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The Hollywood Blacklist
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on this page: timeline The Hollywood Ten people who cooperated books on the blacklist movies about the blacklist links on page two: other blacklisted people

"There is no blacklist, but you are on it." — Fritz Lang's agent

While the predations of the House Unamerican Activities Committee [H.U.A.C.] and the Senate Committee on Government [C.O.G.] of the U.S. Congress were quite broad in scope – going after victims in many career fields – the highly visible investigation of purported 'Communist agents' among Hollywood writers and actors and directors provided the politicians with the scandal-fueled attention that they were after.

Timeline of H.U.A.C. & the Blacklist 1946 December: Members of the House Unamerican Activities Committee [H.U.A.C.] held secret hearings in Hollywood and decided to convene full committee hearings in 1947. 1947 Oct 20: H.U.A.C. chairman J. Parnell Thomas opened hearings in Washington, DC into alleged influence & infiltration by Communist Party members within the motion picture industry. Early witnesses were friendly, and included philosopher Ayn Rand [1905-82]. 1947 Nov 24: The House Unamerican Activities Committee cited a group of writers, producers & directors – later known as the 'Hollywood Ten' – for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the motion picture industry. 1948 Spring & Summer: The Hollywood Ten were tried, convicted & sentenced to prison terms. 1949 June 13: Hollywood Ten convictions were upheld by Justice Clark of the Washington, DC Court of Appeals. 1949 November: U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of the Hollywood Ten. 1950 Feb 9: Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin gave a speech at Wheeling, West Virginia charging that the U.S. State Department was 'riddled with Communists'. 1950 February: The Senate Committee on Government Operations opened an investigation into Communist influence within the Federal government, with the participation of Sen. McCarthy. 1950 June 1: Seven Republican Senators, led by Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, denounced Sen. McCarthy for attacking 'individual freedom'. 1950 Sept 23: Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act. 1951 March 21: H.U.A.C. resumed investigations into Communist influence in Hollywood, possibly fueled by C.G.O. hearings in the Senate. Witnesses included Larry Parks, Edward G. Robinson & John Garfield. 1952: Afro-American actor-singer Paul Robeson testified before H.U.A.C,; his passport was then revoked. 1952 May 21: Testimony by author Lillian Hellman [1904-85]. 1952: Newly-reelected Sen. McCarthy was appointed chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. 1952 September: Charlie Chaplin [1889-1977] left for a trip to England with his family; the U.S. government announced that he would not be allowed back into the country. 1953 Jan 22: Arthur Miller’s anti-blacklist play "The Crucible" {see below} opened in New York City. 1954: Journalist Edward R. Murrow exposed Sen. McCarthy on the CBS News TV program See It Now. 1954 March 6: See It Now aired Sen. McCarthy's filmed rebuttal to Murrow, which charged that Murrow had in the past "engaged in propoganda for Communist causes". 1954 March 11: The U.S. Army charged Sen. McCarthy & subcommittee chief counsel Roy M. Cohn with exerting pressure for favored treatment for Pvt. G. David Schine, a former consultant to H.U.A.C. 1954 Apr 22: Beginning of the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings, which ended on June 17 (for a total of 187 televised hours). 1954 June 9: Joseph N. Welch stood up to Sen. McCarthy at the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings, responding "Have you no decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" 1954 Dec 2: The U.S. Senate voted to condemn Sen. McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute" for his actions during the Congressional hearings. 1954 August 18: Folksinger Pete Seeger testified before H.U.A.C. He refused to answer questions, was sentenced for contempt, and won on appeal. 1955 Oct 14: Testimony of actor Zero Mostel before H.U.A.C. 1956 June 12: Further testimony of singer-actor Paul Robeson before H.U.A.C. 1957 May 2: Sen. McCarthy died of acute hepatitis at Washington's Bethesda Naval Hospital. 1957 June 1: Playwright Arthur Miller was cited for contempt for refusing to name names during testimony before H.U.A.C.; his passport was taken away. 1958: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Paul Robeson's favor, confirming that a passport could not be revoked without due process of law.

