> 00:19:32,138
a supernatural realm
beyond the world we see.
367
00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:36,972
When she was a college student
at the University of Leningrad
368
00:19:37,259 --> 00:19:39,512
at age 19 or 20,
369
00:19:39,804 --> 00:19:43,980
she took a course
in ancient philosophy
370
00:19:44,266 --> 00:19:48,567
from Professor Lossky,
who was a distinguished expert
371
00:19:48,854 --> 00:19:50,481
in the field
of ancient philosophy.
372
00:19:50,773 --> 00:19:54,528
When it came time for her
to take her final exam,
373
00:19:54,819 --> 00:19:58,824
he asked her questions
almost exclusively about Plato,
374
00:19:59,115 --> 00:20:00,241
and none about Aristotle.
375
00:20:00,533 --> 00:20:02,706
Of course she despised Plato
even then.
376
00:20:02,993 --> 00:20:04,165
(Leonard)
And he said to her,
377
00:20:04,453 --> 00:20:06,956
"You don't seem to agree
with Plato,"
378
00:20:07,248 --> 00:20:08,465
implying, "Well, what are
your views?"
379
00:20:08,749 --> 00:20:10,467
And her answer was,
"My views are not yet
380
00:20:10,751 --> 00:20:11,673
"part of the history
of philosophy,
381
00:20:11,961 --> 00:20:13,429
but they will be."
382
00:20:13,713 --> 00:20:17,718
So that was another example
both of her objectivity--
383
00:20:18,008 --> 00:20:20,761
that she didn't want
to argue with a Platonist
384
00:20:21,053 --> 00:20:23,181
about the merits
of Plato and Aristotle
385
00:20:23,472 --> 00:20:27,022
being just a student,
her independence--
386
00:20:27,309 --> 00:20:29,732
that it didn't bother her
that he disagreed,
387
00:20:30,020 --> 00:20:34,070
and she wasn't out
to sell him on her views,
388
00:20:34,358 --> 00:20:39,615
and of her ability to counter
the male prejudice that existed
389
00:20:39,905 --> 00:20:43,455
in that Victorian society
against women intellectuals.
390
00:20:45,870 --> 00:20:47,588
(narrator)
Under the communist regime,
391
00:20:47,872 --> 00:20:53,049
life had degenerated
into a new level of hell.
392
00:20:53,335 --> 00:20:54,928
Hunger had engulfed
the nation,
393
00:20:55,212 --> 00:20:59,683
and there were deadly epidemics
of typhus, the disease of dirt.
394
00:20:59,967 --> 00:21:01,389
Very outspoken at first,
395
00:21:01,677 --> 00:21:04,271
Ayn was reckless
in making anti-Soviet remarks
396
00:21:04,555 --> 00:21:07,354
at the university.
397
00:21:10,519 --> 00:21:13,113
She witnessed many purges
that resulted in students
398
00:21:13,397 --> 00:21:17,652
and their families being sent
to Siberia ata moment's notice.
399
00:21:21,947 --> 00:21:25,076
Realizing she was placing
her entire family in danger,
400
00:21:25,367 --> 00:21:29,668
she became more cautious while
expressing her point of view.
401
00:21:29,955 --> 00:21:31,207
But amidst the drudgery,
402
00:21:31,499 --> 00:21:33,968
Ayn found something
to look forward to.
403
00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:36,754
She discovered
the world of operettas.
404
00:21:37,046 --> 00:21:41,301
[classical music]
405
00:21:41,592 --> 00:21:43,344
She walked to school
instead of taking the tram
406
00:21:43,636 --> 00:21:45,354
so she could afford
to buy tickets.
407
00:21:45,638 --> 00:21:48,642
She waited four hours
in the cold to be first in line
408
00:21:48,933 --> 00:21:50,981
to see The Gypsy Princess
by Kélméln,
409
00:21:51,268 --> 00:21:52,941
Lehélr's
Where The Lark Sings,
410
00:21:53,229 --> 00:21:56,028
or Mill6cker's
The Beggar Student.
411
00:21:59,568 --> 00:22:02,742
Here, she saw a world
of top hats and ballrooms.
412
00:22:03,030 --> 00:22:04,327
Sometimes,
the stage would display
413
00:22:04,615 --> 00:22:06,333
lighted streets
of a foreign city,
414
00:22:06,617 --> 00:22:08,164
and she would later think,
415
00:22:08,452 --> 00:22:11,422
"it was the world into which
I had to grow up someday,
416
00:22:11,705 --> 00:22:14,800
the world I had to reach."
417
00:22:15,084 --> 00:22:17,007
But it was the flicker
of projectors
418
00:22:17,294 --> 00:22:21,845
and the images on movie screens
that truly enraptured her.
419
00:22:22,132 --> 00:22:23,554
She and her sister Nora
420
00:22:23,843 --> 00:22:26,221
loved the glamorous,
plot-driven films
421
00:22:26,512 --> 00:22:28,139
of Cecil B. DeMille,
422
00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:30,182
and the expressionistic
Siegfried
423
00:22:30,474 --> 00:22:32,772
by her favorite German director,
Fritz Lang,
424
00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:35,779
became a glowing source
of inspiration to her.
425
00:22:36,063 --> 00:22:43,868
[dramatic music]
426
00:23:38,042 --> 00:23:41,512
Movies like The Mark of Zorro,
The Oyster Princess,
427
00:23:41,795 --> 00:23:44,844
The Indian Tomb,
and The Isle of Lost Ships
428
00:23:45,132 --> 00:23:46,759
had a sense of adventure
429
00:23:47,051 --> 00:23:50,646
with self-reliant heroes
accomplishing great feats.
430
00:24:06,946 --> 00:24:10,701
After graduating from college
in the fall of 1924,
431
00:24:10,991 --> 00:24:12,834
she entered a school
for Screenwriters,
432
00:24:13,118 --> 00:24:14,916
called
the Cinema Institute.
433
00:24:15,204 --> 00:24:18,333
The first year at the Institute
was focused on acting,
434
00:24:18,624 --> 00:24:21,252
and Ayn diligently studied
the art of performing
435
00:24:21,543 --> 00:24:24,342
for the silent screen.
436
00:24:38,185 --> 00:24:40,984
With an insatiable appetite
for anything abroad,
437
00:24:41,271 --> 00:24:43,569
Ayn would sit through
two shows of a movie
438
00:24:43,857 --> 00:24:44,904
just to catch a glimpse
439
00:24:45,192 --> 00:24:47,991
of the New York skyline
in a scene.
440
00:24:51,031 --> 00:24:54,410
Like a shot in the arm
and a life-saving transfusion,
441
00:24:54,702 --> 00:24:56,375
and it was wiping
Russia as a world
442
00:24:56,662 --> 00:24:57,914
out of her consciousness
443
00:24:58,205 --> 00:25:00,799
and inciting her to write
stories of her own--
444
00:25:01,083 --> 00:25:03,802
stories completely untouched
by the misery
445
00:25:04,086 --> 00:25:06,305
of the life she was
desperate to escape.
446
00:25:06,588 --> 00:25:09,137
The Russian sense of life
was mystical, hopeless,
447
00:25:09,425 --> 00:25:14,181
authoritarian, obedient,
malevolent,
448
00:25:14,471 --> 00:25:17,816
and the American sense of life
was optimistic, can-do,
449
00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:20,523
achievement-oriented,
benevolent.
450
00:25:20,811 --> 00:25:23,655
They were exact opposites.
The Americans wanted
451
00:25:23,939 --> 00:25:26,943
the world to make sense.
They believed in common sense.
452
00:25:27,234 --> 00:25:31,205
The Russians were deep
in this incredible mysticism
453
00:25:31,488 --> 00:25:34,082
of either the communist
dialectic process
454
00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:37,336
or holy mother Russia
from the religious side,
455
00:25:37,619 --> 00:25:40,668
so the two countries were
diametric opposites,
456
00:25:40,956 --> 00:25:44,881
and she had the misfortune
or fortune to be born
457
00:25:45,169 --> 00:25:46,842
a thorough American
in her soul
458
00:25:47,129 --> 00:25:50,804
in the heart of this Russian
religion turning into communism.
459
00:25:51,091 --> 00:25:54,436
So it was antipathy
from day one.
460
00:27:02,162 --> 00:27:05,962
(narrator) While still attending
the Cinema Institute in 1925,
461
00:27:06,250 --> 00:27:08,127
Ayn also worked
at a meaningless job
462
00:27:08,418 --> 00:27:10,011
as a museum guide guide,
463
00:27:10,295 --> 00:27:13,219
but she went through her days
with only one thought--
464
00:27:13,507 --> 00:27:17,887
to go abroad.
465
00:27:18,178 --> 00:27:19,771
Sympathetic to Ayn's goal,
466
00:27:20,055 --> 00:27:22,729
Mrs. Rosenbaum wrote
to relatives in Chicago
467
00:27:23,016 --> 00:27:26,646
and asked if Ayn could
visit them in America.
468
00:27:26,937 --> 00:27:28,860
In the fall of 1925,
469
00:27:29,148 --> 00:27:33,779
Ayn received a foreign passport
that was valid for six months.
470
00:27:35,654 --> 00:27:37,998
In order to secure
a first-class cabin
471
00:27:38,282 --> 00:27:43,630
on a boat to America,
Mrs. Rosenbaum sold her jewelry.
472
00:27:43,912 --> 00:27:45,630
At a small going-away party,
473
00:27:45,914 --> 00:27:48,713
Ayn could sense
her impending freedom.
474
00:27:52,212 --> 00:27:53,839
But it was
an acquaintance
475
00:27:54,131 --> 00:27:56,509
speaking in a hushed,
hopeless voice that moved her.
476
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,974
He said, "if they ask you
in America,
477
00:28:00,262 --> 00:28:02,481
"tell them that Russia
is a huge cemetery,
478
00:28:02,764 --> 00:28:05,563
and that we are all
slowly dying."
479
00:28:11,356 --> 00:28:14,576
A short time later,
Ayn watched that cemetery recede
480
00:28:14,860 --> 00:28:16,703
past her train window.
481
00:28:16,987 --> 00:28:19,206
She'd promised
to tell them in America,
482
00:28:19,489 --> 00:28:22,083
but now, like a heart
skipping beats in anticipation,
483
00:28:22,367 --> 00:28:24,461
she made her way
across Europe.
484
00:28:24,745 --> 00:28:27,043
Stopping in Berlin,
she visited a relative
485
00:28:27,331 --> 00:28:29,925
and celebrated
her 21st birthday.
486
00:28:30,209 --> 00:28:32,052
Finally,
from the deck of her ship
487
00:28:32,336 --> 00:28:34,088
as it set to sea
from Le Havre,
488
00:28:34,379 --> 00:28:37,098
it struck her
that she would not be back.
489
00:28:37,382 --> 00:28:39,760
This is what she would later
call an overture--
490
00:28:40,052 --> 00:28:42,726
the turning point
that she'd been waiting for.
491
00:29:17,089 --> 00:29:25,019
[romantic music]
492
00:29:35,482 --> 00:29:37,701
(narrator)
In February, 1926,
493
00:29:37,985 --> 00:29:40,363
Ayn's boat arrived
in New York Harbor,
494
00:29:40,654 --> 00:29:44,534
where a heavy fog
had settled in.
495
00:29:44,825 --> 00:29:47,294
Immigrants were asked
to wait in a salon on the ship
496
00:29:47,577 --> 00:29:50,877
while officials
checked their papers.
497
00:29:51,164 --> 00:29:52,666
When Ayn finally
reached the deck,
498
00:29:52,958 --> 00:29:56,713
she was crushed to find out that
the boat had already docked.
499
00:29:57,004 --> 00:29:58,802
She had missed
the Statue of Liberty
500
00:29:59,089 --> 00:30:00,966
and the New York skyline.
501
00:30:01,258 --> 00:30:03,226
But then, as she descended
from the boat,
502
00:30:03,510 --> 00:30:05,729
a light snow
began to fall.
503
00:30:06,013 --> 00:30:08,186
She later described
the experience.
504
00:30:08,473 --> 00:30:09,975
"it was dark by then.
505
00:30:10,267 --> 00:30:13,862
"It was kind of early evening,
I think--about 7:00 or so,
506
00:30:14,146 --> 00:30:16,615
"and seeing the first
lighted skyscrapers,
507
00:30:16,898 --> 00:30:20,243
"it was snowing very faintly,
and I think I began to cry,
508
00:30:20,527 --> 00:30:22,279
"because I remember feeling
the snowflakes
509
00:30:22,571 --> 00:30:25,245
and the tears
sort of together."
510
00:30:27,492 --> 00:30:30,496
Staying with relatives,
she spent a few days in New York
511
00:30:30,787 --> 00:30:33,836
and saw Broadway at night
for the first time.
512
00:30:34,124 --> 00:30:35,717
Stunned by the neon signs,
513
00:30:36,001 --> 00:30:38,800
she also saw her first movie
in America.
514
00:30:42,507 --> 00:30:44,225
She then went on
to Chicago,
515
00:30:44,509 --> 00:30:46,853
anxious to start her career
as a screenwriter
516
00:30:47,137 --> 00:30:50,141
and get out on her own.
517
00:30:50,432 --> 00:30:52,400
Not yet able to write
very well in English,
518
00:30:52,684 --> 00:30:54,778
she thought she could at least
write for silent films,
519
00:30:55,062 --> 00:30:57,360
which don't rely
on dialogue.
520
00:31:09,409 --> 00:31:12,333
One of her relatives in Chicago
owned a movie theater,
521
00:31:12,621 --> 00:31:14,874
and Ayn went to the movies
daily.
522
00:31:15,165 --> 00:31:16,963
This helped her master
the English language
523
00:31:17,250 --> 00:31:19,378
enough to write
four movie originals
524
00:31:19,669 --> 00:31:22,138
over a period of six months.
525
00:31:22,422 --> 00:31:24,220
One was called
The Skyscraper,
526
00:31:24,508 --> 00:31:26,727
which was a wild,
exaggerated story
527
00:31:27,010 --> 00:31:30,560
about a noble crook who jumps
from skyscraper to skyscraper
528
00:31:30,847 --> 00:31:35,023
with the aid
of the parachute.
529
00:31:35,310 --> 00:31:38,314
Aware of Ayn's passion
for becoming a screenwriter,
530
00:31:38,605 --> 00:31:40,733
her relatives in Chicago
were able,
531
00:31:41,024 --> 00:31:43,322
through a movie distributor
they knew, to secure
532
00:31:43,610 --> 00:31:47,410
a letter of recommendation
to the DeMille Studios.
533
00:31:53,036 --> 00:31:54,538
Borrowing $100,
534
00:31:54,830 --> 00:32:00,553
Ayn set off by train
for Hollywood in August of 1926.
535
00:32:00,836 --> 00:32:02,179
Upon her arrival,
536
00:32:02,462 --> 00:32:05,181
she found residence
at the Hollywood Studio Club,
537
00:32:05,465 --> 00:32:08,059
a home created
especially for young women
538
00:32:08,343 --> 00:32:10,345
seeking a start
in the movie business.
539
00:32:10,637 --> 00:32:12,139
It housed
other young hopefuls
540
00:32:12,431 --> 00:32:17,107
who later became Ginger Rogers,
Marilyn Monroe, and Kim Novak.
541
00:32:18,979 --> 00:32:21,277
Wanting to adopt
a new professional name,
542
00:32:21,565 --> 00:32:23,192
she chose Ayn.
543
00:32:23,483 --> 00:32:24,905
Using a Finnish,
feminine name,
544
00:32:25,193 --> 00:32:29,164
pronounced, "Ain-a," she dropped
the final A, and got Ayn.
545
00:32:29,448 --> 00:32:33,919
Keeping the R from Rosenbaum,
she chose Rand for her surname.
546
00:32:34,202 --> 00:32:36,921
She also hoped that her new name
would protect her family
547
00:32:37,205 --> 00:32:38,582
from the anti-Soviet remarks
548
00:32:38,874 --> 00:32:41,127
she was bound to make
in America.
549
00:32:41,418 --> 00:32:44,342
The next day, with letter
of recommendation in hand,
550
00:32:44,629 --> 00:32:48,008
she set out
for the DeMille Studios.
551
00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:51,224
Arriving at the gate, she went
to the publicity department,
552
00:32:51,511 --> 00:32:54,606
where she was interviewed for
a junior screenwriting position.
553
00:32:54,890 --> 00:32:56,892
After being told
there were no jobs,
554
00:32:57,184 --> 00:32:59,186
she walked
back to the gate.
555
00:32:59,478 --> 00:33:02,357
Suddenly, she was stunned
to see DeMille himself
556
00:33:02,647 --> 00:33:05,070
sitting in an open roadster.
557
00:33:05,358 --> 00:33:07,452
As he drove past the girl
with the large eyes
558
00:33:07,736 --> 00:33:11,832
staring at him, he stopped
and asked where she was from.
559
00:33:12,115 --> 00:33:14,618
When she explained that she had
just arrived from Russia,
560
00:33:14,910 --> 00:33:16,503
and that he was
her favorite director,
561
00:33:16,786 --> 00:33:19,084
he invited her
to accompany him.
562
00:33:19,372 --> 00:33:21,500
Despite her shock
at riding with DeMille,
563
00:33:21,791 --> 00:33:25,466
she told him that she wanted
to be a screenwriter.
564
00:33:25,754 --> 00:33:27,722
Driving through the back lot
of the studio,
565
00:33:28,006 --> 00:33:31,010
they arrived at the set
of DeMille's current picture,
566
00:33:31,301 --> 00:33:33,804
The King of Kings.
567
00:33:34,095 --> 00:33:37,099
DeMille explained that if Ayn
wanted to work in pictures,
568
00:33:37,390 --> 00:33:39,233
she should learn
by watching.
569
00:33:39,518 --> 00:33:42,397
She spent the day observing
the film company at work.
570
00:33:42,687 --> 00:33:45,065
She breathlessly watched
as they set up shots
571
00:33:45,357 --> 00:33:48,076
and DeMille directed
the actors.
572
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,739
She was invited to join
the cast and crew for lunch,
573
00:33:52,030 --> 00:33:56,080
but politely declined
despite her hunger pangs.
574
00:33:56,368 --> 00:33:58,462
The at the end of the day,
DeMille located her
575
00:33:58,745 --> 00:34:00,372
and gave her
a personally signed pass
576
00:34:00,664 --> 00:34:03,884
to return to set
the next day.
577
00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:06,716
For several days,
DeMille continued to give Ayn
578
00:34:07,003 --> 00:34:08,721
personal passes
to the set.
579
00:34:09,005 --> 00:34:10,382
He would approach her
between shots,
580
00:34:10,674 --> 00:34:13,177
and explain the process
of filmmaking.
581
00:34:13,468 --> 00:34:15,721
He found Ayn's background
exotic,
582
00:34:16,012 --> 00:34:19,266
and he nicknamed her
Caviar.
583
00:34:19,558 --> 00:34:22,357
When he discovered her
precarious financial situation,
584
00:34:22,644 --> 00:34:25,238
he immediately offered her
a job as an extra.
585
00:34:25,522 --> 00:34:28,321
All right, now, you people--
you townspeople,
586
00:34:28,608 --> 00:34:29,905
over beyond the gates there,
587
00:34:30,193 --> 00:34:32,195
come on, now, work
yourselves into--
588
00:34:32,487 --> 00:34:34,489
into the emotion
of such a scene.
589
00:34:34,781 --> 00:34:37,409
Don't be extras.
Be a nation.
590
00:34:37,701 --> 00:34:45,506
[regal music]
591
00:34:50,088 --> 00:34:58,018
[Handel's Messiah]
592
00:35:20,243 --> 00:35:22,211
(narrator)
She finally wrote to her family
593
00:35:22,495 --> 00:35:24,793
and informed them
of her new name,
594
00:35:25,081 --> 00:35:29,211
and that she was officially
in the movies.
595
00:35:29,502 --> 00:35:32,551
(Michael)
I would say that Ayn Rand's life
596
00:35:32,839 --> 00:35:36,639
was a focal point for their
concern as a family in Russia.
597
00:35:36,926 --> 00:35:40,396
They would receive
a letter from her,
598
00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,274
and the whole family
from St. Petersburg
599
00:35:43,558 --> 00:35:46,027
would come over--the aunts,
the uncles, the cousins--
600
00:35:46,311 --> 00:35:48,313
and there would be a reading
of a letter from her.
601
00:35:48,605 --> 00:35:51,028
Her sister, Nora, with whom
Ayn Rand shared
602
00:35:51,316 --> 00:35:53,034
a tremendous interest
in movies,
603
00:35:53,318 --> 00:35:56,367
would draw little pictures
at the bottom of the letters
604
00:35:56,655 --> 00:35:58,202
showing "Ayn Rand"
in lights.
605
00:35:58,490 --> 00:36:02,870
So Ayn Rand getting
into the movies was a goal,
606
00:36:03,161 --> 00:36:05,380
and the most exciting thing
that ever happened.
607
00:36:05,664 --> 00:36:07,666
When she finally told them
about her meeting
608
00:36:07,957 --> 00:36:11,552
with Cecil B. DeMille
in 1926,
609
00:36:11,836 --> 00:36:15,557
it must have been like
an earthquake to her family,
610
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,265
and her father,
who is not very expressive,
611
00:36:19,552 --> 00:36:23,102
wrote that he could not sleep
all night.
612
00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:27,190
(narrator) As an extra, Ayn
was making $7.50 a day.
613
00:36:27,477 --> 00:36:28,649
For several months,
614
00:36:28,937 --> 00:36:30,063
DeMille would call her
in to work
615
00:36:30,355 --> 00:36:31,322
whenever possible.
616
00:36:31,606 --> 00:36:33,483
She slowly warmed up
to the cast,
617
00:36:33,775 --> 00:36:36,779
which included
H.B. Warner as Christ
618
00:36:37,070 --> 00:36:39,869
and Joseph Schildkraut
as Judas.
619
00:36:42,867 --> 00:36:46,121
Schildkraut even took her
out to lunch, flirted with her,
620
00:36:46,413 --> 00:36:49,417
and then gave her
an autographed picture.
621
00:36:49,708 --> 00:36:52,177
Two days after securing
a job with Del\/lille,
622
00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:54,838
she was riding the Streetcar
to the studio,
623
00:36:55,130 --> 00:36:58,680
and spotted a tall, handsome man
across the aisle from her.
624
00:36:58,967 --> 00:37:03,268
She thought,
"This is my ideal face."
625
00:37:03,555 --> 00:37:06,104
It was a face she later
sketched from memory--
626
00:37:06,391 --> 00:37:10,066
a memory that was actually
love at first sight.
627
00:37:10,353 --> 00:37:12,230
To her surprise,
not only did this man
628
00:37:12,522 --> 00:37:14,274
get off the Streetcar
at the same stop,
629
00:37:14,566 --> 00:37:17,160
he entered the DeMille
studio gate as well.
630
00:37:17,444 --> 00:37:25,249
[dramatic music]
631
00:37:50,393 --> 00:37:54,819
Frank O'Connor was born
in Lorain, Ohio in 1897,
632
00:37:55,106 --> 00:37:56,858
one of seven children.
633
00:37:57,150 --> 00:37:59,824
After his mother's early death,
he worked his way to New York,
634
00:38:00,111 --> 00:38:02,580
hoping to make it
in the movies.
635
00:38:02,864 --> 00:38:04,616
Helping a driver
change a flat tire
636
00:38:04,908 --> 00:38:06,501
on a Griffith Studios truck,
637
00:38:06,785 --> 00:38:09,880
Frank asked to be taken
to the studio as payment.
638
00:38:10,163 --> 00:38:12,131
A great fan
of D.W_ Griffith,
639
00:38:12,415 --> 00:38:15,635
soon he had his first movie job
in Orphans of the Storm,
640
00:38:15,919 --> 00:38:18,718
starring
Lillian and Dorothy Gish.
641
00:38:21,508 --> 00:38:24,102
Grih'ith's success
with Orphans of the Storm
642
00:38:24,385 --> 00:38:26,012
was to be his last,
and the studio
643
00:38:26,304 --> 00:38:28,682
eventually moved
to California.
644
00:38:28,973 --> 00:38:31,601
At the age of 28,
Frank worked as a steward
645
00:38:31,893 --> 00:38:33,645
on a freighter
through the Panama Canal
646
00:38:33,937 --> 00:38:37,612
to join his brothers
Joe and Nick in Hollywood.
647
00:38:37,899 --> 00:38:39,367
The first job he got
when he arrived
648
00:38:39,651 --> 00:38:41,449
was on The King of Kings.
