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A historical study of the influence of the house committee on un-American activities on the American theatre, 1938-1958

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A historical study of the influence of the house committee on un-American activities on the American theatre, 1938-1958

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Content 72-11,965
VAUGHM, Robert Francis, 1932-
A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
ON THE AMERICAN THEATRE, 1938-1958.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1971
Mass Communications
: University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor. Michigan
Copyright © by
ROBERT FRANCIS VAUGHN
1972
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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
ON THE AMERICAN THEATRE, 1938-1958
by
Robert Francis Vaughn
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Communication-Drama)
June 1970
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
I.OS ANGEUES, CALIFORNIA 90007
This dissertation, w ritten by
....JR<5J?.e.Kt.JCr.9jaci§..Xaugbji....
under the direction of hi&.... Dissertation Com
m ittee, and approved by a ll its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The G rad u
ate School, in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t of require
ments fo r the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H IL O S O P H Y
/4 /
DiSSERTATION COMMITT
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PLEASE NOTE:
Some pages have indistinct
print. Filmed as received.
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Origin of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Design of the Study
Significance of the Study
Limits of the Study
Definition of Terms
Review of the Literature
Preview of Remaining Chapters
II. BACKGROUND OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON
UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES : THE POLITICAL,
ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF
AMERICA IN THE EARLY AND MID-1930'S . .
Page
1
III. MARTIN DIES'S 1938 INVESTIGATION OF THE
FEDERAL THEATRE PROJECT .............
Description of the Hearings
Evaluation of the Hearings
Summary
J. PARNELL THOMAS'S 1947 INVESTIGATION OF
COMMUNIST INFILTRATION IN THE MOTION
PICTURE INDUSTRY .....................
Description of the Hearings
Evaluation of the Hearings
Summary
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Chapter Page
JOHN S. WOOD'S MARATHON TEN-PART 1951-1952
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNISM IN THE
ENTERTAINMENT FIELD .....................
Description of the Hearings
Evaluation of the Hearings
Sunimary
HAROLD H. VELDE AND FRANCIS S. WALTER'S
1953-1954-1955 ENTERTAINMENT HEARINGS
AND THE COMMITTEE'S 1956 INVESTIGATION
OF THE FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC'S REPORT
ON BLACKLISTING .........................
Description of the Hearings
Evaluation of the Hearings
Summary
THE PAUL ROBESON-ARTHUR MILLER PASSPORT
INVESTIGATIONS, 1956, AND THE MOST RECENT
1957-1958 SHOW-BUSINESS HEARINGS ....
Description of the Hearings
Evaluation of the Hearings
Summary
THE 1969-1970 NEW PRIMARY DATA GATHERED
FROM CORRESPONDENCE, QUESTIONNAIRES,
AND PERSONAL TAPED INTERVIEWS ....
Presentation of the Data
Evaluation of the Data
Summary
IX. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS
Summary
Conclusions
Implications
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APPENDIXES
Appendix A:
Appendix B:
Appendix C:
Appendix D:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page
The Friendly Witnesses and the Persons
They Identified as Communists...........380
The Committee's Evidence of Communist
Party Membership of the Unfriendly
T e n ...................................... 466
The Briefs of the Hollywood Ten .... !
Cover Letter and Questionnaire Used
in Securing New Primary Data ........ 565
574
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CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Origin of the Study
On May 26j 1938, the United States House of Repre
sentatives authorized the formation of the Special House
Committee on Un-American Activities.^ The purposes of this
committee were stated as follows :
Resolved, that the Speaker of the House of Represen
tatives be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint
a special committee to be composed of seven members
for the purpose of conducting an investigation of
(1) the extent, character, and object of un-American
propaganda activities in the United States, (2) the
diffusion within the United States of subversive and
un-American propaganda that is instigated from for
eign countries or of a domestic origin and attacks
the principle of the form of government as guaranteed
by the Constitution, and (3) all other questions in
relations thereto that would aid Congress in any
necessary remedial legislation.^
Subsequently often abbreviated to "the committee."
2Walter Goodman, The Committee ; the Extraordinary
Career of the House Committee on Un-American Activities
(New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968), p. 16. Here
inafter referred to as Goodman, The Committee.
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2
During the first twenty years of its existence, the
committee investigated many individuals (e.g., Alger Hiss),
organizations (e.g., the Communist party), and cultural
groups (e.g., the American theatre).
The present study focused on five important and
highly publicized series of hearings that affected American
theatre and closely related activities :
1. Martin Dies's 1938 investigation of the Works
Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project.
2. J. Parnell Thomas's 1947 hearings regarding
Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry.
3. John Wood's marathon ten-part 1951-1952 enter
tainment hearings.
4. Harold H. Velde and Francis Walters's 1953-1954-
1955 entertainment hearings and the committee's investiga
tion of the Fund for the Republic report.
5. The Arthur Miller-Paul Robeson passport inves
tigations and the last show-business hearings in 1957-1958.
This study originated from the researcher's per-
onal, professional, and scholarly curiosity and concern
regarding the effects of the comndttee's hearings on the
American theatre.
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3
Statement of the Problem
The general purpose of this study was to investigate
the influence of the House Committee on Un-American Activi
ties on the American theatre, 1938-1958. This general prob
lem was divided into the following constituent questions :
I. What were the actual effects of the committee
hearings on the American theatre?
A. What theatres closed?
B. What theatre people lost work?
II. What were the probable effects?
A. Was there a moral dilemma faced by the wit
nesses?
B. Were there personal enmities created by the
hearings?
C. Did the committee's procedures influence the
nature and results of its findings?
Ill. What were the possible effects?
A. Was the evolution of the American theatre
modified?
B. Was there a constructive influence?
C. Are there effects that cannot yet be evalu
ated?
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4
Design of the Study
This study attempted to answer these three major
questions primarily by a complete review of all of the dia
logue given in the public hearings ; secondarily by corres
pondence and interviews with individuals who offered new
primary data; thirdly by studying written observations pub
lished about the time periods surrounding each of the five
hearings; and lastly by assessing the committee's Annual
Reports.
Furthermore, this study appraised the significance
of these questions in the light of their effect on the over
all development of the American theatre.
Significance of the Study
This study gives a detailed account of the first
twenty years of the influence of the House Committee on
Un-American Activities on the American theatre. There is
a current and growing interest in America concerning the
right of the individual to hold political beliefs that are
unpopular with a majority of the electorate.
To the extent that these beliefs are labeled un-
American because they do not conform with generally accepted
standards of patriotic orthodoxy is a matter of continuing
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5
controversy in this democracy.
Of primary significance in this study was the role
played by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in
creating an atmosphere where the very process of its inves
tigation of the political beliefs of individual theatre
artists produced subsequent un-American labeling and how
that labeling affected the American theatre.
No systematic study was found dealing with the com
mittee's specific influence on the American living theatre
in the two major areas researched.
The first area considered was the committee's in
fluence on Congress to abrogate the WPA's Federal Theatre
Project in 1939 and the degree to which that decision af
fected the future course of living theatre in the United
The second general area researched was the effect
of the blacklist on living-theatre artists as a direct re
sult of the committee's postwar investigations of alleged
Communist infiltration in the entertainment industry.
Thus, this study undertook to fill an apparent re
search gap.
Finally, the study was thought to be significant
because of the probability of securing important new primary
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data. This researcher believed that his position as a work
ing professional in the entertainment industry would provide
direct access to and personal testimony from some of the
artists who had been seriously involved in the committee's
investigations, and that his professional reputation would
encourage the artists to speak more freely and frankly than
previously,
Limits of the Study
This study was limited to the specific influence of
the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the Amer
ican living theatre in a twenty-year period from 1938 to
1958.
Although most of the committee's post-World War II
investigations of the entertainment field dealt with Holly
wood studios, producers, directors, writers, and actors,
this study limited its final attention and conclusions to
those individuals whose work in the living theatre was
affected by these examinations.
There was no attempt made to study the effect of
such publications as Counterattack, Red Channels, or groups
like AWARE, Inc., on the American theatre or individual
artists. This study was limited to the committee's effect
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7
on the artist and the theatre.
This researcher is aware that the singling out of
specific passages from the testimony of various witnesses
makes it possible to build a case for or against the com
mittee and the witnesses.
A totally accurate impression of the hearings can
be gained only by reading all the testimony. This re
searcher read all the public testimony relevant to this
study and excerpted from the hearings the words that, in his
judgment, best reflected the caliber of the dialogue of each
witness. An enormous number of persons in myriad enter
tainment fields appeared before the committee.
This study isolated the testimony of those witnesses
whose lives seemed most related to the living theatre.
Because this researcher promised anonymity to those
correspondents and interviewees supplying new primary data.
Chapter VIII, containing these data, is organized in the
following manner.
The names of the persons supplying the new informa
tion are listed. However, their pertinent answers to the
correspondence, questionnaires, and personal interviews are
not aligned with their names. This approach thus satisfies
this writer's promise of privileged communication in return
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8
for their cooperation in the study.
Though Chapters IV and V deal almost exclusively
with the committee's investigations of communism in the
motion picture industry, the new primary data offered in
Chapter VIII will define how the cinema probes influenced
individual artists who also earned a portion of their living
from the stage and how the investigations affected the
theatre in general.
Definitions of Terms
Various terms underlie an understanding of the
committee's influence on the American theatre and are im
portant to this study. They are the committee, living the
atre or the theatre, friendly witness, unfriendly witness.
and blacklisting.
The committee.— In this study "the committee" is a
synonym for the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Living theatre or the theatre.— These two terms are
offered as having the same meaning and are also used inter
changeably throughout this study. Contrary to the generic
use of theatre as an all-encompassing term meaning show
business or the entertainment industry, the denotation here
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9
relates to the activities of the American stage. Thus when
this researcher refers to theatre, or living theatre, he is
applying those words to people and their productions that
occur live and in front of an audience.
Further, the word theatre in this research does not
mean motion pictures, television, radio, burlesque, or any
allied forms of show business or the entertainment fields.
Living theatre in this study deals specifically with plays
or their variations (e.g., "Living Newspaper") and those
people associated with their creation and production.
Friendly witness.— In their appearance before the
committee, certain witnesses were considered friendly if
they responded to the questioning of their interrogators by-
naming persons they believed were or had been Communists.
These witnesses generally indicated they also had been Com
munists in the past and were no longer affiliated in any
way with the Communist party U.S.A. Their ability to name
former or current Communists was usually based on their
previous involvement with groups that had been identified
publicly by government agencies as Communist-inspired,
-controlled, or -oriented.
Unfriendly witness.— A person was categorized as an
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10
unfriendly witness if he appeared before the committee and
failed to answer questions involving his current or prior
association with the Communist party.
In every case where a witness before the committee
refused to answer questions pertaining to his political be
liefs, past or present, he did so based on his immunity to
such interrogation under the First or Fifth Amendments to
the Bill of Rights.
Blacklisting.— In this study the word blacklisting
refers to the unwritten understanding among persons in a
position to employ theatre artists that they would not hire
these artists if (1) they had been named as current or for
mer Communists during the committee hearings, or (2) if
when testifying before the committee, the artist refused to
answer questions by claiming constitutional immunity.
The exception to this unwritten understanding oc
curred when a friendly witness confessed that he had been a
Communist in the past, that he no longer was a Communist,
and offered the committee the names of persons he suspected
had been or were currently Communists.
C.P.— Communist party.
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an invaluable source. It contained the most recent and
IXtensive chronology of the committee's activities from the
time of its creation through 1967. Appendix II of Goodman's
book includes the dates and places of all hearings and re
ports made public by the committee.^
Hallie Flanagan's Arena; the History of the Federal
Theatre provided an excellent annotated history of the Fed-
11
Review of the Literature
Walter Goodman's The Committee; the Extraordinary
:areer of the House Committee on Un-American Activities was
eral Theatre Project. It concluded with a report on the
committee's investigation of the venture and a bibliography
of the congressional appropriations acts and hearings re
lated to the project.
Jane DeHart Mathews's The Federal Theatre, 1935-
1939, Plays, Relief, and Politics offered a detailed bib
liography of government documents and an account of the
congressional hearings which occasioned the disbanding of
Mrs. Flanagan's theatre.
Several of the important histories of the left-wing
theatre presented significant general statements on the
-^GoodmanJ The Committee, pp. 498ff.
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12
politicalJ economic, and cultural background of America in
the thirties.
In Morgan Y. Himelstein's informative survey. Drama
Was a Weapon, the following summation of the period was
During the 1930's the American theatre suffered not
only from the effects of the depression— it faced
another challenge when the Communist Party decided
that the stage must assist in the fight to overthrow
capitalism and democracy.
The Party organized its own theatre groups for the
production of drama that was openly and militantly
revolutionary. And lest there be any doubt as to
its intention, there hung above the stage of its
Workers' Laboratory Theatre a red banner proclaiming
"The Theatre Is a Weapon."
To further extend its power, the Party attempted to
subvert all non-Communist theatre companies that
produced plays of social significance. It sought to
share the success of the ILGWU's Labor Stage. It
tried to influence the WPA's Federal Theatre
Gerald Rabkin, in his extensive study of the chang
ing theatrical and political climate of the thirties, ob
served :
After 1935, however, the political atmosphere changed
significantly. The communists, who had gradually
alienated the early intellectual converts . . . now
openly sought the support of nonradical, anti-fascist
1963), dust jacket.
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Since 1918, attested to the importance of the drama of
intellectuals. Thus, while the initial burst of
Marxist influence had waned by the middle of the
decade, this influence was revived by the rise of
fascism; for although the economic collapse which
had turned the intellectuals of the twenties toward
radicalism had been ameliorated by New Deal reform,
the fascist threat continued to grow throughout the
decade
Joseph Wood Krutch, in his lively The American Drama
social criticism when he maintained that :
The rise of Communism [not only] . . . made spe
cific doctrines so important that the Communist
radical soon came to hate all other radicals even
more vehemently than he hated members of the bour
geoisie, but also because he had come to regard
that aestheticism to which many of his former fel
lows had been attracted as a peculiarly vicious
form of decadence and now proclaimed, not the
freedom of art, but the doctrine that art was above
all "a weapon."^
Howard Suber's 1968 doctoral dissertation on the
blacklist in Hollywood^ was chiefly concerned with the mem
bers of the motion picture industry who were identified
^Drama and Commitment (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana
University Press, 1964), pp. 25-26.
^(Rev. ed.; New York: George Braziller, Inc.,
1967), pp. 228-229.
^"The Anti-Communist Blacklist in the Hollywood
Motion Picture Industry" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation.
University of California at Los Angeles, 1968) . Herein
after cited as Suber, "Blacklist."
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14
before the committee as Communists by friendly witnesses and
those witnesses described as unfriendly because they refused
to answer questions posed by the committee-
The screen credits and names of 214 blacklisted per
sons were an invaluable source of documentation for this
researcher in his search for individuals whose living-
theatre careers were influenced by the committee's investi
gations .
In addition^ Suber's previous study (1965) of the
committee's first confrontation with the motion picture in
dustry^ was also useful as a guide to the general approach
of the committee in handling national and international
celebrities and was specifically important in its observa
tions on the Hollywood writers subpoenaed.
The Cumulative Index to Publications of the Commit
tee on Un-American Activities. 1938-1954, and its supplement
for 1955 through 1960 provided valuable information on in
dividuals ^ publications, and organizations referred to in
printed hearings and reports of the committee for the
®"The 1947 Hearings of the House Committee on Un-
American Activities into Communism in the Hollywood Motion
Picture Industry" (unpublished M.A. thesis. University of
California at Los Angeles, 1966). Hereinafter cited as
Suber, "Hearings."
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15
above-mentioned years. The 1938-1954 index offers the fol
lowing disclaimer:
The fact that a name appears in this index is not
per se an indication of a record of subversive
activities. It simply indicates that said individ
ual, publication, or organization has been mentioned
in connection with testimony or a report submitted.
A careful check of the references in the text of the
report or hearing itself will determine the circum
stances under which such person, publication, or
organization is named.^
This disclaimer to the 1955-1960 supplement varies
only slightly— but significantly:
. . . has been mentioned, in a hearing, report, or
consultation. A careful check of references in the
hearing, report, or consultation, will determine the
circumstances under which such individual, publica
tion, or organization is named.(Italics supplied.)
It is this researcher's opinion that the word con
sultation refers to executive testimony given in private anc
released publicly only at the committee's discretion.
^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Cumulative Index to Publications of the Commit
tee on Un-American Activities, 1938-1954 [Washington, D. C.
p., n. d.], p. 1
^^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Supplement to Cumulative Index to Publications
of the Committee on Un-American Activities, 1955 through
1960, Inclusive [Washington, D. C.: N. p., n. d.], p. 1.
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16
Therefore, this word gave the committee the right publicly
to charge witnesses with Communist associations based on
information taken in private hearings, but it did not re
quire them to produce such evidence except when it suited
their goals.
Twenty-three issues of New Theatre, covering the
years 1934-1936, gave particular primary insights into the
political significance of the drama of the middle thir
ties. Original copies of TAG, Theatre Workshop, and Fed
eral Theatre supplemented the New Theatre observations on
this period.^^
The July, 1931, and February and March, 1932, issues
of Worker's Theatre and New Theatre and Film for March and
April of 1937 offered additional primary materials dealing
with the left-wing theatre of America during the first and
second terms of the Roosevelt New Deal
Newspaper accounts, principally from the New York
^^New Theatre. 1934-1936, Social Theatre Publica
tions, Inc.
^^TAC, I, No. 12 (July-August, 1939); Theatre Work
shop, II, No. 1 (April-June, 1938); Federal Theatre, II,
No. 1.
^^New Theatre and Film, IV, Nos. 1 & 2 (March and
April, 1937); Worker's Theatre, I, No. 4 (July, 1931),“and
Nos. 11 & 12 (February and March, 1932) .
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17
Times, provided an essential source of primary information
on the Special Committee and its activities before World
War II and the Standing Committee's investigations in the
post-war period. The Times was generally anti-committee in
its editorials but gave a balanced hard-news report on its
activities.
August Raymond Ogden's 1945 survey. The Dies Com
mittee , documented the transition of the committee from a
Special Congressional Committee in 1938 to a Standing Com
mittee in 1945 and is an excellent, dispassionate study of
the embryonic years of the Martin Dies investigative body.
It also contains a scholarly bibliography citing other cri
tiques of congressional investigating committees.
Robert K. Carr's study of the Standing Committee's
first six years of existence provided a scholarly review of
the turbulent postwar activities of that body and defined
the committee's role as it related to the publicity value
of investigating figures in the entertainment world.^^
14
2d ed. rev.; Washington, D. C .: The Catholic Uni
versity of America Press, Inc., 1945.
^^Ibid., pp. 299-300.
^^The House Committee on Un-American Activities,
1945-1950 (Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1952).
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18
Following the committee's 1947 investigation of the
motion picture industry, che majority of the "Hollywood
Ten"^^ published a wide range of articles, pamphlets, and
books excoriating the committee; these were examined in
great detail by this researcher with an intent toward estab
lishing what relevance these writings had to the development
of the postwar American theatre.
John Cogley's two-volume 1956 Fund for the Republic
report on blacklisting was marred by his heavy reliance on
a few unspecified or unidentified cases to prove his general
points
The subsequent investigation by the committee of
Cogley's report, although heavily weighted in an attempt to
discredit him, served as a counterbalance for some points
that Cogley either misunderstood or had insufficient data
to interpret adequately
^^Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Ed
ward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert
Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, Dalton Trumbo.
^^Report on Blacklisting, Vols. I and II (New York:
The Fund for the Republic, Inc., 1956).
^^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Investigation of So-Called "Blacklisting" in
Entertainment Industry— Report of the Fund for the Republic
Inc., Hearings, 84th Cong., 2nd sess., Part I, July 10-11;
Part II, July 12-13; Part III, July 17-18, 1956 [Washington,
D. C. : N. p., n. d.] .
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19
Where appropriate and necessary^ this researcher
corresponded with those individuals who could not be con
tacted for personal interviews.