Reference  Links
blacklist site at U.C. Berkeley
Hollywood Ten digital collection at Michigan State University
transcript of testimony before H.U.A.C. by Ayn Rand [1905-1982]
Yahoo! Directory entries on the Blacklist
Yahoo! Directory entries on the Hollywood Ten
Open Directory Project entries on McCarthyism & HUAC
text of National Screen Actor special edition of January 1998
search for 'blacklist' on Internet Movie Database
Red Scare Filmography at Washington University

Joseph R. McCarthy Page at Spirit of America

Hollywood Blacklist entry at Wikipedia

The  Hollywood  Ten
Subpoenaed before H.U.A.C. in October 1947, each refused to answer questions,
each denounced the Committee, and all were cited & imprisoned for contempt of Congress.

Hollywood Ten entry at Wikipedia

writer Alvah C. Bessie [1904-85]
{served 10 months in prison}
browse books as AB or as ACB • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

writer/director Herbert J. Biberman [1900-71]
{served 5 months in prison}
explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

writer Lester Cole [1904-85]
{served 10 months in prison}
explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"Hollywood Red: The Autobiography of Lester Cole" [1981] Ramparts Press hardcover [6/81] out of print/used

director Edward Dmytryk [1908-99] Page
{served only 4½ months in prison, later cooperated}

"Odd Man Out: A Memoir of The Hollywood Ten" [1995] by Edward Dmytryk S.I.U. Press 9x¼x6¼ pb [12/95] out of print/used S.I.U. Press 9x¼x6¼ hardcover [12/95] out of print/rare

writer Ring Lardner, Jr. [1915-2000]
{served 9½ months in prison}
browse books • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

	"I'd Hate Myself In The Morning: A Memoir" [2000] by Ring Lardner, Jr.; introduction by Victor Navasky Thunder's Mouth Press 9¼x6 pb [10/2001] for $10.17 Nation Books 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2000] for $15.61
	"Shut Up, He Explained: The Memoir of A Blacklisted Kid" [2004] by Kate Lardner Ballantine 8¾x6 hardcover [5/2004] out of print/many used

writer John Howard Lawson [1894-1977]
{served 10 months in prison}
explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

"The Final Victim of The Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of The Hollywood Ten" [2006] by Gerald Horne Univ CA Press 9x6 pb [9/2006] for $24.95 Univ CA Press 9¼x6 hardcover [9/2006] for $60.00

writer Albert Maltz [1908-85]
{served 10 months in prison}
browse books • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

writer Samuel Ornitz [1890-1957]
{served 9 months in prison}
browse books • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

writer-producer Adrian Scott [1912-73]
{served 9 months in prison}
browse books • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

writer Dalton Trumbo [1905-1976] {served 11 months in prison} browse books • explore videos/DVDs • IMDb listing • Wikipedia

	"Trumbo" documentary feature [Samuel Goldwyn Company June 2008] Directed by Peter Askin; script by Christopher Trumbo, based on his play; archive footage of Dalton Trumbo, interviews with Kirk Douglas, Otto Preminger, Victor Navasky & Christopher Trumbo, and readings by Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti, Danny Glover, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, David Strathairn & Donald Sutherland video/DVD not yet available • full credits from IMDb • official movie site
	"Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel: A Critical Survey & Filmography" [2001] by Peter Hanson McFarland & Co. 10x7 pb [10/2007] for $35.00 McFarland & Co. 10¼x7¼ hardcover [2/2001] out of print/used
	"Time of The Toad: A Study of Inquisition In America" [1972] by Dalton Trumbo Harper & Row pb [72] out of print/used HarperCollins hardcover [1/2000] out of print/rare

Witnesses Who Cooperated
screenwriter Michael Blankfort
actor Sterling Hayden
writer-director Elia Kazan
actor Adolphe Monjou
film composer David Raksin
actor Ronald Reagan
director Robert Rossen
author Budd Schulberg

Movies  About  The  Blacklist  &  H.U.A.C.