649
00:38:41,736 --> 00:38:43,738
Now, quietly milling
about the set,
650
00:38:44,030 --> 00:38:48,501
waiting for the next setup,
Frank kept to himself.
651
00:38:48,785 --> 00:38:51,755
At a distance,
Ayn followed him like a camera
652
00:38:52,038 --> 00:38:56,214
and desperately tried to think
of a way to meet him.
653
00:38:56,501 --> 00:38:59,755
A few days later, during a scene
where Christ carries the cross
654
00:39:00,046 --> 00:39:02,925
through the city of Jerusalem,
Ayn watched carefully
655
00:39:03,216 --> 00:39:05,844
as Frank hit his marks
on the first take.
656
00:39:06,135 --> 00:39:07,978
On the second take,
she maneuvered herself
657
00:39:08,263 --> 00:39:09,731
to get in his way.
658
00:39:10,014 --> 00:39:12,733
He stepped on her foot
and apologized.
659
00:39:13,017 --> 00:39:17,614
From that moment on,
they didn't stop talking.
660
00:39:17,897 --> 00:39:19,991
Frank later commented
to his brother Nick,
661
00:39:20,275 --> 00:39:23,575
"Today, I met a very interesting
and funny Russian on the set.
662
00:39:23,862 --> 00:39:26,661
I couldn't understand
a word she said."
663
00:39:26,948 --> 00:39:29,292
Since it was Frank's
last day of work on the film
664
00:39:29,576 --> 00:39:31,294
and they hadn't
exchanged numbers,
665
00:39:31,578 --> 00:39:34,377
Ayn feared she would never
see him again.
666
00:39:34,664 --> 00:39:36,337
Although the casting office
would not give out
667
00:39:36,624 --> 00:39:38,922
Frank's number,
she did not give up hope.
668
00:39:39,210 --> 00:39:41,633
She felt a benevolent
inevitability
669
00:39:41,921 --> 00:39:44,720
that they would
meet again.
670
00:39:46,467 --> 00:39:48,765
Eventually, Ayn gave
her four scenarios
671
00:39:49,053 --> 00:39:50,600
to DeMille to read.
672
00:39:50,889 --> 00:39:53,312
However, the woman in charge
of his scenario department
673
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:54,943
disliked Ayn on sight
674
00:39:55,226 --> 00:39:57,228
and gave the stories
a very bad report,
675
00:39:57,520 --> 00:39:59,648
calling them improbable,
far-fetched,
676
00:39:59,939 --> 00:40:02,192
and not human enough.
677
00:40:02,483 --> 00:40:04,906
Despite this report,
DeMille hired Ayn
678
00:40:05,194 --> 00:40:08,573
as a junior screenwriter
at $25 a week.
679
00:40:08,865 --> 00:40:10,367
This meant that she would
do treatments
680
00:40:10,658 --> 00:40:13,127
and synopsize
already-purchased properties.
681
00:40:15,747 --> 00:40:18,296
Because DeMille considered
a construction site
682
00:40:18,583 --> 00:40:20,506
an interesting backdrop
for a film,
683
00:40:20,793 --> 00:40:23,888
a novel called The Skyscraper
was the first project
684
00:40:24,172 --> 00:40:26,846
Ayn was assigned to.
685
00:40:27,133 --> 00:40:28,476
Required to do research,
686
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,309
Ayn made an appointment
to visit the construction site
687
00:40:31,596 --> 00:40:33,064
of the Broadway
department store
688
00:40:33,348 --> 00:40:35,191
at the corner
of Hollywood and Vine.
689
00:40:35,475 --> 00:40:37,318
Informed that her appointment
was delayed,
690
00:40:37,602 --> 00:40:39,104
she walked
around the corner
691
00:40:39,395 --> 00:40:42,899
to the library on Ivar Street
to wait.
692
00:40:43,191 --> 00:40:44,283
She entered the building,
693
00:40:44,567 --> 00:40:46,615
and amidst the hush
of turning pages,
694
00:40:46,903 --> 00:40:50,282
she saw Frank O'Connor
reading a book.
695
00:40:50,573 --> 00:40:53,497
Turned out that he too was
waiting for an appointment.
696
00:40:53,785 --> 00:40:56,834
He looked up at her
and smiled in recognition.
697
00:40:57,121 --> 00:40:58,464
They went outside to talk,
698
00:40:58,748 --> 00:41:00,842
and their courtship
officially began.
699
00:41:01,125 --> 00:41:04,629
Ayn was 22
and Frank was 29.
700
00:41:07,757 --> 00:41:09,100
With the Depression
approaching,
701
00:41:09,384 --> 00:41:11,933
DeMille closed his studio
in 1928,
702
00:41:12,220 --> 00:41:14,848
and Ayn could only
find odd jobs.
703
00:41:15,139 --> 00:41:17,517
She was now surviving
on 30 cents a day
704
00:41:17,809 --> 00:41:19,732
and living
on very little food.
705
00:41:20,019 --> 00:41:22,613
Although she had previously been
sending her family money,
706
00:41:22,897 --> 00:41:25,275
they were now sending
some to her.
707
00:41:25,566 --> 00:41:28,194
She continued to write
with fierce persistence
708
00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:30,909
and made notes
to discipline herself.
709
00:41:31,197 --> 00:41:33,700
"From now on," she wrote,
"no thought whatever
710
00:41:33,992 --> 00:41:36,461
"about yourself,
only about your work.
711
00:41:36,744 --> 00:41:40,044
"You don't exist.
You're only a writing engine.
712
00:41:40,331 --> 00:41:43,175
"Don't stop until you
really and honestly know
713
00:41:43,459 --> 00:41:45,712
"that you cannot go on.
714
00:41:46,004 --> 00:41:49,884
Stop admiring yourself.
You are nothing yet."
715
00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:56,223
During this period,
Ayn didn't want Frank to know
716
00:41:56,514 --> 00:42:00,018
she was struggling
or think she needed help.
717
00:42:00,309 --> 00:42:01,902
But he was struggling
as well,
718
00:42:02,186 --> 00:42:04,985
because acting jobs
had become scarce.
719
00:42:08,651 --> 00:42:11,530
Dating for them consisted
of going for walks,
720
00:42:11,821 --> 00:42:15,621
visits to the beach,
and an occasional movie.
721
00:42:15,908 --> 00:42:17,706
After several extensions,
722
00:42:17,994 --> 00:42:22,170
Ayn only had one month left
before her visa was to expire.
723
00:42:22,457 --> 00:42:24,255
Although Frank's brother Nick
joked that he would
724
00:42:24,542 --> 00:42:26,260
marry her to keep her
in America,
725
00:42:26,544 --> 00:42:29,343
there was no need
to discuss the matter.
726
00:42:29,630 --> 00:42:32,258
On April 15th, 1929,
727
00:42:32,550 --> 00:42:34,678
the same month
her visa was to expire,
728
00:42:34,969 --> 00:42:38,519
Ayn and Frank were married
by a judge.
729
00:42:38,806 --> 00:42:41,275
They then drove
through the desert to I\/Iexicali
730
00:42:41,559 --> 00:42:44,358
and spent a sleepless night
in the heat.
731
00:42:46,981 --> 00:42:49,279
The next day, Ayn drove
back into the country
732
00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:52,366
as the wife
of an American.
733
00:42:57,366 --> 00:42:59,289
(James) How does the--
the concept of love--
734
00:42:59,577 --> 00:43:02,126
love for one another--
fit into this philosophy?
735
00:43:02,413 --> 00:43:03,881
You fall in love
with a person
736
00:43:04,165 --> 00:43:07,294
because you regard him or her
as a value,
737
00:43:07,585 --> 00:43:12,182
and because they contribute
to your personal happiness.
738
00:43:12,465 --> 00:43:15,560
Now, you couldn't fall in love
with a person by saying,
739
00:43:15,843 --> 00:43:17,891
"You mean nothing to me.
740
00:43:18,179 --> 00:43:19,681
"I don't care whether you
live or die,
741
00:43:19,972 --> 00:43:22,976
but you need me, and therefore,
I'm in love with you."
742
00:43:23,267 --> 00:43:26,441
If someone offered love
of that kind,
743
00:43:26,729 --> 00:43:29,653
everyone would regard that
as a deadly insult.
744
00:43:29,941 --> 00:43:31,113
That isn't love.
745
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:33,744
Therefore, romantic love
is a selfish emotion.
746
00:43:34,028 --> 00:43:39,535
It is the choice of a person
as a great value,
747
00:43:39,826 --> 00:43:44,297
and what you fall in love with
is the same values
748
00:43:44,580 --> 00:43:49,051
which you choose
embodied in another person.
749
00:43:49,335 --> 00:43:53,181
She regarded love
as an extremely selfish emotion.
750
00:43:53,464 --> 00:43:56,138
It was a response
to your greatest values
751
00:43:56,425 --> 00:43:58,974
in the personal character
of another person.
752
00:43:59,262 --> 00:44:01,390
So you had to know them well,
753
00:44:01,681 --> 00:44:04,184
and they had to
in all essentials be
754
00:44:04,475 --> 00:44:07,479
exactly what you wanted
from another human being.
755
00:44:07,770 --> 00:44:10,319
If so, it was one
of the greatest of all values,
756
00:44:10,606 --> 00:44:12,825
but it was not
the top value.
757
00:44:13,109 --> 00:44:15,157
She regarded career
as the top value,
758
00:44:15,444 --> 00:44:17,663
because she felt, if you tried
the base a life
759
00:44:17,947 --> 00:44:20,416
exclusively on your relation
to another person,
760
00:44:20,700 --> 00:44:22,873
however wonderful
or however much in love,
761
00:44:23,161 --> 00:44:25,880
it's gonna end up being
a relationship of dependence.
762
00:44:26,164 --> 00:44:28,883
Each person has to have
their own creative goal,
763
00:44:29,167 --> 00:44:30,589
and they must be
like two individuals,
764
00:44:30,877 --> 00:44:32,379
traveling
on the same journey,
765
00:44:32,670 --> 00:44:34,047
but happen to find
that they're going
766
00:44:34,338 --> 00:44:36,636
on the same journey together,
and then love is
767
00:44:36,924 --> 00:44:40,974
a fantastic supplement
to their individual creativity.
768
00:44:41,262 --> 00:44:44,141
(narrator)
With Frank O'Connor by her side,
769
00:44:44,432 --> 00:44:46,184
Ayn continued
her struggle to write
770
00:44:46,475 --> 00:44:49,274
and make ends meet
in Hollywood.
771
00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:54,529
In 1929, she took a job
as a filing clerk
772
00:44:54,817 --> 00:44:59,823
at the RKO wardrobe department
for $20 a week.
773
00:45:00,114 --> 00:45:01,411
Although she hated the job,
774
00:45:01,699 --> 00:45:04,748
it was a financial oasis
in the depression.
775
00:45:05,036 --> 00:45:06,913
In six months,
she earned a raise,
776
00:45:07,205 --> 00:45:10,926
and within a year,
became head of the department.
777
00:45:11,209 --> 00:45:15,635
Soon Ayn and Frank were able
to buy their first car.
778
00:45:15,922 --> 00:45:17,720
Since Frank was
also working,
779
00:45:18,007 --> 00:45:20,260
he presented Ayn
with a made-to-order desk,
780
00:45:20,551 --> 00:45:23,896
a radio, and her first
portable typewriter.
781
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,149
Despite her long hours
in the wardrobe department,
782
00:45:30,436 --> 00:45:33,531
she wrote in every spare moment
she could find.
783
00:45:33,814 --> 00:45:36,488
Even though she officially
made notes for her first novel,
784
00:45:36,776 --> 00:45:40,576
writing for the movies was still
an important goal for her.
785
00:45:40,863 --> 00:45:43,958
She was a tremendous movie fan
in her early years
786
00:45:44,242 --> 00:45:46,711
and kept a diary,
which we found,
787
00:45:46,994 --> 00:45:48,712
of seemingly every movie
she attended
788
00:45:48,996 --> 00:45:52,091
from 1922
until early 1929.
789
00:45:52,375 --> 00:45:55,128
There were 433 entries,
790
00:45:55,419 --> 00:45:58,093
and she kept a detailed record
of every one,
791
00:45:58,381 --> 00:46:00,258
underlining the actors
she liked the best,
792
00:46:00,549 --> 00:46:01,971
and grading the movie.
793
00:46:02,260 --> 00:46:04,979
The actors and actresses
that she liked,
794
00:46:05,263 --> 00:46:07,641
she would give one underline,
that she liked a lot,
795
00:46:07,932 --> 00:46:09,275
she would give
two underlines--
796
00:46:09,558 --> 00:46:14,280
she really loved, she would
give three underlines.
797
00:46:14,563 --> 00:46:16,782
In the back
of the movie diary,
798
00:46:17,066 --> 00:46:18,488
I found a little
piece of paper
799
00:46:18,776 --> 00:46:20,949
in which she had listed
her favorite actors
800
00:46:21,237 --> 00:46:24,036
and actresses.
801
00:46:25,866 --> 00:46:27,709
Many of these actors
and actresses
802
00:46:27,994 --> 00:46:31,419
that she loved in the 1920s
when she was in Russia
803
00:46:31,706 --> 00:46:35,085
were really her window
into civilization,
804
00:46:35,376 --> 00:46:38,175
which is the West
she later met.
805
00:46:55,146 --> 00:46:58,275
One of the interesting things
in this list that she kept
806
00:46:58,566 --> 00:47:00,443
of her favorite movie actors
and actresses,
807
00:47:00,735 --> 00:47:03,238
is to find Gary Cooper
up in number two.
808
00:47:03,529 --> 00:47:05,327
Originally, he hadn't been
on the list at all,
809
00:47:05,614 --> 00:47:07,116
but she saw him in movies,
810
00:47:07,408 --> 00:47:10,002
I think, in probably 1928,
811
00:47:10,286 --> 00:47:12,880
and pushed him
up into number two,
812
00:47:13,164 --> 00:47:16,885
right below Conrad Veidt,
and then she changed the numbers
813
00:47:17,168 --> 00:47:20,342
on everyone below Gary Cooper,
and then, of course,
814
00:47:20,629 --> 00:47:23,007
almost 20 years later,
there's Gary Cooper
815
00:47:23,299 --> 00:47:26,553
playing Howard Roark
in her own movie.
816
00:47:34,977 --> 00:47:37,446
(narrator) Continuing her
struggle to master English,
817
00:47:37,730 --> 00:47:41,030
she wrote a variety
of short stories and plays.
818
00:47:41,317 --> 00:47:43,536
One such play,
called Ideal,
819
00:47:43,819 --> 00:47:46,288
embraced her passion
for the movies and admiration
820
00:47:46,572 --> 00:47:49,997
for her favorite actress,
Greta Garbo.
821
00:47:50,284 --> 00:47:53,538
The story,
set in Hollywood, 1934,
822
00:47:53,829 --> 00:47:57,800
follows a fictitious movie star,
named Kay Gonda, on her quest
823
00:47:58,084 --> 00:48:01,429
to find one man of integrity
among her fans.
824
00:48:01,712 --> 00:48:04,932
In this scene, we get a glimpse
at an early formulation
825
00:48:05,216 --> 00:48:08,015
of Ayn Rand's ideal man.
826
00:48:10,012 --> 00:48:13,107
I saw a man once,
when I was very young.
827
00:48:13,391 --> 00:48:16,816
He stood on a rock,
high in the mountains.
828
00:48:17,103 --> 00:48:21,859
His arms were spread out,
and his body bent backward,
829
00:48:22,149 --> 00:48:26,029
and I could see him
as an arc against the sky.
830
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:30,791
He stood still and tense,
like a string trembling
831
00:48:31,075 --> 00:48:34,705
to a note of ecstasy
no man had ever heard.
832
00:48:36,747 --> 00:48:39,796
I've never known
who he was.
833
00:48:40,084 --> 00:48:44,885
I know only that this was
what life should be.
834
00:48:46,340 --> 00:48:49,264
And?
835
00:48:49,552 --> 00:48:52,522
And I came home, and my mother
was sewing supper,
836
00:48:52,805 --> 00:48:56,526
and she was happy because
the roast had a thick gravy,
837
00:48:56,809 --> 00:49:01,155
and she gave a prayer of thanks
to God for it.
838
00:49:01,439 --> 00:49:04,443
Don't listen to me.
839
00:49:06,652 --> 00:49:09,280
Don't look at me like that.
840
00:49:09,572 --> 00:49:11,540
I tried to renounce it.
841
00:49:11,824 --> 00:49:14,668
I thought I must close my eyes
and bear anything,
842
00:49:14,952 --> 00:49:17,296
and learn to live
like the others,
843
00:49:17,580 --> 00:49:21,050
to make me as they were--
to make me forget.
844
00:49:23,335 --> 00:49:27,010
But I can't forget
the man on the rock.
845
00:49:27,298 --> 00:49:29,892
I can't.
846
00:49:32,428 --> 00:49:34,271
(narrator)
While still working at RKO,
847
00:49:34,555 --> 00:49:37,980
Ayn wrote two scenarios
about Russia in her spare time,
848
00:49:38,267 --> 00:49:40,440
Red Pawn and Treason.
849
00:49:40,728 --> 00:49:45,404
In 1932, Red Pawn, a story
about the evil of dictatorship,
850
00:49:45,691 --> 00:49:49,662
was bought by Universal
for the sum of $1,500.
851
00:49:49,945 --> 00:49:52,573
Eventually, Red Pawn was
traded to Paramount
852
00:49:52,865 --> 00:49:54,993
as a vehicle
for Marlene Dietrich,
853
00:49:55,284 --> 00:49:57,787
but not wanting to do
another story set in Russia,
854
00:49:58,078 --> 00:50:00,206
Dietrich's director,
Joseph von Sternberg,
855
00:50:00,498 --> 00:50:04,048
decided against the project,
and the film was never made.
856
00:50:04,335 --> 00:50:07,805
It was her first sale, and
it really established herself
857
00:50:08,088 --> 00:50:10,182
as a professional writer.
858
00:50:10,466 --> 00:50:12,218
Now, some years later,
859
00:50:12,510 --> 00:50:16,981
she sent a copy of Red Pawn
to Cecil B. DeMille,
860
00:50:17,264 --> 00:50:19,517
and she said,
"l have always hoped
861
00:50:19,808 --> 00:50:21,810
"that I would not drop
out of sight entirely,
862
00:50:22,102 --> 00:50:24,104
"that the day would come when
I would be successful enough
863
00:50:24,396 --> 00:50:26,364
"to show you that you had not
wasted the attention
864
00:50:26,649 --> 00:50:30,074
"you have given me
at my start in Hollywood.
865
00:50:30,361 --> 00:50:32,534
"I cannot say that I've
accomplished a great deal yet,
866
00:50:32,821 --> 00:50:34,823
"but at least I am
a writer, and I feel
867
00:50:35,115 --> 00:50:37,584
"that I can now thank you
from the bottom of my heart.
868
00:50:37,868 --> 00:50:39,370
Sincerely, Ayn Rand."
869
00:50:39,662 --> 00:50:41,289
And then, she put
in parentheses,
870
00:50:41,580 --> 00:50:44,379
"Caviar, if you remember."
871
00:50:46,085 --> 00:50:48,053
(narrator)
The sale of Red Pawn enabled Ayn
872
00:50:48,337 --> 00:50:51,591
to quit her job at RKO
and write full-time.
873
00:50:51,882 --> 00:50:56,388
She was finally free to finish
her first novel, We The Living.
874
00:50:56,679 --> 00:50:59,273
While working on the novel,
she happened to see a play
875
00:50:59,557 --> 00:51:04,063
called The Trial of Mary Dugan,
which took place in a courtroom.
876
00:51:04,353 --> 00:51:06,151
She had also read
newspaper articles
877
00:51:06,438 --> 00:51:09,362
on the Swedish match king
Ivar Kreuger
878
00:51:09,650 --> 00:51:10,902
who had committed suicide
879
00:51:11,193 --> 00:51:13,992
and whose financial empire
had fallen.
880
00:51:16,782 --> 00:51:19,831
She was interested in the fact
that he was being denounced,
881
00:51:20,119 --> 00:51:22,087
not for his dishonesty
and fraud,
882
00:51:22,371 --> 00:51:25,295
but for the fact
that he had been successful.
883
00:51:25,583 --> 00:51:27,927
She devised a play
that centered on the trial
884
00:51:28,210 --> 00:51:31,805
of a woman accused of murdering
an infamous industrialist,
885
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:33,557
titled Penthouse Legend.
886
00:51:33,841 --> 00:51:36,640
She created an unprecedented
dramatic device,
887
00:51:36,927 --> 00:51:38,725
which required members
of the audience
888
00:51:39,013 --> 00:51:40,890
to be selected
for each performance
889
00:51:41,181 --> 00:51:44,435
to serve on the jury.
890
00:51:44,727 --> 00:51:47,355
She conceived the play
with two endings,
891
00:51:47,646 --> 00:51:51,992
one for a verdict of not guilty,
and one for guilty.
892
00:51:52,276 --> 00:51:54,495
She thought that the jury
gimmick would be best
893
00:51:54,778 --> 00:51:56,325
if she had done it
in conjunction
894
00:51:56,614 --> 00:52:00,539
with some hotly controversial
issue, like trial marriages,
895
00:52:00,826 --> 00:52:02,874
or abortion, or whatever,
but she couldn't
896
00:52:03,162 --> 00:52:05,164
write about an issue
of that narrow a scope,
897
00:52:05,456 --> 00:52:09,131
so she had to combine it
with a sense of life concern,
898
00:52:09,418 --> 00:52:13,298
and therefore it's the jury
making their final decision
899
00:52:13,589 --> 00:52:16,968
on balanced evidence, according
to their sense of life.
900
00:52:17,259 --> 00:52:20,058
(narrator) "if this play's sense
of life were to be verbalized,"
901
00:52:20,346 --> 00:52:22,690
she later wrote,
"it would say, in effect,
902
00:52:22,973 --> 00:52:25,692
"your life, your achievement,
your happiness,
903
00:52:25,976 --> 00:52:28,604
"your person are
of paramount importance.
904
00:52:28,896 --> 00:52:31,365
"Live up to your highest vision
of yourself, no matter what
905
00:52:31,649 --> 00:52:34,152
"the circumstances
you might encounter.
906
00:52:34,443 --> 00:52:36,286
"An exalted view
of self-esteem
907
00:52:36,570 --> 00:52:39,369
is man's most admirable
quality."
908
00:52:41,492 --> 00:52:43,915
Rejected by many producers
who feared the gimmick
909
00:52:44,203 --> 00:52:46,297
would destroy
the theatrical illusion,
910
00:52:46,580 --> 00:52:50,551
E.E. Clive, a character actor
who ran the Hollywood Playhouse,
911
00:52:50,834 --> 00:52:53,678
finally produced
Penthouse Legend.
912
00:52:53,962 --> 00:52:57,557
Opening as Woman on Trial
in the spring of 1934,
913
00:52:57,841 --> 00:53:01,061
it starred Barbara Bedford,
a silent film actress,
914
00:53:01,345 --> 00:53:04,144
as Karen Andre.
915
00:53:06,141 --> 00:53:08,189
Although Clive was
a good director
916
00:53:08,477 --> 00:53:10,400
and the play got
rave reviews,
917
00:53:10,688 --> 00:53:12,281
hearing her words
uttered by actors
918
00:53:12,564 --> 00:53:14,111
who didn't understand
their meaning
919
00:53:14,400 --> 00:53:17,199
was a profound disappointment
to Ayn.
920
00:53:19,446 --> 00:53:22,199
It was only the spectacle
of her name on the marquee
921
00:53:22,491 --> 00:53:25,836
for the first time
that thrilled her.
922
00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:28,623
Her sister Nora's image
of success in America
923
00:53:28,914 --> 00:53:32,384
had now become
a reality for Ayn.
924
00:53:32,668 --> 00:53:34,170
After the run in Hollywood,
925
00:53:34,461 --> 00:53:37,260
producer AI Woods
optioned the play for Broadway
926
00:53:37,548 --> 00:53:41,849
under the title
Night of Januaw 16th.
927
00:53:42,136 --> 00:53:49,941
['30s-style light orchestration]
928
00:53:55,858 --> 00:53:58,828
Meanwhile, Frank had been
acting steadily,
929
00:53:59,111 --> 00:54:00,863
appearing in such films
as Cimarron
930
00:54:01,155 --> 00:54:04,580
and Three On a Match.
931
00:54:04,867 --> 00:54:06,710
But it was a variety
of comedic roles
932
00:54:06,994 --> 00:54:09,793
that were to kill his ambition
to work as an actor.
933
00:54:11,790 --> 00:54:15,044
Romantic roles that suited him
were not to be found.