The tape-recorded personal interviews of this study
were conducted with persons who^ in this researcher's pro
fessional theatrical opinion, seemed to have valuable poten
tial knowledge regarding the committee's influence on the
Werican theatre.
Preview of Remaining Chapters
Chapter II describes the general environment of
America in the thirties and the creation of the committee.
Chapter III considers the committee's investigation
of the WPA's Federal Theatre Project.
Chapter IV focuses on the committee's first exami
nation of alleged Communist infiltration of the motion pic
ture industry.
Chapter V centers on1he committee's extended hear
ings in Hollywood, New York City, and Washington, D. C., and
how these investigations contributed to the blacklisting of
living-theatre artists.
Chapter VI examines John Cogley's report on black
listing and the subsequent probe of Cogley and his aides by
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20
the committee.
Chapter VII deals with the committee's efforts to
limit the foreign travel of persons it accused of subversive
political activities and the last entertainment hearings in
1958.
Chapter VIII contains the 1970 primary data secured
from this researcher's correspondencej questionnaires^, and
personal interviews.
Chapter IX summarizes the conclusions and implica
tions of this study.
Chapters III through VIII are each divided into
three parts. Part I contains a description or presentation
of the data. Part II evaluates these data using primarily
the criteria outlined in the Statement of the Problem and
econdarily any unforeseen criteria resulting from the new
primary data. Part III is approximately a haIf-page summary
concentrating on the committee's influence on individual
artists and the' living theatre during the time period dis
cussed in Parts I and II.
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CHAPTER II
BACKGROUND OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN
ACTIVITIES: THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF AMERICA IN THE
EARLY AND MID-1930'S
"There is nothing un-American about the Un-American
Activities Committee . . . this is not the land exclusively
of Lincoln and Jefferson.
This is the land of the Ku Klux Klan and the White
Citizens Council. It is the land of Bull Connor and Sheriff
Jim Clark. And it is also the land of Franklin Roosevelt
and Samuel Dickstein.
Dickstein was a New York City congressman for
twenty-two years, from 1923 to 1944, and served a district
inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe, many of whom
had fled the first rumblings of the Third Reich for the
Goodman, The Committee, pp. 492-493.
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22
comparative calm of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
Roosevelt was president of the United States for
twelve yearsj from 1933 to 1945, and endeavored, through his
New Deal, to involve the federal government on behalf of the
economic welfare of the American people to an extent un
dreamed of by some of the most progressive minds of the
I . ^ 2
period.
To those minds the New Deal appeared radical and
revolutionary in its liberal extremism, when in essence it
was a model of moderation.
Actually it was deeply conservative— conservative
in the same sense that Jeffersonian and Wilsonian
democracy had been conservative. It aimed to pro
tect against violence from the left or from the
right, the essentials of American Democracy— to
conserve natural and human resources, to preserve
the balance of interests under the Constitution,
security and liberty.
In philosophy the New Deal was democratic, in
method evolutionary. Because for fifteen years
legislative reforms had been dammed up, they now
burst upon the country with what seemed like vio
lence, but when the waters subsided it was clear
that they ran in familiar channels. The conser
vation policy of the New Deal had been inaugurated
by Theodore Roosevelt; railroad and trust regula
tions went back to the eighties; banking and cur
rency reforms had been partially achieved by Wilson;
^Raymond Moley. The First New Deal (New York:
court. Brace & World, Inc., 1966), p. vii.
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the farm-relief program borrowed much from the Popu
lists, labor legislation from the practices of such
states as Wisconsin and Oregon. Even judicial re
form, which caused such a mighty stir, had been
anticipated by Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. And
in the realm of international relations the policies
of the New Deal were clearly continuations of the
traditional policies of strengthening national secur
ity, maintaining freedom of the seas, supporting law
and peace, and championing democracy in the Western
world.^
Samuel Dickstein was indeed a New Deal champion of
democracy in the Western woiM and in particular eastern
New York City. With his parents, at the age of three, he
arrived in the eastside ghetto of Manhattan Island.
The Dickstein family was one of thousands that fled
Eastern Europe and the pogroms of the Old World only to find
the New World almost as denigrating to their spirit as
Europe.
Between the time Dickstein commenced his career as
a special deputy attorney general in New York State, and
the conclusion of that career as a State Supreme Court Jus
tice, he managed to earn the dubious designation of "Father
of the Committee.
’ Allan Nevins and Henry Steele Commager, A Short
History of the United States (5th rev. and enl. ed.; New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966), pp. 476-477.
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24
The political and economic setting of New York City
in the early and mid-1930's was a microcosm of the United
States. Politicians were searching for a scapegoat that
would bear the burden for the economic depression that had
begun in the previous decade.
One such politician^ Representative Hamilton Fish of
New York, was certain that once the country was rid of the
Communists one could "give jobs to honest, loyal American
citizens who are unemployed.If Dickstein was the Father
of the Committee, Fish could probably be called the "Grand
father." He chaired congressional hearings from July to
December of 1930 and produced a report indicating that there
were about 12,000 dues-paying members of the Communist party
in the United States. Fish recommended that the party be
declared illegal, alien Communists deported, and federal
laws enacted to prevent Communists from spreading false
rumors that might cause runs on banks. He demanded an em
bargo on all articles imported from Russia
The less-than-sanguine view of America that prevails
on the political left today was also characteristic of much
of the radical thought of the thirties. Responsibility in
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25
that decade for the country's inability to solve its in
ternal problems, according to the radical left, lay in the
system itself. Edmund Wilson, writing in 1931, stated the
case in an article entitled "Appeal to Progressives":
There are today in the United States, according to
the census director, something like nine million men
out of work; our cities are scenes of privation and
misery on a scale which sickens the imagination; our
agricultural life is bankrupt; our industry, in
shifting to the South, has reverted almost to the
horrible conditions before the Factory Acts, of the
England of a hundred years ago, and the fight of the
unions there for recognition is all to begin again;
so many banks are failing that the newspapers do not
dare print the truth about them. And when we look
to South America or to the European countries west
of Russia, we see only the same economic chaos, the
same lack of capacity or will to deal with it, and
the same resultant suffering. May we not well fear
that what has broken down, in the course of one
catastrophic year, is not simply the machinery of
representative government but the capitalist system
itself?^
The difference between the radical left then and now
is that the Marxist-Leninist experiment in revolution, as
distorted by Stalin, was thought by many naïve Americans in
the thirties to be the panacea of governments. Today, as
that experiment has further evolved and been distorted, it
is considered obsolete by the extreme left.®
^Gabriel and Daniel Cohn-Bendt, Obsolete Communism:
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26
In the sixties, that obsolescence was consistently
voiced on American and foreign university campuses as well
as in the streets. Leftist leaders of Students for a Demo
cratic Society, Mark Rudd and Tom Hayden, do not share
Dickstein or Fish's vision of Americanism; but for vastly
different reasons, the quartet definitely would be in con
cert in the area of being anti-Soviet-coramunism.
In 1932, Dickstein brought Martin Dies's anti
communist bill to the floor of the house; in 19 33, he cham
pioned a movement for congressional investigation of anar
chists .
However, it was the rise of Adolf Hitler that put
Dickstein in tlie forefront of investigating un-American
activities. The "Dickstein Committee," under its first
chairman, John McCormack, began its anti-Nazi hearings in
the summer of 1934.
By the next year it was entirely possible for men
of reason and intellect to peruse the Washington investiga
tions of Communists and Nazis, and their attendant support
from the Hearst press on the right and those sympathetic to
the Soviet experiment on the left, and concur with Arthur M
The Left-Wing Alternative, trans. by Arnold Pomerans (New
York; McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1968).
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27
Schlesinger, Jr.: "For a moment in 1935, intelligent ob
servers could almost believe that the traditional structure
of American politics was on the verge of dissolution.
This was a view which was not dissimilar to Edmund Wilson's
at the beginning of the decade.
In 1936, the Hearst papers supported Alfred M.
Landon, governor of Kansas, against Roosevelt and indulged
in a bit of poetry quoted by Schlesinger's father :
The Red New Deal with a Soviet seal
Endorsed by a Moscow hand.
The strange result of an alien cult
In a liberty-loving land.
Hearst's meter was of scant help to Landon, and
Roosevelt was re-elected for a second term by an overwhelm
ing popular mandate, the largest plurality in American his
tory, 27,480,000 votes to Landon's 16,675,000. Roosevelt
also swept the electoral college with 528 votes to Landon's
eight
The enormous victory of the 1936 New Deal gave even
The Politics of Upheaval (Boston: Houghton Miff
lin Co., 1960), p. 69.
^*^Nevins and Commager, Short History, p. 479.
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28
greater confidence to its early supporters^ and as a result
it created an atmosphere in Washington that was particularly
conducive to a mixed amalgam of progressives^ liberals. New
Dealers, Socialists, and some Communists. Earl Latham ob
it is in this milieu that the "penetration" of the
agencies of the Federal government and the "infil
tration" of its offices by the Communists must be
seen. The wonder is not that there were many who
made careers in the government; the wonder is that
the total membership of the party did not do so
after the party line had changed from red to true
blue. But there were certain inhibitions in the
way. First, the party was hostile to the New Deal
. . . until 1935 and 1935, and even then it was
publicly somewhat less than enthusiastic. Second,
the political work of the party . . . had largely
concentrated on the election of local Communist
candidates despite talk about the mass parties and
farmer-worker coalitions. Third, although the
"Popular Front" was an important political tactic
in Europe— associating the Communist Party at high
levels of political responsibility with other
groups— nothing like it was possible in this coun
try. ^
If, as Latham maintains, "Members of the Communist
party did indeed enter the government, in the early months
of the New Deal, but the entry seems to have occurred with
out plan, and it is even possible that the party bureaucracy
^^The Communist Controversy in Washington (Cam
bridge, Mass.; Harvard University Press, 1966), p. 77.
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at first looked at it askance^by 1938 Messrs. Dickstein
and Dies were not quite as myopic as their Communist peers.
The two joined in supporting a resolution that
stated some curiously indefinable purposes. Among them were
investigating un-American activities in the United States
and un-American and subversive propaganda initiated from
foreign or domestic origins. They concluded their statement
of resolve with a catch-all phrase that read^ "... all
other questions in relations thereto that would aid Congress
in any necessary remedial legislation.
In the congressional debate that preceded the pas
sage of this resolution, a phrase that was to be much ban
died about during the McCarthy investigations of the 1950's
was first uttered by Dies when he said, "I am not inclined
to look under every bed for a Communist.
The Dies resolution, after much heated dialectic,
passed the House 191 to 41, and
when the freshly victorious Representative Dickstein
rose to request permission to speak for three min
utes, he was unceremoniously turned down. A week
and a half later, the chair appointed the members
of the new committee. Sam Dickstein, who had labored
Ibid., p. 94.
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30
with all his heart for this day, was not among them.
Dies was classified as the Democratic equal of
Hamilton Fish, "physically a giant, very young, ambitious,
and cocksure"; and, concluded the New Republic, "If the
powerful energies of Mr. Dies are not given over to hounding
Communists, it will be a miracle.
Dies, as would virtually all future chairmen of the
committee, sensed an immediate need for publicity for his
new Special Committee. He announced that representatives
of public organizations were to be asked to offer relevant
information^^ and reported that many Nazis and Communists
were leaving the United States because of his pending in
terrogations .
But it was the New Deal's Works Progress Adminis
tration that was to give Chairman Dies his first and most
spectacular publicity coup.
Dies elucidated his cognizance of the threat the
project presented to America when he wrote :
Incited in Ogden, The Dies Committee, p. 47.
^~^New York Times. July 13, 1938.
ISibid., July 20, 1938.
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W.P.A. was the greatest financial boon which ever
came to the Communists in the United States. Stalin
could not have done better by his American friends
and agents. Relief projects swarmed with Communists
— Communists who were not only recipients of needed
relief but who were entrusted by New Deal officials
with high administrative positions in the projects.
In one Federal Writers' Project in New York, one
third of the writers were members of the Communist
Party. This was proven by their own signatures.
Many witnesses have testified that it was necessary
for W.P.A. workers to join the Workers Alliance—
high-pressure lobby run by the Communist Party— in
order to get or retain their jobs . . .
Several hundred Communists held advisory or admin
istrative positions in the W.P.A. projects . . .^^
Although Dies had access to records and researchers
for his book The Trojan Horse in America, it is almost to
tally devoid of citations, contains no index or bibliogra
phy, and therefore his vivid analysis could have been ren
dered entirely from his imagination.
Imagination was by no means the special blessing of
ambitious congressmen in the thirties. Probably in no other
decade in this century has the cultural environment of the
nation been so fraught with imaginative social commitment
from writers of the drama, both stage and screen.
Indeed, "if all art is a gesture against death . .
^^The Trojan Horse in America (New York: Dodd,
Mead & Co., 1940), p. 298.
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can be fairly said that the thirties saw more cultural ges
turing against the "grim reaper," with concomitant commit
ment, than any time in the nation's theatre history.
John Howard Lawson had a commitment to American
radicalism, as to a lesser extent did Clifford Odets. Both
endeavored to arouse in their audiences a passion that could
be translated into a program that would modify at least, and
nullify at best, the social ills that prevailed in the
depression-ridden nation of the 1930's.
The new art, "the talkies," then still awaiting
final judgment as a contributor to culture, produced such
motion pictures as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington and showed the common man in the audience how.
if he really tried, he could influence his government to
offer him redress for his grievances.
The films of Cary Grant, William Powell, and Robert
Montgomery, like the plays of S. N. Behrman, offered the
unemployed viewer a dream of what high society was and could
be like— if he really tried.
Masch1er (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1958), p. 94.
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33
Another playwright, Elmer Rice, made his most ser
ious commitment to the drama of protest in the early thir
ties, at the height of the depression, when he, "like many
liberals, allied himself with the radicals as a gesture of
protest against the social chaos,and condemned the
Broadway theatre in a manner that Martin Dies would have
probably considered a Marxian dialectic.
The theatre is in the hands of businessmen, of real
estate operators and entrepreneurs, whose chief
interest is to capitalize the creative talents of
the author and actors and turn them into dollars
and cents . . . And so the drama, once the high
priestess of religion, becomes the hand maiden of
commerce. Between the creative artist and his
potential auditors stands the sordid and ugly bar
rier of the commercial theatre. Here, as every
where in our civilization, the profit system
stifles the creative impulse and dams the free
flow of vitality.22
Whatever Rice's political leanings were at the time
of this comment, it must be said that the "profit system"
was doing a most inadequate job of stifling the "creative
impulse" and damming the "free flow of vitality" along the
Great White Way.
The Theatre Union directed its plays at what it
^^Rabkin, Drama and Commitment, p. 238.
^^New York Times. November 11, 1934, Sec. IX, p. 3.
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34
hoped would result in an egalitarian audience and made that
premise quite clear when it announced:
We produce plays that deal boldly with the deep-
going social conflictsj the economic^ emotional,
and cultural problems that confront the majority
of the people. Our plays speak directly to this
majority, whose lives usually are caricatured or
ignored on the stage. We do not expect that these
plays fall into the accepted social pattern. This
is a new kind of professional theatre, based on
the interests and hopes of the great mass of work
ing people.23
The Theatre Union, according to Rabkin, "represented
Marxism's most ambitious excursion into the mainstream of
the American Theatre,but it was by no means alone in its
efforts to create a professional theatre that would glean
its support from the proletariat.
Of the many worker-oriented theatres that paralleled
and followed Theatre Union, two stand out because of their
significance today. The Group Theatre managed to make its
method" approach to plays so stimulating that now, more
than a quarter of a century since the company's dissolution,
the "method" still remains the basic acting style for the
2 3,
'Quoted in Anita Block, The Changing World in Plays
and Theatre (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1939), p. 275.
^Drama and Commitment, p. 45.
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35
fledgling theatre artist.
Additionallyj it produced the tyro efforts of Sidney
Kingsley and William Saroyan as well as works by John Howard
Lawsonj Paul Green^ and Maxwell Anderson; and "its play-
writing contest awarded public recognition for the first
time to a young writer named Tennessee Williams.
Harold Clurman, Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, Cheryl
Crawford, Elia Kazan, and Lee Strasberg are but a few of
the Group Theatre's membership who went on to teach and
direct in the style advocated by Konstantin Stanislavsky.
And the most theatrically articulate voice of the
thirties, the personality most identified with the drama of
the depression, was the Group Theatre's leading playwright,
Clifford Odets.
It is fair to say that, "In sum, the record of Amer
ican dramatic accomplishment in the thirties is very largely
the dramatic contribution of the Group Theatre.
The second theatre that still remains unique in the
twentieth century was the nation's first and only nationally
subsidized Federal Theatre. For four years, from 1935 to
1939, under its director, Ha Hie Flanagan, it produced more
25
Ibid.. p. 91.
26,
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36
plays that were seen by more people than in any similar
period in the nation's history. Why such an enormously ex
citing, diversified, and voluminous enterprise should have
come to such an abrupt end (it was killed by Congress in one
day) is explored in the following chapter.
It may safely be said that "the project's main con
tribution was theatrical, not dramatic— in the principle
rather than in the results of government-sponsored drama,"
and further that "the Federal Theatre was unable to recon
cile its commitment to the principle of economic relief with
its commitment to a viable, socially-conscious theatre.
Many believed the two obligations canceled each
other out, but it is likely that had the theatre been al
lowed the opportunity to continue, it might well have pro
duced as many significant theatrical figures as its ante
cedent, the Group Theatre.
The cultural atmosphere of the thirties may indeed
have been most influenced by the Federal Theatre in the
sense that more people saw plays than any other form of live
entertainment. And this was quite simply because there were
more plays to be seen, as the direct result of the often
27
Ibid.. p. 123.
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37
free Federal Theatre.
But before we investigate in greater depth the liv
ing theatre's role in the environment of the period^ let us
turn briefly again to the nonlive, but loud phenomenon that
began with the depression decade, "the talkies," and then,
last, to the dance.
"Sound is not merely a mechanical device where-by a
director can make the image appear more natural . . . I am
sure that the sound film is potentially the art of the
future,wrote V. I. Pudovkin in the early thirties. More
importantly, the Russian film maker saw sound as an embell
ishment to Lenin's great confidence in the film as a politi
cal weapon.
It is not an orchestral creation centering round
music, nor yet the theatre, where man is the domi
nating factor. Neither is it akin to opera, but
it is a synthesism of all and every element— the
oral, the visual, the philosophical. It is where
we can translate the world in all its shades and
shadows into a new art which has succeeded and
will supersede all the older arts. For it is the
supreme medium in which we can express today and
tomorrow.
It is doubtful that when A1 Jolson first went down
. I. Pudovkin, "Sound and the Future of the
Cinema," New Theatre, March, 1934, p. 7.
2^Ibid., p. 8.
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38
on one knee to express his singing affection for his "mammy"
in Warner Brothers' The Jazz Singer that anything quite so
profound as philosophizing in the "supreme medium" crossed
his conscious awareness .
However, the revolutionary artist, writing for the
cinema, was a potential reality; probably to a somewhat
greater extent in the fourth decade of this century than in
the forties when the committee was busy getting headlines
from its 1947 Hollywood investigations. Robert Gessner sums
up his responsibility as a screenwriter in this way in his
article, "Massacre in Hollywood":
The test of a good propagandist is whether he can
compel an audience, not in the slightest interested
in what he's got to say, to listen and listen con
trary to its inclinations, and when he is through,
agree with him and move to action. How then does
a revolutionary artist go about pulling uninterested
ears in his direction? By first calling the atten
tion of those ears through familiar sounds, and a
familiar sound to the ear of a petty bourgeois is
still today familiar to the ear of an American
working man. . . .
Hollywood owns and feeds the movie audience, and all
revolutionary artists aiming to undermine the ideo
logical structure of the middle class and consolidate
the working class must, in order to be at this time
effectively heard, consider seriously the question of
working through Hollywood.^®
^^New Theatre. March, 1934, p. 16.