"Big  Jim  McLain" [Warner Aug 1952]

H.U.A.C. investigators Wayne & Arness break up a ring of Commie troublemakers in Hawaii. Directed by Edward Ludwig; starring John Wayne, Nancy Olson, James Arness, Alan Napier, Veda Ann Borg & Hans Conried Warner b&w VHS [5/94] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

"Salt  of  The  Earth [March 1954]
and "The Hollywood Ten" [1950 short film]

	A fictional, neo-realist-style tale about oppressed Hispanic-American zinc miners in New Mexico, who go on a strike led mostly by the women. The pro-labor stance and the alleged ties of many of the filmmakers caused the film to be the only officially-blacklisted movie in American history. Directed by Herbert J. Biberman [B]; script by Michael Biberman & Michael Wilson [B]; produced by Paul Jarrico [B]; starring Will Geer [B]; listed on National Film Registry in 1992  {NOTE: Blacklisted members of the cast & crew are indicated with '[B]'.} Pioneer b&w DVD [3/99] for $24.97 "Salt of the Earth" credits from IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia "The Hollywood Ten" 15-minute documentary Written & directed by John Berry available only on the above DVD; "Hollywood Ten" credits from IMDb "Salt of the Earth" only: b&w VHS [1/2000] for $19.95 "Salt of the Earth" only: MPI b&w VHS [7/87] for $14.23
	"Salt of the Earth: The Story of A Film" [1987] by Herbert Biberman [B] Harbor Electronic 9x6 pb [50th Anniv Edition 5/2003] for $21.21 New York Zoetrope hardcover [original 9/87] out of print/used Harbor Electronic CD-ROM [12/2000] for $25.47
	"The Suppression of Salt of The Earth: How Hollywood, Big Labor & Politicians Blacklisted A Movie In Cold War America" [1999] by James J. Lorence Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [12/99] for $21.95 Univ NM Press 9¼x6½ hardcover [9/99] out of print/used
	"Salt of The Earth: Screenplay & Commentary" [1977] Script by Michael Wilson [B]; commentary by Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt Feminist Press at CUNY 9x6 pb [9/77] for $14.95

"Committee  On  Un-American  Activities"
[independent documentary film 1962]
Produced by Robert Carl Cohen: no listing at IMDb; DVD available at Radical Films

"Hollywood  On  Trial" [indep documentary 1976]

Directed by David Helpern; written by Arnie Reisman Corinth Films b&w/color DVD [undated] out of prodn/rare M.P.I. b&w/color VHS [10/94] out of prodn/rare full credits at IMDb "Hollywood On Trial: The Story of The 10 Who Were Indicted" [1948] by Gordon Kahn, Foreward by Thomas Mann Boni & Gaer hardcover [1948] out of print/rare Ayer hardcover [6/48] out of print/rare

"A  King  In  New  York"
[British 1957; US release 1973]

Written & directed by & starring Charles Chaplin, as an exiled king who is suspected of Communist symapathies and ordered to testify before a H.U.A.C.-like commission. Warner DVD with "A Woman of Paris" [3/2004] 2 disks for $26.99 Fox b&w VHS [1989] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

"The  Front" [Columbia Pictures Sept 1976]

An apolitical restaurant worker agrees to 'front' for a series of blacklisted writers, to sell their screenplays under his name. But a new girlfriend and increasing awareness of Joe McCarthy's witch-hunt open his eyes, and then he is called in front of Congress's Un-American Activities Committee ... Written by Walter Bernstein [B]; directed by Martin Ritt [B]; starring Woody Allen, Zero Mostel [B], Herschel Bernardi [B], Lloyd Gough [B] & Joshua Shelley [B]. {NOTE: Blacklisted members of the cast & crew are indicated with '[B]'. widescreen DVD [2/2004] for $22.46 Columbia/TriStar color VHS [8/95] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb tv documentary "The Making of 'The Front'" [1976]

"Guilty  By  Suspicion"
[Warner Bros. March 1991]

