1947 : Congress investigates Reds in Hollywood
On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear in
Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating
Communist influence in one of the world's richest and most glamorous
communities: Hollywood.
After World War II, the Cold War began to heat up between the world's
two superpowers--the United States and the communist-controlled Soviet
Union. In Washington, conservative watchdogs worked to out communists
in government before setting their sights on alleged "Reds" in the
famously liberal movie industry. In an investigation that began in
October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
grilled a number of prominent witnesses, asking bluntly "Are you or
have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" Whether out of
patriotism or fear, some witnesses--including director Elia Kazan,
actors Gary Cooper and Robert Taylor and studio honchos Walt Disney
and Jack Warner--gave the committee names of colleagues they suspected
of being communists.
A small group known as the "Hollywood Ten" resisted, complaining that
the hearings were illegal and violated their First Amendment rights.
They were all convicted of obstructing the investigation and served
jail terms. Pressured by Congress, the Hollywood establishment started
a blacklist policy, banning the work of about 325 screenwriters,
actors and directors who had not been cleared by the committee. Those
blacklisted included composer Aaron Copland, writers Dashiell Hammett,
Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, playwright Arthur Miller and actor
and filmmaker Orson Welles.
Some of the blacklisted writers used pseudonyms to continue working,
while others wrote scripts that were credited to other writer friends.
Starting in the early 1960s, after the downfall of Senator Joseph
McCarthy, the most public face of anti-communism, the ban began to
lift slowly. In 1997, the Writers' Guild of America unanimously voted
to change the writing credits of 23 films made during the blacklist
period, reversing--but not erasing--some of the damage done during the
Red Scare.
history.com/tdih.do
1827 : Battle of Navarino
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5453
1935 : Mao's Long March concludes
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5454
1944 : MacArthur returns
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7056
1973 : Sydney Opera House opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5455
#########################################
On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear in
Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating
Communist influence in one of the world's richest and most glamorous
communities: Hollywood.
After World War II, the Cold War began to heat up between the world's
two superpowers--the United States and the communist-controlled Soviet
Union. In Washington, conservative watchdogs worked to out communists
in government before setting their sights on alleged "Reds" in the
famously liberal movie industry. In an investigation that began in
October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
grilled a number of prominent witnesses, asking bluntly "Are you or
have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" Whether out of
patriotism or fear, some witnesses--including director Elia Kazan,
actors Gary Cooper and Robert Taylor and studio honchos Walt Disney
and Jack Warner--gave the committee names of colleagues they suspected
of being communists.
A small group known as the "Hollywood Ten" resisted, complaining that
the hearings were illegal and violated their First Amendment rights.
They were all convicted of obstructing the investigation and served
jail terms. Pressured by Congress, the Hollywood establishment started
a blacklist policy, banning the work of about 325 screenwriters,
actors and directors who had not been cleared by the committee. Those
blacklisted included composer Aaron Copland, writers Dashiell Hammett,
Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, playwright Arthur Miller and actor
and filmmaker Orson Welles.
Some of the blacklisted writers used pseudonyms to continue working,
while others wrote scripts that were credited to other writer friends.
Starting in the early 1960s, after the downfall of Senator Joseph
McCarthy, the most public face of anti-communism, the ban began to
lift slowly. In 1997, the Writers' Guild of America unanimously voted
to change the writing credits of 23 films made during the blacklist
period, reversing--but not erasing--some of the damage done during the
Red Scare.
history.com/tdih.do
1827 : Battle of Navarino
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5453
1935 : Mao's Long March concludes
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5454
1944 : MacArthur returns
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7056
1973 : Sydney Opera House opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5455
#########################################
Gary Cooper never named names, never named a film, never implicated anyone, in his 1947 HUAC testimony. Basically said he was there to assure the committee that Hollywood was not a nest of "commies".
ReplyDeleteIn 1951, he again became embroiled in HUAC, when High Noon screenwriter and ex-Communist Carl Foreman was subpoenaed to appear. Cooper publicly praised Foreman, called him the finest kind of American, threatened to walk off the film if Foreman's name was removed as screenwriter (it stayed, the last time for many years), offered to testify before the committee on Foreman's behalf (character witnesses were not allowed, alas), backed Foreman when John Wayne threatened Cooper with being blacklisted himself if he didn't walk off the film.
Foreman was so grateful to Cooper for having backed him -- "the only big one who tried," according to Foreman -- that ever after he sent his scripts to Cooper for first refusal, including: Bridge ON The River Kwai, The Key and Guns Of Navarone.
Not sure why Cooper is always cited as one who gave names. lazy scholarship, I suppose.