934
00:54:15,335 --> 00:54:17,178
He began to consider
another career
935
00:54:17,463 --> 00:54:19,932
while Ayn continued
to write.
936
00:54:20,215 --> 00:54:22,559
A year later,
Night of January 1 6th
937
00:54:22,843 --> 00:54:23,969
when into rehearsals,
938
00:54:24,261 --> 00:54:26,389
and Ayn was thrust
into a torturous process
939
00:54:26,680 --> 00:54:29,775
of constantly protecting
her script from changes.
940
00:54:30,058 --> 00:54:33,403
When the play opened
on Broadway in September, 1935,
941
00:54:33,687 --> 00:54:37,157
she was emotionally spent.
942
00:54:37,441 --> 00:54:39,819
Not able to watch
what the play had become,
943
00:54:40,110 --> 00:54:43,831
she sat in the back row
and yawned.
944
00:54:44,114 --> 00:54:45,286
Despite the mixed reviews,
945
00:54:45,574 --> 00:54:46,951
it was a moderately
successful show
946
00:54:47,242 --> 00:54:51,372
that paid her royalties
of up to $1,200 a week.
947
00:54:51,663 --> 00:54:54,291
The show ran for seven months,
and night after night,
948
00:54:54,583 --> 00:54:57,086
celebrities such as Jack Dempsey
and Helen Keller
949
00:54:57,377 --> 00:55:00,130
sat in the jury box.
950
00:55:00,422 --> 00:55:02,550
The stars, Doris Nolan
and Walter Pidgeon,
951
00:55:02,841 --> 00:55:05,720
fared well
as the lead characters.
952
00:55:06,011 --> 00:55:07,809
Ayn had suggested Pidgeon
for the role
953
00:55:08,096 --> 00:55:11,066
of gangster "Guts" Reagan,
and it ultimately led
954
00:55:11,350 --> 00:55:14,980
to an MGM movie contract
for him.
955
00:55:15,270 --> 00:55:17,898
But in spite of the play's
eventual popularity,
956
00:55:18,190 --> 00:55:19,863
Ayn was never to forget
watching
957
00:55:20,150 --> 00:55:22,949
the integrity of her script
destroyed.
958
00:55:24,530 --> 00:55:26,373
However, she was now
ready to focus
959
00:55:26,657 --> 00:55:29,752
entirely on the work she had
complete control over,
960
00:55:30,035 --> 00:55:32,834
the final chapters
of We The Living.
961
00:55:36,834 --> 00:55:40,338
"We The Living is not a novel
about Soviet Russia.
962
00:55:40,629 --> 00:55:43,257
It is a novel
about man against the state,"
963
00:55:43,549 --> 00:55:44,766
Ayn wrote.
964
00:55:45,050 --> 00:55:48,145
"Its basic theme
is the sanctity of human life.
965
00:55:48,428 --> 00:55:49,975
"it is a story
of a dictatorship--
966
00:55:50,264 --> 00:55:53,393
"any dictatorship,
anywhere, at any time,
967
00:55:53,684 --> 00:55:56,403
"whether it be Soviet Russia,
Nazi Germany,
968
00:55:56,687 --> 00:55:59,657
or a socialist America."
969
00:55:59,940 --> 00:56:02,489
The heroine of the story,
Kira Argounova,
970
00:56:02,776 --> 00:56:04,824
wants to be an engineer.
971
00:56:05,112 --> 00:56:06,614
An aluminum
suspension bridge
972
00:56:06,905 --> 00:56:11,081
is the shimmering spectacle
of achievement she aspires to.
973
00:56:11,368 --> 00:56:14,338
An individualist, caught
in the same revolutionary Russia
974
00:56:14,621 --> 00:56:18,922
that Ayn Rand had survived,
Kira asks, "Don't you know
975
00:56:19,209 --> 00:56:21,177
"that there are things
in the best of us
976
00:56:21,461 --> 00:56:24,260
"which no outside hand
should dare to touch--
977
00:56:24,548 --> 00:56:26,801
"things sacred because--
and only because--
978
00:56:27,092 --> 00:56:29,470
"one can say,
'this is mine"?
979
00:56:29,761 --> 00:56:31,934
"Don't you know that there is
something in us
980
00:56:32,222 --> 00:56:35,442
"which must not be touched
by any state, any collective--
981
00:56:35,726 --> 00:56:38,525
by any number of millions'?"
982
00:56:40,564 --> 00:56:43,317
In a foreword to the novel
in 1958,
983
00:56:43,609 --> 00:56:47,534
Ayn wrote that, "We The Living
is as near to an autobiography
984
00:56:47,821 --> 00:56:48,993
"as I will ever write.
985
00:56:49,281 --> 00:56:51,579
"It is not an autobiography
in the literal,
986
00:56:51,867 --> 00:56:53,961
"but only
in the intellectual sense.
987
00:56:54,244 --> 00:56:58,420
The plot is invented.
The background is not."
988
00:56:58,707 --> 00:57:01,130
Although Ayn was pleased
with her characterizations
989
00:57:01,418 --> 00:57:02,510
in We The Living,
990
00:57:02,794 --> 00:57:04,387
she felt she hadn't yet
fully achieved
991
00:57:04,671 --> 00:57:06,719
her style
in the English language.
992
00:57:07,007 --> 00:57:09,806
She knew that was to come
with practice.
993
00:57:10,093 --> 00:57:12,312
But when the manuscript
was submitted by her agent,
994
00:57:12,596 --> 00:57:14,269
Ann Watkins,
it was the fact
995
00:57:14,556 --> 00:57:17,901
that the story depicted
the reality of Soviet Russia,
996
00:57:18,185 --> 00:57:21,064
a reality American intellectuals
refused to believe,
997
00:57:21,355 --> 00:57:22,777
that resulted
in it being rejected
998
00:57:23,065 --> 00:57:25,033
by one publisher
after another.
999
00:57:26,693 --> 00:57:29,742
By 1936, with the New Deal
in full swing,
1000
00:57:30,030 --> 00:57:33,625
We The Living was finally
sold to Macmillan.
1001
00:57:33,909 --> 00:57:35,752
IVlacmillan's editors
had been divided
1002
00:57:36,036 --> 00:57:40,382
on whether to buy the book
due to its anti-Soviet theme.
1003
00:57:40,666 --> 00:57:42,168
When it was published,
the company was not
1004
00:57:42,459 --> 00:57:46,054
totally behind it,
placing only two ads.
1005
00:57:49,925 --> 00:57:52,724
Reviews claimed the author
simply didn't understand
1006
00:57:53,011 --> 00:57:55,810
the great Soviet
experiment.
1007
00:57:58,308 --> 00:58:01,437
Despite this, the novel was
slowly building an audience.
1008
00:58:04,106 --> 00:58:07,076
"I wrote the book feeling
that I was, in some measure,
1009
00:58:07,359 --> 00:58:09,157
"in the only manner
possible to me,
1010
00:58:09,444 --> 00:58:11,742
"repaying my adopted country
for the freedom
1011
00:58:12,030 --> 00:58:13,703
and the opportunity
it has given me,"
1012
00:58:13,991 --> 00:58:17,165
Ayn wrote at the time.
1013
00:58:17,452 --> 00:58:19,125
"How much good the book
will accomplish,
1014
00:58:19,413 --> 00:58:23,043
"I cannot say,
and it is not up to me,
1015
00:58:23,333 --> 00:58:25,461
"but if it can make
a few people pause
1016
00:58:25,752 --> 00:58:28,130
"and doubt the glories
of communism,
1017
00:58:28,422 --> 00:58:31,221
I shall feel satisfied."
1018
00:58:35,595 --> 00:58:38,599
At this time, producer
Jerome Mayer approached Ayn
1019
00:58:38,890 --> 00:58:42,645
to adapt We The Living
for the stage.
1020
00:58:42,936 --> 00:58:44,859
(Leonard)
She did not think We The Living
1021
00:58:45,147 --> 00:58:49,778
was suitable to be performed
as a play on Broadway.
1022
00:58:50,068 --> 00:58:52,787
There was a tremendous amount
of opposition
1023
00:58:53,071 --> 00:58:56,325
from Hollywood stars
who would profess to her--
1024
00:58:56,616 --> 00:58:57,788
Bette Davis is
one example--
1025
00:58:58,076 --> 00:59:00,499
that they would be honored
to do the part,
1026
00:59:00,787 --> 00:59:02,414
they would love
to do Kira,
1027
00:59:02,706 --> 00:59:05,300
and suddenly, two weeks
or two months later,
1028
00:59:05,584 --> 00:59:07,211
they would say, "I'm sorry.
1029
00:59:07,502 --> 00:59:10,176
My agent tells me that it will
destroy my career,"
1030
00:59:10,464 --> 00:59:12,011
because it was Hollwvood
in the '30s.
1031
00:59:12,299 --> 00:59:15,428
It was the Red Decade,
and to appear on the stage
1032
00:59:15,719 --> 00:59:19,098
in an anti-Communist play
in that stage
1033
00:59:19,389 --> 00:59:21,016
would--meant to be
boycotted entirely
1034
00:59:21,308 --> 00:59:23,857
by the leftists who
owned Hollywood.
1035
00:59:24,144 --> 00:59:26,112
(narrator)
Renamed The Unconquered,
1036
00:59:26,396 --> 00:59:28,945
the renowned producer/director
George Abbott
1037
00:59:29,232 --> 00:59:30,734
eventually
took on the project,
1038
00:59:31,026 --> 00:59:32,949
and the play
went into production.
1039
00:59:33,236 --> 00:59:35,079
Abbott was mainly
a comedy director,
1040
00:59:35,363 --> 00:59:38,287
and tried to mold the characters
into the "folks next door."
1041
00:59:38,575 --> 00:59:40,293
He constantly asked Ayn
to change
1042
00:59:40,577 --> 00:59:45,424
her austerely romantic dialogue
to naturalistic approximations.
1043
00:59:45,707 --> 00:59:48,210
Arguing with Abbott
thoroughly disgusted her,
1044
00:59:48,502 --> 00:59:49,754
and by the time
the play opened,
1045
00:59:50,045 --> 00:59:52,389
she had lost all interest
in the production.
1046
00:59:52,672 --> 00:59:54,720
The reviews were
uniformly bad,
1047
00:59:55,008 --> 00:59:59,138
and the play lasted
only five performances.
1048
00:59:59,429 --> 01:00:02,228
This was to be Ayn's
last theatrical venture,
1049
01:00:02,516 --> 01:00:05,110
and it closed an unfulfilling
but illuminating chapter
1050
01:00:05,393 --> 01:00:07,612
in her career.
As a writer,
1051
01:00:07,896 --> 01:00:09,739
she had witnessed
what could happen to her words
1052
01:00:10,023 --> 01:00:12,572
at the hands of others.
1053
01:00:12,859 --> 01:00:20,664
[dramatic music]
1054
01:00:26,123 --> 01:00:27,670
A few years later,
1055
01:00:27,958 --> 01:00:31,588
Ayn met the Italian actress
Alida Valli in Hollywood.
1056
01:00:31,878 --> 01:00:33,880
Valli told Ayn that she
had been instrumental
1057
01:00:34,172 --> 01:00:36,675
in getting the film version
of We The Living
1058
01:00:36,967 --> 01:00:39,516
made in Italy in 1942.
1059
01:00:39,803 --> 01:00:41,055
Without Ayn's knowledge,
1060
01:00:41,346 --> 01:00:44,316
the film had been released
and was very successful,
1061
01:00:44,599 --> 01:00:46,647
but it wasn't long
before Mussolini's government
1062
01:00:46,935 --> 01:00:49,063
realized the story was
an indictment
1063
01:00:49,354 --> 01:00:52,608
of not only communism,
but fascism as well.
1064
01:00:52,899 --> 01:00:55,618
The film was pulled
and placed in a vault.
1065
01:00:55,902 --> 01:00:58,200
It was finally uncovered
in the 19605,
1066
01:00:58,488 --> 01:01:01,913
and restored
with Ayn's approval.
1067
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:04,248
In the Hollywood of the 1940s,
1068
01:01:04,536 --> 01:01:06,664
Valli tried to persuade
David O. Selznick
1069
01:01:06,955 --> 01:01:08,878
to remake We The Living,
1070
01:01:09,166 --> 01:01:12,636
but the Red Decade had a
stronghold on American culture,
1071
01:01:12,919 --> 01:01:14,637
and Ayn's plea
to alert the world
1072
01:01:14,921 --> 01:01:18,050
about the horrors
of communism went unheard.
1073
01:01:18,341 --> 01:01:20,969
She had underestimated
the influence of altruism
1074
01:01:21,261 --> 01:01:23,889
on American intellectuals.
1075
01:01:24,181 --> 01:01:26,104
You don't like altruists.
1076
01:01:26,391 --> 01:01:29,019
I disapprove of them.
I regard them as evil.
1077
01:01:29,311 --> 01:01:30,984
Okay, but what's--so what's bad
about the person
1078
01:01:31,271 --> 01:01:32,739
who wants to help
other people?
1079
01:01:33,023 --> 01:01:35,822
Well, to begin with,
that's the big mistake.
1080
01:01:36,109 --> 01:01:38,658
People can want
to help other people
1081
01:01:38,945 --> 01:01:41,118
properly and
with very good reasons,
1082
01:01:41,406 --> 01:01:42,953
but that isn't altruism.
1083
01:01:43,241 --> 01:01:45,744
Altruism doesn't mean
merely helping people.
1084
01:01:46,036 --> 01:01:49,381
It means sacrificing
yourself for others,
1085
01:01:49,664 --> 01:01:52,964
placing the interests
of others above your own.
1086
01:01:53,251 --> 01:01:55,925
It's the self-sacrificing person
who is an altruist.
1087
01:01:56,213 --> 01:01:58,261
And what's wrong
with that?
1088
01:01:58,548 --> 01:02:01,973
What's wrong with committing
suicide?
1089
01:02:02,260 --> 01:02:05,230
What's wrong
with giving up life?
1090
01:02:05,513 --> 01:02:08,608
And why is the happiness
of another person
1091
01:02:08,892 --> 01:02:11,987
important and good
but not your own?
1092
01:02:12,270 --> 01:02:14,489
To sacrifice
for your loved one
1093
01:02:14,773 --> 01:02:17,151
is, in many cases then,
a misnomer.
1094
01:02:17,442 --> 01:02:19,911
If you love your husband
or wife,
1095
01:02:20,195 --> 01:02:22,289
and you have to,
let us say,
1096
01:02:22,572 --> 01:02:28,079
select between spending money
for your spouse if he's ill
1097
01:02:28,370 --> 01:02:31,749
or going to a nightclub,
1098
01:02:32,040 --> 01:02:35,214
it's not a sacrifice
to spend money for your spouse
1099
01:02:35,502 --> 01:02:38,096
if he or she
is your value.
1100
01:02:38,380 --> 01:02:39,723
That is what
you want to do.
1101
01:02:40,006 --> 01:02:40,757
I SSG.
1102
01:02:41,049 --> 01:02:42,892
But if you let,
for instance,
1103
01:02:43,176 --> 01:02:45,850
your husband die
in order to save
1104
01:02:46,137 --> 01:02:49,016
the neighbor's husband
or your wife,
1105
01:02:49,307 --> 01:02:51,730
that would be altruism.
1106
01:02:52,018 --> 01:02:53,736
I'm still not quite sure
why you're so harsh
1107
01:02:54,020 --> 01:02:56,443
on those who would sacrifice
for other people.
1108
01:02:56,731 --> 01:03:01,862
They don't hesitate
to sacrifice whole nations.
1109
01:03:02,153 --> 01:03:03,200
Look at Russia.
1110
01:03:03,488 --> 01:03:05,786
Communism is based
on altruism.
1111
01:03:06,074 --> 01:03:07,326
Look at Nazi Germany.
1112
01:03:07,617 --> 01:03:10,621
The Nazis were
more explicit
1113
01:03:10,912 --> 01:03:13,335
than even the Russians
in preaching
1114
01:03:13,623 --> 01:03:16,001
self-sacrifice
and altruism,
1115
01:03:16,293 --> 01:03:18,466
and self-sacrifice
for the state,
1116
01:03:18,753 --> 01:03:20,801
for the folk--
the people.
1117
01:03:21,089 --> 01:03:24,889
Every dictatorship is
based on altruism.
1118
01:03:25,176 --> 01:03:26,769
Now, you can't fight it
1119
01:03:27,053 --> 01:03:29,522
by merely saying
it's a difference of opinion.
1120
01:03:29,806 --> 01:03:31,854
It's a difference
of life and death.
1121
01:03:36,021 --> 01:03:38,399
(Rand) it's the founding
fathers who established
1122
01:03:38,690 --> 01:03:40,112
in the United States
of America
1123
01:03:40,400 --> 01:03:43,654
the first and only free society
in history,
1124
01:03:43,945 --> 01:03:46,539
and the economic system
which was the corollary
1125
01:03:46,823 --> 01:03:48,370
of the American
political system,
1126
01:03:48,658 --> 01:03:53,129
was capitalism, the system
of total, unregulated,
1127
01:03:53,413 --> 01:03:55,541
Iaissez-faire capitalism.
1128
01:03:55,832 --> 01:04:00,178
This was the basic principle
of the American way of life
1129
01:04:00,462 --> 01:04:01,805
or the American
political system.
1130
01:04:02,088 --> 01:04:06,218
However, in practice,
it has never yet been practiced.
1131
01:04:06,509 --> 01:04:09,433
A total separation
of government and economics
1132
01:04:09,721 --> 01:04:11,769
had not been established
from the first.
1133
01:04:12,057 --> 01:04:14,276
It was implied
in principle,
1134
01:04:14,559 --> 01:04:17,312
but certain loopholes
or contradictions
1135
01:04:17,604 --> 01:04:20,107
were still allowed
into the American setup
1136
01:04:20,398 --> 01:04:21,991
and into the American
Constitution,
1137
01:04:22,275 --> 01:04:25,870
which permitted
collectivist influences
1138
01:04:26,154 --> 01:04:29,249
to undermine the American way
of life, and today,
1139
01:04:29,532 --> 01:04:32,581
it is practically
collapsing.
1140
01:04:32,869 --> 01:04:34,917
Only, I want to make
something clear.
1141
01:04:35,205 --> 01:04:36,502
I'm not a conservative.
1142
01:04:36,790 --> 01:04:39,043
I think
that today's conservatives
1143
01:04:39,334 --> 01:04:41,132
are worse
than today's liberals.
1144
01:04:41,419 --> 01:04:42,386
I think they are--
1145
01:04:42,670 --> 01:04:44,263
if anyone destroys
this country,
1146
01:04:44,547 --> 01:04:46,015
it will be
the conservatives,
1147
01:04:46,299 --> 01:04:50,179
because they do not know
how to preach capitalism,
1148
01:04:50,470 --> 01:04:51,847
to explain it
to the people--
1149
01:04:52,138 --> 01:04:55,938
because they do nothing
except apologize,
1150
01:04:56,226 --> 01:04:58,354
and because
they're all altruists.
1151
01:04:58,645 --> 01:05:01,649
They are all based
on religious altruism,
1152
01:05:01,940 --> 01:05:03,738
and on that combination
of ideas,
1153
01:05:04,025 --> 01:05:06,119
you cannot
save this country.
1154
01:05:06,403 --> 01:05:08,405
(narrator) In spite of
the pro-Soviet sentiment
1155
01:05:08,696 --> 01:05:11,370
that surrounded the early
history of We The Living,
1156
01:05:11,658 --> 01:05:15,788
Ayn Rand had told America
about the Soviet cemetery.
1157
01:05:16,079 --> 01:05:17,922
It was also
against this backdrop
1158
01:05:18,206 --> 01:05:20,083
that she had been trying
desperately to get her family
1159
01:05:20,375 --> 01:05:22,628
out of Russia.
1160
01:05:22,919 --> 01:05:24,592
Beginning
shortly after Ayn Rand
1161
01:05:24,879 --> 01:05:28,053
came to the United States
in early 1926,
1162
01:05:28,341 --> 01:05:31,140
her family began
making plans
1163
01:05:31,428 --> 01:05:33,851
to come to the United States
themselves--to emigrate.
1164
01:05:34,139 --> 01:05:35,937
Not just to visit,
but actually to emigrate.
1165
01:05:36,224 --> 01:05:40,024
And they first tried to get
Nora, her youngest sister,
1166
01:05:40,311 --> 01:05:41,779
to come here, and then
1167
01:05:42,063 --> 01:05:44,361
they began making plans
for all of them to come here.
1168
01:05:44,649 --> 01:05:46,492
They were learning English.
1169
01:05:46,776 --> 01:05:47,823
They said in their letters
1170
01:05:48,111 --> 01:05:49,237
that they were speaking
English at home,
1171
01:05:49,529 --> 01:05:51,748
trying to get
more used to the language.
1172
01:05:52,031 --> 01:05:55,831
Ayn Rand herself began
in the early '30s
1173
01:05:56,119 --> 01:05:58,417
the process of bringing
her family here,
1174
01:05:58,705 --> 01:06:02,755
after she became a citizen
and was steadily employed,
1175
01:06:03,042 --> 01:06:04,385
which was very important.
1176
01:06:04,669 --> 01:06:07,172
She began making contact
with U.S. government officials
1177
01:06:07,464 --> 01:06:10,263
and the immigration office
and the like.
1178
01:06:16,639 --> 01:06:18,482
Unfortunately,
under Stalin,
1179
01:06:18,766 --> 01:06:21,394
it became virtually impossible
for people to get out of Russia,
1180
01:06:21,686 --> 01:06:22,938
so they were put
in jeopardy
1181
01:06:23,229 --> 01:06:24,856
just by corresponding
with people in the West,
1182
01:06:25,148 --> 01:06:27,697
so her family stopped writing
to her--they had to,
1183
01:06:27,984 --> 01:06:29,907
and simultaneously,
she stopped writing to them.
1184
01:06:30,195 --> 01:06:31,617
At that time,
the U.S. government
1185
01:06:31,905 --> 01:06:34,454
was putting up notices
in the post offices
1186
01:06:34,741 --> 01:06:36,664
telling people they can endanger
their families and friends
1187
01:06:36,951 --> 01:06:40,546
just by sending them
letters in Russia.
1188
01:06:40,830 --> 01:06:43,879
The way I came across the file
about her parents,
1189
01:06:44,167 --> 01:06:47,421
I could tell that it meant
a lot to her,
1190
01:06:47,712 --> 01:06:50,932
that she tried
to get them.
1191
01:06:51,216 --> 01:06:54,516
She wanted very much to bring
them over and save them,
1192
01:06:54,802 --> 01:06:56,770
because they both had
medical problems
1193
01:06:57,055 --> 01:07:00,059
that couldn't be taken care of
in Russia.
1194
01:07:00,350 --> 01:07:03,445
I think it must've been
very crushing for her
1195
01:07:03,728 --> 01:07:06,527
to have lost them
like that.
1196
01:07:11,945 --> 01:07:16,542
(narrator) In 1937, Ayn and Frank
were spending a summer in Connecticut
1197
01:07:16,824 --> 01:07:21,079
while Frank appeared in a stock
version of Night of January 16th
1198
01:07:21,371 --> 01:07:25,251
at the Stony Creek Theater.
1199
01:07:25,542 --> 01:07:28,136
In an intense struggle
to work on her next novel,
1200
01:07:28,419 --> 01:07:29,591
The Fountainhead,
1201
01:07:29,879 --> 01:07:32,883
Ayn used the solitude
of the Country to write.
1202
01:07:33,174 --> 01:07:35,723
Literally tearing her hair out
over the plot,
1203
01:07:36,010 --> 01:07:39,810
she took a break to complete
a novelette called Anthem.
1204
01:07:43,184 --> 01:07:46,154
Originally a play
she conceived in Russia,
1205
01:07:46,437 --> 01:07:48,860
Anthem was a futuristic account
of a world
1206
01:07:49,148 --> 01:07:51,242
where individualism
had been obliterated,
1207
01:07:51,526 --> 01:07:55,326
and the word "l" had been
replaced with the word "we."
1208
01:07:57,407 --> 01:08:01,787
It was her hymn to man's ego,
to man's absolute self,
1209
01:08:02,078 --> 01:08:03,751
and an account
of what she believed
1210
01:08:04,038 --> 01:08:08,384
were the true implications
of all forms of collectivism.
1211
01:08:08,668 --> 01:08:10,466
Written in the form
of a diaw,
1212
01:08:10,753 --> 01:08:13,222
the story culminates
with the protagonist
1213
01:08:13,506 --> 01:08:17,477
rediscovering the concept
of individualism.