A succesful film director returns from France to find himself unemployable, due to the blacklist; he is offered a film project by a major studio if he will testify against others, and he agrees, but then finds that he cannot concede to the cruel and tyrannical actions of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Written & directed by Irwin Winkler; starring Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, [blacklistee] Sam Wanamaker, Chris Cooper, Ben Piazza, Martin Scorsese & Tom Sizemore Warner color DVD [6/2004] for $9.97 Warner color VHS [9/98] for $14.20 Varese soundtrack CD [3/91] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb

"Red  Hollywood" [1995 docufilm on video]
Written & directed by Thom Andersen & Noël Burch;
interviewees include Paul Jarrico, Alfred Lewis Levitt & Abraham Polonsky
video not available; full credits from IMDb

"Blacklist:  Hollywood  On  Trial"
[TV documentary 1995]
Narrated by Alec Baldwin; video/DVD not available; credits at IMDb

"The  Crucible" [Fox Nov 1996]

A powerful parable of the Congressional witchhunts that were led by Sen. Joe McCarthy in 1950s America. Directed by Nicholas Hytner; script by Arthur Miller [1915-2005] from his 1953 play; starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen & Bruce Davison; Oscar nominations for Best Actress [JA] & Best Script; nominated for Best Script BAFTA, Scofield won BAFTA for Best Actor Fox widescreen DVD [6/2004] for $11.98 Fox widescreen VHS [9/2001] for $9.48 Fox color VHS [4/2002] for $9.48 R.C.A. soundtrack CD [11/96] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" black poster {at left} from Amazon for $9.99 11"x17" white poster {above} from Amazon for $9.99 playscript: Penguin 8x5 pb [3/2003] for $8.80 Critical Edition, edited by Gerald Weales: Viking pb [1/96] for $11.56 play credits at Internet Broadway Database

"Scandalize  My  Name:  Stories  From  The  Blacklist"
[indep 1998]

A look at Afro-Americans and the H.U.A.C. blacklist. Written & directed by Alexandra Isles Urban Works DVD [1/2004] for $8.99 full credits from IMDb