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39
A few of the radical theatre writers of the thirties
did try out the new medium, but generally speaking they were
far more interested in the fast buck that Hollywood offered
than anything so politically profound as Gessner indicates.
Lawson and Odets took brief turns in the new medium but
retreated hastily to the familiar and more flexible environs
of the New York theatre.
The Hollywood writer was considered in those early
days of the talkies as "the well-fed prisoner of a medium
which he felt beneath his capacities
The most accurate and fair assessment of the film
maker or producer's predilection toward revolutionary con
spiring, whether it be in the thirties or contemporary
times, was proffered by Richard Watts, Jr., when he ob
served :
It is, I think, a great mistake to believe that the
California film-makers are, as a rule, intentionally
malicious or studiously unfair in their attitude
towards revolutionary themes. Undeniably, they are
heartily, if sometimes furtively, on the side of the
established order, but it does not make their defi
nite anti-revolutionary bias any more pleasant to
realize that it is the result of instinct and the
box office, rather than of intentional malice. My
point is that it is giving the Hollywood magnates
31,
Murray Kempton, Part of Our Time : Some Monuments
and Ruins of the Thirties (New York : Dell Publishing Co.,
1967). p. 192.
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credit for far too great a degree of intelligence
to suspect any such conspiracy on their part. In
their hearts they have, I firmly believe, intended
to go in for the closest approximation of harmless,
mid-Victorian liberalism they can hit upon. It
merely happens that all of their handsome invest
ments, all of their fears of censorship and legions
of decency and the women's clubs, all their dreams
of being big shots in a great industrial world— in
fact, all of their instincts and emotions— make it
subconsciously impossible for them to be on the side
of the exploited. They are not scheming villains.
They are just instinctive defenders of a system that
has enabled them to buy those swimming pools and
tennis courts.
More than a dozen years later J. Parnell Thomas, as
chairman of the committee, disagreed with Watts and launched
what he intended to be a full-scale investigation of the
Red menace" in the California cinema. It was suddenly
truncated when some of the same moguls that Watts referred
to came forth to demonstrate the validity of his premise.
The dance is the other cultural phenomenon that
employs the use of a live audience and bears brief scrutiny
as a device that the radical left believed could engage the
viewer in an emotional appeal that might be translated into
political action.
The art of the dance probably preceded all human
32"Hollywood Sees Pink," New Theatre, November,
1934, p. 14.
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41
physical expression that could be called dramatic in intent
The dance was used to encourage the gods to help yield a
more bounteous harvest long before its more realistic and
ritualistic use in ancient Greece and Italy. It was not
until this century that the dance became a clinically dis
sected tool of a revolutionary political philosophy.
A dance group that is functioning properly in the
radical sense must fit into the over-all concept of social
ist realism and have five well-defined goals :
(1) performing before workers^ students, and the
regular dance concert audience ; (2) performing for
the purpose of educating and stimulating the audi
ence to significant aspects of the class struggle;
(3) training performing troupes to undertake this
task; (4) training the individuals who are to make
up these performing troupes; (5) themselves becom
ing a part of the class struggle through practical
and theoretical education.
The problem then arises for the radical dancer,
after he has thoroughly mastered his five points to revo
lution, what to dance about? As in all totalitarian systems
there is an answer for every problem and this dilemma does
not offer two or more choices.
To be sure, the class struggle must be the point of
^%nsigned article, "The Dance: The New Dance
Group; an Analysis," New Theatre, March, 1934, p. 17.
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main focus as long as classes remain. Not to do
this would be to take the bourgeois cultural back
track ....
A nature dance in a program may be just the nectar
that a fluttering^ bourgeois butterfly may require
to induce him to alight. Once his interest is
aroused, the class struggle part of the program will
easily penetrate the cracked shell of his abstract
ness . The class-conscious worker, perhaps tired
after a hard day's toil, or harassed by the worries
of unemployment, does not desire to be reminded of
his plight all the time, but would like to be bol
stered by a wild, gay dance occasionally. . . .
Nor need we fear that the proper amount of gayety
[sic] and humour will detract from our revolutionary
strength of purpose.
Such were the dreams that made up the stuff that
caused the radical dancer of the thirties to believe that
through his art he could help create a political revolution
The living-theatre's role in the cultural pattern
of the 1930's was, as has already been suggested, more pro
found and emotionally cathartic for audiences than during
any like decade in this century. The American social the
atre of that decade, although almost totally left of center
in its productions and goals, should in no way be confused
with the totalitarian left theatre in Russia.
"The Russian Theatre deals with the very vitals of
3‘ ^Ezra Freeman, "What to Dance About, " New Theatre,
March, 1934, pp. 18-19.
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43
Russian life in its contemporary forms. . . . In the totali
tarian economy every aspect of the life of the people is
harnessed to specific forms of organization and to given
purposesj" observed economist James H. Shoemaker
In no way could the American theatre of the left^
at any time, be construed to be inextricably harnessed to
any form of organization and certainly only most generally
to purposes. There is no doubt that the social theatre of
the depression was constantly^ with varying degrees of sue
cess j penetrated by the then burgeoning Communist party
U.S.A.
In some cases this attempt at infiltration was overt
and public in its manifesto^ as we have observed in the
Theatre Union. More often the social theatre was beset by
a more covert and less definable subversion. Particularly
before 19 30 this latter style of assault did not necessarily
adhere to any specific Moscow party line. It was not even
categorically anti-capitalist in its intent, but nonetheless
it was radical in its observations on the culture :
Direct attack upon its fundamental institutions
seemed hopeless even to most of those who theoretically
^^Ben W. Brown, Theatre at the Left (Providence,
R. I.: The Bear Press, 1938), introduction.
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opposed them, and the radical who got a hearing was
the radical whose criticism was directed rather at
the culture than at the political organization of
America. If he described the lives of the poor, it
was more likely to be for the purpose of inviting
compassionate or ironic contemplation of the contrast
between such lives and the lives of the more fortu
nate than it was to be for the purpose of summoning
the audience to the barricades. If he looked with
a jaundiced eye upon the rich it was more often to
expose their vulgarity or to satirize their intel
lectual and aesthetic limitations than to attribute
such defects to the capitalistic system.
36
After 1930, when the depression was fully under way,
the Communist party made no illusory attempt to disguise its
desire to be a part of the mainstream of the American the-
The agitprop play, usually very short, episodic,
satiric, and employed for political agitation and propa
ganda, was first used by the Comminists in 1930 in the
German-speaking Proletbuehne theatre. Following this ini
tial effort, the Worker's Laboratory Theatre (later called
the Theatre of Action) and the Theatre Collective attempted
to herald the coming of a Soviet America. In 1934, when the
WLT was rechristened the Theatre of Action, it changed its
policy and presentation, and "unlike the stylized agitprop,
the new technique required the playwright to weave the
36,
'Krutch, American Drama Since 1918, pp. 227-228.
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Marxist ideas into a realistic plot.
The Daily Worker's drama critic^ Leon Alexander,
vowed that the Theatre of Action would continue the produc
tion of the raw agitprop play against the desires of "some
of our professionally minded comrades," but he indicated
that the renamed company was on the look for more realistic
material.^^
The theatre shortly moved to Broadway and in May,
1935, presented a three-act play. The Young Go First, which
"was hailed by the Communist press more for the realism of
the production than for the political correctness of the
script," but historically it was probably more significant
because its co-director was an up-and-coming young actor in
the Group Theatre, Elia Kazan.
The Theatre Collective was actually a subdivision
of the WLT and was organized in order to stage full-length
realistic plays in the normal Broadway manner Unlike the
commercial theatre, the Collective's plays were supposed to
°Dailv Worker. May 27, 1935.
40,
'jack Shapiro, "Theatre Collective," New Theatre,
October, 1934, p. 15.
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follow and be illustrative of the Communist party U.S.A.
These are but a few examples of the amateur Commu
nist theatres that attempted to write and direct plays that
would espouse the inherent wonders of collectivism as under
stood by the young artists who were sympathetic to the
Soviet experiment. "These short-lived groups made but a
slight impression on their radical audience and virtually
no impression on the overall theatrical scene in New York."
Despite the intention of the C.P. and the hope for a revo
lutionary theatre that would rend the capitalist system
asunder, they really did nothing revolutionary either the
atrically or politically.^^
The League of Worker's Theatre (later renamed the
New Theatre League) and the Labor Stage were probably the
most well-known and overtly pro-Soviet semiprofessional
theatre groups in the thirties. There were many variations
3f these workers' theatres, both in and out of New York, but
for the purpose of citing representative pro-Communist the
atres they remain the best examples.
^Ibid.. p. 22.
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47
The New Theatre League proclaimed its philosophy
for the American theatre as "the most efficient use of drama
as a weapon in the inevitable revolution"^^ when it pub
lished its new program;
For mass development of the American Theatre to its
highest artistic and social level. For a theatre
dedicated to the struggle against war, fascism, and
censorship.
In addition to the WLT and Theatre Collective, there
arose an amateur theatre which, because of its success in
attracting audiences, became professional: the Labor Stage.
Before the formation of Labor Stage the ILGWU (International
Ladies' Garment Workers Union) made a few attempts at real
istic drama but until 1936, when Louis Schaeffer, an officer
in the ILGWU's recreational program, presented Labor Stage's
production of Pins and Needles. the left-wing theatre had
failed to find a broad audience.
Pins and Needles was performed more than 1,100 times
in New York City alone; when it closed June 20, 1940, it was
'^'^New Theatre. February, 1935, p. 3.
'^^Himelstein, Drama Was a Weapon, p. 76.
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The Group and Federal were to be the most remembered
theatres of the 1930's: the first because of its rich en
dowment of theatre people who are still active today; the
second because the government which created it with haste
and the best of intentions dissolved it with equal dispatch
and questionable judgment.
The reasons given by the committee for its decision
to end the Federal Theatre and the defense of the organiza
tion by the directors and the commercial show business world
are the subject of the next chapter.
The inevitability of that confrontation seems now
historically apparent when one considers the secondary role
the American political right was forced to play during the
New Deal's challenge to the depression.
"^^New York Times. May 30, 1941.
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CHAPTER III
MARTIN DIES'S 1938 INVESTIGATION
OF THE FEDERAL THEATRE PROJECT
MR. STARNES. You are quoting from this Marlowe.
Is he a Communist?
MRS. FLANAGAN. I am very sorry,
from Christopher Marlowe.
I was quoting
MR. STARNES. Tell us who Marlowe is, so we can
get the proper reference, because that is all that
we want to do.
MRS. FLANAGAN. Put in the record that he was the
greatest dramatist in the period of Shakespeare,
immediately preceding Shakespeare.
MR. STARNES. Put that in the record, because the
charge has been made that this article of yours is
entirely communistic, and we want to help you.
MRS. FLANAGAN. Thank you. That statement will go
in the record.
MR. STARNES. Of course, we had what some people
call Communists back in the days of the Greek
theater.
MRS. FLANAGAN. Quite true.
MR. STARNES. And I believe Mr. Euripedes [sicl was
guilty of teaching class consciousness also, wasn't
he?
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MRS. FLANAGAN. I believe that was alleged against
all of the Greek dramatists.
MR. STARNES. So we cannot say when it began.^
As the committee's Joseph Starnes (Democrat, Ala
bama) indicated, it may be somewhat difficult to trace the
beginnings of class consciousness in dramatic literary his
tory, but it is a good deal easier to pinpoint the commit
tee's first public interest in the American drama of the
thirties.
Description of the Hearings
On Tuesday, July 26, 1938, J. Parnell Thomas (Re
publican, New Jersey), a member of the committee, announced
that he would demand the appearance before the full
committee of Mrs. Hallie Flanagan, national director
of the theatre project in charge of production, to
answer questions concerning alleged Communistic ac
tivities of the project. Mr. Thomas said she would
be asked to explain why applicants for jobs in the
project must first join the Workers Alliance, which
he characterized as a Communist organization, and
why, according to evidence submitted before him,
employees of the project are permitted to hold pro
test meetings during regular working hours.
"It is apparent from the startling evidence received
U.S., Congress, House, Special Committee on Un-
American Activities, Investigation of Un-American Propaganda
Activities in the U.S., Hearings, 75th Cong., 3rd Sess.
December 6, 1938, Vol. IV, pp. 2857-2858. Hereinafter citec
as Propaganda Hearings.
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thus far," said Mr. Thomas, "that the Federal The
atre Project not only is serving as a branch of
the communistic organization but also is one more
link in the vast and unparalleled New Deal propa
ganda machine.
"When the Dies Committee assembles in Washington
on Aug. 11 to consider evidence of un-American
activities, I shall demand that Mrs. Flanagan be
subpoenaed to answer some of the serious charges
concerning the work of her project. I also shall
strongly urge that our committee dig deeply into
the entire Federal Theatre Project, which seemingly
is infested with radicals from top to b o tto m .
Mrs. Flanagan was quick to retort to the congress
man's accusations and said the following day that "she would
be glad to answer any questions Representative Thomas . . .
might wish to ask her about the project and her own activi
ties in it." She further observed: "Some of the statements
reported to have been made by him are obviously absurd . .
of course no one need first join or be a member of any
organization in order to obtain employment in a theatre
project.
Representative Thomas was not about to let Mrs.
Flanagan have the last public word on the matter prior to
the beginning of the hearings :
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A "thorough cleansing" of the Federal Theatre Proj-
ectj which he characterized as a "patronage vehicle"
for Communists, will be demanded . . . when the Dies
Committee begins session tomorrow.
Mr. Thomas completed a three-week preliminary in
vestigation of the project yesterday with the an
nouncement that he would demand the resignation of
officials in charge of various phases of the theatre
project who, according to evidence assembled by Mr.
Thomas, "are supplying jobs to Communists, many of
whom had no previous theatrical experience."
Mr. Thomas cited the case of a chambermaid in a New
York hotel, alleged to be an active Communist, who
received a leading role in a Federal play despite
the fact that she never before had appeared on the
legitimate stage.
"The Federal Theatre Project," said Mr. Thomas, "was
conceived as an agency to furnish temporary employ
ment to professional actors and actresses unable to
obtain jobs in their chosen field. A mass of evi
dence collected under my direction during the past
three weeks will prove beyond a shadow of doubt that
this project is now completely dominated by Commu
nists ; that many unemployed actors are barred unless
they first join the Workers Alliance, front organi
zation of communism, and that the agency is a patron
age vehicle to supply jobs for Reds.
"In other words, a government agency, supported by
public funds, has become part and parcel of the
Communist party, spreading its radical theories
through its stage productions. American World War
veterans are being barred from the project solely
because they are veterans.
"Practically every single play presented under the
auspices of the Theatre Project is sheer propaganda
for Communism or the New Deal. One production called
"Injunction Granted" actually advocates rioting and
bloodshed. The script also attacks the judiciary
system of the United States, charges that the courts
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will not aid the working man and refers freely to
the 'industrial and civil war. '
Thomas's arbitrary coupling of communism and the
New Deal indicated that one of the real motives of the com
mittee was attacking the Roosevelt Administration, not
solely ferreting out Communists as it claimed.
Such was the public case presented by the commit
tee, in the guise of its member. Congressman Thomas, against
the WPA's Federal Theatre Project.
Mrs. Flanagan quite rightly assumed that she would
be subpoenaed to appear before the committee and drafted a
letter saying she would be available on August 11. She
noted that the date coincided with the meeting of the Na
tional Policy Board and pointed out that six regional direc
tors would then be present should the committee wish to
lerrogate them about projects throughout the country.^
Chairman Martin Dies rejected Mrs. Flanagan's re
quest to testify but replied that Congressman Thomas appar
ently did intend to subpoena her, although it might be
several weeks because the committee already had a heavy
^Ibid., August 10, 1938.
^Jane DeHart Mathews, The Federal Theatre, 1935-
1939, Plays, Relief, and Politics (Princeton, N. J.:
Princeton University Press, 1967), pp. 199-200.
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54
schedule of witnesses
On August 19, Thomas led off his attack on the
Federal Theatre with ten witnesses headed by Hazel Huffman,
"a former employee of the mail division of the WPA, who
claimed to have been hired by the office of the New York
City WPA administrator, Victor Ridder, as an investigator
to read Federal Theatre mail," and who was subsequently
fired when her dubious duties were discovered.^
Miss Huffman was followed by nine other persons
associated in tangential ways with the project and described
as offering:
. . . the weirdest collections of evidence ever per
mitted before the Committee . . . at this stage. It
ranged from Communistic activities, through ineffi
ciency of the unit, to disputes over professional
status, and even took into consideration the question
of a Negro asking a white girl for a "date." It did
furnish good headline material, but must be regarded
as one of the most curious aberrations that the Com
mittee ever permitted to figure in its hearings.®
The case presented by the committee against the
Federal Theatre, in addition to the aforementioned public
utterances of Congressman Thomas, can best be summed up by
briefly reviewing some of the testimony of the ten
^Ibid., p. 200. 7Ibid., p. 201.
®Ogden, The Dies Committee, p. 63.
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55
"friendly" former Federal Theatre employees.
Miss Huffman, in response to Thomas's question re
garding what organization she represented, indicated that
she was currently a member of the Committee of Relief Status
Professional Theatrical Employees of the Federal Theatre
Project in New York City
The witness stated that the Workers' Alliance, an
organization "closely allied with the Communist Party,"
currently dominated the Federal Theatre Project and had the
cooperation and support of two of the national heads of the
project, Aubrey Williams and Mrs. Hallie Flanagan.
Miss Huffman described Mrs. Flanagan as a person
who "was known as far back as 1927 for her communistic sym
pathy, if not membership," and went on to support her claim
by testifying that Mrs. Flanagan had devoted 147 pages of
her book Shifting Scenes to eulogizing the Russian the
atre. Continuing her case. Miss Huffman presented as
evidence an article written by Mrs. Flanagan for Theatre
Arts Monthly of November, 1931. The article allegedly
acknowledged Mrs. Flanagan's presence and participation in
776.
^Propaganda Hearings, August 19, 1938, Vol. I, p.
^°Ibid.. pp. 776-777 .
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a meeting which had been called by the John Reed Club and
Flanagan^ in cooperation with a Vassar student, coauthored
a play Can You Hear Their Voices? from a story by Whittaker
Chambers that was intended to picture all of the countries
of the world, except Russia, in a state of unrest and un
employment.^^
"On one occasion when I was talking to Mrs. Flana
gan, the subject came up of her being in Soviet Russia,"
according to Miss Huffman's testimony. She
was incensed over an article which had appeared
against her in one of the magazines, and Mrs. Flana
gan said that after they had treated her so royally
and been so lovely to her, and produced a play which
she had written for them, there was certainly no
reason why she should not be sympathetic toward
them.
The balance of Miss Huffman's lengthy fifty-four-
page testimony included her assertion that Mrs. Flanagan hac
appointed Elmer Rice, "a well-known leftist," as regional
director of the New York City Federal Theatre Project. Mrs
Flanagan stated in 1936, "that though the project is set up
for relief, our foremost consideration must be for the
^^Ibid. ^^Ibid.. p. 778.
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57
,,15
Federal Theatre Projects." Miss Huffman concluded the
case against Mrs. Flanagan by naming and describing a list
of plays that she deemed to be anti-American and therefore
pro-Russian and indicating just for good measure that in her
judgment some of the plays took entirely too long to re
hearse .
The next witness that day was William Harrison
Humphrey^ an actor who played Earl Browder, head of the
Communist party U.S.A., in the Federal Theatre production
of Triple A Plowed Under, declared that he left the play
'because of the propaganda that was prevalent in the proj-
What precisely that propaganda was and how it was
disseminated were never made clear; when Humphrey indicated
he wanted to read a defense of the Earl Browder role he had
played, the committee dismissed him.
On August 20, Francis M. Verdi was the first wit
ness. He testified that 175 professional artists were
dropped from the project in July, 1937, while nonprofession
als were held on. He implied that these nonprofessionals
were members in many instances of the Workers' Alliance and
15
Ibid., p. 781.
16
Ibid.. p. 829.
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testified that Communist literature was handed out at many
of the project theatres.