1214
01:08:17,760 --> 01:08:20,980
"At first, man was
enslaved by the gods,
1215
01:08:21,264 --> 01:08:23,608
"but he broke their chains.
1216
01:08:23,891 --> 01:08:26,189
"Then, he was enslaved
by the kings.
1217
01:08:26,477 --> 01:08:29,276
"But he broke their chains.
1218
01:08:29,564 --> 01:08:33,910
"He was enslaved by his birth,
1219
01:08:34,193 --> 01:08:38,619
"by his kin,
1220
01:08:38,906 --> 01:08:40,749
"by his race.
1221
01:08:43,786 --> 01:08:46,710
"But he broke their chains.
1222
01:08:50,501 --> 01:08:51,844
"He declared
to all his brothers
1223
01:08:52,128 --> 01:08:54,005
"that a man has rights
which neither God,
1224
01:08:54,297 --> 01:08:56,766
"nor king, nor other men
can take away from him,
1225
01:08:57,050 --> 01:09:00,930
"no matter what their number,
1226
01:09:01,220 --> 01:09:04,690
"for his is
the right of man,
1227
01:09:04,974 --> 01:09:07,853
and there is no right
on earth above this right."
1228
01:09:09,312 --> 01:09:17,242
[orchestral music]
1229
01:09:29,499 --> 01:09:32,252
Ever since she first saw
the image of an American city
1230
01:09:32,543 --> 01:09:35,342
in a Russian movie theater
at age 16,
1231
01:09:35,630 --> 01:09:37,257
Ayn Rand wanted
to write a story
1232
01:09:37,548 --> 01:09:39,221
that would glorify
the skyscraper
1233
01:09:39,509 --> 01:09:43,810
as a symbol of achievement
and of life on earth.
1234
01:09:44,097 --> 01:09:45,974
Finally understanding
American life,
1235
01:09:46,265 --> 01:09:51,237
and fully an adult, she was
ready to create her ideal man.
1236
01:09:51,521 --> 01:09:53,694
Now, a question puzzled her.
1237
01:09:53,981 --> 01:09:56,359
She had known
an ambitious secretary at RKO
1238
01:09:56,651 --> 01:09:59,120
who was real
Hollywood climber.
1239
01:09:59,404 --> 01:10:02,624
She, like Ayn,
took her career very seriously,
1240
01:10:02,907 --> 01:10:04,909
but Ayn disliked
everything about her,
1241
01:10:05,201 --> 01:10:08,580
and one day asked her
what she wanted to achieve.
1242
01:10:08,871 --> 01:10:13,001
The girl told her,
"Here's what I want out of life.
1243
01:10:13,292 --> 01:10:16,717
"if nobody had an automobile,
I would not want one.
1244
01:10:17,004 --> 01:10:20,224
"if automobiles exist
and some people don't have them,
1245
01:10:20,508 --> 01:10:22,181
"l want an automobile.
1246
01:10:22,468 --> 01:10:24,596
"If some people
have two automobiles,
1247
01:10:24,887 --> 01:10:27,140
I want two automobiles."
1248
01:10:27,432 --> 01:10:29,025
It was a shock to Ayn
that a person
1249
01:10:29,308 --> 01:10:33,313
would base their goals in life
on other people's standards.
1250
01:10:33,604 --> 01:10:34,981
As if in a flash,
1251
01:10:35,273 --> 01:10:38,868
two opposing characters
of her next novel were formed,
1252
01:10:39,152 --> 01:10:42,201
Howard Roark,
the individualistic architect,
1253
01:10:42,488 --> 01:10:45,037
and Peter Keating,
the conventional second-hander
1254
01:10:45,324 --> 01:10:47,827
of The Fountainhead
were born.
1255
01:10:48,119 --> 01:10:50,668
I could not understand whether
the hero of The Fountainhead
1256
01:10:50,955 --> 01:10:54,710
Howard Roark, was an idealist
or was practical.
1257
01:10:55,001 --> 01:10:57,379
My father had always
brought me up to believe that
1258
01:10:57,670 --> 01:11:00,799
you have two choices in life,
idealism or practicality,
1259
01:11:01,090 --> 01:11:02,433
and that you cannot be both,
1260
01:11:02,717 --> 01:11:05,186
and I could not classify
Roark as either,
1261
01:11:05,470 --> 01:11:07,472
because obviously,
he was an idealist.
1262
01:11:07,764 --> 01:11:08,686
He wouldn't compromise.
1263
01:11:08,973 --> 01:11:11,351
He was a man
of iron integrity,
1264
01:11:11,642 --> 01:11:13,315
and yet, at the same time,
it was shown
1265
01:11:13,603 --> 01:11:15,401
by the logic of the events
that he was the one
1266
01:11:15,688 --> 01:11:18,612
that would make a practical
success of his career,
1267
01:11:18,900 --> 01:11:22,370
whereas his opponent,
like Keating and Toohey,
1268
01:11:22,653 --> 01:11:24,496
are doomed to fail.
1269
01:11:24,781 --> 01:11:26,249
And I read The Fountainhead,
and it hit me
1270
01:11:26,532 --> 01:11:29,661
like a ton of bricks,
because I found out
1271
01:11:29,952 --> 01:11:32,546
what it meant to be
an individualist,
1272
01:11:32,830 --> 01:11:34,798
and in the character
of Howard Roark,
1273
01:11:35,082 --> 01:11:40,088
there he was, not explained
as in a philosophic treatise,
1274
01:11:40,379 --> 01:11:41,881
but dramatized,
and concretized,
1275
01:11:42,173 --> 01:11:45,598
so that's the--kind of
the glory of Ayn Rand's fiction.
1276
01:11:45,885 --> 01:11:47,603
You can see
what the philosophy means.
1277
01:11:47,887 --> 01:11:50,015
You can see a character and
that this is what it means
1278
01:11:50,306 --> 01:11:52,684
to act on a philosophy.
1279
01:11:52,975 --> 01:11:54,522
(narrator)
For the heroine of the novel,
1280
01:11:54,811 --> 01:11:56,404
Ayn created Dominique,
1281
01:11:56,687 --> 01:11:59,611
the aristocratic woman
who first fights against Roark,
1282
01:11:59,899 --> 01:12:01,993
but then stands by him
in the end.
1283
01:12:02,276 --> 01:12:05,951
She described Dominique
as herself in a bad mood.
1284
01:12:06,239 --> 01:12:08,082
It was an emotional state
that never lasted
1285
01:12:08,366 --> 01:12:09,993
for more
than a full day for Ayn,
1286
01:12:10,284 --> 01:12:11,786
but one that the character
of Dominique
1287
01:12:12,078 --> 01:12:14,126
takes years to overcome.
1288
01:12:33,015 --> 01:12:36,360
To research The Fountainhead,
Ayn took a job as a typist
1289
01:12:36,644 --> 01:12:41,150
for the architect
Ely Jacques Kahn, in New York.
1290
01:12:41,440 --> 01:12:43,442
Through this experience,
she came to admire
1291
01:12:43,734 --> 01:12:46,613
the work
of Frank Lloyd Wright.
1292
01:12:46,904 --> 01:12:48,952
Although she did not use
Wright as a model
1293
01:12:49,240 --> 01:12:51,868
for her hero, Howard Floark,
1294
01:12:52,159 --> 01:12:54,833
it was the originality
and daring of Wright's designs
1295
01:12:55,121 --> 01:12:56,839
that she wanted to capture.
1296
01:12:57,123 --> 01:13:04,928
[piano music]
1297
01:13:10,678 --> 01:13:15,400
In 1937, she first
wrote to Frank Lloyd Wright
1298
01:13:15,683 --> 01:13:17,981
trying to get a meeting with him
to talk about the book
1299
01:13:18,269 --> 01:13:19,896
and explain to him
what she was going to do
1300
01:13:20,187 --> 01:13:23,487
and to get an interview
with him,
1301
01:13:23,774 --> 01:13:26,323
and she was unsuccessful,
Wright was uninterested.
1302
01:13:26,611 --> 01:13:29,205
She tried a couple of times
and got nowhere,
1303
01:13:29,488 --> 01:13:33,288
but Wright eventually
read The Fountainhead,
1304
01:13:33,576 --> 01:13:36,750
and I think it was about a year
after the book was published,
1305
01:13:37,038 --> 01:13:39,587
wrote her a letter
which began,
1306
01:13:39,874 --> 01:13:43,094
"Your thesis is
the great one."
1307
01:13:43,377 --> 01:13:46,631
(narrator) Ayn Rand stated that
the theme of The Fountainhead
1308
01:13:46,923 --> 01:13:49,893
is the issue of collectivism
versus individualism,
1309
01:13:50,176 --> 01:13:54,602
not in politics,
but in man's soul.
1310
01:13:54,889 --> 01:13:56,562
Rejected a total
of 12 times
1311
01:13:56,849 --> 01:13:59,352
by publishers who claimed
the book would never sell,
1312
01:13:59,644 --> 01:14:04,241
she refused to change
one word of her manuscript.
1313
01:14:04,523 --> 01:14:07,072
She now faced the same dilemma
as her own hero
1314
01:14:07,360 --> 01:14:08,862
in The Fountainhead.
1315
01:14:09,153 --> 01:14:10,746
In a key moment
of the novel,
1316
01:14:11,030 --> 01:14:12,657
a prospective client
demands
1317
01:14:12,949 --> 01:14:15,247
that Howard Roark place
a classic portico
1318
01:14:15,534 --> 01:14:19,334
on his brilliantly original
design for a modern bank.
1319
01:14:23,459 --> 01:14:25,461
Roark refuses,
explaining
1320
01:14:25,753 --> 01:14:28,506
that an honest building,
like an honest man,
1321
01:14:28,798 --> 01:14:31,551
has to be of one piece
and one faith,
1322
01:14:31,842 --> 01:14:34,766
and that the good, the high,
and the noble on earth
1323
01:14:35,054 --> 01:14:38,604
is only that which
keeps its integrity.
1324
01:14:38,891 --> 01:14:41,565
It was the integrity
of one man at Bobbs-Merrill,
1325
01:14:41,852 --> 01:14:43,104
Archibald Ogden,
1326
01:14:43,396 --> 01:14:45,774
that finally got
The Fountainhead published.
1327
01:14:46,065 --> 01:14:48,238
Told by the head of the company
to reject the book,
1328
01:14:48,526 --> 01:14:51,951
Ogden, a new editor at the time,
wrote them a note.
1329
01:14:52,238 --> 01:14:53,535
"if this isn't
the book for you,
1330
01:14:53,823 --> 01:14:56,246
then I'm not
the editor for you."
1331
01:14:56,534 --> 01:14:58,411
Ayn signed a contract
with Bobbs-Merrill,
1332
01:14:58,703 --> 01:15:02,753
and The Fountainhead appeared
in bookstores in 1943.
1333
01:15:04,333 --> 01:15:06,461
At first,
to Ayn's dismay,
1334
01:15:06,752 --> 01:15:08,595
the ad campaign
never mentioned the issue
1335
01:15:08,879 --> 01:15:11,098
of individualism
versus collectivism.
1336
01:15:11,382 --> 01:15:15,182
It focused on the love affair
between Dominique and Roark.
1337
01:15:18,556 --> 01:15:22,561
Sales of the book started up
very slowly, but by 1945,
1338
01:15:22,852 --> 01:15:25,196
it had reached bestseller list
through word-of-mouth,
1339
01:15:25,479 --> 01:15:28,278
selling 100,000 copies
in one year.
1340
01:15:31,610 --> 01:15:33,863
As The Fountainhead's
sales rose,
1341
01:15:34,155 --> 01:15:38,160
Ayn was still back in New York,
reading scripts for Paramount,
1342
01:15:38,451 --> 01:15:41,250
while Frank struggled
in the theater.
1343
01:15:42,747 --> 01:15:45,000
Across the continent,
Barbara Stanwyck,
1344
01:15:45,291 --> 01:15:47,214
who was under contract
to Warner Bros.,
1345
01:15:47,501 --> 01:15:48,718
brought The Fountainhead
to the attention
1346
01:15:49,003 --> 01:15:51,802
of producer Henry Blanke.
1347
01:15:52,089 --> 01:15:55,389
Soon, Warner Bros. had bought
the movie rights for $50,000,
1348
01:15:55,676 --> 01:15:58,429
with Stanwyck slated
to play Dominique.
1349
01:15:58,721 --> 01:16:01,600
Blanke believed that Ayn should
adapt the book for the screen,
1350
01:16:01,891 --> 01:16:04,690
and she was hired
to write the screenplay.
1351
01:16:04,977 --> 01:16:09,778
(Michael) In 1943, Ayn Fland
moved back to Hollywood
1352
01:16:10,066 --> 01:16:12,569
to write The Fountainhead
movie script.
1353
01:16:12,860 --> 01:16:14,828
She wrote to Archie Ogden,
1354
01:16:15,112 --> 01:16:17,786
her much beloved
Fountainhead editor,
1355
01:16:18,074 --> 01:16:21,294
"As to the working Conditions
of a Hollywood writer's life,
1356
01:16:21,577 --> 01:16:23,295
"they are exactly as
one would imagine
1357
01:16:23,579 --> 01:16:26,549
"a Hollywood writer's life,
with all the trimmings.
1358
01:16:26,832 --> 01:16:28,630
"I have an office
the size of a living room
1359
01:16:28,918 --> 01:16:31,762
"with another office outside
and a secretary in it.
1360
01:16:32,046 --> 01:16:33,798
"Nobody can come in
without being announced
1361
01:16:34,090 --> 01:16:36,684
"by my secretary,
and she answers the phone.
1362
01:16:36,967 --> 01:16:39,265
"The grandeur and the glamour
and the pomp
1363
01:16:39,553 --> 01:16:41,726
"and the circumstance
are simply wonderful.
1364
01:16:42,014 --> 01:16:44,142
"Of course I love it,
for the moment,
1365
01:16:44,433 --> 01:16:46,401
"but I won't exchange it
for the pleasure of writing
1366
01:16:46,685 --> 01:16:50,656
as I please.
I haven't gone Hollywood yet."
1367
01:16:50,940 --> 01:16:52,317
(narrator)
Arriving in Hollywood,
1368
01:16:52,608 --> 01:16:54,576
Ayn and Frank moved
into a furnished apartment
1369
01:16:54,860 --> 01:16:56,612
that didn't allow pets.
1370
01:16:56,904 --> 01:16:59,874
After their beloved cat
was discovered by the landlady,
1371
01:17:00,157 --> 01:17:02,205
they decided to buy
a house.
1372
01:17:02,493 --> 01:17:04,996
Although hesitant of living
so far from Hollywood,
1373
01:17:05,287 --> 01:17:07,915
they found a boldly modern
1374
01:17:08,207 --> 01:17:11,381
designed by Richard Neutra
in Chatsworth, California.
1375
01:17:14,380 --> 01:17:19,136
Now, there was plenty of room
for Ayn to write
1376
01:17:19,426 --> 01:17:21,520
and for Frank to grow
flowers and vegetables,
1377
01:17:21,804 --> 01:17:26,901
which he turned
into a commercial enterprise.
1378
01:17:27,184 --> 01:17:31,109
They were also able
to raise peacocks
1379
01:17:31,397 --> 01:17:34,196
and house
a few more cats.
1380
01:17:42,199 --> 01:17:44,622
World War ll rationing
of building materials
1381
01:17:44,910 --> 01:17:47,333
forced The Fountainhead movie
to be put on hold
1382
01:17:47,621 --> 01:17:50,670
due to the demands
of the film's sets.
1383
01:17:50,958 --> 01:17:53,632
Fortunately, Ayn had met
producer Hal Wallis
1384
01:17:53,919 --> 01:17:55,466
on the Warmers lot,
1385
01:17:55,754 --> 01:17:58,007
and he hired her
to rewrite the love scenes
1386
01:17:58,299 --> 01:18:02,930
in a troubled film
called The Conspirators.
1387
01:18:03,220 --> 01:18:05,894
She adapted two other scripts
for Wallis.
1388
01:18:06,182 --> 01:18:07,274
One was Love Letters,
1389
01:18:07,558 --> 01:18:09,185
which was directed
by William Dieterle,
1390
01:18:09,476 --> 01:18:14,903
and earned Jennifer Jones
an Oscar nomination in 1945.
1391
01:18:15,191 --> 01:18:18,035
The other was the popular
You Came Along,
1392
01:18:18,319 --> 01:18:22,369
starring Bob Cummings
and Lizabeth Scott.
1393
01:18:22,656 --> 01:18:25,125
Three years into her contract
with Hal Wallis,
1394
01:18:25,409 --> 01:18:27,411
she was asked to write a script
about the making
1395
01:18:27,703 --> 01:18:31,048
of the atom bomb,
called Top Secret.
1396
01:18:31,332 --> 01:18:33,585
After completing a large portion
of the script,
1397
01:18:33,876 --> 01:18:37,722
Hal Wallis sold the project
out from under her to MGM.
1398
01:18:38,005 --> 01:18:40,758
For Ayn, it was the end
of her contract with Hal Wallis,
1399
01:18:41,050 --> 01:18:44,896
and the beginning of another
battle to combat collectivism.
1400
01:18:47,848 --> 01:18:49,942
Ayn had been
consistently disillusioned
1401
01:18:50,226 --> 01:18:52,354
with American politics.
1402
01:18:52,645 --> 01:18:54,568
In 1940,
while volunteering
1403
01:18:54,855 --> 01:18:57,654
on behalf of the Wendell Willkie
presidential campaign,
1404
01:18:57,942 --> 01:19:00,491
she saw many conservatives
betray the principles
1405
01:19:00,778 --> 01:19:03,327
of individualism
and capitalism.
1406
01:19:03,614 --> 01:19:05,912
In an effort
to counteract the New Deal,
1407
01:19:06,200 --> 01:19:08,544
she stood on the stage
at the Gloria Swanson Theater
1408
01:19:08,827 --> 01:19:11,125
in New York,
through seven shows a day,
1409
01:19:11,413 --> 01:19:13,165
answering questions
from the audience
1410
01:19:13,457 --> 01:19:17,428
about the evils
of collectivism.
1411
01:19:17,711 --> 01:19:19,463
She was also voted
onto the board
1412
01:19:19,755 --> 01:19:21,007
of the Motion Picture Alliance
1413
01:19:21,298 --> 01:19:23,676
for the Preservation
of American Ideals,
1414
01:19:23,968 --> 01:19:26,767
better known as the MPA.
1415
01:19:29,306 --> 01:19:32,776
A conservative group
formed at MGM by Louis B. Mayer,
1416
01:19:33,060 --> 01:19:34,903
it included
such Hollywood professionals
1417
01:19:35,187 --> 01:19:38,908
as Walt Disney, Hedda Hopper,
Gary Cooper, John Wayne,
1418
01:19:39,191 --> 01:19:43,241
and Lela Rogers,
Ginger's mother.
1419
01:19:43,529 --> 01:19:46,282
Ayn was the only member
to write signed articles
1420
01:19:46,573 --> 01:19:49,372
concerning communist propaganda
in the movies.
1421
01:19:49,660 --> 01:19:52,504
Not intended as
a government imposed regulation,
1422
01:19:52,788 --> 01:19:55,462
her pamphlet, entitled
Screen Guide for Americans,
1423
01:19:55,749 --> 01:19:57,922
was a voluntary guide
for filmmakers
1424
01:19:58,210 --> 01:20:01,760
to monitor communist propaganda
in their movies.
1425
01:20:12,558 --> 01:20:15,232
Displeased with the MPA's fear
that her ideas
1426
01:20:15,519 --> 01:20:17,317
in the Screen Guide
were too harsh,
1427
01:20:17,604 --> 01:20:20,232
she resigned from the board.
1428
01:20:24,403 --> 01:20:27,282
In 1947,
after the House Committee
1429
01:20:27,573 --> 01:20:29,871
on Un-American Activities
had read the guide,
1430
01:20:30,159 --> 01:20:34,414
she was asked to testify
as a friendly witness.
1431
01:20:34,705 --> 01:20:38,300
Along with Robert Taylor,
Adolphe Menjou, and Gary Cooper,
1432
01:20:38,584 --> 01:20:41,303
she appeared at the hearings
in Washington to investigate
1433
01:20:41,587 --> 01:20:45,091
communist infiltration
in the movies.
1434
01:20:45,382 --> 01:20:48,261
Considering the endeavor
a dubious undertaking,
1435
01:20:48,552 --> 01:20:50,850
she agreed
upon one condition--
1436
01:20:51,138 --> 01:20:55,018
that there would be no
restrictions on her testimony.
1437
01:20:55,309 --> 01:20:57,357
Although she was
to analyze two films,
1438
01:20:57,644 --> 01:21:00,363
she was ultimately only allowed
to speak on one,
1439
01:21:00,647 --> 01:21:02,194
Song of Russia,
1440
01:21:02,483 --> 01:21:05,362
an absurdly inaccurate
glamorization of Russia
1441
01:21:05,652 --> 01:21:08,451
she felt was not even
worthy of scrutiny.
1442
01:21:08,739 --> 01:21:10,662
However, she wanted
to set the record straight
1443
01:21:10,949 --> 01:21:13,543
about life
in the Soviet Union.
1444
01:21:13,827 --> 01:21:15,795
(man) Don't they do things
at all like Americans?
1445
01:21:16,080 --> 01:21:17,673
Don't they walk
across town
1446
01:21:17,956 --> 01:21:20,835
to visit their mother-in-law
or somebody?
1447
01:21:21,126 --> 01:21:22,548
Look, it's really
hard to explain.
1448
01:21:22,836 --> 01:21:26,056
It's almost impossible
to convey to a free people
1449
01:21:26,340 --> 01:21:29,719
what it's like to live
in a totalitarian dictatorship.
1450
01:21:30,010 --> 01:21:31,808
I could tell you
a lot of details.
1451
01:21:32,096 --> 01:21:33,894
I can never completely
convince you,
1452
01:21:34,181 --> 01:21:35,478
because you are free,
1453
01:21:35,766 --> 01:21:37,985
and it's in a way good
that you don't
1454
01:21:38,268 --> 01:21:41,021
can't even conceive
of what it's like.
1455
01:21:41,313 --> 01:21:45,568
Certainly, they have friends
and mothers-in-law.
1456
01:21:45,859 --> 01:21:47,327
They try to lead
a human life,
1457
01:21:47,611 --> 01:21:50,831
but you understand
that it is totally inhuman.
1458
01:21:51,115 --> 01:21:52,992
Now, try to imagine
what it's like
1459
01:21:53,283 --> 01:21:56,127
if you are in constant terror
from morning to night,
1460
01:21:56,412 --> 01:21:58,710
and at night you are waiting
for a doorbell to ring.
1461
01:21:58,997 --> 01:22:01,625
If you are afraid
of everything and everybody,
1462
01:22:01,917 --> 01:22:04,591
if you live in a country
where human life is nothing--
1463
01:22:04,878 --> 01:22:06,505
less than nothing,
and you know it.
1464
01:22:06,797 --> 01:22:09,391
You don't know who, when,
is going to do what to you,
1465
01:22:09,675 --> 01:22:11,302
because you may have
friends somewhere.
1466
01:22:11,593 --> 01:22:14,722
But there is no law,
and no rights of any kind.
1467
01:22:16,974 --> 01:22:19,102
(narrator) Concerned with
the flood of bad press,
1468
01:22:19,393 --> 01:22:21,896
the committee was not interested
in the cold, hard facts
1469
01:22:22,187 --> 01:22:24,155
about life
under communism.
1470
01:22:24,440 --> 01:22:26,238
Although Ayn didn't approve
of the hearings,
1471
01:22:26,525 --> 01:22:29,449
calling them futile,
she believed her testimony
1472
01:22:29,736 --> 01:22:31,738
could have been an effective way
to make clear
1473
01:22:32,030 --> 01:22:34,829
what she saw as propaganda
on the screen.
1474
01:22:35,117 --> 01:22:37,996
She tried to do what she had
done in We The Living,
1475
01:22:38,287 --> 01:22:41,040
but still,
no one wanted to listen.
1476
01:22:41,331 --> 01:22:42,833
Subsequently, however,
1477
01:22:43,125 --> 01:22:45,719
her Screen Guide was reprinted
in many newspapers,
1478
01:22:46,003 --> 01:22:48,347
including The New York Times
drama section,
1479
01:22:48,630 --> 01:22:53,386
and the studios began to order
copies of it for distribution.
1480
01:22:53,677 --> 01:22:57,477
Also, The Fountainhead sales
were picking up.
1481
01:22:57,764 --> 01:23:01,564
Many were beginning to hear
what Ayn Rand had to say.