Books  About  The  Blacklist

browse books on the blacklist at Amazon.com

	"Un-American Hollywood: Politics and Film In The Blacklist Era" [2008] Edited by Frank Krutnik, Steve Neale, Brian Neve & Peter Stanfield Rutgers Univ Press 9x6 pb [2/2008] for $27.95 Rutgers Univ Press 9¼x6 hardcover [2/2008] for $75.00
	"Beverly Hills Dead: A Novel" [2008] by Stuart Woods The first third of the book looks inside a Hollywood studio after World War II; the second third brings in the anti-Communist 'witch-hunts' of the early H.U.A.C. blacklist era; the final third is the actual murder mystery. Signet mass pb [9/2008] for $9.99 Putnam 9x6¼ hardcover [1/2008] for $15.09
	"Red Star Over Hollywood: The Film Colony's Long Romance With The Left" [2005] by Ronald & Allis Radosh Encounter 9x6 pb [7/2006] for $14.00 Encounter 9½x6½ hardcover [5/2005] for $18.42
	"The Fountainheads: Wright, Rand, The F.B.I. & Hollywood" [2005] by Donald Leslie Johnson Speculative examination of the possible relationships between philosopher Ayn Rand [1905-82] and architect Frank Lloyd Wright [1867-59], two versions of the movie "The Fountainhead", the F.B.I., and the Hollywood blacklist. McFarland & Co. 10x7¼ hardcover [1/2005] for $42.75
	"Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism & Anti-Communism In 1940s Hollywood" [2004] by Robert Mayhew Scarecrow Press 8¾x5¾ pb [12/2004] for $33.20
	"Cheat and Charmer: A Novel" [2004] by Elizabeth Frank The wife of a successful Hollywood screenwriter is called to testify before HUAC. Her decision to testify threatens her husband's livelihood, her own status in Hollywood society, and the career of her actress sister. Random House 8x5¼ pb [10/2005] for $10.17 Random House 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2004] for $17.13
	"Washington Gone Crazy: Senator Pat McCarran & The Great American Communist Hunt" [2004] by Michael J. Ybarra {former Wall Street Journal reporter} Steerforth 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2004] for $23.10 listed as Los Angeles Times Book Review Best of 2004
	"Blacklisted: The Film Lover's Guide To The Hollywood Blacklist" [2003] by Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner Palgrave Macmillan 9¼x7½ pb [11/2003] for $31.69
	"Hide In Plain Sight: The Hollywood Blacklistees In Film & Television, 1950-2002" [2003] by Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner Palgrave Macmillan 9¼x6¼ pb [12/2004] for $12.21 Palgrave Macmillan 9½x6½ hardcover [8/2003] for $19.01
	Congressional Theatre: Dramatizing McCarthyism On Stage, Film & Television [1999] by Brenda Murphy Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [3/2002] for $37.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/99] for $85.00
	"The Prodigal Spy" [1998 novel] by Joseph Kanon Paranoia in Washington DC in the 1950s, as a boy deals with deception, murder, his father's defection to Russia, and decades later, reconciliation & revenge. Island pb [11/99] for $6.75 Broadway Books 9¾x6¾ hardcover [12/98] for $16.50 Random House audio CD [12/98] out of stock/used Random House ABR audio [12/98] 4 cassettes - out of stock/used
	"Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced The American Film Industry In The 1930s & 1940s" [1998] by Kenneth Lloyd Billingsley Prima Lifestyles 9x6 pb [2/2000] out of print/used Prima Lifestyles 9½x7 hardcover [10/98] out of print/used
	"The Days of Live: Television's Golden Age As Seen By 21 Directors Guild of America Members" [1998] Edited by Ira Skutch Scarecrow Press 8½x5½ pb [8/98] for $29.81 Scarecrow Press 8¾x5½ hardcover [8/98] for $65.00 includes a chapter on the blacklist
	"Tender Comrades: A Backstory of The Hollywood Blacklist" [1997] by Patrick McGilligan & Paul Buhle Griffin Trade 8¾x5¾ pb [2/99] for $21.94 St. Martins Press 9½x6½ hardcover [10/97] out of print/used
	"Red Scare: Memories of The American Inquisition - An Oral History" [1995] by Griffin Fariello Avon 6x9 pb [8/00] out of print/used Replica Books 9¼x6 hardcover [12/97] for $27.72 W.W. Norton 9½x6½ hardcover [3/1995] out of print/used
	"Radical Innocence: A Critical Study of The Hollywood Ten" [1989] by Bernard F. Dick Univ Press of KY 9½x6¼ hardcover [2/89] for $35.00
	"Naming Names" by Victor S. Navasky [orig. 1980; with a new afterword by the author 2003] considered the definitive work on the Hollywood blacklist Hill & Wang pb [4/2003] for $11.56 Viking hardcover [10/80] out of print/many used
	"The Inquisition In Hollywood: Politics In The Film Community, 1930-1960" [1980] by Larry Ceplair & Steven Englund Univ IL Press 9x5 pb [9/2003] for $22.45 Anchor/Doubleday hardcover [1/80] out of print/used
	"Scoundrel Time" [1976] by Lillian Hellman [1904-85] Back Bay Books 8¼x5½ pb [7/2000] for $9.71 Bantam pb [4/83] out of print/used Little, Brown hardcover [4/76] out of print/scads of used
	"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?: The Investigation of Show Business By The Un-American Activities Committee, 1947-1958" [1972] stageplay by Eric Bentley Harper & Row pb [1972] out of print/used L.A. Theatre Works dramatic performance audio CD [1998] for $19.72 Broadway credits (1979) at IBDb "Rallying Cries: 3 Plays" [2009] by Eric Bentley contains "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" [1972], "The Recantation of Galileo Galilei" [1972] and "From The Memoirs of Pontius Pilate" [1976] Northwestern Univ Press 8½x5½ pb [1/2009] for $14.82
	"Thirty Years of Treason: Excerpts From Hearings Before The House Committee On Un-American Activities, 1938-1968" [orig 1971] Selected & edited by Eric Bentley, Introduction by Frank Rich Thunder's Mouth Press 8¼x5½ pb [1/2002] out of print/used Viking hardcover [11/71] out of print/used

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Struggle-Red-Scare-Anti-Communism/dp/0807129267/

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