Charles Walton followed Verdi and complained that
he was unable to advance in the Federal Theatre Projects
because he was adamantly anti-Communist and despised any
thing that was un-American. Additionally, he testified, he
was invited to a party by a Communist and at that party he
saw colored men dancing with white girls
The next four who testified on August 20, Garland
Kerr, Seymour Revzin, Sallie Saunders, and Henry Frank,
followed by Wallace Stark and Leo Dawson on August 22, var
iously reported or corroborated the testimony of the pre
ceding witnesses. Additionally, Miss Saunders said she had
been telephoned by a Negro for a date, and the six further
condemned the Federal Theatre because it had performed
'pro-union plays, plays referring to Negro discrimination,
and anti-Fascist plays.
The last matter of moment occurred in the probe
when the discussion of communications corroborating or deny
ing charges made by the witnesses was raised. "Dies
l^Ibid., pp. 833-839. ^8Ibid., pp. 839-845.
^^Ogden, The Dies Committee, p. 63.
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59
decided that to present them all would consume the entire
appropriation and that the committee would have to consider
later the question of people whom the committee could not
afford to subpoena and who were unable to appear them
selves .
The case for the prosecution rested and the defense
of the project by Mrs. Ellen Woodward and Mrs. Hallie
Flanagan remained.
Mrs. Flanagan's natural inclination to respond im
mediately to the first collective public condemnation of her
theatre was somewhat vitiated by the WPA rule that only the
Washington information division of that organization could
answer press stories about those first hearings.
On August 5, 1938j after Representative Thomas's
first public proclamation against the Federal Theatre and
before the previously described hearings, Mrs. Flanagan
began her efforts to cooperate with the committee by offer
ing herself as a defense witness.These efforts remained
unsuccessful until December of that year when Mrs. Flanagan
20Ibid.
21, •Hallie Flanagan, Arena; the History of the Fed-
iral Theatre (New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1965), p. 335.
22Ibid., pp. 336-337.
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60
and Mrs. Woodward were allowed to testify in defense of the
Federal Theatre Project.
Between August and December the public had been
furnished stories about the project "that would hearten the
most hard-boiled tabloid editor.
Witnesses returning to New York were greeted with
reports of their testimony from every newsstand in
the city. WPA Theatre Faces Probe as "Hotbed" of
Reds, Flanagan a WPA "Red," Secretary of N. Y.
Actors' Relief Group Tells House "Hallie is Commu
nistic, " Reds Urged "Mixed Date" Blonde Tells Dies
Probers— and so the headlines ran.24
Mrs. Flanagan was forced to defend herself against
such lurid charges when she finally took the witness chair
Tuesday, December 6, 1938.
The previous day the committee had a taste of what
Mrs. Flanagan had in store for them when the assistant ad
ministrator of the WPA, Mrs. Woodward, first pleaded the
case for the Federal Theatre.
Mrs. Woodward declared that she would carry the
responsibility of the defense of the project, "although she
herself," compared with Mrs. Flanagan, "had never been
-^Mathews, The Federal Theatre, p. 205.
24Ibid.
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seriously attacked in the previous testimony.
In contrast to the August hearings the interrogation
of Mrs . Woodward was
a model of what might have been done with all the
testimony heard. Every statement that she made had
to be proved, every word that she uttered had to be
explained, the sources of her charges were explored
in detail and her fitness to testify was thoroughly
discussed. In her case there was no reading of a
prepared statement accusing all and sundry, with
merely perfunctory or confirmatory interruptions on
the part of the Committee. Rather it was a stimu
lating cross-examination, with the members of the
Committee determined that nothing save that which
could not be denied would be permitted to go into
the record.26
Mrs. Woodward opened her testimony with an effort
to present a prepared statement to the committee that de
fined the exact nature of the activities of the Federal
Arts Projects under her jurisdiction. A debate between
Chairman Dies and Congressman Thomas immediately ensued
concerning the relevance of her statement to the investiga
tion of un-American activities. Dies maintained that much
latitude had been given other witnesses in the area of
"things that didn't have anything to do with un-American
activities. So let us be fair with her." Thomas rejoined:
25,
'Ogden, The Dies Committee, p. 94.
^Ibid., pp. 94-95.
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62
"But when they did talk about them^ they were shut off
Nothing could have been further from the truth : in
August the witnesses had ruminated over a wide diversity of
subjects ranging from miscegenation to dramatic literary
criticism.
Mrs. Woodward continued her statement^ declaring
that of the 924 plays produced in three years by the Federal
Theatre, twenty-six had been charged by the previous wit
nesses as having "communistic propaganda" and none of the
witnesses "could be qualified as an expert on the drama.
She went on to say that the principal witness. Hazel
Huffman, "has so little theatrical experience that she coulc
not possibly qualify for employment on the project," and
that Miss Huffman was recently repudiated by Actors' Equity
Association in its official magazine which inveighed mem
bers against any association with her or her committee in
an article entitled "Warning to H. Huffman & Co.: Keep
Mrs. Woodward went on to name a number of artists
'Propaganda Hearings, Vol. IV, p. 2733.
GIbid., p. 2734.
^Ibid., pp. 2734-2735.
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63
who had left the Federal Theatre and gone on to lucrative
jobs in the commercial theatre and cinema. She also lauded
Mrs. Flanagan and documented her comments about the esti
mable quality of the theatre and its director with observa
tions from such distinguished critics as Brooks Atkinson,
Archibald MacLeish, and Burns Mantle.
A long and heated debate followed concerning the
mental stability of a committee witness; the ability of Mrs.
Woodward to recognize her own signature; and her qualifica
tions for recognizing Communist infiltration into the agen
cies she headed. Her assertion that there was something
un-American in the way in which the committee handled the
charges against her project led to an even more lively ex-
31
change.
After the lunch recess Mrs . Woodward presented the
next section of her prepared statement; it dealt specifi
cally with the Federal Theatre Project and Mrs. Flanagan.
Mrs. Woodward attempted to refute four general accusations
which were made directly or inferentially by previous wit
nesses . Number one was "that the plays produced by the
Federal Theatre are either un-American or communistic, or
3°lbid., p. 2736. ^^Ibid., pp. 2750-2789.
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subversive or propagandistic."
Chairman Dies interrupted to point out that only
some of the plays produced by the project were under scru
tiny j to which Mrs. Woodward agreed. The second of the four
allegations Mrs. Woodward attempted to defend her project
against was that the audiences attending Federal Theatre
plays were almost entirely composed of communistic or radi
cal groups. She was once again challenged by the chairman
to give her reason for believing that such a charge had been
made against the project. Mrs. Woodward, after a semantic
joust with Dies over the wording of the second accusation,
was allowed to read the third, and as it happened, the last
point: "That a majority of the project's executives are
communistic.
She offered the committee a personal history sheet
establishing the high qualifications of each of the direc
tors, a record which the chair seemed disinterested in ob
taining. Suddenly Representative Thomas decided it was time
to discuss the twenty-six specific plays which had been
introduced as being un-American in the August hearings.
•^Ibid.. p. 2793.
^Ibid., p. 2795.
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65
During the balance of the afternoon, Mrs. Woodward
sought to prove the worth of the plays by producing drama
critics' comments about their validity as significant the
atre which was truly representative of the times. The com
mittee, in particular Dies and Thomas, sought to discredit
the drama critics' evaluations by challenging their politi
cal leanings and military records, indicating that the Com
munist press was also favorably disposed toward the plays,
implying the critics gave good notices because the Federal
Theatre advertised in their papers, debating the denotation
of the word propaganda, and finally questioning whether the
democratic process was used in selecting the plays. The
most interesting exchange, however, occurred when Mrs.
Woodward used the phrase "capitalistic press" and was im
mediately challenged by Thomas, Starnes, and Dies:
MR. THOMAS. What press did you say?
MR. STARNES. She said the capitalistic press.
MR. THOMAS. What do you mean by the capitalistic
press?
THE CHAIRMAN. That is a communistic term.
MRS. WOODWARD. You see, these big papers I named,
some of them I have named, the Times —
MR. THOMAS. Name some that you consider are mem
bers of the capitalistic press.
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MRS. WOODWARD. I mean papers that have big capital
behind them^ Mr. Congressman.
MR. THOMAS. Just name some of them.
MR. STARNES. Without prompting. Who is the third
party here^ this body?
MRS. WOODWARD. This is Mr. Lavery.
MR. STARNES. All right, let his name appear in the
record.
MRS. WOODWARD. The New York Times, the Herald
Tribune, and many other papers where they have a
lot of money.
MR. THOMAS . And many others where they have a lot
of money?
MRS. WOODWARD. Yes.
MR. THOMAS. What other ones do you have in mind?
MRS. WOODWARD. Well, papers that are capitalized—
MR. THOMAS. Do you include the Hearst papers?
MRS. WOODWARD. I think the Hearst papers have a
great deal of capital behind them.
MR. THOMAS. Would you call a Scripps-Howard paper
a capitalistic paper?
MRS. WOODWARD. Well, I really had reference to no
particular paper.
MR. THOMAS. Would you include the New York Post,
for instance?
MRS. WOODWARD. Would I include the New York Post?
MR. THOMAS. Yes.
MRS. WOODWARD. I would include any of the papers
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that had great capital behind them, or, perhaps,
people that would be expected to be critical of
what we were doing.
MR. THOMAS. Do you include the New York Post?
MRS. WOODWARD. I would not say whether I would or
would not include the New York Post, because I do
not know anything about their capital, but I would
include some of those.
MR. THOMAS. We have the capitalistic press. What
other kind of press have we got, Mrs. Woodward?
MRS. WOODWARD. I am sorry.
MR. THOMAS. We have the capitalistic press, and
what other kinds of press do we have?
MRS. WOODWARD. I just used that colloquially. If
you permit me, I will strike it out of the record.
MR. THOMAS. No; do not strike it out of the record.
MR. STARNES. Can you name any other papers in the
country that are of the capitalistic press as you
denominate?
MRS. WOODWARD. There are a lot of small papers in
the country I would name there—
MR. STARNES. What about the New Masses, that is not
a capitalistic paper, is it?
MRS. WOODWARD. I do not know much about the New
Masses.
MR. STARNES. The Daily Worker is not a capitalistic
paper, is it?
MRS. WOODWARD. Mr. Starnes, I probably chose my
word very badly there.
MR. STARNES. I am afraid you did, Mrs. Woodward.
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MRS. WOODWARD. I just mean papers that have not
been very much interested in what we were doing,
and would certainly come back and sock us between
the eyes if we were doing communistic stuff.
MR. THOMAS. Mrs. Woodward, haven't you heard that
term used by the Communist Party and the Communist
press?
MRS. WOODWARD. I have just told you that I am not
a member of the Communist Party.
MR. THOMAS. No one said you were; but haven't you
heard the term used by the Communist Party or the
Communist press?
MRS. WOODWARD. No; I do not remember reading any
thing in the Communist press.
MR. STARNES. If you take your two plays It Can Fsicl
Happen Here and Power, on page 7 of the Daily Worker,
the issue of June 5, 1937, you will find out Earl
Browder is quoted in his speech as stating:
"Two W.P.A. Federal Theater productions. It Can't
Happen Here and Power, are among the plays which
will be placed before delegates to the National
Congress of American Writers this week as possi
bilities for the congress' award for the play of
the greatest social significance produced during
the year, it was announced yesterday by the League
of American Writers."
MRS. WOODWARD. Do you think that is binding on us,
Mr. Congressman?
MR. STARNES. No; but I am giving you the opinion
of others.
THE CHAIRMAN. Now, Mrs. Woodward, before we go
any further, we do not want you to be under a false
impression here. Witnesses sometimes say something
under stress that might be misconstrued. I am con
fident you have no such thing in mind. When you
said capitalistic press, you just meant the big
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newspapers of the country?
MRS. WOODWARD. I just meant the big newspapers
where they have a lot of money and can employ any
kind of critics they want.
THE CHAIRMAN. You were not using it in the commu
nistic sense or anything of the sort? I want to
clear this thing up, because I am satisfied you had
nothing in your mind with reference to the usual
meaning of capitalistic press, which is used in all
of the Communist papers, and by the speakers.
MRS. WOODWARD. I am willing to take my chance on
that, Mr. Congressman, because I do not think any
body ever accused me of trying to embrace communis
tic language.
THE CHAIRMAN. I agree with you absolutely.
MRS. WOODWARD. Now, then, may I proceed?
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes, ma'am.^^
The afternoon concluded with a silly and sad debate
concerning a Federal Theatre children's play entitled The
Revolt of the Beavers, a discussion that resumed the follow
ing day when Mrs. Flanagan was called to testify.
The committee had managed to establish a certain
lack of credibility in Mrs. Woodward's testimony due to her
admission that she had not read or seen some of the plays
under discussion, including The Revolt of the Beavers .
Hence, she was relying upon the observations and criticism
35
Ibid., pp. 2807-2809.
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70
of others relative to the social significance of the drama
tic literature in the Federal Theatre.
Mrs. Flanagan^ who had been in attendance during the
afternoon questioning of Mrs. Woodward, arrived the follow
ing morning with a carefully prepared brief concerning the
major allegations being debated: that the audiences, plays,
and personnel related to the Federal Theatre were Commu
nistic.^^ Mrs. Flanagan summed up the brief in this way :
Since witnesses before the Dies Committee had called
into question my political faith, the brief gave my
own statement that I am not and never have been a
Communist; that I am a registered Democrat; that I
have never engaged in any communistic activities, or
belonged to any communistic organizations; it further
stated that I had planned and directed Federal The
atre from the first as an American enterprise. The
many articles I had written on this point for The
atre Arts MonthIv, the New York Times. and the Maga
zine of Art were cited.3?
Mrs. Flanagan's remarks about articles she had
written were later to pique the committee, as they had Miss
Huffman.
The Federal Theatre's national director described
the scene that winter morning of Tuesday, December 6, 1939,
in her moving memoir of the star-crossed project:
36,
Flanagan, Arena. p. 338.
^Ibid.. p. 339.
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Before me stretched two long tables in the form of
a huge T. At the foot was the witness chair, at
the head the members of the Committee. At long
tables on either side of the T were reporters, ste
nographers, cameramen. The room itself, a high-
walled chamber with great chandeliers, was lined
with exhibits of material from the Federal Theatre
and the Writers' Project; but all I could see for
a moment were the faces of thousands of Federal
Theatre people; clowns in the circus . . . tele
phone girls at the switchboards . . . actors in
grubby rehearsal rooms . . . acrobats limbering
up their routines . . . costume women busy making
cheap stuff look expensive . . . musicians compos
ing scores to bring out the best in our often
oddly assembled orchestras . . . playwrights work
ing on scripts with the skills of our actors in
mind . . . carpenters, prop men, ushers. These
were the people on trial that morning.
I was sworn in as a witness by Chairman Dies, rangy
Texan with a cowboy drawl and a big black cigar.
I wanted to talk about Federal Theatre, but the
Committee apparently did not.38
That the committee members did not want to talk
about the Federal Theatre was only partly true. They were
interested in Mrs. Flanagan's background and previous polit'
ical sympathies but when they discussed facts concerning
the project they were even more demanding of specifics than
they had been with Mrs. Woodward :
Taken in itself, there can be found no fault in the
action of the Committee at this phase of the hear
ings. Taken in contrast to the previous testimony,
one is led to question why at this particular point
“ibid.. p. 340.
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the Committee became particular . . . When one con
trasts the acceptance of the mass of evidence in
other casesj it seems rather strange at this late
hour the Committee insisted on purely factual tes-
timonyj on the relation of things witnessed by the
person testifying. The Chairman rightly enough
insisted that Mrs. Flanagan could not refute testi
mony on Communistic activities on projects where
she had not been present. But he forgot that he
had already allowed thousands of pages of testimony
based principally on hearsay evidence.
After being sworn in, Mrs. Flanagan, in response to
Chairman Dies's question on what the duties of her position
entailed, displayed her sense of the dramatic by answering.
Since August 29, 1935, I have been concerned with combating
un-American inactivity.
By this remark she meant that she had been about the
business of getting people off the relief rolls, a condition
she considered to be not historically American. The remark
also served notice on the committee that she was going to
be a somewhat more difficult witness than her predecessor,
Mrs . Woodward.
After routine questioning regarding how the project
had been set up and what its purpose was. Congressman
Starnes protested that getting people off relief rolls was
39,
Ogden, The Dies Committee, pp. 95-96.
‘ ^Propaganda Hearings, Vol. IV, p. 2839.
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73
a secondary issue to the welfare of the Federal Theatre
Project. His accusation was based on Miss Huffman's testi
mony. Mrs. Flanagan denied the allegation, saying some
2,000 persons had been returned to private industry, and
produced a letter substantiating her point that: "My prime
job is dealing with relief people, and always has been.
Congressmen Thomas and Starnes then led Mrs. Flana
gan through a recital of her background, educational
achievements, and vocational chronology. Starnes brought
out the fact that she was the first woman in America to
receive the Guggenheim Foundation scholarship, an award
which allowed her to go abroad to study the theatre of
Europe for fourteen months in 1926 and 1927. More important
to the committee was that it put her into prolonged contact
with the Russian theatre. Starnes also elicited from the
witness that she told the New York Times on September 22,
1935, that the Russian theatre was "live and vital," com
pared with the continental theatre, which she called "a
tiresome and boresome matter.
Starnes was most interested to know why she found
their theatre better than Europe's, or for that matter.
"^^Ibid.. p. 2842. ^^Ibid.. p. 2843.
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74
America's. In answering Starnes^ she stated that the Rus
sians were gifted and temperamentally equipped for the
theatre. She did not deny that much of the work that she
had seen in the Soviet Union advocated the Soviet form of
government. She further amplified her position by display
ing a press-clipping book to the committee :
The record of that trip is embodied in a book called
"Shifting Scenes," and I have here the clippings
from all over the world and from every leading paper
in the United States on that book.
And I can only say, gentlemen, and leave it to your
own proof as you go over the testimony, that not one
newspaper critic, when that book came out in 1927,
not one critic picked out anything that was in that
book that was subversive or un-American.'^^
A procedural argument followed immediately as to
whether the witness was being responsive to the questioning,
This tended to diminish the import of the book reviews Mrs.
Flanagan had just cited.
Further questioning about Russia brought out that
Mrs. Flanagan had returned there in 1931, that she did not
see Elmer Rice there, that she had not been a member of any
Russian organization, but that she had briefly served on a
board that advocated the exchange of professors between
43
Ibid.. p. 2845.
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75
Harvard and Yale and the University of Moscow. The Soviet
Union phase of the interrogation was concluded.
In November of 1931; Mrs. Flanagan wrote an article
for Theatre Arts Monthly, "A Theatre Is Born." Starnes
criticized her for her attendance at a meeting where the
Red banner was displayed and for her sympathetic handling
of the subject matter— a worker's theatre in America. Al
though Mrs. Flanagan dwelled heavily on the fact that it was
a straight reporting job_, it was the impression of this
researcher; after a careful examination of the article; that
it does indicate a less than objective evaluation of theatre
as a weapon in the revolutionary class struggle.
But Mrs. Flanagan properly assessed the argument
when she stated to Starnes :
As I have told yoU; I was sent by the Theater Arts
Monthly to record that meeting; and I recorded it
truthfully; and it was published by the Theater Arts
Monthly; and many people commented on it; and; so
far as I knoW; no one picked up the point which you
are trying to allege; which iS; if I understand you—
because the only possible point of reading it; of
course; is to show that it has to do in some way with
the Federal Theater Project; and I claim that it has
nothing whatsoever to do with it.'^^
Thomas followed Starnes's subsequent questioning
^Ibid.. pp. 2853-2854.
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76
about Christopher Marlowe's politics with a further inter
rogation of the witness on the subversive aspects of the
children's play The Revolt of the Beavers.
Mrs. Flanagan responded that she was indeed disap
pointed that so estimable a critic as Brooks Atkinson had
been disturbed by the play and additionally that the police
commissioner had found the piece "poisoning the minds of
youth.