1482
01:23:10,611 --> 01:23:13,034
Following the war,
in 1948,
1483
01:23:13,322 --> 01:23:15,165
Gary Cooper's wife
had read The Fountainhead
1484
01:23:15,449 --> 01:23:17,417
and suggested he read it.
1485
01:23:17,701 --> 01:23:19,578
Afterwards,
Cooper went to Warner Brothers
1486
01:23:19,870 --> 01:23:21,918
and signed
a two-picture-per-year deal
1487
01:23:22,206 --> 01:23:26,131
on the condition they
give him The Fountainhead.
1488
01:23:26,418 --> 01:23:28,295
During the years
the film was on hold,
1489
01:23:28,587 --> 01:23:31,431
the book had been rising
in sales and popularity.
1490
01:23:31,715 --> 01:23:35,219
Many stars were now interested
in playing parts in the film.
1491
01:23:35,511 --> 01:23:37,934
Clark Gable canceled
his MGM contract
1492
01:23:38,222 --> 01:23:40,065
when he discovered
that failed to buy the book
1493
01:23:40,349 --> 01:23:42,192
as a vehicle for him.
1494
01:23:42,476 --> 01:23:45,229
For the role of Roark,
Humphrey Bogart and Alan Ladd
1495
01:23:45,521 --> 01:23:48,991
were considered, as well
as Clifton Webb and Orson Welles
1496
01:23:49,274 --> 01:23:52,949
for Roark's nemesis,
Ellsworth Toohey.
1497
01:23:53,237 --> 01:23:55,706
King Vidor was signed on
to direct.
1498
01:23:55,989 --> 01:23:58,117
Vidor, a maverick
of all early filmmaking,
1499
01:23:58,408 --> 01:24:02,754
had done such notable films
as The Big Parade and The Crowd.
1500
01:24:03,038 --> 01:24:05,541
Since Ayn had previously met
with Barbara Stanwyck
1501
01:24:05,832 --> 01:24:08,176
and wanted her to the part
of Dominique,
1502
01:24:08,460 --> 01:24:09,837
she called Stanwyck
and informed her
1503
01:24:10,128 --> 01:24:12,472
the film was
starting up again.
1504
01:24:12,756 --> 01:24:15,179
Having worked with Stanwyck
on Stella Dallas,
1505
01:24:15,467 --> 01:24:16,764
Vidor thought she was
too old
1506
01:24:17,052 --> 01:24:19,100
and not the right type
for Dominique.
1507
01:24:19,388 --> 01:24:21,891
He didn't think
she could play a lady.
1508
01:24:24,226 --> 01:24:26,900
He had wanted Gene Tierney
or Jennifer Jones,
1509
01:24:27,187 --> 01:24:30,862
with whom he had just worked
on Duel In The Sun.
1510
01:24:31,149 --> 01:24:34,323
Although Ayn had no control
over the casting of the picture,
1511
01:24:34,611 --> 01:24:37,160
Joan Crawford hosted a dinner
in Ayn's honor
1512
01:24:37,447 --> 01:24:40,326
to garner the role.
1513
01:24:40,617 --> 01:24:42,961
Attempting to imitate
Dominique's character,
1514
01:24:43,245 --> 01:24:45,418
Crawford wore
a white Adrian evening gown
1515
01:24:45,706 --> 01:24:49,176
smothered
with aquamarine jewelry.
1516
01:24:49,459 --> 01:24:52,554
Veronica Lake told people that
Ayn had written part for her
1517
01:24:52,838 --> 01:24:56,217
because she had
Dominique's hairstyle.
1518
01:24:56,508 --> 01:24:58,931
At last, realizing
that Stanwyck was out,
1519
01:24:59,219 --> 01:25:00,971
Ayn suggested Greta Garbo.
1520
01:25:01,263 --> 01:25:02,640
While initially interested,
1521
01:25:02,931 --> 01:25:06,936
Garbo met with Vidor and decided
against taking the role.
1522
01:25:07,227 --> 01:25:09,650
Then, suddenly,
Bette Davis,
1523
01:25:09,938 --> 01:25:12,566
Warner's top star,
wanted the part.
1524
01:25:12,858 --> 01:25:15,361
Davis had gained a reputation
for holding up sets,
1525
01:25:15,652 --> 01:25:18,701
changing scripts, and arguing
with her leading men.
1526
01:25:18,989 --> 01:25:21,162
Vidor and Blanke
were against hiring her,
1527
01:25:21,450 --> 01:25:24,545
and Ayn threatened to walk
off the picture if they did.
1528
01:25:24,828 --> 01:25:28,708
However, Patricia Neal was
under contract as a new starlet,
1529
01:25:28,999 --> 01:25:31,548
and the studio decided
to give a relative unknown
1530
01:25:31,835 --> 01:25:34,008
the coveted role.
1531
01:25:34,296 --> 01:25:36,469
The studio had now
officially turned its back
1532
01:25:36,757 --> 01:25:38,384
on Barbara Stanwyck.
1533
01:25:38,675 --> 01:25:40,552
When Ayn realized that
no one had the courage
1534
01:25:40,844 --> 01:25:43,347
to phone Stanwyok,
she phoned her personally
1535
01:25:43,639 --> 01:25:46,233
to let her know
the part had been given away.
1536
01:25:46,516 --> 01:25:48,610
Stanwyck immediately
fired oft a bitter telegram
1537
01:25:48,894 --> 01:25:51,693
to Jack Warner,
and abruptly ended her contract.
1538
01:25:54,024 --> 01:25:56,903
Finally, after Ayn had met
Frank Lloyd Wright,
1539
01:25:57,194 --> 01:25:59,242
she commissioned him
to design a country home
1540
01:25:59,529 --> 01:26:01,406
for her and Frank.
1541
01:26:01,698 --> 01:26:03,120
Although the home
was never built,
1542
01:26:03,408 --> 01:26:05,957
she was pleased that Blanke
and Vidor wanted Wright
1543
01:26:06,244 --> 01:26:09,464
to design Roark's buildings
for The Fountainhead.
1544
01:26:09,748 --> 01:26:13,719
When Wright demanded $250,000
and final approval
1545
01:26:14,002 --> 01:26:17,552
over the script, casting,
costumes, and sets,
1546
01:26:17,839 --> 01:26:20,763
Blanke and Vidor
decided against it.
1547
01:26:21,051 --> 01:26:23,554
Ayn then recommended
Kahn and Neutra,
1548
01:26:23,845 --> 01:26:26,348
but the studio set designer,
Edward Carrere,
1549
01:26:26,640 --> 01:26:28,313
ended up with the job.
1550
01:26:28,600 --> 01:26:30,352
Knowing that the art department
was creating
1551
01:26:30,644 --> 01:26:33,523
structurally unsound designs
for F{oark's buildings,
1552
01:26:33,814 --> 01:26:36,567
Ayn suggested Vidor
never hold too long on them.
1553
01:26:36,858 --> 01:26:38,906
She knew architects
would criticize the film
1554
01:26:39,194 --> 01:26:41,788
on this count.
1555
01:26:42,072 --> 01:26:44,621
Now, with the cast and crew
firmly in place,
1556
01:26:44,908 --> 01:26:47,661
the film went
into production.
1557
01:26:47,953 --> 01:26:50,126
She wrote to her old editor,
Archie Ogden,
1558
01:26:50,414 --> 01:26:52,087
about the beginning
of the shooting,
1559
01:26:52,374 --> 01:26:53,921
and she said to him,
1560
01:26:54,209 --> 01:26:56,507
"The Fountainhead movie
goes into production on Monday.
1561
01:26:56,795 --> 01:26:59,765
"In fact, the company is leaving
today to go on location.
1562
01:27:00,048 --> 01:27:02,096
"The first scene shot
will be the quarry.
1563
01:27:02,384 --> 01:27:05,354
"They are going to shoot it
in a local quarry, near Fresno.
1564
01:27:05,637 --> 01:27:07,435
"I've seen pictures
of the place,
1565
01:27:07,723 --> 01:27:10,727
"and it is quite impressive.
1566
01:27:11,017 --> 01:27:12,644
"Funny, isn't it?
I remember the time
1567
01:27:12,936 --> 01:27:15,610
"when that quarry was nothing
but my imagination,
1568
01:27:15,897 --> 01:27:19,743
"and now, it is going to be made
into a physical reality.
1569
01:27:20,026 --> 01:27:22,449
"l do feel somewhat
in the position of a god,
1570
01:27:22,738 --> 01:27:24,740
"since something which I made
out of spirit
1571
01:27:25,031 --> 01:27:27,830
is now going to be translated
into matter."
1572
01:27:55,145 --> 01:27:56,988
(narrator) In working on
the script with Vidor,
1573
01:27:57,272 --> 01:27:59,741
Ayn became engaged
in another series of battles
1574
01:28:00,025 --> 01:28:02,403
to keep her words intact.
1575
01:28:02,694 --> 01:28:04,537
Neither the studio
nor the censors knew
1576
01:28:04,821 --> 01:28:06,243
what to make
of The Fountainhead,
1577
01:28:06,531 --> 01:28:10,286
and they were ideologically
intimidated by its author.
1578
01:28:12,746 --> 01:28:15,124
The love scenes
between Roark and Dominique,
1579
01:28:15,415 --> 01:28:17,008
which spilled over
into the personal lives
1580
01:28:17,292 --> 01:28:19,920
of Cooper and Neal,
were not as much of a concern
1581
01:28:20,212 --> 01:28:23,967
as Roark's climactic
courtroom speech.
1582
01:28:24,257 --> 01:28:26,430
The speech was to be
Roark's sole defense
1583
01:28:26,718 --> 01:28:28,311
for dynamiting
a housing project
1584
01:28:28,595 --> 01:28:32,441
he had designed that was altered
without his consent.
1585
01:28:32,724 --> 01:28:35,273
Gary Cooper's lawyer
and the Johnston office censors
1586
01:28:35,560 --> 01:28:38,279
were concerned about
the uncompromising principles
1587
01:28:38,563 --> 01:28:40,691
of Roark's individualism.
1588
01:28:40,982 --> 01:28:43,576
Neither were able
to justify their objections,
1589
01:28:43,860 --> 01:28:45,237
and their questions
only prompted Ayn
1590
01:28:45,529 --> 01:28:48,032
to lengthen the speech
for clarity.
1591
01:28:48,323 --> 01:28:51,293
Increased from 41/2
to 61/2 minutes,
1592
01:28:51,576 --> 01:28:53,749
Cooper would now deliver
thelongestspeech
1593
01:28:54,037 --> 01:28:57,132
in the history of film.
1594
01:28:57,415 --> 01:29:00,168
Although Cooper was serious
and worked very hard,
1595
01:29:00,460 --> 01:29:03,509
he had trouble understanding
and delivering the speech.
1596
01:29:03,797 --> 01:29:05,720
Vidor asked Ayn
to coach Cooper,
1597
01:29:06,007 --> 01:29:08,385
but eventually decided
to shoot a cut version
1598
01:29:08,677 --> 01:29:12,557
of the scripted speech
without Ayn's knowledge.
1599
01:29:12,848 --> 01:29:16,523
On the day the speech was shot,
Ayn happened to be on the set,
1600
01:29:16,810 --> 01:29:18,357
and discovered Vidor
was shooting
1601
01:29:18,645 --> 01:29:20,898
a shorter version
of the speech.
1602
01:29:21,189 --> 01:29:22,486
Fudous,
she threatened Blanke
1603
01:29:22,774 --> 01:29:24,617
that she would disassociate
herself from the picture
1604
01:29:24,901 --> 01:29:27,529
if the speech
was not shot as written.
1605
01:29:27,821 --> 01:29:30,950
Blanke returned to the set
with an edict from Jack Warner.
1606
01:29:31,241 --> 01:29:34,996
There were to be no changes
to the script on the set.
1607
01:29:35,287 --> 01:29:37,381
It was truly unprecedented.
1608
01:29:37,664 --> 01:29:39,507
The speech and her script
were filmed
1609
01:29:39,791 --> 01:29:42,590
without one single word
being changed.
1610
01:29:44,087 --> 01:29:46,465
Look at history.
Everything we have,
1611
01:29:46,756 --> 01:29:48,758
every great achievement
has come
1612
01:29:49,050 --> 01:29:53,556
from the independent work
of some independent mind.
1613
01:29:53,847 --> 01:29:56,100
I came here to say
that I do not recognize
1614
01:29:56,391 --> 01:29:58,940
anyone's right
to one minute of my life,
1615
01:29:59,227 --> 01:30:00,729
nor to any part
of my energy,
1616
01:30:01,021 --> 01:30:04,776
nor to any achievement of mine,
no matter who makes the claim.
1617
01:30:05,066 --> 01:30:07,569
It had to be said.
The world is perishing
1618
01:30:07,861 --> 01:30:09,955
from an orgy
of self-sacrificing.
1619
01:30:10,238 --> 01:30:12,582
I came here to be heard
in the name
1620
01:30:12,866 --> 01:30:15,585
of every man of independence
still left in the world.
1621
01:30:15,869 --> 01:30:17,371
I wanted to state
my terms.
1622
01:30:17,662 --> 01:30:20,586
I do not care to work
or live on any others.
1623
01:30:20,874 --> 01:30:26,301
My terms are a man's right
to exist for his own sake.
1624
01:30:28,924 --> 01:30:31,222
She was proud of the script.
She thought it was
1625
01:30:31,509 --> 01:30:33,432
good and honest
within the framework
1626
01:30:33,720 --> 01:30:37,099
of their abilities, that they
didn't sabotage the novel,
1627
01:30:37,390 --> 01:30:42,647
but it wasn't what she would
consider a work of art.
1628
01:30:42,938 --> 01:30:44,815
(narrator) Ayn was disappointed
that the film lacked
1629
01:30:45,106 --> 01:30:46,608
the romanticism
she so loved
1630
01:30:46,900 --> 01:30:50,370
in the German films
she had seen in her youth.
1631
01:30:50,654 --> 01:30:54,784
But the film was a windfall
as advertising for the book.
1632
01:30:55,075 --> 01:30:58,796
By 1961, the hardcover edition
of The Fountainhead
1633
01:30:59,079 --> 01:31:03,175
soared
past 500,000 copies.
1634
01:31:03,458 --> 01:31:08,965
To this day, The Fountainhead
sells 100,000 copies annually.
1635
01:31:09,255 --> 01:31:11,929
For a book that publishers
claimed would never sell,
1636
01:31:12,217 --> 01:31:15,266
Ayn Rand's first story,
projecting her ideal man,
1637
01:31:15,553 --> 01:31:18,352
was an undeniable success.
1638
01:31:22,143 --> 01:31:23,816
Late in 1950,
1639
01:31:24,104 --> 01:31:25,401
Ayn Rand received
a fan letter
1640
01:31:25,689 --> 01:31:29,910
from a young psychology student,
Nathaniel Branden.
1641
01:31:30,193 --> 01:31:31,911
She thought his letter
was so intelligent
1642
01:31:32,195 --> 01:31:34,744
and his questions so astute
that she invited him
1643
01:31:35,031 --> 01:31:38,285
to call on her in person
to discuss them further.
1644
01:31:38,576 --> 01:31:40,999
Both Ayn and Frank were
completely won over by him
1645
01:31:41,287 --> 01:31:42,664
after their first meeting,
1646
01:31:42,956 --> 01:31:46,506
and Nathaniel began
seeing them more frequently.
1647
01:31:46,793 --> 01:31:51,720
By 1953, Ayn and Frank
stood up at Nathaniel's wedding,
1648
01:31:52,007 --> 01:31:54,977
and in the years that followed,
the Brandens and the O'Connors
1649
01:31:55,260 --> 01:31:57,058
formed an intimate circle.
1650
01:31:57,345 --> 01:32:00,724
(Leonard) Nathaniel Branden
meant a great deal to Ayn Rand.
1651
01:32:01,016 --> 01:32:04,270
She thought he was a genius
of exceptional intelligence,
1652
01:32:04,561 --> 01:32:07,155
that he would be an innovator
in the field of psychology,
1653
01:32:07,439 --> 01:32:10,568
that he took ideas
with passion and seriousness,
1654
01:32:10,859 --> 01:32:12,736
and she obviously
liked him,
1655
01:32:13,028 --> 01:32:14,530
and by all the evidence
that I have,
1656
01:32:14,821 --> 01:32:18,166
she had an affair with him,
which she would not do
1657
01:32:18,450 --> 01:32:21,579
if she didn't have the highest
possible opinion of him.
1658
01:32:21,870 --> 01:32:23,793
This she did, of course,
with the knowledge
1659
01:32:24,080 --> 01:32:28,711
of her husband and the consent
of her husband.
1660
01:32:29,002 --> 01:32:32,882
I don't have any really inside
information of how Frank coped
1661
01:32:33,173 --> 01:32:34,641
with the knowledge
of the affair.
1662
01:32:34,924 --> 01:32:37,803
I presume there had to be
some jealousy,
1663
01:32:38,094 --> 01:32:39,641
but he was not
characteristically
1664
01:32:39,929 --> 01:32:42,899
a jealous person,
and I think he felt--
1665
01:32:43,183 --> 01:32:45,606
now, I'm taking
my educated guess here.
1666
01:32:45,894 --> 01:32:47,567
I think he felt,
in some way,
1667
01:32:47,854 --> 01:32:49,652
that she was
uniquely special,
1668
01:32:49,939 --> 01:32:53,034
and that she needed more
from a man that he could offer.
1669
01:32:53,318 --> 01:32:56,948
And as I see it
in my own mind,
1670
01:32:57,238 --> 01:32:59,582
Frank had the soul
that Ayn Rand needed,
1671
01:32:59,866 --> 01:33:01,243
but he didn't have
the intellect.
1672
01:33:01,534 --> 01:33:03,662
He didn't have that glowing,
brilliant
1673
01:33:03,953 --> 01:33:07,753
intellectual's type of intellect
which Branden seemed to have.
1674
01:33:08,041 --> 01:33:12,296
It's true that she had
great needs
1675
01:33:12,587 --> 01:33:14,806
because of her personality.
1676
01:33:15,090 --> 01:33:18,094
She needed both
a soul mate
1677
01:33:18,384 --> 01:33:21,979
and a certain sense of life
in a man,
1678
01:33:22,263 --> 01:33:23,310
but she also needed
somebody
1679
01:33:23,598 --> 01:33:26,818
she could talk
as an intellectual to.
1680
01:33:28,228 --> 01:33:29,696
(narrator)
Nathaniel Branden created
1681
01:33:29,979 --> 01:33:31,856
an institute
to teach a lecture series
1682
01:33:32,148 --> 01:33:34,776
based on Ayn Rand's
philosophy.
1683
01:33:35,068 --> 01:33:36,320
Ayn endorsed his courses
1684
01:33:36,611 --> 01:33:38,329
and the articles
he wrote on psychology
1685
01:33:38,613 --> 01:33:41,412
that appeared
in magazines and books.
1686
01:33:41,699 --> 01:33:43,997
Eventually, however,
she was to discover
1687
01:33:44,285 --> 01:33:45,411
that he was involved
in a series
1688
01:33:45,703 --> 01:33:48,502
of personal
and professional deoeptions.
1689
01:33:48,790 --> 01:33:49,962
(Leonard)
In my opinion,
1690
01:33:50,250 --> 01:33:52,753
Nathaniel Branden was
the supreme actor,
1691
01:33:53,044 --> 01:33:56,344
who communicated that nothing
mattered more to him than ideas,
1692
01:33:56,631 --> 01:33:59,384
and he wanted nothing
from the world but the truth,
1693
01:33:59,676 --> 01:34:03,931
and the revolution of the truth
is all that counted.
1694
01:34:04,222 --> 01:34:06,224
He was an idealist,
and so on,
1695
01:34:06,516 --> 01:34:08,814
and that was what he presented
himself as originally.
1696
01:34:09,102 --> 01:34:11,525
He was very intelligent.
1697
01:34:11,813 --> 01:34:14,817
It wasn't the case of a dolt
who was able to put it over.
1698
01:34:15,108 --> 01:34:17,611
He was actually
very intelligent,
1699
01:34:17,902 --> 01:34:19,449
but in the course
of his life, his values
1700
01:34:19,737 --> 01:34:22,035
obviously came to change
for whatever reason--
1701
01:34:22,323 --> 01:34:25,793
because of his pre-existing
psychology or whatever.
1702
01:34:26,077 --> 01:34:29,331
He had to act an increasingly
onerous part
1703
01:34:29,622 --> 01:34:34,549
to retain Ayn's affection,
namely, to pretend something
1704
01:34:34,836 --> 01:34:37,965
that he knew he was not
and no longer wanted to be.
1705
01:34:38,256 --> 01:34:40,600
And finally, it just--
it became intolerable,
1706
01:34:40,884 --> 01:34:43,728
and one thing or another
precipitated the break.
1707
01:34:44,012 --> 01:34:45,810
She bore it,
but she finally did
1708
01:34:46,097 --> 01:34:48,976
get over it and go on
with her life of writing
1709
01:34:49,267 --> 01:34:52,066
and--with her husband.
1710
01:34:55,440 --> 01:34:57,534
(narrator)
As Ayn's writing continued,
1711
01:34:57,817 --> 01:35:01,572
Frank O'Connor had been steadily
trying to find his niche.
1712
01:35:01,863 --> 01:35:04,582
Glowing with admiration,
he enjoyed watching his wife,
1713
01:35:04,866 --> 01:35:07,415
but never tried
to manage her career.
1714
01:35:07,702 --> 01:35:09,420
He was an independent entity,
1715
01:35:09,704 --> 01:35:14,335
gracefully, quietly searching
for his life's work.
1716
01:35:14,626 --> 01:35:16,594
Frank was an amazing man.
1717
01:35:16,878 --> 01:35:20,223
First of all, he looked
totally like an Ayn Rand hero.
1718
01:35:20,506 --> 01:35:22,383
He stood out in any crowd.
1719
01:35:22,675 --> 01:35:27,351
He was, in my view,
the Howard Roark type.
1720
01:35:27,639 --> 01:35:29,858
(Leonard) My impression of
Frank from the beginning was
1721
01:35:30,141 --> 01:35:35,864
that he was a very fine,
very sensitive artist type.
1722
01:35:36,147 --> 01:35:39,742
He was not dominantly
the talker, but you felt
1723
01:35:40,026 --> 01:35:44,748
that he was a very strong and
sensitive presence with her,
1724
01:35:45,031 --> 01:35:47,830
and then, in later years,
he looked for the career
1725
01:35:48,117 --> 01:35:49,585
that would give him
full satisfaction
1726
01:35:49,869 --> 01:35:52,793
for many years, and finally,
the logic of his choices
1727
01:35:53,081 --> 01:35:54,833
took him into painting,
and that's where
1728
01:35:55,124 --> 01:36:00,802
he really found himself and
began to do tremendous work.
1729
01:36:01,089 --> 01:36:04,764
What he did always had
the Frank O'Connor touch to it
1730
01:36:05,051 --> 01:36:07,679
that she would describe
as, "Like laughter
1731
01:36:07,971 --> 01:36:10,770
let loose
in the universe."
1732
01:36:15,270 --> 01:36:18,023
Our founding fathers talked
about the right
1733
01:36:18,314 --> 01:36:20,191
of the pursuit
of happiness.
1734
01:36:20,483 --> 01:36:22,827
Do you think this is
really important?
1735
01:36:23,111 --> 01:36:25,534
I don't know what else
could be any more important.
1736
01:36:25,822 --> 01:36:28,951
If you attach that meaning
to concepts--
1737
01:36:29,242 --> 01:36:30,744
The pursuit of happiness
means
1738
01:36:31,035 --> 01:36:34,084
a man's right
to set his own goals,
1739
01:36:34,372 --> 01:36:36,875
to choose his values,
and to achieve them.
1740
01:36:37,166 --> 01:36:39,294
Happiness means that state
of consciousness
1741
01:36:39,585 --> 01:36:42,805
which comes from the achievement
of your values.
1742
01:36:43,089 --> 01:36:46,719
Now, what can be more important
than happiness?
1743
01:36:47,010 --> 01:36:49,889
But happiness does not mean
simply momentary pleasures
1744
01:36:50,179 --> 01:36:52,352
or any kind of mindless
self-indulgence.
1745
01:36:52,640 --> 01:36:58,067
Happiness means a profound,
guiltless, rational feeling
1746
01:36:58,354 --> 01:37:02,029
of self-esteem and of pride
in one's own achievement.
1747
01:37:02,317 --> 01:37:04,115
It means the enjoyment
of life,
1748
01:37:04,402 --> 01:37:07,155
which is possible
only to a rational man
1749
01:37:07,447 --> 01:37:09,370
on a rational code
of morality.
1750
01:37:09,657 --> 01:37:11,659
Because to make a success
of yourself
1751
01:37:11,951 --> 01:37:17,253
in any line of rational activity
is a great virtue.
