new York – the central question in 1947, while the committee of non -American activities of the Chamber investigated an alleged communist influence in HollywoodWas: “Are you a member of the Communist Party?”
Chaired by the Republican representative John Parnell Thomas of New Jersey, the committee finally led to a Hollywood black list, now the objective of new exhibition to the New York Historical Society.
“The exhibition really tells the story of Hollywood Ten,” said New York Historic Society, a group of 10 Hollywood writers and directors. “And the accusation was for the Hollywood Ten, that they made films that married the communist point of view.”
The Hollywood Ten refused to answer questions from the committee. They were detained in defiance of the congress, each sentenced between six months and a year in prison and on the black list by studio leaders.
“I think that has had a huge effect,” said Anne Lessy, assistant curator of history exhibitions for the Historical Society, at CBS News from the impact of the blacklist. “If you wanted to be part of the film industry, you have mainly lost your privacy and your right to your own political ideas and affiliations.”
The scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten, spent 10 months in prison. His daughter, Mitzi, was 5 years old at the time. His drawings and letters to him are exposed in the exhibition, as well as the testimony of those who appointed alleged communists.
“In an effort to save themselves, their career and their reputation, many, you know, creatives have felt forced to name names, what the committee wanted,” said Lessy.
Even Walt Disney testified before the committee.
“Walt Disney opposed a lot of the work organization that had taken place in its studios and blamed it to communist infiltration,” said Lessy. “And then you also have Ronald Reagan, who at the time, was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Although he was not named names in public, he did it to the investigator of the committee. And he then approved the anti-communist crusade.”
The blacklist later extended To include the classic pianist Hazel Scott, the first black artist to have a unionized television program nationally. But the program was canceled after being appointed to an anti-communist brochure.
Once out of prison, Trumbo used pseudonyms to write the awarded films of the Oscars “The Brave One” and “Roman Holiday”.
“So it took about four decades … for the Oscars to finally recognize Dalton Trumbo,” said Lessy. “And … it was considered the beginning of the erodation of the power of the committee.”
The impact of red fear also extended beyond Hollywood.
“A number of ordinary Americans have been taken in this anti-communist fervor, unions, secondary school teachers,” said Lessy. “University professors were also examined. There was a well -known publication called Red Channels which would provide very detailed information on a wide range of creatives. And therefore your name appearing in one of these publications was sufficient to put you on black.”
In the 1960s, Like red fear had faded, the power of the blacklist too. And in 1975, the Chamber’s Non -American Activities Committee was abolished.
“I think that [the Hollywood blacklist] raises important questions about how to protect a robust democracy, “said Lessy.” How do we protect our rights and freedoms, in particular freedom of expression … If you have unpopular opinions, should you be punished? Should you lose your job? These are all questions with which we should fight. “”