She pointed out that the play had not been written
for Mr. Atkinson or the police commissionerj the latter, to
the best of her knowledge, had not seen the play. The play
was written for children, and they enjoyed it immensely.
To support this point, Mrs. Flanagan offered as evidence a
survey conducted by the department of psychology of New Yor]<
University on the Federal Theatre's children's projects and
specifically, Beavers . She sketched through the children's
responses to the play:
The play teaches us to never to be selfish; never
to be selfish because you don't get anything out
That it is better to be good than bad. That bea
vers have manners just like children. To teach
that if you are unkind any time in your life, y you
^Ibid., p. 2859.
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will always regret it. Never to be selfish
Thomas found little poisonous subversion in the
children's observations and moved on to a brief discussion
of several other plays and their alleged anti-American con
cha irman Dies concluded the questioning of Mrs.
Flanagan with a lengthy and hard-hitting examination of the
director vis-à-vis her views on the primary purpose in the
production of plays ; a rehash of the Theatre Arts Monthly
article; profanity in the project's plays ; and her specific
refutation of charges made by the witnesses who testified
in August. Dies made much of Mrs. Flanagan's claim that she
was unable to speak personally about the politics of some
4;000 persons. Hence, he said she was not a credible wit
ness capable of denying the charges of Communist infiltra
tion and activities in the project.
Mrs. Flanagan sums up her observations of that
December morning:
As the hearing broke up I thought suddenly of how
much it all looked like a badly staged courtroom
scene; it wasn't imposing enough for a congressional
hearing on which the future of several thousand
human beings depended. For any case on which the
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life and reputation of a single human being de
pended, even that of an accused murderer, we had
an American system which demanded a judge trained
in law, a defense lawyer, a carefully chosen jury,
and above all the necessity of hearing all the evi
dence on both sides of the case. Yet here was a
Committee which for months had been actually trying
a case against Federal Theatre, trying it behind
closed doors, and giving one side only to the press.
Out of a project employing thousands of people from
coast to coast, the Committee had chosen arbitrarily
to hear ten witnesses, all from New York City, and
had refused arbitrarily to hear literally hundreds
of others, on and off the project, who had asked
to testify. . . .
Congressman Thomas was jovial.
"You don't look like a Communist," he declared.
"You look like a Republican!"
"If your Committee isn't convinced that neither I
nor the Federal Theatre Project is communistic I
want to come back this afternoon," I told him.
"We don't want you back," he laughed. "You're a
tough witness and we're all worn out.
The defense of the Federal Theatre was not exclu
sively in the hands of Ellen Woodward and Hallie Flanagan.
In October, 1938, TAC, a monthly periodical of theatre ac
tivities, published a statement condemning the committee's
activities :
Tax-payers' money, national newspaper space and
Congressional forces have been wasted these past
few weeks by a committee set up avowedly to
'Flanagan, Arena, pp. 345-346.
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investigate "un-American activities" . . .
This Dies Committee accepts and seemingly encourages
unauthenticated attacks at progressive organizations.
Federal Projects, government officials, trade unions,
cultural groups and movie stars in one fell swoop.
As a matter of fact, the very essence of our American
democratic institutions is constantly subject to
malicious falsification . . .
The Theatre Arts Committee believes, therefore, that
the investigation to date has failed its purpose,
and urges the immediate dissolution of the Dies Com
mittee
Hollywood and New York joined in attacking the com
mittee, and many celebrities offered statements espousing
their personal positions. A sampling of the Hollywood pro
test demonstrates the spectrum of opinions given for the
issuing of the public statements against Dies and his col
leagues :
Dashiell Hammett, chairman. Motion Picture Artists
Committee :
We indignantly reject these irresponsible attacks.
At this crucial time when the cooperation of all
democratic forces is so essential, this attack
throws a very dubious light on the character of
the whole Dies investigation. It emphasizes the
need for the greatest alertness on the part of
all democracy-loving American people.
Lewis Milestone, director :
It seems to me that the hysteria of the Dies Com
mittee's investigations have only succeeded in
°TAC. October, 1938, p. 3.
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strengthening public belief in the organizations and
movements they have attacked. For myself, and for
members of the motion picture industry^ if our aid
to democracies now victims of fascist aggression can
be mis interpreted as un-American acts^ then perhaps
the Dies Committee has its own translation of the
word democracy.
Frederic March, actor:
Every time during the last few years that I have
felt impelled to protest an injustice, to cry out
against man's inhumanity to man, or to espouse some
social reform, I have been called a Communist.
Because the founders of our country believed in
justice, tolerance and the exercise of such social
reform as would benefit the people at large, I in
sist upon the right to follow their example and
still be recognized as a loyal American citizen.
John Ford, director :
May I express my whole-hearted desire to cooperate
to the utmost of my ability with the Hollywood
anti-Nazi League. If this be Communism, count me
Luise Ranier, actress:
I do not believe in the so-called revelations made
by the Dies Investigating Committee. I believe
their purpose is purely destructive, aimed at dis
crediting worthwhile peace and anti-fascist organi
zations, which are so much needed in these worried
times
From New York a group comprising Frances Farmer,
Gertrude Niesen, Phoebe Brand, Artie Shaw, the dancer
Tamiris, Robert Reed, and Michael O'Shea flew to Washington
on a special chartered plane on January 16, 1939.
49
Ibid.
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81
They presented petitions signed by 200,000 persons
protesting the scheduled dismissal of 1,526 WPA workers on
the Federal Arts Project in New York City
TAC noted that "the daily press throughout the
country, especially in Washington, where front-page pictures
of the 'flying protest' were recorded for the benefit of
Congress, was generous in bringing this news to the na-
„51
tion."
The "flying pigeon protest" was another effort on
the part of New York actors to save the project. In March
of that year a group of Broadway showgirls assisted Leif
Erickson, Janet Hill, and Nancy Stern in taking ninety-six
carrier pigeons to Times Square, where the birds were re
leased. Each pigeon wore a pink slip attached to its leg
bearing the words: "S.O.S. Save the WPA.
A subsequent rally at the Mansfield Theatre pro
testing the projected financial cuts of the arts projects
brought out as speakers Frank Gilmore, president of the
Associated Actors and Artistes of America; George Schreiber,
artist; Jean Muir, Hollywood actress ; Samuel Leibowitz, a
51
Ibid.
^TAC. March, 1939, p. 24.
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82
prominent attorney; and New York Congressman Vito Marcan-
tonio. A "Living Newspaper" production, The Right to Live
by Muni Diamond, "skillfully dramatized the achievements of
the projects and provided an impressive argument for the
continuation and expansion of the W.P.A.^^
Radio, probably the most effective method of mass
communication in the thirties, broadcast a number of memo
rable shows in an effort to save the Federal Theatre. One
of the last programs was aired at midnight on Monday, June
20, 1939, and featured stars from both Hollywood and New
York. A1 Jolson, Dick Powell, Hugh Herbert, Gale Sonder-
gaard, Joan Blondell, Ralph Bellamy, Walter Abel, Henry
Fonda, James Cagney, and John Barrymore were among the
artists endeavoring to stop Congress from cutting off
appropriations for Mrs. Flanagan's project.They were
unsuccessful.
By Act of Congress on June 30, 1939, Federal Theatre
was ended. Who was responsible for this untimely death of
such a seemingly worthwhile adjunct of the New Deal's Works
Progress Administration? The director of the project's Play
Bureau, Emmet Lavery, believed that the contributors to its
^^Ibid. ^^TAC, July, 1939, p. 9.
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83
demise were Congressman Dies; Congressman Clifton Woodrum
(whose bill finally cut off appropriations); and the Work
ers ' Alliance (whose claim of infiltration of the project
did little to help remove the "Red" cast)
TAC laid the blame specifically on the shoulders of
Dies :
Why was Federal Theatre destroyed? The signs of
the squall were to be read in Congressman Dies'
witch-hunt for un-Americans months ago. Dies
worked as a beater for the legislative hunting
party gunning for the New Deal. He did a typi
cally thorough bit of blackguarding on the Federal
Theatre, picking it out as the quickest game
Hallie Flanagan avoids assigning the blame for the
end of her theatre to any individual or group. Rather with
optimism than bitterness she concludes :
Creating for our citizens a medium for free ex
pression such as no other form of government can
assure, and offering the people access to the arts
and tools of a civilization which they themselves
are helping to make, such a theatre is at once an
illustration and a bulwark of the democratic form
of government.57
Strangely pro-American words from a suspected un-American,
Commonweal, August 4, 1939, p. 351.
56.
^Flanagan, Arena, p. 37 3.
TAC, July, 1939, pp. 6-7.
57^
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84
who was a Democrat, Congregationalist, Grinnell (Iowa)
College graduate out of Redfield, South Dakota.
Evaluation of the Hearings
The committee's first test of its ability to wave
symbolically the Red flag above the theatre artist, thereby
denying him his right to work at his profession, was a stun
ning success.
The proper responsibility of the committee's inves
tigation of the Federal Theatre project should have been to
determine if federal government funds were being paid to
people who were consciously planning and plotting the over
throw of that government by nondemocratic means. That there
were Communists and Communist sympathizers associated with
the project is unquestionable in view of the social context
of the times, the numbers of the personnel, and the in
clination of some artists to support American liberal causes
also championed by the Kremlin: e.g., civil rights, racial
equality, brotherhood.
Out of nearly 1,000 plays produced during the four-
year existence of the project, some were debatable on po
litical grounds. But the contention of the committee that
twenty-six Federal Theatre plays were un-American, anti
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85
capitalist, and therefore pro-Communist, was never proved.
Mrs. Flanagan's purported Russian sympathies were no more
than one artist's respect for another's creation, regardless
of the political system that tolerated that creativity.
On August 11, 1938, Mrs. Flanagan offered herself
and her six regional policy directors to the committee in an
effort to refute the sensational charges about communism in
the project made public the previous month by Representative
Thomas. She was denied this opportunity by Chairman Dies.
Later that August, the ten friendly witnesses rumi
nated over a series of accusations about the Federal The
atre, few of which proved Communist domination of the proj
ect and none of which was challenged by the committee.
Contrary to Chairman Dies's public utterances, communica
tions from potential witnesses who might appear and chal
lenge the credibility of the ten friendly witnesses were
discounted by him as financially not feasible. His reason
ing was that the monies allotted to the committee for its
work were limited. In its coverage of the committee's in
vestigation the predominantly Republican anti-New Deal press
gave the charges of Communist infiltration of the project
inflated attention.
One is inclined to forgive Representative Starnes
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for his limited knowledge of Elizabethan playwrights because
he consistently tried to keep the investigation centered on
communism in the Federal Theatre.
Congressman Thomas's assertion that the plays pro
duced by the Federal Theatre were propaganda for the Demo
cratic administration was absurd. Quite the contrary was
true. All of the plays discussed by the ten friendly wit
nesses and Mrs. Woodward and Mrs. Flanagan were critical
attacks on the failure of the New Deal to be responsive to
the dire human needs and problems that beset America in the
thirties.
Further^ Thomas failed to prove that the project
was part of a Communist organization and that radicals were
the rule rather than the exception. He also failed to make
good on his promise to demand the resignation of Federal
Theatre officials.
The long time lapse between the charges made in
August and the December defense of those charges indicated
the administration's desire to play politics with the proj
ect. Had Washington allowed Mrs. Flanagan to answer the
press stories immediately after their publication in August
the Federal Theatre might have had a longer existence.
With the New Deal suffering an economic recession
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87
and setbacks in the 1938 congressional elections, the elimi
nation of federally-sponsored show business was an overt
appeasement to the foes of the Democratic administration.
The ability of the committee to investigate fairly
was amply demonstrated by its interrogation of Mrs. Woodward
and Mrs. Flanagan. That same ability was appallingly absent
in the interrogation of the pro-committee witnesses in
August.
Representative Thomas's cavalier attitude, verbal
ized in his off-the-record remark about Mrs. Flanagan's
looking more like a Republican than a Communist, suggests
that his serious concern with communism in the Federal The
atre may have been limited to self-serving publicity for
himself and the committee. This awareness of the publicity
value of Red probes was not limited to the times or the
House,of Representatives. Years later, Richard Revere was
to charge America's foremost Red hunter. Senator Joseph
McCarthy, with a similar disinterest in communism— unless
it served his mania for publicity.
The committee's later practice of including in its
^^Senator Joe McCarthy (New York: Harcourt, Brace
& Co., 1959), p. 47. Most of Revere's book supports this
charge.
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88
printed records only briefs friendly to its work was estab
lished when Mrs. Flanagan's carefully prepared statement,
refuting charges made against her theatre, failed to appear,
as promised by the hearing's secretary, in the transcripts
of the proceedings.
Subsequently, more than 500 copies of her brief were
sent to the office of WPA director of information David
Niles for distribution to the members of Congress. He
assured her the statements would be disseminated to the
representatives. This was never done.
Chairman Martin Dies stated publicly that he hoped
to direct the committee's inquiries in a manner that would
avoid excessive publicitySlightly more than a month
later, J. Parnell Thomas made public his damning accusations
against Mrs. Flanagan's theatre; for the remainder of that
year the Dies committee received more press attention than
any other organization in the country
Sallie Sanders's professed abhorrence at being
telephoned by a Negro asking her for a date was but one
New York Times, June 19, 1938.
^Mathews, The Federal Theatre, p. 224.
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89
example of the committee's failure to challenge the rele
vance of information to its inquiry into communism in the
project. The omission of the challenge strengthened the
conservative charge that miscegenation was a plot fostered
by the C.P. and the New Deal that would result in a breaking
down of American traditions.
Although the majority of the press favored the com
mittee's work, some decried its activities as another of
the lunatic "Red hunts" that the country was prone to engage
in from time to time
Paul Edwards, the New York Arts Projects administra
tor, made an exhaustive survey of the Federal Theatre per
sonnel records of the August witnesses. His findings would
give one reason to challenge the worth of their testimony.
Edwards revealed that nearly all of them were disgruntled
employees who had been refused promotion by himself or Mrs.
63
Flanagan.
Shortly after the witnesses appeared in August,
Dies charged that they had their wages docked in retaliation
^^Mathews, The Federal Theatre, p. 206.
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for their pro-coxnmittee testimonyThis was true in the
sense that when they traveled to Washington to testify they
could not be paid for the time they spent away from the
project. But the Dies charge implied that Communists were
responsible for the docking of the wages of the testifying
anti-Communists, and so the case against the theatre con
tinued to grow in the public consciousness.
In November of 1938, Dies demanded the resignations
of New Dealers Harold Ickes, Harry Hopkins, and Frances
Perkins, claiming that their positions in the government
impeded America's economic recovery. He charged that the
three had associates who were Socialists, Communists, and
Mrs. Woodward and Mrs. Flanagan thus had reason to
believe that anyone making such blatant accusatory state
ments against important public officials would show little
mercy to any less significant figures in the Roosevelt ad
ministration, In the light of this knowledge, they both
failed to arm themselves with sufficient data to present the
best possible defense of their case. Mrs. Woodward's effort
^^Ibid.. November 25, 1938.
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91
to condemn the witnesses in August as not being artistically
qualified to testify about the project was properly chal
lenged by the committee. Artistic training was not a re
quirement for recognizing subversion.
Mrs. Woodwardj in her attempt to read favorable
reviews of the so-called un-American plays, failed to defend
the project against the charges that the plays spread Com
munist doctrine. She merely testified that they were re
viewed as artistically successful, not politically safe.
She also was unable to prove that she was familiar with all
the plays or the backgrounds of the authors, or to produce
evidence that the people who bought block tickets to the
theatre were not the radicals Hazel Huffman charged them
with being. The committee refused to let her complete her
opening statement; it also failed to publish her remarks in
its record of the hearings, as Dies had promised.
That Mrs. Flanagan had never seen Communist litera
ture distributed on the project did not mean that it had
not happened. Her testimony that she would have fired those
who attempted such an undertaking, had she caught them,
hardly satisfied the committee's need for proof of the pure
66
Propaganda Hearings, Vol. IV, pp. 2729-2830.
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92
American nature of the project.
Though the director claimed her earlier sympathetic
writings on Russian theatre and the American proletariat
theatre had no influence on her direction of the Federal
Theatre, the implication of her politically left leanings
hampered her defense of the project.
It was the image of her political character that
was also on trial; the committee made the most of it.
Martin Dies seemed unable to tolerate Mrs. Flana
gan's belief that civil and social inequities should be
material for drama— even though he agreed they existed.
In conclusion, if the entire transcript of her tes
timony had been front-page news, it would have shown her
unable to refute such charges made against the project as
the distribution of Communist literature, covert pressures
exercised by such Communist-dominated organizations as the
Workers' Alliance, and her own left-of-center writings
This was more than sufficient evidence to condemn her in
the eyes of the 75 per cent of the public that agreed with
the work of the committee.
p. 1.
^^Ibid., pp. 2838-2885.
^^Washington Post, December 11, 1938, Sec. Ill,
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Dies's contention that the Communist party did
ninate the Workers' Alliance appears correct.His
charge that employment on the Federal Theatre was in some
instances related to membership in the Workers' Alliance
also was sound.
Both the C.P. and Mrs. Flanagan were politically
naïve. The support of the Federal Theatre by the Communist
press negated any possible Red dominance of the project.
If the party wanted subtly to infiltrate the project, it
would have served its purposes better to be less exuberant
and complimentary about the theatre's productions. Mrs.
Flanagan's decision to use Federal subsidies to produce
plays condemning her subsidizer is another example of an
impolitic decision that might have been avoided by less
idealism or more political pragmatism.
The policy of exposure of evidence of Communist
associations without allowing the accused refutation of the
evidence had been established. It was a policy that would
wreck hundreds of lives in the postwar period, as
nist Party, 1919-1957 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1957), p. 197
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94
insidiously as it returned to the relief rolls more than
8,000 living-theatre artists in the summer of 1939.
Throughout the first twenty years of the committee's
existence, investigations of the entertainment world were
always a guarantee of maximum publicity for the chairman.
Martin Dies, more remembered for his political pragmatism
than his idealism, discovered this in 1938, and in 1947,
J. Parnell Thomas, then chairman of the committee, began his
tumultuous investigation of the Red menace in the most
publicity-generating area of the entertainment world—
Hollywood.
Summary
Chapter III presented and evaluated the committee's
first confrontation with the American theatre. In 1938
Martin Dies's investigation of communism in the WPA's Fed
eral Theatre was the final death blow to Hallie Flanagan's
controversial and ill-fated project. America's only fed
erally-sponsored theatre was closed by Act of Congress,
June 30, 1939.
It was the first major triumph for the committee,
and the business of investigating communism in the enter
tainment field was off to a flying start— particularly in
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95
the area of sensational publicity for Chairman Dies and for
the committee itself.
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CHAPTER IV - -
J. PARNELL THOMAS'S 1947 INVESTIGATION OF
COMMUNIST INFILTRATION IN THE
MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios
in 1947, is said to have drawn an analogy between the Royal
Family and the personalities of the motion picture business,
As the British people revered their kings and queens, Amer
icans, according to Mayer, satisfied their deep human im
pulse to venerate by worshipping movie stars
Blacklisted writer Gordon Kahn believed that the
analogy implied that "Hollywood Glamor . . . included the
entire personnel of the studios, not just the stars whose
images graced the household shrines of America.
That this analogy has validity is open to scholarly
^Gordon Kahn, Hollywood on Trial (New York: Boni
and Gaer, Inc., 1948), p. 186.
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97
debateJ but if it is accepted by the reader in the most
general of interpretations, then it is proper to add that
it is "an essential tradition of constitutional monarchy
that the reigning sovereigns be above politics and refrain
from any significant expression of opinion whatsoever.
Some Hollywood folk, according to the committee,
were not above politics or opinions, and Chairman J. Parnell
Thomas sought in 1947 to prove this contention.
Description of the Hearings
At nine o'clock in the morning, Monday, October 20,
1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities opened
its much publicized and controversial hearings concerning
Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry.