1752
01:37:17,540 --> 01:37:20,089
And they--people will
attack you
1753
01:37:20,376 --> 01:37:22,970
for exercising your ability,
for hard work,
1754
01:37:23,254 --> 01:37:25,757
for consistency,
for ambition,
1755
01:37:26,049 --> 01:37:28,017
and they will want to make you
feel guilty of it.
1756
01:37:28,301 --> 01:37:32,022
In fact, people who preach that
are the ones who are mawkish
1757
01:37:32,305 --> 01:37:35,229
about the evil people,
the affairs,
1758
01:37:35,516 --> 01:37:38,565
the liars, the cheats--
everybody who is weak
1759
01:37:38,853 --> 01:37:41,151
suddenly acquires
some kind of value.
1760
01:37:41,439 --> 01:37:44,363
But anyone who is
a success
1761
01:37:44,650 --> 01:37:46,994
has to be attacked
for his success.
1762
01:37:47,278 --> 01:37:49,201
And look at how you have
been attacked...
1763
01:37:49,489 --> 01:37:51,241
- Oh, I know.
- how you have been criticized.
1764
01:37:51,532 --> 01:37:52,499
- There are many--
- You know that?
1765
01:37:52,784 --> 01:37:54,001
There are many people
in this country--
1766
01:37:54,285 --> 01:37:58,131
forgive me--in this world
who think you're daft.
1767
01:37:58,414 --> 01:37:59,882
They don't.
1768
01:38:00,166 --> 01:38:03,545
They want you
to think that.
1769
01:38:03,836 --> 01:38:05,679
(narrator) During The
Fountainhead's rise to the top,
1770
01:38:05,963 --> 01:38:09,763
Ayn and Frank had been happy
at the Chatsworth Ranch.
1771
01:38:16,140 --> 01:38:18,017
But Ayn had grown
weary of the country
1772
01:38:18,309 --> 01:38:21,483
and living in California.
She missed New York.
1773
01:38:21,771 --> 01:38:24,991
"l hate Hollywood as a place,
just as I did before.
1774
01:38:25,274 --> 01:38:28,403
"it's overcrowded,
vulgar, cheap, and sad
1775
01:38:28,694 --> 01:38:30,162
"in a hopeless sort of way.
1776
01:38:30,446 --> 01:38:32,949
"The people on the streets
are all tense, eager,
1777
01:38:33,241 --> 01:38:35,084
"and suspicious,
and look unhappy--
1778
01:38:35,368 --> 01:38:38,588
"The has-beens
and the would-bes.
1779
01:38:38,871 --> 01:38:40,498
"I'm in love with New York.
1780
01:38:40,790 --> 01:38:43,009
"Frank says that what I love
is not the real city
1781
01:38:43,292 --> 01:38:44,885
"but the New York
I built myself.
1782
01:38:45,169 --> 01:38:46,295
That's true."
1783
01:38:46,587 --> 01:38:48,180
(Leonard)
New York represented to her
1784
01:38:48,464 --> 01:38:50,057
the pinnacle
of human achievement
1785
01:38:50,341 --> 01:38:51,934
in physical terms.
1786
01:38:52,218 --> 01:38:56,268
Aristotle would be the pinnacle
of achievement intellectually.
1787
01:38:56,556 --> 01:38:59,105
But New York,
the skyscrapers,
1788
01:38:59,392 --> 01:39:01,019
everything that man
had traversed
1789
01:39:01,310 --> 01:39:03,563
from the time of the cave
to the time of this glorious
1790
01:39:03,855 --> 01:39:05,732
and industrial
civilization,
1791
01:39:06,023 --> 01:39:07,650
that was, to her,
what life was about.
1792
01:39:07,942 --> 01:39:10,115
It wasn't just acquiring
philosophy.
1793
01:39:10,403 --> 01:39:12,656
It was acquiring ideas,
acquiring science,
1794
01:39:12,947 --> 01:39:14,540
and then remaking the earth
accordingly,
1795
01:39:14,824 --> 01:39:16,542
and she couldn't think
of a more splendid
1796
01:39:16,826 --> 01:39:20,456
and exciting and beautiful place
than that view that you get
1797
01:39:20,746 --> 01:39:22,248
of the skyscrapers
where you don't see
1798
01:39:22,540 --> 01:39:26,010
the details of each one
but the mass of human ingenuity
1799
01:39:26,294 --> 01:39:29,548
and talent soaring
for the sky.
1800
01:39:29,839 --> 01:39:32,592
Ayn took a studio
in New York
1801
01:39:32,884 --> 01:39:36,684
in a very seedy, old hotel
on 31 st Street,
1802
01:39:36,971 --> 01:39:39,224
and Ayn came to pose
for me there.
1803
01:39:39,515 --> 01:39:41,313
There were no windows
in the studio,
1804
01:39:41,601 --> 01:39:42,978
but there was a skylight,
1805
01:39:43,269 --> 01:39:45,237
and the only thing one could see
from the skylight
1806
01:39:45,521 --> 01:39:47,319
was the top
of the Empire State Building,
1807
01:39:47,607 --> 01:39:50,281
and Ayn was particularly
smitten with that.
1808
01:39:50,568 --> 01:39:52,787
I subsequently moved
to Greenwich Village,
1809
01:39:53,070 --> 01:39:55,198
and she came down there
to pose as well,
1810
01:39:55,490 --> 01:39:56,867
and the atmosphere
was a little different.
1811
01:39:57,158 --> 01:39:59,707
I think she wasn't quite
as happy in that studio
1812
01:39:59,994 --> 01:40:02,247
as she was being able to see
the Empire State Building
1813
01:40:02,538 --> 01:40:05,212
while she posed.
1814
01:40:05,500 --> 01:40:09,425
(narrator) In 1951, Ayn and
Frank moved to New York City,
1815
01:40:09,712 --> 01:40:12,556
the city she had first seen
as a backdrop of electric lights
1816
01:40:12,840 --> 01:40:15,059
in a Russian theater.
1817
01:40:15,343 --> 01:40:17,186
Now, as a successful
American writer,
1818
01:40:17,470 --> 01:40:19,893
she would live in one
of that city's skyscrapers,
1819
01:40:20,181 --> 01:40:22,525
and here, she would complete
her monumental book,
1820
01:40:22,808 --> 01:40:25,277
Atlas Shrugged.
1821
01:40:25,561 --> 01:40:28,280
[train whistle blowing]
1822
01:40:28,564 --> 01:40:31,363
[train traveling]
1823
01:40:39,408 --> 01:40:41,206
When a friend insisted
Ayn write
1824
01:40:41,494 --> 01:40:43,713
a nonfiction treatise
on her philosophy
1825
01:40:43,996 --> 01:40:46,215
out of a duty to help people
understand her ideas,
1826
01:40:46,499 --> 01:40:47,921
she was indignant.
1827
01:40:48,209 --> 01:40:51,554
She thought, "Why should I?
What if I went on strike?
1828
01:40:51,837 --> 01:40:55,887
What of all the creative minds
of the world went on strike?"
1829
01:40:56,175 --> 01:40:58,769
Hence, the story
of men and women of the mind
1830
01:40:59,053 --> 01:41:02,933
who go on strike and
abandon the world was formed.
1831
01:41:03,224 --> 01:41:05,352
Wider in scope
than The Fountainhead,
1832
01:41:05,643 --> 01:41:07,020
Atlas Shrugged
dramatized
1833
01:41:07,311 --> 01:41:09,359
the whole
of Ayn Rand's philosophy,
1834
01:41:09,647 --> 01:41:12,617
allowing Ayn to express
her total sense of life--
1835
01:41:12,900 --> 01:41:16,495
a life she knew could
and should exist.
1836
01:41:16,779 --> 01:41:18,406
Likening the new heroes
in the book
1837
01:41:18,698 --> 01:41:19,950
to the giant Greek god
1838
01:41:20,241 --> 01:41:22,460
who supported the heavens
on his shoulders,
1839
01:41:22,743 --> 01:41:26,498
Ayn focused on three
captains of industry,
1840
01:41:26,789 --> 01:41:31,716
a copper magnate...
1841
01:41:32,003 --> 01:41:35,803
A steel mill owner...
1842
01:41:36,090 --> 01:41:38,889
And the head
of a railroad.
1843
01:41:41,429 --> 01:41:43,272
They were the creators,
innovators,
1844
01:41:43,556 --> 01:41:46,526
and independent thinkers
who moved the world
1845
01:41:46,809 --> 01:41:49,608
but decided to shrug.
1846
01:41:52,356 --> 01:41:54,108
She told a reporter
at the time
1847
01:41:54,400 --> 01:41:56,494
that the story would combine
metaphysics,
1848
01:41:56,777 --> 01:42:01,874
morality, politics,
economics, and sex.
1849
01:42:02,158 --> 01:42:05,082
And as she had promised
her professor in Russia,
1850
01:42:05,369 --> 01:42:06,996
the book would finally
make her ideas
1851
01:42:07,288 --> 01:42:10,087
a part of the history
of philosophy.
1852
01:42:12,168 --> 01:42:15,217
As the mystery story
of Atlas Shrugged unfolds,
1853
01:42:15,504 --> 01:42:20,135
Ayn Rand erects an unprecedented
argument for capitalism.
1854
01:42:20,426 --> 01:42:22,849
Presenting a moral defense
for man's right to exist
1855
01:42:23,137 --> 01:42:26,562
for his own sake, to pursue
the work of his choice,
1856
01:42:26,849 --> 01:42:28,897
and keep the rewards
of his labor,
1857
01:42:29,185 --> 01:42:31,438
she argued that
capitalism demands
1858
01:42:31,729 --> 01:42:34,482
the best of every man,
his rationality,
1859
01:42:34,774 --> 01:42:36,776
and rewards him
accordingly.
1860
01:42:37,068 --> 01:42:40,288
"it leaves every man free
to choose the work he likes,
1861
01:42:40,571 --> 01:42:41,914
"to specialize in it,
1862
01:42:42,198 --> 01:42:45,042
"to trade his product
for the products of others,
1863
01:42:45,326 --> 01:42:47,624
"and to go as far
on the road of achievement
1864
01:42:47,912 --> 01:42:50,711
"as his ability and ambition
will Carry him.
1865
01:43:07,014 --> 01:43:09,767
"Who is John Galt,"
was the burning question
1866
01:43:10,059 --> 01:43:13,029
that opened
Atlas Shrugged.
1867
01:43:13,312 --> 01:43:16,486
Although Frank posed
in publicity ads for the book,
1868
01:43:16,774 --> 01:43:18,822
Galt was a direct descendent
of Cyrus
1869
01:43:19,110 --> 01:43:21,283
in The Mysterious Valley.
1870
01:43:21,570 --> 01:43:23,664
Like Cyrus,
Galt was a hero
1871
01:43:23,948 --> 01:43:29,045
operating behind the scenes
for a good portion of the story.
1872
01:43:29,328 --> 01:43:31,080
The heroine,
Dagny Taggart,
1873
01:43:31,372 --> 01:43:34,421
the driving force behind Taggart
Transcontinental Railroad,
1874
01:43:34,709 --> 01:43:37,553
was Ayn's first depiction
of an ideal woman,
1875
01:43:37,837 --> 01:43:40,636
a character she called
"the feminine Roark."
1876
01:43:46,470 --> 01:43:50,350
Ayn herself read manuals
on railroad signal switching
1877
01:43:50,641 --> 01:43:53,360
and steel furnaces.
1878
01:43:53,644 --> 01:43:56,739
She visited the Kaiser
steel mills in California,
1879
01:43:57,022 --> 01:44:00,868
as well as other mills
in Chicago and Johnstown.
1880
01:44:01,152 --> 01:44:03,325
She researched
all the major railroads
1881
01:44:03,612 --> 01:44:04,955
and eventually
interviewed people
1882
01:44:05,239 --> 01:44:08,038
from the New York Central.
1883
01:44:08,325 --> 01:44:10,669
Bobbs-Merrill, the publisher
of The Fountainhead,
1884
01:44:10,953 --> 01:44:13,126
arranged a trip for her
on the 20th Century
1885
01:44:13,414 --> 01:44:16,213
to Albany
from New York City.
1886
01:44:18,335 --> 01:44:20,884
A particular thrill for her
was when the engineer
1887
01:44:21,172 --> 01:44:23,971
allowed her to drive
the train herself.
1888
01:44:26,177 --> 01:44:27,804
The demands of writing
the novel
1889
01:44:28,095 --> 01:44:29,972
took all of her energy
and focus.
1890
01:44:30,264 --> 01:44:32,392
She often worked
many hours at a time,
1891
01:44:32,683 --> 01:44:35,778
stopping only to eat
or cook a meal for Frank.
1892
01:44:36,061 --> 01:44:37,984
Often, she would lose
all track of time,
1893
01:44:38,272 --> 01:44:39,364
and they would end up
having supper
1894
01:44:39,648 --> 01:44:42,322
at 10:00 or 11 :00
at night.
1895
01:44:42,610 --> 01:44:44,908
When she was stuck
or had what she called
1896
01:44:45,196 --> 01:44:47,540
"the squirms,"
she would take a break
1897
01:44:47,823 --> 01:44:51,418
to play solitaire
or visit with friends.
1898
01:44:51,702 --> 01:44:54,330
Well, there was a group of us,
around 10 or 12,
1899
01:44:54,622 --> 01:44:57,671
who were related--either one
was a friend of another
1900
01:44:57,958 --> 01:45:00,586
or a relative of another,
and as a joke,
1901
01:45:00,878 --> 01:45:03,176
Ayn started to call us
"the Collective."
1902
01:45:03,464 --> 01:45:05,091
As a joke, because
we were supposed to be
1903
01:45:05,382 --> 01:45:07,100
all arch-individualists.
1904
01:45:07,384 --> 01:45:11,014
We came to her place
on a regular basis,
1905
01:45:11,305 --> 01:45:12,727
starting originally
on Saturday nights,
1906
01:45:13,015 --> 01:45:15,143
to read the manuscript
of Atlas Shrugged,
1907
01:45:15,434 --> 01:45:17,937
and then, we would read
whatever was available
1908
01:45:18,229 --> 01:45:19,947
or some given chapter,
and then, there would be
1909
01:45:20,231 --> 01:45:24,327
an all-around discussion
monitored by her,
1910
01:45:24,610 --> 01:45:25,736
and then she would
serve something
1911
01:45:26,028 --> 01:45:27,530
around midnight
or 1:00 in the morning.
1912
01:45:27,822 --> 01:45:30,041
Sometimes, we would stay till
3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.
1913
01:45:30,324 --> 01:45:32,326
And at first,
we got to know her best
1914
01:45:32,618 --> 01:45:35,872
through these weekly
Saturday night sessions.
1915
01:45:37,748 --> 01:45:39,375
(narrator)
Now her biggest challenge
1916
01:45:39,667 --> 01:45:41,761
was writing
Gait's climactic speech,
1917
01:45:42,044 --> 01:45:43,637
which he delivers
to a collapsing world
1918
01:45:43,921 --> 01:45:46,765
over radio airwaves.
1919
01:45:47,049 --> 01:45:48,722
Thinking it would take
roughly three months
1920
01:45:49,009 --> 01:45:50,306
to complete Gait's speech,
1921
01:45:50,594 --> 01:45:55,191
Ayn ultimately spent two years
perfecting it.
1922
01:45:55,474 --> 01:45:57,272
It encompassed
her entire philosophy,
1923
01:45:57,560 --> 01:46:01,440
which she later
called objectivism_
1924
01:46:01,730 --> 01:46:02,856
When she finished
the speech,
1925
01:46:03,148 --> 01:46:05,150
she submitted the book
to publishers.
1926
01:46:05,442 --> 01:46:07,410
With little bargaining,
she signed a contract
1927
01:46:07,695 --> 01:46:10,039
at Random House
for a $50,000 advance
1928
01:46:10,322 --> 01:46:11,448
to finish the book.
1929
01:46:11,740 --> 01:46:14,539
It was the fastest contract
she ever signed.
1930
01:46:28,674 --> 01:46:31,553
Ever since Atlas Shrugged
had been completed
1931
01:46:31,844 --> 01:46:33,972
in March, 1957,
1932
01:46:34,263 --> 01:46:38,518
Ayn felt as if she were basking
in the glow of her own sun.
1933
01:46:43,522 --> 01:46:45,024
Standing
back on the horizon,
1934
01:46:45,316 --> 01:46:49,116
she was happy to simply
contemplate her achievement.
1935
01:46:49,403 --> 01:46:51,201
But when her eyes
adjusted to the muted light
1936
01:46:51,488 --> 01:46:52,785
of the world around her,
1937
01:46:53,073 --> 01:46:55,872
she observed the current state
of the culture...
1938
01:47:02,333 --> 01:47:05,132
From the war in Vietnam
and student unrest,
1939
01:47:05,419 --> 01:47:08,889
to what she termed
the anti-Industrial Revolution.
1940
01:47:12,927 --> 01:47:15,100
She had been so full
of the sense of life
1941
01:47:15,387 --> 01:47:18,140
in her novels,
that the world of the 1960s
1942
01:47:18,432 --> 01:47:21,606
now seemed like the last days
of the Roman Empire.
1943
01:47:28,776 --> 01:47:30,870
Review after review
of Atlas Shrugged
1944
01:47:31,153 --> 01:47:33,952
viciously attempted
to discredit her and her work.
1945
01:47:37,743 --> 01:47:40,166
But however much the attacks
in the press hurt her,
1946
01:47:40,454 --> 01:47:41,671
they only stoked the fire
1947
01:47:41,956 --> 01:47:44,960
that would bring her
out into the public.
1948
01:47:45,250 --> 01:47:47,503
(Leonard) She did not
like public speaking.
1949
01:47:47,795 --> 01:47:49,797
She did not regard herself
as a teacher
1950
01:47:50,089 --> 01:47:52,387
by profession
or by interest.
1951
01:47:52,675 --> 01:47:56,350
She thought her accent was wrong
as far as public speaking,
1952
01:47:56,637 --> 01:47:59,436
and she'd never been able
to do much with her accent,
1953
01:47:59,723 --> 01:48:04,524
but she would be damned if she
was gonna let Atlas Shrugged
1954
01:48:04,812 --> 01:48:08,692
be commented on exclusively
by the critics who hated it.
1955
01:48:08,983 --> 01:48:11,486
She got invitations,
so she made up her mind that
1956
01:48:11,777 --> 01:48:13,996
despite all her reservations,
she was gonna speak
1957
01:48:14,279 --> 01:48:16,452
at least enough to give it
some publicity,
1958
01:48:16,740 --> 01:48:18,834
so she went reluctantly.
1959
01:48:19,118 --> 01:48:23,339
She faced, at first,
very antagonistic audiences.
1960
01:48:23,622 --> 01:48:26,796
They booed her,
they tried to out-yell her,
1961
01:48:27,084 --> 01:48:28,586
but of course,
she was immutable.
1962
01:48:28,877 --> 01:48:30,504
She was herself
on the lecture platform,
1963
01:48:30,796 --> 01:48:34,676
and I've seen audiences start
booing and end up cheering.
1964
01:48:34,967 --> 01:48:37,220
(Harry) She had the ability
to deal with anything
1965
01:48:37,511 --> 01:48:38,603
that could come up
from an audience.
1966
01:48:38,887 --> 01:48:40,309
That was very impressive.
1967
01:48:40,597 --> 01:48:43,146
I can't tell you
what a contrast it made
1968
01:48:43,434 --> 01:48:47,610
to the sense of life
of the period.
1969
01:48:47,896 --> 01:48:49,694
We were just coming
out of the '50s.
1970
01:48:49,982 --> 01:48:53,282
The Leave It To Beaver,
Father Knows Best era,
1971
01:48:53,569 --> 01:48:56,118
when no one would take a stand
on anything,
1972
01:48:56,405 --> 01:48:59,909
when making a value judgment
was considered a sin,
1973
01:49:00,200 --> 01:49:01,577
but she was there,
1974
01:49:01,869 --> 01:49:04,497
making the most dramatic
and passionate statements,
1975
01:49:04,788 --> 01:49:09,043
saying everything was simple,
absolute, clear-cut.
1976
01:49:09,334 --> 01:49:11,928
(Sylvia) She took time to find
out what you had on your mind,
1977
01:49:12,212 --> 01:49:16,058
and often time, in lectures
at Ford Hall Forum,
1978
01:49:16,341 --> 01:49:19,561
where there were hundreds
of people in the audience,
1979
01:49:19,845 --> 01:49:21,097
she would still
take her time.
1980
01:49:21,388 --> 01:49:22,435
She'd say, "Would you care
to repeat that?
1981
01:49:22,723 --> 01:49:23,895
"Would you care
to rephrase that
1982
01:49:24,183 --> 01:49:25,605
so I understand
what you're getting at?"
1983
01:49:25,893 --> 01:49:27,440
That's what
impressed me most.
1984
01:49:27,728 --> 01:49:29,230
(Leonard) She not only
answered the question,
1985
01:49:29,521 --> 01:49:32,115
She told you what errors
you made
1986
01:49:32,399 --> 01:49:33,867
that led you
to that question,
1987
01:49:34,151 --> 01:49:36,324
why you weren't able
to answer it yourself,
1988
01:49:36,612 --> 01:49:40,162
what confusions would arise
in your mind tomorrow
1989
01:49:40,449 --> 01:49:41,917
when you thought
over her answers,
1990
01:49:42,201 --> 01:49:44,329
and what the answers
to those were, and then,
1991
01:49:44,620 --> 01:49:48,090
what to read to consolidate
your thinking even more clearly.
1992
01:49:48,373 --> 01:49:50,967
So it was like
an entire course.
1993
01:49:51,251 --> 01:49:53,128
It wasn't just
yes or no answer.
1994
01:49:53,420 --> 01:49:54,922
Every question was
a springboard
1995
01:49:55,214 --> 01:49:58,468
to a total exploration
of the issue
1996
01:49:58,759 --> 01:50:01,763
and of the proper methods
of thinking.
1997
01:50:02,054 --> 01:50:04,933
(John) When Ayn Rand appeared
annually at the Ford Hall Forum,
1998
01:50:05,224 --> 01:50:07,192
it attracted
a very large crowd.
1999
01:50:07,476 --> 01:50:10,320
She would go to her room
after she had given her talk.
2000
01:50:10,604 --> 01:50:13,778
People would line up--
very crowded, little room.
2001
01:50:14,066 --> 01:50:15,613
There weren't all
the books available
2002
01:50:15,901 --> 01:50:19,656
on her philosophical thoughts
to us, so needless to say,
2003
01:50:19,947 --> 01:50:22,370
we would build up
a huge inventory
2004
01:50:22,658 --> 01:50:24,660
of puzzling questions
2005
01:50:24,952 --> 01:50:27,000
since the last time
we met her,
2006
01:50:27,287 --> 01:50:30,757
and she would just field
questions until dawn,
2007
01:50:31,041 --> 01:50:33,169
at which time, she was
thoroughly relaxed
2008
01:50:33,460 --> 01:50:35,929
and she had come down
from the excitement of the talk,
2009
01:50:36,213 --> 01:50:37,510
and she would say
good-night to us,
2010
01:50:37,798 --> 01:50:40,642
and we would walk out
so revved up that,
2011
01:50:40,926 --> 01:50:42,394
in one case, I couldn't
go to sleep
2012
01:50:42,678 --> 01:50:46,023
for over two days after I had
left her hotel room.
2013
01:50:46,306 --> 01:50:48,308
I know many of you
have heard this line.
2014
01:50:48,600 --> 01:50:51,695
"Atlas Shrugged
changed my life.
2015
01:50:51,979 --> 01:50:53,697
The Fountainhead
changed my life."
2016
01:50:53,981 --> 01:50:55,608
[applause]
2017
01:50:55,899 --> 01:50:58,368
Here's a woman who's read
by millions around the world.
2018
01:50:58,652 --> 01:51:02,657
She may be our most debated
philosopher.
2019
01:51:02,948 --> 01:51:05,076
She identifies
that to which she adheres
2020
01:51:05,367 --> 01:51:06,835
as objectivism.
We'll talk about it.
2021
01:51:07,119 --> 01:51:09,372
We care very much
about your sharing with us
2022
01:51:09,663 --> 01:51:13,008
your feelings about
this most interesting lady,
2023
01:51:13,292 --> 01:51:15,761
a warm human being
who has a lot to say
2024
01:51:16,044 --> 01:51:18,297
and comes straight
at everything she says.
2025
01:51:18,589 --> 01:51:21,217
I am pleased
to present Ayn Rand.
