Upton Sinclair

Upton Beall Sinclair (September 20, 1878 - November 25, 1968) was a prolific (90 books) American author who wrote in many genres, often advocating Socialist views, and achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the twentieth century. He gained particular fame for his novel, The Jungle (1906), which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that ultimately led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. However the main point of the novel, The Jungle, was lost on the public. He wrote to demonstrate the inhuman conditions of the workers and the exploitation of the wage earner under capitalism. But, at least the fame and fortune he gained from publishing The Jungle enabled him to write books on almost every issue of social justice in the 20th century.

Artistic output

From late 1931-1933, Sinclair was principally preoccupied with efforts to get the film Que Viva Mexico!, for which he acted as principal off-site producer, completed by Sergei Eisenstein, who had been commissioned for the project by Sinclair, his wife, and three other patrons of the motion picture arts. Sinclair knew nothing about film production, unfortunately, and was unable to control the situation created by Eisenstein and complicated by the changes occurring within the Soviet Film Industry, and ended up with between 150,000 and 200,000 (sources vary) feet of uncompleted film footage.

Related Topics:
1931 - 1933 - Que Viva Mexico! - Sergei Eisenstein - Soviet Film Industry

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The Upton Sinclair House, in Monrovia, California, is a National Historic Landmark.

Related Topics:
Monrovia, California - National Historic Landmark

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