One of the darkest eras in Hollywood took place duringthe mid-20th century, when screenwriters, actors, directors and musicians were denied employment in the entertainment field because of their political beliefs, real or suspected. Lives were ruined on the suspicion that an individual might be a Communist or be sympathetic toward the Communist Party. More often than not those blacklisted were deemed Communist sympathizers if they were involved in liberal, humanitarian, or political causes that enforcers of the blacklist associated with communism. Those that refused to assist investigations were often blacklisted because their name came up at the wrong place and time. Careers and families were ruined, friends were turned against each other.
The first systematic Hollywood blacklist was instituted in 1947, the day after ten writers and directors were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, better known as the Hollywood 10. Many of the these men served prison sentences. The blacklist was effectively broken in 1960 when Dalton Trumbo, an urepentant member of the Hollywood Ten, was publicly acknowledged as the screenwriter of the films Spartacus and Exodus. It is was not until 2011, that Dalton Trumbo was officially given screen credit as the writer of Roman Holiday, thanks to the efforts of one of his grandchildren.
My father came to California in 1946 to work in Hollywood. Fortunately he was untouched by the blacklist, yet many musicians he knew were in fact blacklisted. He would be getting ready to score a film and a trumpet player or violinist would call him and simply say, "I'm leaving town." One of my best friends had an uncle who fronted for many of the blacklisted writers. This was common practice. Lucky enough not to be listed on any liberal or humanitarian organization, he fronted for numerous writers on some very famous films. It wasn't until many years later that the real writers were credited with their work.
I remember seeing the movie The Front, by Woody Allen, many years ago. It was not not Allen's typical work. The serious subject matter had a profound effect on me. It showed how innocent men were accused and sentenced, often for something that didn't exist. It showed how fear can turn average men and women into hatemongers.
It was difficult to stand up to people like Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, yet a group of leading Hollywood figures, including director John Huston and actors Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Danny Kaye, organized the Committee for the First Amendment to protest the government targeting of their industry. Their actions helped to eliminate blacklisting.
We should never forget this dark period, when a few very powerful people took it upon themselves to rid our country of something they saw as a threat. It's important that men and women stood up for what they knew was right and got things changed. Had that not happened, it's hard to predict how far blacklisting might have gone. I'm happy to see the blacklisted men and women, for the most part, have finally gotten credit for the work they created.
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