The first public postwar investigation of persons
in the entertainment world occurred in the old House office
building in Washington, D. C. Howard Suber describes the
In the 40 by 80 foot room were reporters represent
ing over one hundred news-gathering agencies in
America and the rest of the world. On the desks
were microphones from all three major American
radio networks. Poised above the witness table
were eleven newsreel and television cameras, ready
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to record for posterity every grimace, grin and
grunt of the friendly and not-so-friendly witnesses
called before the House Committee. In the 300-odd
spectator seats were some of the most notable fig
ures of the generation, many of whom wore sun
glasses— less for anonymity than for protection
against the kleig and photoflood lights which had
been hung from the giant crystal chandeliers in
the room. Outside the room, a special detail of
uniformed police was on hand to manage the crowd
of the curious and the ecstatic who sought to
touch or at least to see a legendary figure from
the magic mecca
From the moguls to the mummers, most of the friendly
witnesses were almost legendary figures, if not forever, at
least momentarily in their own time.
Jack L. Warner, of the famous brothers Warner ;
Robert Taylor, the noted MGM profile; Louis Burt Mayer,
production chief of Taylor's studio; Adolphe Men]ou, a
dapper "self-made expert on communism, Stalinism, Fabianism,
Socialism and Marxism";^ Thomas (Leo) McCarey, director of
Going My Wav; Robert Montgomery, actor and later speech-
writer and adviser to President Dwight Eisenhower; Walter
E. (Walt) Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse; George L. Murphy,
actor-dancer and later United States Senator from Califor
nia; Ronald Reagan, actor and later governor of California;
4I I -
Hearings," pp. 5-6.
^Los Angeles Daily News. October 21, 1947.
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99
Lela RogersJ mother of actress Ginger Rogers ; superstar
Gary Cooper; and Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead and
later the principal philosopher of "Objectivism," were among
the more illustrious in the spectrum of witnesses summoned
by the committee to support its contention that there was
Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry.^
Conducting the investigation was a subcommittee of
the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Its members
were Representatives John McDowell of Pennsylvania, Richard
M. Nixon of California, J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey,
chairman Richard B. Vail of Illinois, and John S. Wood of
Georgia
From Monday to Friday, October 20-25, 1947, the
members heard testimony from twenty-four "friendly wit
nesses" who variously asserted their patriotism, most often
by indicating their awareness of the Communist menace in the
film capital of the world.
The twelve quasi-legendary figures previously
AiCtivities, Hearings Regarding the Communist Infiltration
of the Motion Picture Industry. 80th Cong., 1st Sess., Octo
ber 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, and 30, 1947. Herein
after cited as Motion Picture Hearings, 1947.
ii, introduction, and p. 1.
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100
mentioned, ten men and two women, represented a fair cross-
section of the committee's friendly witnesses, and their
testimony is briefly summarized here. Special attention is
given to testimony that cites names of suspected Communists.
Jack L. Warner, accompanied by his counsel, Paul V.
McNutt, former governor of Indiana and national commander
of the American Legion, was the first witness of the day
Warner requested that he be allowed to read a state
ment and agreed that "similar to a degree, more or less,"
it was the same statement he had read to the committee in
Los Angeles in the spring of 1 9 4 7 He was allowed to read
the statement after Chairman Thomas declared it was per
tinent to the inquiry.
Thomas's decision on pertinence, as we shall also
observe with the unfriendly witnesses, seemed to revolve
more around whether an opening statement was flattering to
the committee's investigation than its relevance as infor
mation or evidence.
Warner was most complimentary to the committee,
asserting: "It is a privilege to appear again before this
committee to help as much as I can in facilitating its
8
Ibid., p. 7. ^Ibid., p.
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Robert E. Stripling, chief investigator for the
committee, reminded Warner that in earlier testimony before
the committee he had listed individuals he thought were
injecting "un-American ideas" into scripts. He asked the
producer if he still agreed that these writers were suspect.
Warner declared he had reassessed the matter and felt that
he would eliminate Guy Endore, Sheridan Gibney, and the twin
brothers Julius and Philip Epstein from his subversive list,
a list which originally included Alvah Bessie, Gordon Kahn,
Howard Koch, Ring W. Lardner, Jr., Emmet G. Lavery, John
Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Robert Rossen, Irwin Shaw,
Dalton Trumbo, John Wexley, and Clifford Odets.
On May 15, 1947, when he offered his original list
of names, Warner also stated that "Arthur Miller and Elia
Kazan worked on Broadway where, he implied, they practiced
some form of subversion.
In summing up his position as the chief of produc
tion for a major film studio, Warner agreed with Congressman
10
Ibid.
l^Suber, "Hearings," pp. 10-11.
Ibid.
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102
Vail that writers and actors with definite Communistic
leanings should be eliminated from the industry, but he
would never be guilty of trying individually or in associa
tion with others, "to deprive a man of a livelihood because
of his political beliefs.He was to refute this posi
tion before the end of the year.
Spangler Arlington Brugh, known to millions of
adoring fans as Robert Taylor, denied that in his "preview"
hearing in Hollywood in the spring he had said that he had
been "forced" to play in Song of Russia by an emissary from
President Roosevelt
On October 22, when the committee questioned Taylor
about Communists in the Screen Actor's Guild, the actor
replied: "I can name a few who seem to sort of disrupt
things once in awhile.The star named Howard daSilva
and Karen Morley as contributing to a disruptive influence
at guild meetings but as to whether or not they were Commu
nists he was not sure
^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 53.
^^Kahn, Hollywood on Trial, p. 53.
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 166.
^^Ibid.
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103
Stripling asked if Taylor was acquainted with any
writers whom he considered to be Communists or who followed
the party line. He answered : "I know one gentleman em
ployed at the studio at which I am employed^ Mr. Lester
Cole, who is reputedly a Communist. I would not know per
sonally."^^
Taylor said flatly that not only would he never work
in a picture with a Communist, he would never work with a
person if he even suspected he was a Communist
The authors of The High Wall, the film Taylor had
just completed, were Sidney Boehm and— Lester Colei
Louis Burt Mayer acknowledged that he was born in
Russia, a bit of information that "brought a score or more
of random spectators forward in their seats.
On October 20, Mayer, after reading a prepared
statement complimenting the work of the committee and sug
gesting that it recommend to Congress legislation regulating
the employment of Communists in private industry, attempted
to establish MGM's patriotism by naming two films produced
17
Ibid., p. 167.
2°Ibid., pp. 27-28.
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to aid the war effort^ Joe Smith, American and Mrs. Mini-
21
In answer to the question were there any Communists
at MGM, Mayer responded that "they" had mentioned two or
three writers whom "they" had marked as Communists. It
was never made clear who "they" were, but the production
chief indicated the names of the writers who were suspect,
Lester Cole, Dalton Trumbo, and Donald Ogden Stewart.
Representative Vail was interested to know why
people earning "astronomical" salaries in the studios should
wish to denigrate the system that afforded them such afflu
ence. The Culver City lay analyst answered: "My own opin
ion is, Mr. Congressman, which I have expressed many times
in discussion, I think they are cracked. It can't be
otherwise. Satisfied with this diagnosis, Vail had no
more questions.
Adolphe Men]ou, "the screen's best-dressed mummer,"
told the committee on October 21 that he had read more than
150 books on one subject, "an oriental tyranny, a Kremlin-
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, pp. 70-71.
22Ibid.. p. 72. 2 3ibid., pp. 72-73.
^^Ibid.. p. 79.
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dominated conspiracy^ Russia^and if other people would
only read and read and read they would wake up and no longer
be victims or innocent dupes of the Moscow politburo.^^
When asked if he knew any members of the Screen
Actor's Guild who were Communists^ he named instead a direc
tor, John Cromwell. When Stripling asked Men]ou whether
Cromwell was definitely a Communist he replied, "In my
opinion, he acts an awful lot like one.
Citing other individuals, the self-proclaimed Soviet
expert named John Howard Lawson and Herbert Sorrell, head of
the Conference of Studio Unions, as persons he believed or
had heard were Communists
Menjou concluded his testimony with a panegryic that
brought loud applause from his audience :
I believe America should arm to the teeth. I be
lieve in universal military training. I attended
Culver Military Academy during the last war and
enlisted as a private. Due to my military training
I was soon made an officer and it taught me a great
many things. I believe if I was told to swim the
Mississippi River I would learn how to swim. Every
young man should have military training. There is
no better thing for a young man than military
^^Kahn, Hollywood on Trial, pp. 47-50.
^%otion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 103.
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training for his discipline^ for his manhood, for
his courage, and for love of his country. I know
it was good for me. It never did me any harm.^^
Apparently the committee agreed. There were no more
questions.
Unlike the previously mentioned witnesses, director
(Thomas) Leo McCarey was not able to offer the committee any
names of persons in the motion picture industry who were
potential Communist infiltrators.
He proudly told the investigative body on October 2 3
that the Three Little Pigs, Donald Duck, and their creator,
Mr. Disney, were representative of what the world was trying
to tell America it wanted in the way of entertainment.^^
Two other names figured prominently in the direc
tor's brief testimony. In response to Stripling's question
about what pictures he had produced and directed, McCarey
indicated :
Ruggles of Red Gap, the Awful Truth, Love Affair,
Going My Way, and The Bells of St. Marys.
MR. STRIPLING. Were Going My Way and The Bells of
St. Marys two of the most popular pictures which
you have produced in recent years, according to the
box office?
MR. McCAREY. According to the box office, they
^^Ibid., pp. 107-108. p. 227.
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were both very successful.
MR. STRIPLING. They did very well?
MR. McCAREY. Yes, sir.
MR. STRIPLING. How did they do in Russia?
MR. McCAREY. We haven't received one ruble from
Russia on either picture.
MR. STRIPLING. What is the trouble?
MR. McCAREY. Well, I think I have a character in
there that they do not like.
MR. STRIPLING. Bing Crosby?
MR. McCAREY. No; God.^^
Robert Montgomery, an actor probably most remembered
for his performance as the insane killer Danny in Night Must
Fall, and a former president of the Screen Actor's Guild,
appeared on October 2 3 and read a resolution issued by the
guild in 1946. The resolution had been introduced by Mont
gomery and its concluding sentence pleased the committee :
"The guild in addition states that it has in the past, does
in the present, and will in the future rigorously oppose by
every power which is within its legal rights, any real Fas
cist or Communist influence in the motion-picture industry
or in the ranks of labor.
3]-Ibid.. p. 225. ^^Ibid.. p. 204.
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108
In response to Stripling's questions on Communist
attempts to inject Red propaganda into scripts and his gen
eral opinion regarding communism^ Montgomery replied;
I have heard these people [Communists] referred to
as the lunatic fringe, and I quite agree with that
definition. However, I do not think any of them
would he crazy enough to try to inject Communist
propaganda into a picture I had anything to do
with....
Mr. Chairman, in common with millions of other men
in this country in 1939 and 1940 I gave up my job
to fight against a totalitarianism which was called
fascism. I am quite willing to give it up again to
fight against a totalitarianism called communism.
There was enthusiastic applause.
Walter E. (Walt) Disney, the man behind the mouse,
testified on October 24 that films could be used success
fully as propaganda; he cited six that were made by his
studio that dealt with the Treasury Department, Air Power,
and Hitler. He was for the first two and against the lat
ter
The cartoonist said that there had been a strike at
his studio, a strike that in Disney's opinion was instigated
by the Communist party. Disney identified Herbert K. Sor
rell as the leader of the group initiating the alleged party
^^Ibid.. p. 205. ^^Ibid.. p. 281.
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Disney named David Hilberman^ William Pomerance, and
Maurice Howard as persons who, in his opinion, were Commu
nists . Additionally, he averred that the League of Women
Voters, the People's WorId, the Daily Worker, and "PM Maga
zine Csicl in New York" had smeared him and his pictures.
The smear, according to Disney, also occurred in "Commie
periodicals" in South America and throughout the world. In
a subsequent letter to the committee, Disney corrected his
allegation to read League of Women Shoppers, not League of
Women Voters.
George L. Murphy, a former two-term president of
the Screen Actor's Guild and later Republican senator from
California, identified himself as an "actor-dancer" on
October 23. He testified that to the best of his knowledge
he had never joined any subversive groups or organizations
and that he was "chairman of a political group lately formed
in Hollywood. Among the things it hopes to do is fight
against communism and fascism.
Murphy indicated that if the government of the
36
Ibid., pp. 283-285.
37Ibid.. p. 208.
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110
United States decided that the Communist party was taking
orders from a foreign government, the party could be con
sidered as acting as an agent of a foreign government and
not as an American political party. If this differentiation
were made public to the people, he concluded, “the great
American public would tell the Congress of the United States
very quickly and without question what action they think
should be taken.
The actor-dancer informed the panel he had been
called a Fascist, but he made it clear that he did not mind
the cognomen because he felt the time had come when anyone
who disagreed with a Communist was labeled a Fascist, and
he certainly disagreed.
He stepped down and made way for the future Repub
lican presidential nominee and governor of California,
Ronald Reagan. Reagan, at the time of his testimony before
the committee on October 23, was the president of the Screen
Actor's Guild and a liberal Democrat given to quoting
Thomas Jefferson.
The actor explained how he had been led into
^^Ibid.. p. 212. Ibid.. p. 213.
^Kahn, Hollvwood on Trial, p. 59.
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Ill
sponsoring a drive to raise money for the "All-Nations
Hospital" in Los Angeles and how he had subsequently found
out that a recital for the hospital was under the auspices
of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee; that the "prin
cipal speaker was Emil Lustig^ Robert Burman took up a col-
lectionj and the remnants of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
were paraded to the platform." He added that he did not
see one mention of the hospital in the newspaper account he
41
had read.
After Richard M. Nixon, his future opponent for the
1968 Republican presidential nomination, said that he had
no questions, Reagan summed up his 1947 political position
about communism and democracy:
I detest, I abhor their [the Communists'] philoso
phy, but I detest more than that their tactics,
which are those of the fifth column, and are dis
honest, but at the same time I never as a citizen
want to see our country become urged, by either
fear or resentment of this group, that we ever
compromise with any of our democratic principles
through that fear or resentment. I think democracy
can do it
Gordon Kahn noted that the committee acted with
'Bourbon punctilio toward the two 'friendly ladies' whom it
41,
"Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, pp. 215-216.
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had subpoenaed— Miss Ayn Rand and Mrs. Lela Rogers. Neither
was asked to tell her age.
Mrs. Rogers told the committee on October 24 that
she was one of the original members of the Motion Picture
Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and that
in her capacity as a script reader for RKO Studios she was
able to render assessments of movie material and its value
as Communist propaganda. She proudly stated that None but
the Lonely Heart, starring Cary Grant and written and di
rected by Clifford Odets^ "lent itself to propaganda, par
ticularly in the hands of a Communist." The person she made
reference to was Odets, whom she had heard was identified
January 8, 1936, by columnist 0. 0. McIntyre as a member of
the Communist party; she had never seen the charge denied.
Representative McDowell concluded the examination
of Mrs. Rogers by noting that she was not merely
a disturbed lady who in the course of her activities
in Hollywood has stumbled across the fingers of this
conspiracy against the American Government, but that
long ago she discovered it and that she has become,
in my opinion, one of the outstanding experts on
communism in the United States, and particularly
'^^Kahn, Hollvwood on Trial, p. 43.
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, pp. 230-2 31.
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in the amusement industry
On October 2 2, Gary Cooper, the committee's friendly
superstar, was certain there was a lot of Communist word of
mouth at social gatherings in Hollywood and he observed that
he had been diligent in ferreting out scripts "tinged with
communistic ideas.
He was unable to elucidate on the precise titles of
the scripts. Chairman Thomas evidenced concern for the
star's memory loss but Cooper maintained that he usually
read the material at night and what he didn't like he didn't
finish and by implication did not remember
Two documents in pamphlet form from the Communist
parties of Italy and Yugoslavia were introduced. The leaf
lets placed Cooper in Philadelphia, where he purportedly
made a speech before 90,000 persons denigrating Rockefeller,
Ford, Rothschild, and Senator Bilbo. The C.P. literature
also had Cooper and actor Tyrone Power carrying the coffin
of swimmer-actor Buster Crabbe, who had been machine-gunned
on the corner of Broadway and Seventh Avenue for his leftist
leanings.
"^^Ibid.. p. 237. "^^Ibid.. p. 220.
^~^Ibid.
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114
Cooper observed quite accurately that these docu
ments were untrue and that Mr. Crabbe was alive and healthy.
Be was not quite sure of the validity of investigator H. A.
Smith's claim that it would be hard "getting 90,000 people
out in Philadelphia for anything."
Ayn Rand left her native USSR in 1926 during a per
iod of Soviet bureaucratic relaxation, and in the more than
two decades that had elapsed since her emigration she had
developed a "gloveless hand of iron," which she demonstrated
to the committee in the socio-political criticism of L. B.
Mayer's Song of Russia
On October 20, she assessed the MGM picture as a
complete and naïve propaganda film about life in Russia
prior to and including World War II. She threaded the
film's storyline carefully through her own observations on
what it was like to live under totalitarian communism. In
her emotional and lengthy 3,000-word statement she made it
amply clear to the committee that Mayer's film was a useless
war effort device that would have been far more useful to
Soviet-American relations if it had not been made.
48
Ibid.. pp. 221-223.
^Kahn, Hollvwood on Trial, pp. 32-33.
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Miss Rand observed with rigid objectivism:
I don't believe that the morale of anybody can be
built up by a lie. If there was nothing good that
we could truthfully say about Russia, then it would
have been better to say nothing at all.^*^
During the first week of the hearings, the remaining
twelve friendly witnesses were H. A. Smith, A. B. Leckie,
and Louis J. Russell, committee investigators ; Samuel (Sam)
Grosvenor Wood, producer; John (Jack) Charles Moffitt,
writer and motion picture critic; writers Morrie Ryskind,
Fred Niblo, Jr., Richard Macaulay, and Rupert Hughes; James
K. McGuinness, MGM script supervisor; Howard Rushmore, an
editor of the New York Journal-American; Oliver Carlson,
writer and teacher ; and Roy M. Brewer, representative of
both the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employ
ees (lATSE) and Motion Picture Machine Operators of the
United States (MMO).
They variously described and reported incidents and
names they felt were significant to the committee in its
search for Communist encroachment in the motion picture in
dustry.
The first five days of testimony were completed and
50,
Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, pp. 82-90.
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with only one week of a promised three-week hearing
concluded, the House Committee on Un-American Activ
ities stood ready to take the testimony of those
individuals who had, from the very beginning, de
clared themselves to be the sworn enemies of every
thing the House Committee stood for
The unfriendly witnesses were next.
October 27, 1947, marked the beginning of the second
week of the hearings. Since then the terms "Unfriendly Ten'
or the "Hollywood Ten" have become quite well known in
Hollywood, but there were in fact eighteen persons who had
publicly stated in advance of the hearings that they would
refuse to answer certain questions. They were Alvah Bessie.
Herbert Joseph Biberman, Lester Cole, Richard Collins, Ed
ward Dmytryk, Gordon Kahn, Howard Koch, Ring W. Lardner,
Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Lewis Milestone,
Samuel Ornitz, Larry Parks, Irving Pichel, Robert Rossen,
Waldo Salt, (Robert) Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo.
This study will concentrate on the testimony of the
ten who appeared, were recalcitrant, and subsequently went
to jail for contempt of Congress.
Robert W. Kenny, the attorney for the "Unfriendly
Eighteen," requested permission to argue a motion to quash
‘ ^Ibid., p. 86.
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their subpoenas^ but Chairman Thomas, after fifteen minutes
in executive session, denied the request.
The opening testimony of the second week (October
27) was from writer John Howard Lawson, who was somewhat
surprised when he heard himself called first, since he had
been named third in the order of witnesses cited to ap
pear.Lawson requested the right to make an opening
statement. It was denied. Laws on indicated that the com
mittee had allowed Warner, Mayer, and others to make opening
statements, to which Thomas replied, in reference to Law
son's document, "That statement is not pertinent to this
inquiry.
When Stripling asked him if he was a member of the
Screen Writer's Guild, Lawson replied that the raising of
any question in regard to his membership, political beliefs,
or affiliations was beyond the powers of the committee.
