Elia Kazan was for a number of years the pre-eminent director in New York and Hollywood, who helped establish the American social-realist style in theater and film. Beginning with his early association with "The Group," Pauly shows how Kazan's realist style shifted subtly toward a more autobiographical mode, especially in his later films and how he influenced the work of writers now identified as among the best America has produced. Also shows how commercial concerns and changing audience tastes affected what Kazan chose to do, even while he remained preoccupied with American social problems.