2026
01:51:21,508 --> 01:51:22,225
Ms. Rand.
2027
01:51:22,509 --> 01:51:24,432
[theme music]
2028
01:51:24,720 --> 01:51:27,519
[applause]
2029
01:51:39,109 --> 01:51:41,658
(Al) The first show that
Ayn Rand appeared on
2030
01:51:41,945 --> 01:51:43,947
for us was
the Mike Wallace interview,
2031
01:51:44,239 --> 01:51:45,286
and for all I know,
2032
01:51:45,574 --> 01:51:47,201
it was certainly
one of the first shows
2033
01:51:47,492 --> 01:51:49,085
that she appeared
on in the '5Os,
2034
01:51:49,369 --> 01:51:51,713
if not the very first show.
She was not very welcome.
2035
01:51:51,997 --> 01:51:53,419
She was a notorious figure
2036
01:51:53,707 --> 01:51:55,550
in New York
intellectual circles,
2037
01:51:55,834 --> 01:51:58,633
and it's hard now,
in the '9Os,
2038
01:51:58,921 --> 01:52:04,269
to imagine the hostility
directed at her.
2039
01:52:04,551 --> 01:52:06,679
Saul Bellow once said
that New York at that time
2040
01:52:06,970 --> 01:52:09,814
was an intellectual annex
of Moscow,
2041
01:52:10,098 --> 01:52:11,771
and if it was that
for Saul Bellow,
2042
01:52:12,059 --> 01:52:14,187
you can imagine
what it was like for Ayn Rand.
2043
01:52:14,478 --> 01:52:16,901
The people I work with
simply wanted me
2044
01:52:17,189 --> 01:52:18,816
to do a piece
with Ayn Rand,
2045
01:52:19,107 --> 01:52:20,359
and I didn't know
a lot about her.
2046
01:52:20,651 --> 01:52:22,699
I had read
Fountainhead.
2047
01:52:22,986 --> 01:52:24,363
And I'm not certain--
2048
01:52:24,655 --> 01:52:26,407
I don't remember,
'cause I read it later
2049
01:52:26,698 --> 01:52:29,577
whether I had yet read
Atlas Shrugged,
2050
01:52:29,868 --> 01:52:32,212
and so I didn't meet her
2051
01:52:32,496 --> 01:52:34,794
until the night that she came
into the studio.
2052
01:52:35,082 --> 01:52:37,380
This is Mike Wallace
with another television portrait
2053
01:52:37,668 --> 01:52:41,013
from our gallery
of colorful people.
2054
01:52:41,296 --> 01:52:44,095
Throughout the United States,
small pockets of intellectuals
2055
01:52:44,383 --> 01:52:47,557
have become involved
in a new and unusual philosophy
2056
01:52:47,844 --> 01:52:51,394
which would seem to strike at
the very roots of our society.
2057
01:52:51,682 --> 01:52:53,355
The Fountainhead
of this philosophy
2058
01:52:53,642 --> 01:52:56,441
is a novelist, Ayn Rand,
whose two major works,
2059
01:52:56,728 --> 01:52:58,571
The Fountainhead
and Atlas Shrugged,
2060
01:52:58,855 --> 01:53:00,607
have been bestsellers.
2061
01:53:00,899 --> 01:53:03,903
We'll try to find out more
about her revolutionary creed
2062
01:53:04,194 --> 01:53:07,368
and about Ms. Rand herself
in just a moment.
2063
01:53:07,656 --> 01:53:10,876
Dark black, that Dutch cut,
2064
01:53:11,159 --> 01:53:14,254
those piercing,
Russian eyes--
2065
01:53:14,538 --> 01:53:17,792
strange looking person,
and the accent.
2066
01:53:18,083 --> 01:53:21,303
The first thing that struck you
when you met Ayn Rand
2067
01:53:21,586 --> 01:53:25,011
for the first time
were those eyes.
2068
01:53:25,299 --> 01:53:29,054
Big, black, glowing,
lustrous eyes,
2069
01:53:29,344 --> 01:53:32,348
which radiated
a tremendous energy
2070
01:53:32,639 --> 01:53:36,769
and penetration and focus
and intensity,
2071
01:53:37,060 --> 01:53:38,357
and they never left you,
2072
01:53:38,645 --> 01:53:41,945
and it was very unnerving,
at least to me at first.
2073
01:53:42,232 --> 01:53:45,486
You got used to it somewhat,
but at first, it was unnerving,
2074
01:53:45,777 --> 01:53:47,745
and perhaps even
a little intimidating.
2075
01:53:48,030 --> 01:53:50,533
And she would take
any question.
2076
01:53:50,824 --> 01:53:52,792
She was perfectly open,
2077
01:53:53,076 --> 01:53:57,081
and you could see the mind
at work and the spirit at work,
2078
01:53:57,372 --> 01:53:59,500
and she liked the joust
of tough questions
2079
01:53:59,791 --> 01:54:02,260
and direct answers.
2080
01:54:02,544 --> 01:54:06,048
My morality is based
on man's life
2081
01:54:06,340 --> 01:54:07,842
as a standard of value,
2082
01:54:08,133 --> 01:54:12,764
and since man's mind is
his basic means of survival,
2083
01:54:13,055 --> 01:54:16,184
I hold that if man
wants to live on earth
2084
01:54:16,475 --> 01:54:18,978
and to live
as a human being,
2085
01:54:19,269 --> 01:54:22,273
he has to hold reason
as an absolute,
2086
01:54:22,564 --> 01:54:25,192
by which I mean
that he has to hold reason
2087
01:54:25,484 --> 01:54:28,408
as his only guide
to action,
2088
01:54:28,695 --> 01:54:31,414
and that he must live
by the independent judgment
2089
01:54:31,698 --> 01:54:35,123
of his own mind,
that his highest moral purpose
2090
01:54:35,410 --> 01:54:38,414
is the achievement
of his own happiness,
2091
01:54:38,705 --> 01:54:42,710
and that he must not
force other people
2092
01:54:43,001 --> 01:54:45,550
nor accept their right
to force him,
2093
01:54:45,837 --> 01:54:49,216
that each man must live
as an end in himself,
2094
01:54:49,508 --> 01:54:52,762
and follow his own
rational self-interest.
2095
01:54:53,053 --> 01:54:56,853
She was obviously the most
unusual guest we ever had.
2096
01:54:57,140 --> 01:55:01,020
You just didn't get guests
who could speak for a half hour
2097
01:55:01,311 --> 01:55:04,110
about philosophy and ideas
2098
01:55:04,398 --> 01:55:07,197
clearly, penetratingly,
and excitingly,
2099
01:55:07,484 --> 01:55:11,409
and we would get
enormous mail.
2100
01:55:11,696 --> 01:55:14,666
I would afterwards get
into big arguments and fights
2101
01:55:14,950 --> 01:55:16,327
with my other friends
in the media.
2102
01:55:16,618 --> 01:55:20,873
"Why did you put her on?
How could you do such a thing?"
2103
01:55:21,164 --> 01:55:23,917
And it's very interesting.
These were documentarians
2104
01:55:24,209 --> 01:55:29,090
and writers and newspeople,
all of whom would argue
2105
01:55:29,381 --> 01:55:32,635
very vociferously
against Ayn Rand.
2106
01:55:32,926 --> 01:55:35,270
None of them had ever
read her works,
2107
01:55:35,554 --> 01:55:38,728
and to my knowledge,
none of them ever have,
2108
01:55:39,015 --> 01:55:41,939
as if they were afraid
somehow
2109
01:55:42,227 --> 01:55:43,524
of being stripped
of their illusions.
2110
01:55:43,812 --> 01:55:45,814
They'd rather cling to them.
2111
01:55:47,357 --> 01:55:49,280
(narrator)
In an outline for a new novel,
2112
01:55:49,568 --> 01:55:52,572
Ayn chose a dancer named Hella
as her heroine.
2113
01:55:52,863 --> 01:55:55,582
Hella wants to create
a new form of dance,
2114
01:55:55,866 --> 01:55:58,415
one that combines
the rhythmic precision of tap
2115
01:55:58,702 --> 01:56:02,548
with the graceful elegance
of ballet.
2116
01:56:02,831 --> 01:56:06,552
"The real essence of the story,"
Ayn wrote in notes to herself,
2117
01:56:06,835 --> 01:56:10,089
"is to be the universe
of my tiddlywink music,
2118
01:56:10,380 --> 01:56:13,054
of my sense of life."
2119
01:56:13,341 --> 01:56:15,218
But the state of the culture
made it impossible
2120
01:56:15,510 --> 01:56:17,387
for her to complete
another novel.
2121
01:56:17,679 --> 01:56:20,558
She was no longer able
to project her type of heroes
2122
01:56:20,849 --> 01:56:22,647
into the world
she was now living.
2123
01:56:22,934 --> 01:56:26,564
By 1961, she thought
that many Americans had given up
2124
01:56:26,855 --> 01:56:29,108
on finding solutions
to their problems.
2125
01:56:29,399 --> 01:56:31,367
They were cynical
and scared.
2126
01:56:31,651 --> 01:56:35,906
Despite this, she still believed
in their sense of life.
2127
01:56:36,198 --> 01:56:38,576
She was also convinced
that the young had not yet
2128
01:56:38,867 --> 01:56:42,121
been corrupted by her critics
or the intellectuals.
2129
01:56:42,412 --> 01:56:46,133
As Atlas Shrugged rose in sales
and on the best seller lists,
2130
01:56:46,416 --> 01:56:49,010
Ayn began to make more and more
television appearances,
2131
01:56:49,294 --> 01:56:50,591
from The Merv Griffin Show
2132
01:56:50,879 --> 01:56:53,553
to The Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson.
2133
01:56:53,840 --> 01:56:59,142
By 1 963, Atlas Shrugged had sold
1 .2 million copies.
2134
01:56:59,429 --> 01:57:01,648
Do you consider yourself
primarily a novelist
2135
01:57:01,932 --> 01:57:03,980
or primarily a philosopher?
2136
01:57:04,267 --> 01:57:07,066
I would say I am primarily
both equally,
2137
01:57:07,354 --> 01:57:08,697
and for the same reasons.
2138
01:57:08,980 --> 01:57:10,778
You see, my main interest
and purpose,
2139
01:57:11,066 --> 01:57:13,114
both in literature
and in philosophy,
2140
01:57:13,401 --> 01:57:17,656
is to define and present
the image of an ideal man--
2141
01:57:17,948 --> 01:57:21,418
the specific, complete image
of what man can be
2142
01:57:21,701 --> 01:57:25,251
and ought to be,
and when I started writing,
2143
01:57:25,539 --> 01:57:27,712
when I approached
the task of literature
2144
01:57:27,999 --> 01:57:29,216
and began to study
philosophy,
2145
01:57:29,501 --> 01:57:32,630
I discovered that I was
in profound disagreement
2146
01:57:32,921 --> 01:57:34,764
with all the existing
philosophies,
2147
01:57:35,048 --> 01:57:37,050
particularly their codes
of morality.
2148
01:57:37,342 --> 01:57:39,595
Therefore, I had to do
my own thinking.
2149
01:57:39,886 --> 01:57:43,231
I had to define
my own philosophical system
2150
01:57:43,515 --> 01:57:45,984
in order to discover
and present
2151
01:57:46,268 --> 01:57:48,145
the kind of ideas
and premises
2152
01:57:48,436 --> 01:57:50,780
that make an ideal man
possible--
2153
01:57:51,064 --> 01:57:54,785
in order to define
what kind of convictions
2154
01:57:55,068 --> 01:57:58,493
would result in a character
of an ideal man.
2155
01:57:58,780 --> 01:58:01,283
(narrator) Through conversations
with Leonard Peikoft,
2156
01:58:01,575 --> 01:58:03,998
Ayn saw that many
of her philosophic principles
2157
01:58:04,286 --> 01:58:06,914
were not self-evident
to those around her.
2158
01:58:07,205 --> 01:58:08,957
She realized
a more detailed elaboration
2159
01:58:09,249 --> 01:58:12,549
of her philosophy
was needed.
2160
01:58:12,836 --> 01:58:14,679
Now that Howard Roark,
John Galt,
2161
01:58:14,963 --> 01:58:17,432
and Dagny Taggart existed,
she had accomplished
2162
01:58:17,716 --> 01:58:19,389
what she had set out to do
in fiction,
2163
01:58:19,676 --> 01:58:23,681
and was ready to begin writing
in the field of philosophy.
2164
01:58:23,972 --> 01:58:25,849
She wanted to solve
what philosophers
2165
01:58:26,141 --> 01:58:29,486
traditionally called
the problem of universals.
2166
01:58:29,769 --> 01:58:32,363
She wanted to demonstrate
that abstract ideas
2167
01:58:32,647 --> 01:58:34,240
connect to reality,
2168
01:58:34,524 --> 01:58:38,245
that the concepts of freedom,
justice, and truth
2169
01:58:38,528 --> 01:58:41,247
were definable and real.
2170
01:58:41,531 --> 01:58:44,284
(Harry) Leonard Peikoff
once put it to me this way,
2171
01:58:44,576 --> 01:58:47,375
in regard to the way
that she used ideas.
2172
01:58:47,662 --> 01:58:49,209
He said, "You know
the way you or I
2173
01:58:49,497 --> 01:58:51,499
"hold the concept, 'chair"?
2174
01:58:51,791 --> 01:58:53,213
"Well, that's the way
she holds
2175
01:58:53,501 --> 01:58:56,755
"the highest, deepest
philosophical abstraction--
2176
01:58:57,047 --> 01:59:01,143
with that same kind of clarity
and concreteness."
2177
01:59:01,426 --> 01:59:03,804
I think that's the secret
of her method,
2178
01:59:04,095 --> 01:59:06,769
that her ideas were always
derived from reality
2179
01:59:07,057 --> 01:59:09,810
for the purpose
of living in reality.
2180
01:59:10,101 --> 01:59:12,399
That's why they were
so urgently important to her.
2181
01:59:12,687 --> 01:59:13,904
They were not a game.
2182
01:59:14,189 --> 01:59:15,987
They were for the purpose
of living her life
2183
01:59:16,274 --> 01:59:17,742
and achieving her values.
2184
01:59:18,026 --> 01:59:20,825
(Leonard) I asked her once,
when I was much younger,
2185
01:59:21,112 --> 01:59:23,991
why she got
so emotionally upset
2186
01:59:24,282 --> 01:59:27,411
at the theories of philosophers
like Immanuel Kant,
2187
01:59:27,702 --> 01:59:29,704
and she said to me,
"Because when I hear
2188
01:59:29,996 --> 01:59:32,215
"a philosopher say
there is no reality
2189
01:59:32,499 --> 01:59:34,593
"and your mind is
totally invalid,
2190
01:59:34,876 --> 01:59:38,050
"that means all of your values
are nullified.
2191
01:59:38,338 --> 01:59:41,137
"Your husband, your love,
your work,
2192
01:59:41,424 --> 01:59:43,301
the music you like,
your freedom."
2193
01:59:43,593 --> 01:59:45,220
It was truly a life and death
matter to her.
2194
01:59:45,512 --> 01:59:47,856
She thought philosophy
moved to the world,
2195
01:59:48,139 --> 01:59:51,814
and if anybody has confusion
about a philosophic issue,
2196
01:59:52,102 --> 01:59:54,776
that could be a peril
to their soul,
2197
01:59:55,063 --> 01:59:57,065
their cognition,
their clarity.
2198
01:59:57,357 --> 02:00:00,076
She hears the total destruction
in the abstract statement.
2199
02:00:00,360 --> 02:00:04,285
IVlost people hear abstractions
as simply floating abstractions,
2200
02:00:04,572 --> 02:00:08,418
but for her, she translated it
into the actual, concrete things
2201
02:00:08,702 --> 02:00:11,501
that it meant, and what it
would mean her own life,
2202
02:00:11,788 --> 02:00:13,586
and she was able
to react emotionally
2203
02:00:13,873 --> 02:00:17,298
to broad abstractions,
which very few people can do.
2204
02:00:17,585 --> 02:00:20,930
When did you discover
or think up
2205
02:00:21,214 --> 02:00:25,685
or allow objectivism
to become your philosophy?
2206
02:00:25,969 --> 02:00:27,812
From the time
that I remember myself,
2207
02:00:28,096 --> 02:00:29,518
which is 21/2.
2208
02:00:29,806 --> 02:00:31,854
The first incident in my life
I can remember,
2209
02:00:32,142 --> 02:00:33,519
I was 21/2.
2210
02:00:33,810 --> 02:00:35,528
And from that time
on to the present,
2211
02:00:35,812 --> 02:00:38,235
lneverchanged
my convictions.
2212
02:00:38,523 --> 02:00:41,902
Only at 21/2, I didn't know
as much as I know now.
2213
02:00:42,193 --> 02:00:45,288
But the fundamental approach
was the same.
2214
02:00:45,572 --> 02:00:47,745
I've never had to change.
2215
02:00:48,032 --> 02:00:50,160
Why has it worked
for you?
2216
02:00:50,452 --> 02:00:51,499
Because it's true.
2217
02:00:51,786 --> 02:00:54,255
Because it corresponds
to reality.
2218
02:00:54,539 --> 02:00:56,166
Because it is
the right philosophy.
2219
02:00:56,458 --> 02:00:59,758
By true, I mean it corresponds
to reality, therefore,
2220
02:01:00,044 --> 02:01:03,639
it permits me to deal
with reality properly.
2221
02:01:03,923 --> 02:01:06,301
(narrator)
Throughout the '60s and '7Os,
2222
02:01:06,593 --> 02:01:08,937
Ayn continued
to articulate her philosophy
2223
02:01:09,220 --> 02:01:11,723
through various interviews
and articles.
2224
02:01:12,015 --> 02:01:13,608
Without a border
to get beyond
2225
02:01:13,892 --> 02:01:16,361
or an artistic purpose
burning inside of her,
2226
02:01:16,644 --> 02:01:18,487
she now had a new reason
to work
2227
02:01:18,772 --> 02:01:23,369
and a new forum
to operate in.
2228
02:01:23,651 --> 02:01:28,623
Along with publishing books
on epistemology,
2229
02:01:28,907 --> 02:01:32,628
ethics,
2230
02:01:32,911 --> 02:01:37,087
social philosophy,
2231
02:01:37,373 --> 02:01:38,625
and aesthetics,
2232
02:01:38,917 --> 02:01:42,888
she also launched various
philosophical magazines.
2233
02:01:43,171 --> 02:01:45,094
She wanted to create
what she described
2234
02:01:45,381 --> 02:01:48,976
as a readers' digest for the man
of intellect and action,
2235
02:01:49,260 --> 02:01:52,810
and to her surprise,
she enjoyed the process.
2236
02:01:53,097 --> 02:01:54,690
She once wrote,
2237
02:01:54,974 --> 02:01:57,523
"Do you know that
my personal crusade in life,
2238
02:01:57,811 --> 02:01:59,063
"in the philosophical sense,
2239
02:01:59,354 --> 02:02:01,277
"is not merely
to fight collectivism,
2240
02:02:01,564 --> 02:02:03,532
"nor to fight altruism.
2241
02:02:03,817 --> 02:02:07,788
"These are only consequences,
effects, not causes.
2242
02:02:08,071 --> 02:02:13,123
"l am out after the real cause,
the real root of evil on earth--
2243
02:02:13,409 --> 02:02:17,664
the irrational."
2244
02:02:17,956 --> 02:02:19,583
In interviews and articles,
2245
02:02:19,874 --> 02:02:21,797
Ayn applied the essence
of her philosophy
2246
02:02:22,085 --> 02:02:24,679
to a variety of topics.
2247
02:02:24,963 --> 02:02:26,931
Upon the death
of Marilyn Monroe,
2248
02:02:27,215 --> 02:02:30,059
Ayn wrote that the beloved star
had projected the sense
2249
02:02:30,343 --> 02:02:34,064
of a person born and reared
in some radiant utopia,
2250
02:02:34,347 --> 02:02:35,724
untouched by suffering,
2251
02:02:36,015 --> 02:02:38,859
unable to conceive
ugliness or evil,
2252
02:02:39,143 --> 02:02:41,066
facing life
with confidence,
2253
02:02:41,354 --> 02:02:43,402
the benevolence,
and the joyous self-flaunting
2254
02:02:43,690 --> 02:02:45,112
of a child or a kitten
2255
02:02:45,400 --> 02:02:47,778
who is happy to display
its own attractiveness
2256
02:02:48,069 --> 02:02:51,289
as the best gift
it can offer the world.
2257
02:02:51,573 --> 02:02:53,917
To preserve that kind
of spirit on the screen,
2258
02:02:54,200 --> 02:02:56,373
the radiantly benevolent
sense of life
2259
02:02:56,661 --> 02:02:58,129
which cannot be faked,
2260
02:02:58,413 --> 02:03:01,417
was an almost inconceivable
psychological achievement
2261
02:03:01,708 --> 02:03:05,303
that required a heroism
of the highest order.
2262
02:03:07,839 --> 02:03:10,137
In her book,
The Virtue of Selfishness,
2263
02:03:10,425 --> 02:03:12,928
Ayn wrote that racism
is a doctrine
2264
02:03:13,219 --> 02:03:16,223
of, by, and for brutes.
2265
02:03:20,351 --> 02:03:24,026
"It is a barnyard or stock farm
version of collectivism,
2266
02:03:24,314 --> 02:03:25,816
"appropriate to a mentality
2267
02:03:26,107 --> 02:03:28,735
"that differentiates between
various breeds of animals
2268
02:03:29,027 --> 02:03:31,576
"but not between animals
and men.
2269
02:03:31,863 --> 02:03:34,036
"Like every form
of determinism,
2270
02:03:34,324 --> 02:03:37,043
"racism invalidates
the specific attribute
2271
02:03:37,327 --> 02:03:41,298
"which distinguishes man
from all other living species--
2272
02:03:41,581 --> 02:03:44,380
his rational faculty."
2273
02:03:46,336 --> 02:03:48,384
In 1969,
2274
02:03:48,671 --> 02:03:51,094
after Ayn and Frank were invited
to attend the launching
2275
02:03:51,382 --> 02:03:53,976
of Apollo 11,
she wrote,
2276
02:03:54,260 --> 02:03:55,853
"One knew that this spectacle
2277
02:03:56,137 --> 02:03:57,855
"was not the product
of an inanimate nature,
2278
02:03:58,139 --> 02:03:59,812
"like some aurora borealis,
2279
02:04:00,099 --> 02:04:02,352
"nor of chance,
nor of luck--
2280
02:04:02,644 --> 02:04:07,616
"that it was
unmistakably human,
2281
02:04:07,899 --> 02:04:11,244
with human, for once,
meaning 'grandeur."'
2282
02:04:12,904 --> 02:04:14,872
Religion, or the God concept,
or faith,
2283
02:04:15,156 --> 02:04:19,332
or worship has people--
2284
02:04:19,619 --> 02:04:21,496
has people thinking of life
as a veil of tears
2285
02:04:21,788 --> 02:04:24,007
through which you will probably
not get without falling.
2286
02:04:24,290 --> 02:04:25,212
- That's right.
- You are essentially
2287
02:04:25,500 --> 02:04:27,173
an evil person
who is bent toward--
2288
02:04:27,460 --> 02:04:29,838
Well, most religions
do preach just that.
2289
02:04:30,129 --> 02:04:30,971
You don't believe it?
2290
02:04:31,255 --> 02:04:32,347
God, no.
2291
02:04:32,632 --> 02:04:34,305
[laughter]
2292
02:04:34,592 --> 02:04:37,311
We are here, and we should
celebrate it,
2293
02:04:37,595 --> 02:04:39,973
use it, enjoy it,
be selfish.
2294
02:04:40,264 --> 02:04:41,356
There's a virtue
in selfishness...
2295
02:04:41,641 --> 02:04:42,813
Right.
Right.
2296
02:04:43,101 --> 02:04:44,273
And we got ourselves
in trouble when we started
2297
02:04:44,560 --> 02:04:46,528
using government to force us
to be good,
2298
02:04:46,813 --> 02:04:48,235
because we have this notion
that we had a--
2299
02:04:48,523 --> 02:04:49,991
a sort of bad nature.
2300
02:04:50,274 --> 02:04:51,025
Right.
2301
02:04:51,317 --> 02:04:53,490
And if we have
a bad nature,
2302
02:04:53,778 --> 02:04:55,121
we have no self-esteem.
2303
02:04:55,405 --> 02:04:59,535
If we have no self-esteem,
any demagogue can have us.
2304
02:04:59,826 --> 02:05:02,329
He can order us about,
2305
02:05:02,620 --> 02:05:06,545
because we wouldn't consider
ourselves valuable enough
2306
02:05:06,833 --> 02:05:08,961
to be free.