However, he did indicate that his membership in the guild
was a matter of public record.
^Ibid., pp. 86-88.
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 290.
^^Ibid., p. 291.
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118
After extracting a list of Lawson's film credits,
Stripling went directly to the big question that was to be
the nemesis for committee witnesses for more than a decade
to come : "Mr. Lawson, are you now, or have you ever been a
member of the Communist Party of the United States?
Lawson refused to answer the question, invoking the
basic rights of American citizens in political, religious,
and ethnic fields, and questioned the prerogative of any
congressional committee to invade the rights and privileges
and immunity of citizens, "whether they be Protestant,
Methodist, Jewish, or Catholic, whether they be Republicans
or Democrats or anything else. He was removed from the
stand by guards.
Stripling then received permission for a nine-page
memorandum to be read into the hearings detailing Lawson's
alleged affiliations with the Communist party, charges that
Lawson was given no opportunity to refute.
If the committee found Laws on a somewhat truculent
witness, it found in writer Dalton Trumbo a "veritable
ring-tailed tiger.
5/ibid., p. 293. ^^Ibid.. pp. 294-295.
^^Kahn, Hollvwood on Trial, p. 78.
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119
His opening statement was turned down by the com
mittee on October 2 8, and after the panel made five attempts
to find out whether the writer was a member of the Screen
Writer's Guild, Trumbo asserted the question had a specific
design. It was, according to the writer, "to identify me
with the Screen Writer's Guild; secondly, to seek to iden
tify me with the Communist Party and thereby destroy that
guild— .
Next came the big question regarding Communist party
membership. When the witness refused to answer, he was
excused amidst much pounding of the chairman's gavel.
Trumbo angrily remarked as he left the witness stand that
this scene was the "beginning of an American concentration
camp.
Committee investigator Louis Russell then read into
the record nine pages of Trumbo's alleged Communist party
affiliations. Like Lawson, Trumbo was not there to refute
The policy of not allowing unfriendly witnesses to
make an opening statement was abruptly and for no apparent
J-Ibid., p. 334.
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120
reason reversed when writer Albert Maltz took the stand on
the afternoon of October 28.
His statement ended with a challenge which was
gaveled down by Chairman Thomas :
The American people are going to have to choose
between the Bill of Rights and the Thomas commit
tee. They cannot have both. One or the other must
be abolished in the immediate future.^2
The two questions regarding membership in the Screen
Writer's Guild and the Communist party were posed by Strip
ling to Maltz.
When Stripling repeated the question about Communist
party affiliation, Maltz deliberately replied, "I have ans
wered the question, Mr. Quisling. I am sorry. I want you
to know—
Representative McDowell immediately objected to the
comparison by innuendo of the committee's chief investigator
with the World War II Norwegian traitor. Chairman Thomas
excused the witness, saying that his testimony was "typical
Communist line." Maltz retorted before he left the stand,
"Let's get on with the rigged record.
The peppery writer's dossier was subsequently read
^^ibid.. p. 366. ^3Ibid. ^^Ibid.. p. 367.
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121
into the record by Russell, again with no opportunity for
refutation accorded the witness.
Later that day, Thomas and writer Alvah Bessie
reached a compromise on the writer's opening statement. The
chairman wanted only the two opening paragraphs read. Bes
sie opted for the last two also— and won. As with Maltz,
the entire statement of the fourth writer was placed in the
record.
Stripling moved immediately to the two key ques
tions, the second of which he was now calling the "$64
question.
In reply to the chief investigator's question about
Communist party affiliation, Bessie rejoined that General
Eisenhower had refused to reveal his political affiliations
and what was good enough for the general was good enough
for him.^^
After Thomas derisively excused Bessie to go out
and "make a speech under a big tree," the chairman commented
to large applause on the Eisenhower remark:
It is my belief that if General Eisenhower were a
witness before this committee and he was asked the
question, "Are you a member of the Communist Party?"
5Ibid., p. 386. ^^Ibid.
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he would not only be very responsive to the question,
but would be absolutely insulted, and solely for this
reason: A great man like General Eisenhower would
not ever think or dream or stoop to ever being a low-
down Communist
The now established procedure of Russell's reading
of the witness's dossier into the record with no possibility
of argument was followed with Bessie.
Writer Samuel Ornitz was the fifth of the "Un
friendly Ten" called to testify. In a reversal of the posi
tion taken on Maltz and Bessie, Thomas declined to allow
Ornitz to read his opening statement on October 29, calling
it "just another case of vilification."^^
In reply to the first question, concerning Ornitz's
membership in the Screen Writer's Guild, the fifth witness
indicated that to answer properly would not be a simple
matter because it involved his conscience versus constitu
tional rights. The writer stated, "I say you do raise a
serious question of conscience for me when you ask me to act
in concert with you to override the Constitution."^^
After responding negatively to the $64 question by
insisting he had a right to belong to any party he saw fit
^^ibid., pp. 387-388. ^^Ibid.. p. 403.
^^Ibid., p. 404.
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123
to join, Ornitz was removed from the witness stand.
His unchallenged list of alleged Communist affilia
tions was read into the record while Herbert Joseph Biberman
prepared for his moment before the tribunal on that same
October morning.
Biberman's opening statement was rejected, but the
film and theatre producer-writer-director answered Strip
ling's question about when and where he was born with pa
triotic pride and splendid specificity: "I was born within
a stone's throw of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on the
day when Mr. McKinley was inaugurated as President of the
United States, March 4, 1900, on the second floor of a
building at Sixth and South, over a grocery store.
Stripling was most complimentary to Biberman for his
answer. The investigator hoped that statement would be a
forerunner of similar detailed responses from the witness.
He was wrong both on the accuracy of the answer and the sub
sequent responses to the two key questions. McKinley was
inaugurated March 4, 1901, not 1900, and Biberman was no
more inclined than his predecessors to reveal his membership
in either the Screen Writer's Guild or the Communist party.
70
Ibid., p. 412.
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124
After a heated exchange he did^ however, apologize
to the committee, an apology that the preceding unfriendly
witnesses had not felt compelled to make.
"Mr. Stripling, I apologize for one thing and that
is raising my voice. I had no intention of doing so."^^
There was laughter, the witness was excused, and his dossier
was read into the hearing record.
Gordon Kahn, who attended the hearings and was one
of the nineteen unfriendly witnesses originally subpoenaed,
believed Edward Dmytryk and (Robert) Adrian Scott were sum
moned to testify because they had respectively directed and
evidence for this observation was that Stripling inadver
tently addressed Scott as Dmytryk.
Director Dmytryk was the first witness at the after
noon session on October 29. He stated that he was born in
Canada and nationalized as an American citizen in 1939. His
opening statement was disallowed.
He was asked whether he was a member of the Screen
Director's Guild, as the preceding witnesses had been asked
71
Ibid.. p. 414.
^^Kahn, Hollywood on Trial, p. 105.
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125
if they were members of the Screen Writer's Guild. Dmytryk
told Stripling that it would take much less than five min
utes to answer the question about his membership. He added
that should he be allowed sufficient time to answer in his
own way, he hoped in so doing he would not bore the chair-
1
When questioned about his membership in the Commu
nist party, the director, in concert with his predecessors,
claimed constitutional immunity. The witness was excused,
and the proficient committee investigator Louis Russell read
into the record the attestations against Dmytryk. Once
again the charges remained unanswered by the defendant.
Scott, the other half of the Crossfire team, fol
lowed Dmytryk and told the chair that his opening statement
had to do with that film and anti-Semitism. Chairman Thomas
ruled against his reading the statement. Said Thomas, "This
may not be the worst statement we have received, but it is
almost the worst."
The two questions were then asked the producer, to
which he replied.
^%otion Picture Hearings, 1947, pp. 460-461.
^^Ibid., p. 466.
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I believe it is a question which invades my rights
as a citizen. I do not believe it is proper for
this committee to inquire into my personal relation
ships, ^my private relationships, my public relation
ships
75
Thomas and Scott sparred briefly on whether the
committee had the right to inquire into what a person
thought. Thomas held that was not the purpose of either key
question; Scott retorted that he believed he had answered
satisfactorily. The chairman stated that from what Scott
had said it was not clear to him whether or not he was a
member of the Communist party. Thomas said, "I must be
terribly dumb, but from your answer I can't tell whether
you are a member or not." In a splendid display of benevo
lence, Scott disagreed : "I don't think you are.
The producer was excused and cited for contempt
prior to Russell's reading of the uncontested assertions
against him.
Writer Ring W. Lardner, Jr., best-known name of the
unfriendly witnesses at the time of the hearings, struck a
bargain on October 30 with the chairman on his opening
statement. He would be allowed to read it at the conclusion
of his testimony
Ibid. ^^Ibid. ^"^Ibid., p. 480.
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127
After Lardner refused to answer yes or no to the two
key questions, J. Parnell Thomas stated that if the writer
maintained that position his statement would not he read.
He did— and it wasn't.
When the irate chairman repeated the Communist party
membership interrogatory the fourth time, the witness re
plied ironically, "It depends on the circumstances. I could
answer it, but if I did I would hate myself in the morn
ing. This allusion he later explained to the New York
Herald Tribune.
I have always associated the words I'll hate myself
in the morning with a situation in which a previously
chaste women is succumbing to the indecent blandish
ment of a scoundrel and very likely launching her
self on the road to prostitution. That is the anal
ogy I wished to suggest
Apparently the analogy needed no explanation. Thomas de
manded that the sergeant at arms forcibly remove the writer
from the hearing room. There was applause when Lardner was
led out of the chamber.
Stripling's assistant, Russell, submitted the un
refuted reading of the allegations against Lardner.
78
Ibid., p. 482.
^New York Herald Tribune, January 7, 1948.
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128
Whether Chairman Thomas was aware that October 30,
1947, would be the last day of the hearings in Hollywood is
not certain.
But that morning he breakfasted well in his suite
at the Mayflower Hotel and arrived at the hearing
room looking like a man with a delicious secret.
His mood was affable and expansive, in a pink sort
of way.®°
The last of the "Unfriendly Ten" who eventually went
to jail for contempt of Congress was writer Lester Cole.
His opening statement on October 30 was declined by
the chairman, who called it "clearly another case of vili
fication and not pertinent at all to the inquiry.
Cole likewise refused to answer the two main ques
tions, his membership in the Writer's Guild and the Commu
nist party. He was excused; his alleged record of Communist
affiliation was recorded by Russell, and the hearing room
was then ready to hear the only non-American witness to come
before the committee, playwright and poet Berthold Brecht.
The German writer, accompanied by a committee-chosen inter
preter, explained that he was not a citizen of the United
States but had filed his first papers toward the end of
80.
Kahn, Hollywood on Trial, p. 113.
®^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 486.
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129
82
1941.
Brecht's testimony revealed that he left Germany in
1933 when Hitler took power. From Germany he went to Den
mark and then to Sweden and finally Finland to await his
visa for the United States. His connection with Hollywood
was through the sale of his story Hangmen Also Die to an
independent producer.
He was not a member of the Screen Writer's Guild,
so that the committee was able to move on immediately to the
big question. For once the members apparently were sur
prised by the answer. Brecht replied,
Mr. Chairman, I have heard my colleagues when they
considered this question not as proper, but I am a
guest in this country and do not want to enter into
any legal arguments, so I will answer your question
fully as well as I can. I was not a member or am
not a member of any Communist Party.84
Howard Suber had observed that Brecht was a Commu
nist albeit not a card-carrying member, at least "in his
total life commitment," as his biographer Martin Esslin
• ^ 85
informs us.
Three additional witnesses who also require brief
82
Ibid., p. 492.
^Ibid.. p. 494.
^^Ibid.. pp. 492-493.
"Hearings," p. 288.
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130
scrutiny appeared during the second week of the inquiry.
They were Eric Allen Johnston^ president of the Motion
Picture Association of America; Emmet G. Lavery, playwright,
screenwriter, and member of the bar of New York State; and
Dore Schary, then executive in charge of production at RKO.
The three were not unfriendly to the point of being
cited for contempt but they did evidence disapproval of the
tactics of the committee.
The pertinence of Johnston's opening statement on
October 27 was deemed in order and he proceeded to read a
zigzagging combination of kudos for the committee and brick
bats against its arbitrary methods, a style he also used in
his subsequent testimony. His most cogent comment centered
on his conviction that it was necessary to expose communism,
but "don't put any American who isn't a Communist in a con
centration camp of suspicion. We are not willing to give
up our freedoms to save our freedoms.
Before the end of the year the president of the MPAA
was to enter into an agreement with the producers to do
exactly what he had admonished against in his opening re
marks at the October hearings.
^Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 308.
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131
Lavery, then president of the Screen Writer's Guild,
remarked to Stripling on October 29 that he was "delighted
and proud" to answer the question about his membership in
the SWG. He added that he felt it was something that each
witness should decide for himself.
Lavery was granted permission to make several brief
motions, due undoubtedly to the fact that his opening ans
wers were what the committee wanted to hear.
The writer requested Jack Warner be recalled to
testify, so that the committee could examine him about his
claim that he had fired Lavery. Lavery denied he had been
fired by Warner, an assertion made by the production chief
in the previous week's testimony.
Next he requested permission to correct statements
made by writers John C. (Jack) Moffitt, Morrie Ryskind, and
Rupert Hughes. Lavery denied allusions the trio made about
his Communist party affiliations when they testified.
He also denied any knowledge of Lawson or Trumbo's
Communist party membership. He added that he had sued Billy
Wilkerson, publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, for similar
unsubstantiated allegations about himself. The publisher
87
Ibid., pp. 420-422.
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subsequently printed a two-page retraction at his own ex
pens e^ stated Lavery.
Lavery then noted that he had sued Lela Rogers for
libel and slander and the $1,000,000 suit was currently
pending in the superior court of California
The chair refused to permit the writer-attorney to
read his statement, and the balance of his testimony failed
to bring forth any new names of suspected show-business
Communists.
Producer Dore Schary admitted knowing suspected
Communist Hans Eisler but said he was not responsible for
employing the composer and musician. The executive told the
committee on October 29 that until such time as a man was
proved to be a Communist he would continue to hire him. If
the suspect was verified as a person dedicated to the over
throw of the government by force, Schary would not have
Stripling pursued the questions relating to Eisler.
He wanted to know if Schary would hire him based on what he
had read about his pro-Soviet activities in the newspapers.
»»Ibid., pp. 444-445.
90Ibid., pp. 470-471.
^Ibid., p. 445.
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133
Schary replied that he was not capable of answering the
question for two reasons. First, he did not know Eisler's
qualifications as a musician and, second, the United States
Supreme Court had ruled that an employer could not arbi
trarily refuse a man work because of his political convic-
The chairman asked: "... assuming that Hans Eis
ler is a great artist; assuming also that he is a Communist,
you would not hesitate to rehire him?" Schary retorted, "I
would not hesitate to rehire him if it was not proven that
he was a foreign agent. I would still maintain his right
to think politically as he chooses. In subsequent
testimony that day he recanted and declared if all Strip
ling said about the composer was true he would not hire
Schary stated that although he was not responsible
for hiring Dmytryk and Scott, he would continue to employ
them at RKO until they were proved to be foreign agents.
He added that Brecht, to his knowledge, was never employed
by RKO.
Stripling wanted to know if the executive was aware
^^Ibid.. pp. 471-472.
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134
that his company was producing a film written by Howard Fast
and that the writer was a publicly avowed Communist. Schary
replied that these circumstances had occurred before he came
to the studio and after reviewing the Fast script, he found
it "a very charming story, not political whatsoever."
The chairman terminated the inquiry by reminding the
witness of Rip Van Winkle, an allusion to an analogy he made
earlier about the committee's efforts to awaken America fron
its long sleep in disregarding the true facts of internal
and external Communist aggression and expansion. The re
marks of the chairman drew laughter from the crowded cham-
The general conclusions drawn from the total testi
mony are worth noting.
Chairman Thomas never produced the list of pro-
Communist films he promised. The films that were mentioned
by the friends of the committee were nothing for the Ameri
can public to be concerned about. Though denying it, the
committee did make an effort to persuade Hollywood to make
anti-Communist pictures. The dossiers of the ten unfriendl}»
witnesses did authenticate that there were Communists in
92
Ibid., pp. 473-478.
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135
Hollywood. A total of thirty-five individuals were named
as Communist party members during the hearings. Eleven had
the opportunity to reply. Lavery was not a Communist and
said so. Brecht was and denied it.
The committee accepted much testimony at face value
with no opportunity for many of those named as Communists to
reply. The Screen Writer's Guild was damaged by the hear
ings. The press forced the hearings to end prematurely.
The entire proceedings were conducted in a circus-like at
mosphere. The committee was arbitrary in allowing witnesses
to read prepared statements, usually determined by whether
they were in sympathy with the investigation.
Many harmless associations in the dossiers were
presented as "proof of subversion," although there were
valid bits of information about the Hollywood Ten which did
tend to prove their membership in the Communist Party.
Goodman asserts that all of the "Ten" were members of the
The copies of the party membership cards were never
shown to the press or "anyone else."
^^Suber, "Hearings," pp. 285-297.
^^The Committee, p. 301.
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136
Finally, the contention that those identified as
being affiliated with the Communist party were capable of
subverting the American moviegoer by injecting pro-Soviet
propaganda into their work was never proved by the commit-
tee."'
How the American theatre was affected by these hear
ings is perhaps more in the province of the psychologist
than the historian. The fact that a congressional body was
allowed to be the catalyst that sent men to jail for con
tempt because they refused to reveal private and political
associations undoubtedly gave those artists that were later
subpoenaed much room for soul searching. These witnesses
and their decisions on handling the committee's Communist
party membership question will be discussed in the following
chapter.
Nine of the ten men who went to jail were black
listed when they were released. They were unable to work
in the Hollywood studios under their own names and were
forced to earn their post-prison livings in circuitous ways
The tenth man, director Dmytryk, became a friendly witness
when he was released; he resumed his career almost
95
'Suber, "Hearings, " pp. 285-297.
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137
immediately.^^
After prison, only a few of the nine wrote for the
theatre.
Ornitz died in 1957 after completing one unsuccess
ful novel.
Scott worked in England as executive assistant to
the head of production at MGM's Boreham Wood Studio until
August, 1968, when he returned to Hollywood as a producer
at Universal Studios. Lawson, the only prominent playwright
before the 1947 investigation, wrote a play after serving
his time. Thunder Morning, which delineated black ghetto
life. It was never produced. He wrote a historical study
while in prison. The Hidden Heritage.
In the fifties. Cole wrote two plays, both of which
were produced in Europe only. In 1961, he wrote two more
plays, one of which was produced in England and the other in
Prague. In 1962, Lardner collaborated with Ian Hunter on
the Bert Lahr musical Foxy, which found its way to Broadway
two years later. Maltz, while living in Mexico, wrote a
play under a pseudonym; Biberman and Bessie wrote nothing
Robert Jennings, "The Hollywood Ten, Plus
Twenty, " Los Ancre les Times. West Magazine, September 3,
1967, p. 12.
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138
for a theatre. Dalton Trumbo, by far the most successful
of the ten, wrote a play after prison. The Biggest Thief in
Town, which played briefly in New York and which then opened
in London, where it ran two years.
What the ten did not or could not write, produce, or
direct for the theatre following their release from prison
is a matter for speculation. The fact that their latitude
for creation was significantly diminished by the committee's
1947 investigation is not open to argument.
Evaluation of the Hearings
Failure to affirm or deny advocacy of the most
widely-heId political doctrine in the world— communism— sent
ten creative artists to jail. The republic that recognized
the right of men to belong to the legal Communist party USA
incarcerated them for using the Founding Fathers' First
Amendment mandate to protect the privacy of their political
beliefs.
Reaffirmation of that right to privacy occurred in
this century and Ring Lardner, Jr., believed he and the
remainder of the ten based part of their decision to defy
the committee on the 1943 Supreme Court decision which read:
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139
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constel
lation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe
what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or
other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by
word or act their faith therein."