2307
02:05:09,252 --> 02:05:11,880
You will be anxious
to follow anyone,
2308
02:05:12,171 --> 02:05:14,299
because you don't
trust yourself.
2309
02:05:14,590 --> 02:05:17,093
(narrator) The gulf between
Ayn Rand and the Soviet Union
2310
02:05:17,385 --> 02:05:18,853
had made it impossible
for her know
2311
02:05:19,137 --> 02:05:21,265
what had happened
to her family.
2312
02:05:21,556 --> 02:05:24,309
After permission to bring them
to America had been denied,
2313
02:05:24,600 --> 02:05:28,025
she had given up any hope
of ever seeing them again.
2314
02:05:28,312 --> 02:05:31,566
In 1973,
Ayn's youngest sister Nora
2315
02:05:31,858 --> 02:05:34,828
saw an article in Russia
about the now famous author,
2316
02:05:35,111 --> 02:05:36,237
Ayn Rand.
2317
02:05:36,529 --> 02:05:37,655
She wrote to Ayn,
2318
02:05:37,947 --> 02:05:40,450
and they began
a renewed correspondence.
2319
02:05:40,742 --> 02:05:43,712
Through Nora's letters, Ayn
learned that her youngest sister
2320
02:05:43,995 --> 02:05:46,418
had become
a professional set designer.
2321
02:05:46,706 --> 02:05:48,424
Ayn also learned
that her parents
2322
02:05:48,708 --> 02:05:50,927
had since died of illnesses
under Stalin,
2323
02:05:51,210 --> 02:05:53,963
and her sister Natasha
had been killed in a park
2324
02:05:54,255 --> 02:05:58,635
during an air raid
in World War II.
2325
02:05:58,926 --> 02:06:01,554
As difficult as it was
to accept these facts,
2326
02:06:01,846 --> 02:06:04,144
Ayn focused on her joy
at finding Nora,
2327
02:06:04,432 --> 02:06:06,355
and she immediately began
to make arrangements
2328
02:06:06,642 --> 02:06:09,065
to bring her to America.
2329
02:06:09,353 --> 02:06:10,980
In a letter to Nora,
she wrote,
2330
02:06:11,272 --> 02:06:12,774
"Along time has passed,
2331
02:06:13,066 --> 02:06:15,114
"but I was hoping
that you would know or feel
2332
02:06:15,401 --> 02:06:17,403
"that I have not forgotten you
and never will.
2333
02:06:17,695 --> 02:06:21,245
I have always dreamt
that I would see you someday."
2334
02:06:21,532 --> 02:06:23,330
In anticipation
of Nora's arrival,
2335
02:06:23,618 --> 02:06:25,996
Ayn rented an apartment
in her building in New York
2336
02:06:26,287 --> 02:06:29,006
and decorated it with Nora's
colorful paintings.
2337
02:06:33,503 --> 02:06:35,676
After almost 50 years
between them,
2338
02:06:35,963 --> 02:06:39,718
Nora finally arrived,
and Ayn was overjoyed.
2339
02:06:40,009 --> 02:06:41,511
But soon, she discovered
Nora had become
2340
02:06:41,803 --> 02:06:43,430
a very different person.
2341
02:06:43,721 --> 02:06:46,099
Although Nora claimed to be
an anti-communist,
2342
02:06:46,390 --> 02:06:48,484
she complained
about the futility of life,
2343
02:06:48,768 --> 02:06:52,898
and indeed had long
given in to that concept.
2344
02:06:53,189 --> 02:06:55,567
The sense of life Ayn had shared
with Nora in their youth
2345
02:06:55,858 --> 02:07:00,455
had been suffocated.
2346
02:07:00,738 --> 02:07:02,331
After a few days
in New York,
2347
02:07:02,615 --> 02:07:06,711
Nora openly declared
that she didn't like America
2348
02:07:06,994 --> 02:07:09,873
or Ayn's novels.
2349
02:07:10,164 --> 02:07:13,338
Soon, the sisters were not
speaking to one another.
2350
02:07:13,626 --> 02:07:16,550
Eventually, even though
Nora's husband was seriously ill
2351
02:07:16,838 --> 02:07:20,217
and could not secure
proper medical care in Russia,
2352
02:07:20,508 --> 02:07:23,307
they returned
to the Soviet Union.
2353
02:07:25,721 --> 02:07:28,099
Ayn watched the one person
to whom she had had
2354
02:07:28,391 --> 02:07:29,893
a meaningful bond
in her childhood
2355
02:07:30,184 --> 02:07:31,857
walk away from her
2356
02:07:32,145 --> 02:07:34,944
and walk willingly
into an old prison.
2357
02:07:37,483 --> 02:07:40,202
She herself had fought
so many years to survive.
2358
02:07:40,486 --> 02:07:42,284
It was inconceivable
for her to give in
2359
02:07:42,572 --> 02:07:44,574
to the tragedy
of Nora's fate.
2360
02:07:44,866 --> 02:07:49,246
To Ayn, suffering could never
be considered important.
2361
02:07:49,537 --> 02:07:57,342
[somber music]
2362
02:08:04,177 --> 02:08:06,771
(Tom) You love this
country, don't you?
2363
02:08:07,054 --> 02:08:08,601
- Passionately.
- Yeah.
2364
02:08:08,890 --> 02:08:11,518
Very, very much,
and consciously.
2365
02:08:11,809 --> 02:08:14,028
I love it for its ideas.
2366
02:08:14,312 --> 02:08:16,189
And I've seen enough
of the other side,
2367
02:08:16,480 --> 02:08:18,198
so I can appreciate
this country.
2368
02:08:18,482 --> 02:08:21,782
You might even get emotional
about this country, huh?
2369
02:08:22,069 --> 02:08:23,161
Oh, yes.
2370
02:08:23,446 --> 02:08:24,743
Why, do you want me
to get emotional?
2371
02:08:25,031 --> 02:08:26,704
You might even thank God
for it, huh?
2372
02:08:26,991 --> 02:08:28,288
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
2373
02:08:28,576 --> 02:08:31,250
I may not literally
mean a God,
2374
02:08:31,537 --> 02:08:35,087
but I like what that
expression means.
2375
02:08:35,374 --> 02:08:37,297
"Thank God"
or "God bless you."
2376
02:08:37,585 --> 02:08:40,134
It means "the highest possible,"
to me,
2377
02:08:40,421 --> 02:08:43,550
and I will certainly thank God
for this country.
2378
02:08:45,134 --> 02:08:46,761
(narrator)
By 1978,
2379
02:08:47,053 --> 02:08:50,432
Frank had begun to show signs
of arteriosclerosis.
2380
02:08:50,723 --> 02:08:54,978
Soon he would have episodes of
memory loss and disorientation.
2381
02:08:55,269 --> 02:08:58,193
Earlier, Ayn had had her own
bout with illness,
2382
02:08:58,481 --> 02:09:00,529
a surgery to remove
a cancerous lesion
2383
02:09:00,816 --> 02:09:03,740
from her lung had forced
her to stop smoking,
2384
02:09:04,028 --> 02:09:05,405
yet even while convalescing,
2385
02:09:05,696 --> 02:09:09,496
she kept her vigil,
hoping that Frank would recover.
2386
02:09:09,784 --> 02:09:10,956
I had the privilege
of attending
2387
02:09:11,244 --> 02:09:16,045
her 50th anniversary party,
when her husband
2388
02:09:16,332 --> 02:09:19,211
was still pretty much oriented
and functional.
2389
02:09:19,502 --> 02:09:20,879
But it was one
of the very last times
2390
02:09:21,170 --> 02:09:23,013
that he could appear in public.
2391
02:09:23,297 --> 02:09:24,719
It was wonderful
to see them together,
2392
02:09:25,007 --> 02:09:27,510
and everybody made speeches
about, you know,
2393
02:09:27,802 --> 02:09:30,646
how their love
had endured 50 years.
2394
02:09:30,930 --> 02:09:34,605
(Leonard) The relationship between
Ayn and Frank was very noticeable,
2395
02:09:34,892 --> 02:09:37,941
because here was this couple,
married 50 years,
2396
02:09:38,229 --> 02:09:39,856
always holding hands.
2397
02:09:40,147 --> 02:09:41,444
She would always say,
2398
02:09:41,732 --> 02:09:43,029
when he came into the room,
2399
02:09:43,317 --> 02:09:46,241
"Hello, darling,"
with that Russian accent.
2400
02:09:46,529 --> 02:09:50,204
She didn't want to be
away from him for a second,
2401
02:09:50,491 --> 02:09:52,084
and he felt the same way.
2402
02:09:52,368 --> 02:09:55,247
The affection
was quite noticeable.
2403
02:09:55,538 --> 02:09:57,586
A lot of endearments--you know,
2404
02:09:57,873 --> 02:09:59,170
she called him Cubbyhole.
2405
02:09:59,458 --> 02:10:01,426
His pet name
for her with Kitten Fluff.
2406
02:10:01,711 --> 02:10:07,184
But it was quite affectionate.
2407
02:10:07,466 --> 02:10:09,810
(narrator)
In November of 1979,
2408
02:10:10,094 --> 02:10:12,688
not long after their 50th
wedding anniversary,
2409
02:10:12,972 --> 02:10:16,476
Frank's life came to an end
at the age of 82.
2410
02:10:16,767 --> 02:10:18,610
She was crushed.
2411
02:10:18,894 --> 02:10:21,522
She wouldn't show anything
outwardly.
2412
02:10:21,814 --> 02:10:25,694
She told me once
that she was like a lion
2413
02:10:25,985 --> 02:10:26,986
that when she was hurt,
2414
02:10:27,278 --> 02:10:30,282
she wanted to crawl off
in solitude--
2415
02:10:30,573 --> 02:10:31,574
or sick--
2416
02:10:31,866 --> 02:10:33,083
crawl off in solitude
2417
02:10:33,367 --> 02:10:37,588
and not show her suffering
to anyone else.
2418
02:10:37,872 --> 02:10:42,924
But you could see the absence
of fire in her.
2419
02:10:43,210 --> 02:10:45,258
I think when she lost Frank,
2420
02:10:45,546 --> 02:10:48,675
she basically lost
a will to live.
2421
02:10:48,966 --> 02:10:54,223
I thought that she was depressed
after that.
2422
02:10:54,513 --> 02:10:56,641
She didn't have much energy.
2423
02:10:56,932 --> 02:10:59,981
She didn't really want
to go places.
2424
02:11:00,269 --> 02:11:02,943
But she managed to keep going.
2425
02:11:03,230 --> 02:11:06,985
(narrator) Ayn Rand once wrote that
"it is with a person's sense of life
2426
02:11:07,276 --> 02:11:08,653
"that one falls in love--
2427
02:11:08,944 --> 02:11:10,321
"with that essential sum,
2428
02:11:10,613 --> 02:11:12,240
"that fundamental stand or way
2429
02:11:12,531 --> 02:11:16,957
of facing existence, which is
the essence of a personality."
2430
02:11:17,244 --> 02:11:21,294
Now, that personality was gone.
2431
02:11:21,582 --> 02:11:26,463
Does this emotional impact
of this kind of pain
2432
02:11:26,754 --> 02:11:29,974
alter, in any way,
your own feelings, philosophies?
2433
02:11:30,257 --> 02:11:34,808
No. It only alters my position
in regards to the world.
2434
02:11:35,096 --> 02:11:38,191
In other words, which is
that I lost my top value.
2435
02:11:38,474 --> 02:11:41,227
I'm not too interested
in anything else.
2436
02:11:41,519 --> 02:11:42,645
But I'll survive it,
2437
02:11:42,937 --> 02:11:44,814
because I do love the world
in general,
2438
02:11:45,106 --> 02:11:46,733
and I do love ideas,
2439
02:11:47,024 --> 02:11:48,150
- and I do love man.
- Yes.
2440
02:11:48,442 --> 02:11:51,161
- But my personal is lost now.
- I know.
2441
02:11:51,445 --> 02:11:53,038
Isn't there a temptation
for you--
2442
02:11:53,322 --> 02:11:55,074
and I don't mean this to flip
2443
02:11:55,366 --> 02:11:57,539
to suggest that you're
not sincere in your writings
2444
02:11:57,827 --> 02:12:01,582
to hope for a reunion
with the person you love,
2445
02:12:01,872 --> 02:12:03,419
to look beyond the
2446
02:12:03,707 --> 02:12:07,177
I have asked myself just that,
seriously,
2447
02:12:07,461 --> 02:12:09,964
and I thought, "if I really
believed that for five minutes,
2448
02:12:10,256 --> 02:12:12,224
I would commit suicide
immediately."
2449
02:12:12,508 --> 02:12:13,634
And I know that
then I'd be right.
2450
02:12:13,926 --> 02:12:15,098
- Oh, to get to him right away.
- To get to him.
2451
02:12:15,386 --> 02:12:16,603
Of course.
2452
02:12:16,887 --> 02:12:18,139
I'll tell you more.
2453
02:12:18,431 --> 02:12:20,058
I asked myself, "How would I
feel if I think he
2454
02:12:20,349 --> 02:12:23,398
"is now on trial
before God or St. Peter,
2455
02:12:23,686 --> 02:12:24,687
and I'm not with him'?"
2456
02:12:24,979 --> 02:12:26,071
To testify
or to help him out?
2457
02:12:26,355 --> 02:12:28,983
Exactly.
My first desire in that case
2458
02:12:29,275 --> 02:12:34,247
would be to run to help him
and tell how good he was.
2459
02:12:34,530 --> 02:12:36,532
(narrator) "There are two
aspects of man's existence
2460
02:12:36,824 --> 02:12:38,622
which are the special province
and expression
2461
02:12:38,909 --> 02:12:43,631
of his sense of life,"
she wrote, "love and art."
2462
02:12:46,125 --> 02:12:48,127
With Frank no longer beside her,
2463
02:12:48,419 --> 02:12:50,717
Ayn's depression intensified,
2464
02:12:51,005 --> 02:12:53,258
but as with all tragedy
and Ayn Rand,
2465
02:12:53,549 --> 02:12:59,056
it could not completely stifle
her enthusiasm for living.
2466
02:12:59,346 --> 02:13:01,440
After several attempts
to being bring Atlas Shrugged
2467
02:13:01,724 --> 02:13:03,351
to television and movie screens,
2468
02:13:03,642 --> 02:13:04,768
she decided to write
2469
02:13:05,060 --> 02:13:10,237
and produce her own film version
of the book.
2470
02:13:10,524 --> 02:13:12,572
Recovering somewhat
from the loss of Frank,
2471
02:13:12,860 --> 02:13:15,329
she had a renewed sense
of purpose.
2472
02:13:19,408 --> 02:13:21,206
In spite of her failing health,
2473
02:13:21,494 --> 02:13:24,418
she gave a speech
in New Orleans in 1981,
2474
02:13:24,705 --> 02:13:27,174
and announced her plans
to make Atlas Shrugged
2475
02:13:27,458 --> 02:13:29,881
into a miniseries.
2476
02:13:30,169 --> 02:13:33,514
She gave a lecture
on the natural connection
2477
02:13:33,797 --> 02:13:35,970
between the philosopher
and businessman,
2478
02:13:36,258 --> 02:13:38,056
and tried to open their eyes
2479
02:13:38,344 --> 02:13:39,721
to the fact that--
2480
02:13:40,012 --> 02:13:41,685
as she did in Atlas Shrugged,
2481
02:13:41,972 --> 02:13:44,270
that they were,
by ignoring philosophy,
2482
02:13:44,558 --> 02:13:48,938
financing their own demise.
2483
02:13:49,230 --> 02:13:51,779
Well, she agreed to speak
in New Orleans,
2484
02:13:52,066 --> 02:13:54,194
because the, uh--Jim Blanchard,
2485
02:13:54,485 --> 02:13:56,328
the man who was sponsoring
the conference--
2486
02:13:56,612 --> 02:14:00,116
National Conference
on Monetary Reform, I believe--
2487
02:14:00,407 --> 02:14:05,664
offered her what she had always
wanted, a private train.
2488
02:14:05,955 --> 02:14:08,754
(Blanchard) Leonard Peikoff and I
escorted her from her hotel suite
2489
02:14:09,041 --> 02:14:12,671
back to the railroad car
because she wanted to
2490
02:14:12,962 --> 02:14:14,464
I think they were leaving
early in the morning,
2491
02:14:14,755 --> 02:14:17,804
and she wanted to go to sleep on
the car rather than the hotel.
2492
02:14:18,092 --> 02:14:19,218
And that was the last time
I saw her.
2493
02:14:19,510 --> 02:14:21,512
She was showing us
the railroad car.
2494
02:14:21,804 --> 02:14:24,273
She had such a capacity
for the delight
2495
02:14:24,557 --> 02:14:27,857
of all of the wonderful things
that man could make.
2496
02:14:28,143 --> 02:14:31,192
The fact that she
could travel in a railroad car
2497
02:14:31,480 --> 02:14:32,902
in such sumptuous comfort--
2498
02:14:33,190 --> 02:14:36,034
and it was just a total delight
for her.
2499
02:14:36,318 --> 02:14:39,162
(Leonard) Unfortunately, she took
ill on the train coming back,
2500
02:14:39,446 --> 02:14:41,824
and she realistically
never recovered.
2501
02:14:42,116 --> 02:14:43,959
Her faculties were still good
at the end.
2502
02:14:44,243 --> 02:14:47,042
A night or so before she died,
2503
02:14:47,329 --> 02:14:49,297
some new cover copy
2504
02:14:49,582 --> 02:14:51,926
for one of her forthcoming books
came from the publisher,
2505
02:14:52,209 --> 02:14:53,301
and she went over it with me,
2506
02:14:53,586 --> 02:14:55,964
and told them what to change
and so on,
2507
02:14:56,255 --> 02:15:00,180
and then, as was expected,
she just slipped away.
2508
02:15:00,467 --> 02:15:02,890
I once spent part of
an evening alone with Ayn Rand,
2509
02:15:03,178 --> 02:15:04,350
talking.
2510
02:15:04,638 --> 02:15:06,936
And somehow,
the subject of death came up,
2511
02:15:07,224 --> 02:15:10,194
and I asked her
if she was afraid of dying.
2512
02:15:10,477 --> 02:15:11,820
And she said, "No.
2513
02:15:12,104 --> 02:15:15,108
"Death is insignificant
and unimportant.
2514
02:15:15,399 --> 02:15:17,072
"Eternity is important,
2515
02:15:17,359 --> 02:15:19,487
and eternity is now."
2516
02:15:19,778 --> 02:15:21,655
I'll never forget that.
2517
02:15:21,947 --> 02:15:24,496
I tend to think
of this whole thing as ongoing.
2518
02:15:24,783 --> 02:15:26,126
That there is an eternity
2519
02:15:26,410 --> 02:15:28,162
and that we are going
to be a part of that eternity,
2520
02:15:28,454 --> 02:15:31,754
that we aren't just corpses
in graves when we die.
2521
02:15:32,041 --> 02:15:33,918
But we aren't corpses
in graves.
2522
02:15:34,209 --> 02:15:36,428
We are not there.
2523
02:15:36,712 --> 02:15:39,465
Don't you understand
that when this life is finished,
2524
02:15:39,757 --> 02:15:42,101
you are not there to say,
"Oh, how terrible
2525
02:15:42,384 --> 02:15:44,011
that I am a corpse."
No.
2526
02:15:44,303 --> 02:15:46,101
- Well, this is true.
- it's finished,
2527
02:15:46,388 --> 02:15:49,813
and the--
what I've always thought
2528
02:15:50,100 --> 02:15:52,102
was a sentence
from some Greek philosopher--
2529
02:15:52,394 --> 02:15:53,486
I don't, unfortunately,
2530
02:15:53,771 --> 02:15:56,115
remember who it was,
that I read at 16,
2531
02:15:56,398 --> 02:15:58,651
and it's affected me
all my life.
2532
02:15:58,942 --> 02:15:59,818
"l will not die.
2533
02:16:00,110 --> 02:16:01,953
It's the world that will end."
2534
02:16:02,237 --> 02:16:04,205
And that's absolutely true.
2535
02:16:04,490 --> 02:16:05,992
And you know, for me, now,
2536
02:16:06,283 --> 02:16:08,001
it should be a serious question,
2537
02:16:08,285 --> 02:16:11,915
because my time
is fairly limited,
2538
02:16:12,206 --> 02:16:16,256
and I have the same feeling,
2539
02:16:16,543 --> 02:16:19,296
that I will enjoy life
to the last moment,
2540
02:16:19,588 --> 02:16:21,431
and when it's the end,
I don't have to worry about it.
2541
02:16:21,715 --> 02:16:22,807
I'm not there.
2542
02:16:23,092 --> 02:16:24,514
It's too bad
that the world will end,
2543
02:16:24,802 --> 02:16:26,554
and I think
that a very wonderful world
2544
02:16:26,845 --> 02:16:28,347
will end with me,
2545
02:16:28,639 --> 02:16:30,983
but I've had my time.
2546
02:16:31,266 --> 02:16:33,109
I can't complain.
2547
02:16:33,394 --> 02:16:35,988
(narrator) Ayn Rand died at
her home from heart failure
2548
02:16:36,271 --> 02:16:38,444
on March 6th, 1982.
2549
02:16:42,277 --> 02:16:44,075
"l decided to be a writer
2550
02:16:44,363 --> 02:16:48,118
"not in order to save the world
nor to serve my fellow man,
2551
02:16:48,409 --> 02:16:49,581
"but for the simple,
2552
02:16:49,868 --> 02:16:52,246
"personal, selfish,
egotistical happiness
2553
02:16:52,538 --> 02:16:54,540
"of creating the kind
of men and events
2554
02:16:54,832 --> 02:16:56,049
"l could like, respect,
2555
02:16:56,333 --> 02:16:59,132
"and admire.
2556
02:16:59,420 --> 02:17:01,639
"You see, I am an atheist,
2557
02:17:01,922 --> 02:17:04,220
"and I have only one religion--
2558
02:17:04,508 --> 02:17:06,181
the sublime and human nature."
2559
02:17:06,468 --> 02:17:09,267
[peaceful music]
2560
02:17:10,723 --> 02:17:12,646
"There is nothing
to approach the sanctity
2561
02:17:12,933 --> 02:17:16,107
"of the highest type
of man possible,
2562
02:17:16,395 --> 02:17:19,194
"and there is nothing that gives
me the same reverent feeling.
2563
02:17:22,693 --> 02:17:25,822
"The feeling when one spirit
wants to kneel, bareheaded.
2564
02:17:30,492 --> 02:17:31,709
"Do not call it hero worship,
2565
02:17:31,994 --> 02:17:33,541
"because it is more than that.
2566
02:17:33,829 --> 02:17:36,628
"It is a kind of strange
and improbable, white heat,
2567
02:17:36,915 --> 02:17:38,667
"where admiration
becomes religion,
2568
02:17:38,959 --> 02:17:40,632
"and religion
becomes philosophy,
2569
02:17:40,919 --> 02:17:44,219
"and philosophy,
the whole of one's life.
2570
02:18:01,732 --> 02:18:05,077
"My personal life
is a postscript to my novels.
2571
02:18:05,360 --> 02:18:07,283
"it consists of the sentence,
2572
02:18:07,571 --> 02:18:10,074
"'And I mean it.'
2573
02:18:10,365 --> 02:18:11,662
"I've always lived
by the philosophy
2574
02:18:11,950 --> 02:18:13,418
"l present my books,
2575
02:18:13,702 --> 02:18:17,582
"and it has worked for me
as it works for my characters.
2576
02:18:17,873 --> 02:18:18,965
"The concretes differ.
2577
02:18:19,249 --> 02:18:21,172
The abstractions are the same."
2578
02:18:27,758 --> 02:18:29,931
Ayn Rand waged a lifelong battle
2579
02:18:30,219 --> 02:18:34,565
for reason and individualism.
2580
02:18:34,848 --> 02:18:35,895
Like a ferocious angel,
2581
02:18:36,183 --> 02:18:37,651
shefoughL
2582
02:18:37,935 --> 02:18:40,688
and beside her in the ranks,
glowing from the tattered pages
2583
02:18:40,979 --> 02:18:43,858
of books that have been
read over and over again,
2584
02:18:44,149 --> 02:18:46,151
are the men and women
she created.
2585
02:18:46,443 --> 02:18:54,248
[triumphant music]
2586
02:18:59,331 --> 02:19:01,299
The characters
who will forever fight
2587
02:19:01,583 --> 02:19:05,383
for the same principles
and the same sense of life.
2588
02:21:01,583 --> 02:23:05,383
Fixed & Synced By MoUsTaFa ZaKi
209698