The legality of the contempt of Congress charges and
the ultimate jail sentences of the Hollywood ten is a sub
ject of debate for juridical scholars and therefore outside
the scope of this study. The use of prehearing publicity
by the committee and the method of its investigation which
created the contempt charges are well within this research
er's discipline and are briefly summarized here.
In 1938, it was Martin Dies and J. Parnell Thomas
who shared the prehearing public accusations about communism
in the entertainment world. In 1945, similar charges were
leveled by Representative John Rankin of Mississippi, a
virulent anti-Semite who opposed the creation of the com
mittee until he was certain it would not be chaired by
Samuel Dickstein.^^
With an inexiplicable lack of prudent impartiality,
^®Ring Lardner, Jr., "My Life on the Blacklist,"
The Saturday Evening Post, October 14, 1961, p. 38.
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 19.
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140
Rankin declared he had information that "one of the most
dangerous plots ever instigated for the overthrow of this
government has its headquarters in Hollywood." He pursued
his melodramatic harangue :
The information we get is that this is the greatest
hot bed of subversive activities in the United
States. We're on the trail of the tarantula now,
and we're going to follow through. The best people
in California are helping us.^^0
The committee's policy of accuse, expose, and
thereby indict in the eyes of much of the public, was even
more unjustified and incredible in the hands of the Missis-
sippian than it had been with Dies or Thomas.
Either Rankin decided at the time of the October
investigation that the Hollywood Commie crisis had passed,
or Thomas refused to. appoint the flamboyant Southerner to
the subcommittee because of the possibility that his pres
ence might take the spotlight away from the chairman.
After his strident exhortations, it is a strange
anticlimax that Rankin was not permitted to appear as a
member of the subcommittee in Washington.
Rankin attended none of the hearings.
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141
In addition to the debatable propriety of the pre-
investigation publicity^ the press coverage attendant to the
hearings was, as Robert K. Carr suggests in his assessment
of six diverse newspapers, arguable on grounds of confusion
I distortion of what actually took place.
After a careful examination of original clippings
from the six Los Angeles and Hollywood daily newspapers of
October, 1947, on file with this researcher, Carr's observa
tions in the following areas appear substantially accu
rate. The reporting job, although given prominent atten
tion and space, was only average. The photographic coverage
was more than adequate. The committee's charge that there
were Communists in Hollywood was well covered by the press
The failure of the committee to prove its allegations that
films contained specific propaganda and that the Roosevelt
administration had pressured Hollywood to make pro-Soviet
films was largely ignored by the Los Angeles press. The
specific import and content of the Communist dossiers of
the Hollywood Ten, even if only partially true, appeared
102,
The House Committee on Un-American Activities,
1945-1950, pp. 368-384.
^°^No Los Angeles newspaper was included in the six
analyzed by Carr.
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142
nowhere. The Communist party registration cards of the ten
cited by the committee received scant attention.
The volatile and supercilious style of testifying
employed by the ten, a manner that is apparent in reading
the transcript of the proceedings, was also largely over
looked by the fourth estate of Hollywood and its environs.
Chairman Thomas even used the pulp-fiction device
of announcing a mystery witness who would produce "sensa
tional" evidence supposedly pertaining to the hearings.
The awesome testament finally came from the committee's
omnipresent investigator Louis Russell, who discussed war
time atomic espionage that took place in Berkeley, Cali
fornia— not Hollywood communism.
The methods and procedures utilized by the committee
were, as previously described in the 1938 hearings, equally
dubious in 1947.
The friendly witnesses were allowed to read lengthy
opening statements, while only two of the unfriendly ten
were granted a forum for their opinions. Albert Maltz read
all of his prepared remarks ; Samuel Ornitz managed to inter
ject a portion of his text.
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143
Eight of the Hollywood Ten were writers. The com
mittee could easily have proved they conspired to advocate
the overthrow of the government by force and violence by
producing words written by them to that effect. The con
gressmen did not, because undoubtedly no such writings ex
ist. Charges made by Jack Warner regarding the subversion
of Broadway theatre by Arthur Miller and Elia Kazan were,
as hundreds of other allegations, left unchallenged by the
committee.
The spring, 1947, preview testimony of the friendly
witnesses in Hollywood was only alluded to in the October
hearings ; it was never publicly released in its entirety.
Jack Warner and Robert Taylor denied in October specific
charges they had made earlier in the year.
Although it is doubtful that the committee could
have elicited any direct or meaningful answers from the
Hollywood Ten, it should have tried. To broach the $64
question so early in each man's interrogation eliminated
any possibility of significant disclosures of Red activities
in Hollywood.
The record clearly indicates that the inquisitors
were primarily interested in forcing the unfriendly wit
nesses into contempt charges rather than investigating
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144
communism in the American cinema.
Subsequent investigations in thé 1950's would reveal
that high-paid Hollywood artists contributed heavily to the
C.P. causesj this would have been a proper field of inquiry
to expose in 1947. It was not touched upon.
Chairman Thomas's revelation that he had the names
of seventy-nine prominent Hollywood Communists in his files,
sixty-nine of whom presumably remained at large as Hollywood
subversives, seemed to bother very few patriotsRe
sumption of a full-scale investigation of show-business Reds
did not occur until almost four years after the abrupt con
clusion of the 1947 probe.
There can be little argument that the American peo
ple did have the right to know if Communist writers, pro
ducers, and directors were working in a communications
medium of such significant impact as the movies.
Totalitarianism, the greatest revolutionary force
of the twentieth century, has found its dual deputies, fas
cism and communism, to be most effective in societies which
deny the public knowledge of disagreement within their au
thoritarian regimes.
105,
’ Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, p. 529.
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145
The activities of the suspected subversives should
have been the proper thrust of the committee's investiga
tion. The simplistic exposure of people as American Com
munists contributed negligibly to our purported national
death struggle with the Kremlin.
Considering the enormous attention given the 1947
Hollywood hearings, it is inexcusable that the committee
filed only a one-sentence summary of its findings in a re
view of the events of 1947-1948. It stated : "While the
committee could not within the limits of its time and re
sources examine every single phase of Communist activity in
the industry, the outlines and the pattern of such activity
was clearly disclosed.
The later annual reports, detailing findings of the
committee's 1950's investigations, were specific about
affiliations, activities, and goals of Communists and com
munism in the entertainment world.
When it appeared their livelihoods might be en
dangered, Eric Johnston and Dore Schary shared honors for
reversing their antipathy toward the committee's work.
After much solemnizing during the October, 1947,
., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, 80th Cong., 2nd Sess., Report, December 31,
1948, p. 9.__________________________________________________
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146
hearings about never conspiring to deprive a man of work
because of his private political convictions, both men did
precisely that before the end of the year.
The moral dilemma, to say nothing of the practical
expediency, of how to answer the committee's questions with
out informing on one's friends and yet avoid the blacklist,
faced hundreds of witnesses in the 1950's. This conundrum
was also faced by the Hollywood Ten, and the answer broke
down generally into these alternatives : If a man was a
Communist and denied it before the committee, he went to
jail for perjury. If he admitted he was a Communist, he
was then asked to inform on his friends ; if he refused he
went to jail for contempt because he had already waived
protection of the Bill of Rights when he answered in the
affirmative to the first question.
Also, once he admitted being a Communist, and stood
pat without further admissions, he could expect to return
from jail blacklisted from his career, friends, associates,
and acquaintances. The Bill of Rights "was not conceived
for the powerful and popular who have no need for it, " de
clared Dalton Trumbo, "It was put forth to protect even the
most hated member of the most detested minority from the
sanctions of the law on the one hand, and of public
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disapproval on the other.
Carr drew upon a theatrical analogy for the hear
ings, commenting that there was a first act consisting of
the friendly witnesses, a second act composed of the un
friendly witnesses, and a third act that was seemingly
written and rehearsed but not performed.
To extend the analogy, the hearings also had a few
other theatrical ingredients— besides the stars. The in
vestigation had rising action as the friendly witnesses
prepared the audience for the unfriendly; the conflict of
emotion between the committee and the Hollywood Ten; the
rendering of moral decisions by the principal players when
answering the $64 question; a denouement of sorts in the
contempt convictions ; and, somewhat belatedly, after the
poor second-act curtain, a dash of the ironic during the
elongated intermission.
In 1950 Ring Lardner, Jr., was sent to the Federal
Correctional Institution at Danbury, Connecticut. His
prison job was that of a stenographer in the office of
^^^Dalton Trumbo, The Time of the Toad (Hollywood,
Calif.: The Hollywood Ten, n. d. [1949?]), p. 18.
^^^Carr, House Committee on Un-American Activities,
p. 58.
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148
classification and parole. That same year the somewhat less
exotic job of caretaker of the chicken yard was held by a
former government employee imprisoned for putting non
workers on the government payroll and appropriating their
salaries for himself. The chicken custodian was— J. Parnell
Thomas.
Summary
Chapter IV presented and evaluated J. Parnell
Thomas's 1947 committee investigation of communism in the
motion-picture industry. Headlines were again the order of
the day as some of Hollywood's most popular stars chose
sides on the issue of the committee's right to question an
artist's political beliefs.
The Hollywood Ten challenged Thomas and the commit
tee's right to investigate, on the basis of the First
Amendment to the Constitution. The ten refused to answer
questions posed by the committee, were held in contempt,
and when the Supreme Court refused to reverse the citation,
the ten men went to jail.
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CHAPTER V
JOHN S. WOOD'S MARATHON TEN-PART 1951-1952
INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNISM IN THE
ENTERTAINMENT FIELD
The "ism" that was to be affixed to the name
McCarthy had not yet become part of the American lexicon
when J. Parnell Thomas closed his 1947 investigation of
Communist infiltration of the motion picture industry. But
the factors that made Senator Joseph McCarthy's astonishing
position in American history possible were apparent in the
period immediately following World War II.
The half-dozen years from 1939 to 1945 had given
the nation a brief respite from hating communism. The Rus
sians had been our allies and the Germans and Japanese our
enemies. Suddenly these positions were reversed. In
EuropeJ formidable fascism of the right was over and we
were helping our recent enemies with vast amounts of eco
nomic aid. The USSR was no longer inhabited by friendly
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150
Russians. It harbored the enemy--Communists. In 1947, the
Truman Doctrine committed America's might to the defense of
Greece and Turkey, two Middle East countries threatened by
Communist expansion. In 1948, the Berlin airlift saved that
city from Joseph Stalin.
It was a period of extreme unrest in this country
and it was not long before politicians, writers,
and self-appointed advisers with all possible mo
tives learned that denouncing Communism was a prof
itable occupation. Many, of course, were sincere,
but few gave their message with restraint and, as
always, the press poured out the big black head
lines .
Many people had joined groups during the depression
years which were later to be put on various lists
as Communist fronts. They had joined in despair,
and sometimes in the hope that somehow they might
make a better world for themselves. There was no
reason to believe that every person who joined these
groups was an advocate of the violent overthrow of
the United States Government. However, many of them
were soon to learn that they might be so labeled by
the loudest voices of demagoguery.^
Before 1949 was over, some 462,000,000 Chinese could
see the Red flag of communism raised over their ancient
Asian land. In June of 1950, North Korean Communist troops
marched across the 38th parallel, and the United States was
for the third time in the first half of the twentieth
^Charles E. Potter, Days of Shame (New York:
Coward-McCann, Inc., 1965), pp. 55-56.
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151
centuryj at war. The atmosphere in America was rife with
persons being called Communists by anyone with whom they
disagreed.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Korean War, Sena
tor McCarthy was invited to speak to the Ohio County Women's
Republican Club at Wheeling, West Virginia. ". . .it was
there that he either did or did not wave a piece of paper—
reports were contradictory— and say that it contained the
names of 205 Communists in the State Department.McCar-
thyism was born at that moment and it did not die with its
creator's demise in 1956.
The vehicle McCarthy used in the upper House of
Congress for his investigations was the unwieldy-titled
Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations of the Senate
Committee on Government Operations of the United States
Senate. It was more familiarly known to the public as the
'McCarthy" committee because of the imprint made by its
chairman.
The proper purpose of a congressional committee, be
it McCarthy's in the Senate or the House Committee on Un-
American Activities, is
^Ibid., p. 57.
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to investigate the functioning of existing laws and
considerations for either amending or drafting new
legislation. However, it was never intended that
these legislative bodies should conduct quasi trials
with power of punishment.^
McCarthy's personal publicity as a Communist hunter
his flair for theatrics, his perception of the timing of
news releases, his ability to discredit by implication some
of the most significant men in the government in the early
1950's— all made the work of the committee in the lower
House that much easier and, to the public, significant.
The refusal to assist a congressional committee in
its attempts to investigate gives Congress the power to
punish for contempt. In the case of the Hollywood Ten, the
First Amendment was used as protection.
By 1951, the protective cover was the Fifth Amend
ment, which broadly states, "... when a witness in his own
opinion considers that the answer to a question might tend
to incriminate him, he cannot be compelled to be a witness
against himself and made to answer.
Former Senator Charles E. Potter of Michigan com
ments on the use of the Fifth Amendment and congressional
investigating committees :
^Ibid.
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This protective shield given to a witness under the
Fifth Amendment is written in the blood and lives
of many people. But by distortion and abuse, the
Fifth Amendment became a pair of dirty words. We
heard much of Fifth Amendment Communists and Fifth
Amendment generals and Fifth Amendment politicians.
The goal of some committees appeared to be exposure
of people in order to destroy the foundation upon
which our country was built; namely, nonconformity
of thought and action. The fear of being subpoenaed
by investigating committees had silenced many people
whose unorthodox and controversial views would be
healthy elements in a democratic society.^
While McCarthy was busy conducting his Senate in
vestigations, the House committee was once again certain
that there was Communist infiltration of the entertainment
industry.
Description of the Hearings
At 10:30 in the morning, March 8, 1951, in room 226
of the Old House Office Building in Washington, D. C .,
Chairman John S. Wood set about the business of clearing the
Reds out of the studios and stages of America.
In addition to Wood, committee members present were
Representatives Francis E. Walter, Morgan M. Moulder, Clyde
Doyle, James B. Frazier, Jr., Harold H. Velde, Bernard W.
Kearney, and Charles E. Potter.
^Ibid., p. 57.
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154
Staff members present were Frank S. Tavenner^ Jr.,
counsel; Louis J. Russell, senior investigator; John W.
Carrington, clerk; and A. S. Poore, editor
The first witness on March 8 was the Communist
party's cultural chieftain, Victor Jeremy JeromeIn 1947,
Jerome published his observations on Eugene O'Neill's thesis
of life:
In the theatre, dead-end futility is bodied forth in
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. O'Neill builds
his drama on the thesis that life is a struggle be
tween illusion and reality, in which illusion is in
dispensable to life, while reality is unbearable and
means death.®
V. J. Jerome's struggle that first morning before
the committee was far more significant for its constitu
tional dogmatism than for anything as lofty as life. He
invoked the Fifth Amendment on self-incriminâtion 113
U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Communist Infiltration of Hollywood Motion-
Picture Industry, Hearings, 82nd Cong., 1st Sess., 1951,
Part I, p. 55. Hereinafter cited as Motion Picture Hear
ings, 1951.
^Goodman, The Committee, p. 307.
^Culture in a Changing World (New York: New Century
Publishers, Inc., 1947), p. 16.
^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part I, pp. 56-76.
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155
The distinguished constitutional historian, Leonard
. Levy, in his brilliant study of the Fifth Amendment, con
cluded;
The framers of the Bill of Rights saw their injunc
tion, that no men should be a witness against himself
in a criminal case, as a central feature of the accu
satory system of criminal justice. While deeply com
mitted to perpetuating a system that minimized the
possibilities of convicting the innocent, they were
not less concerned about the humanity that the fun
damental law should show even to the offender. Above
all, the Fifth Amendment reflected their judgment
that in a free society, based on respect for the in
dividual, the determination of guilt or innocence by
just procedures, in which the accused made no unwill
ing contribution to his conviction, was more impor
tant than punishing the guilty.
Actor Howard daSilva was the next witness to take
the constitutional refuge implied in Levy's historical sum
mation.^^ Before notifying the committee of his intention
to take the Fifth, the actor asked if he might read a state
ment when he took the stand on March 21. Chairman Wood
denied his request because the actor had released his re
marks to the press shortly before 10 A.M. that day. The
chairman noted that it was now after 3 P.M. "In the light
of the fact it has been given this wide publicity, I see no
University Press, 1968), p. 432.
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156
purpose in burdening the record with a repetition of it.
Counsel Tavenner asked daSilva about his affilia
tions with the Civil Rights Congress, the Joint Anti-Fascist
Refugee Committee, the Actors' Laboratory, a statement in
the Daily Worker which bore his name, and then wanted to
know if he had been a member of the Communist party. The
actor declined to answer, "on the grounds previously sta
ted. He refused, on the same basis, to admit being
associated in a gala Communist function with actor Will
Geer, who was, according to the evidence, director of a play
honoring Mother Bloor on her seventy-fifth birthday anni
versary.
The first actress to win the "Oscar" as best sup
porting player. Gale Sondergaard (for her role in Anthony
Adverse), was also refused permission by the chair to read
her prepared statement on March 21. Chairman Wood said the
ommittee would file her remarks for the record after she
was examined. In private life the actress was— and is— the
wife of Herbert J. Biberman, the writer, director, producer,
and member of the Unfriendly Ten.
In reply to Tavenner's question about what "guilds
13
Ibid., pp. 114-121.
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157
or organizations'' she had "been identified with in Holly
wood, " the actress responded that she had "read a long, long
list of organizations" branded subversive by the committee
and other governmental bodies. She further explained;
I have a feeling if you will ask me what organiza
tions I belonged to that you probably would like me
to tie myself into one of these, and there I must
refuse to answer the question on the grounds of the
fifth amendment, that it might tend to incriminate
me.
The counsel disclosed that the committee was in
possession of a card dated December 1, 1944, indicating that
the actress was registered as a Communist and her membership
card bore the number 47 328 for the year 1945. Miss Sonder
gaard refused to comment upon this documentary evidence and
all subsequent efforts by the committee to link her with
Communist fronts and organizations.^^
Actor and entertainer Will Geer told the committee
on April 11 that although he had completed college in 1926,
he was still a student of philosophy and he pursued agri
culture and horticulture as hobbies. After a homey exchange
concerning a hen, an egg, and the actor's blueberry farm,
Geer refused to tell Tavenner if he had signed a Communist
14.
Ibid., p. 122.
15
Ibid., p. 123.
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158
party nominating petition on July 2 3, 1942. He retorted.
Well, that, gentlemen, is an emotional, hysterical question
based on the date. I stand on my rights, the fifth amend
ment, on the grounds it might incriminate or degrade me."
Screenwriter Robert Lees followed Geer and was as
unfriendly to the committee as his predecessor. In refusing
to answer questions about organizations to which he had
belonged or to name individuals with whom he had worked, he
adopted the premise taken by Miss Sondergaard. The writer
testified :
Well, I know this : That there are a great number
of organizations that this committee has deemed to
be subversive, and my connections with any individ
ual that can be connected with these organizations
can tend to incriminate me, and for this reason I
have declined to answer that question.
Referring to the First Amendment, Lees remarked, "I
feel that any infringement on perhaps opinions or thoughts
which this committee or some other future committee might
deem suddenly un-American becomes a very dangerous thing in
this country. Very dangerous.
Waldo Salt, later scenarist for the 1969 hit film
^^iMd., pp. 177-180. ^^Ibid., p. 199.
18Ibid., p. 214.
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159
Midnight Cowboy, concurred with Lees and Miss Sondergaard^
pointing out that the committee had labeled 643 organiza
tions subversive. He refused on April 13 to answer if he
was "at any time a member of the board of directors or other
governing body of Actors' Laboratory^ Inc." He based his
refusal on his contention that California State Senator Jack
Tenney had already investigated the organization and labeled
it subversive.
Paul JarricOj collaborator with Richard Collins on
Song of Russia, the film that had so offended Ayn Rand in
1947, was next to testify that day. In response to Repre
sentative Doyle's question if Jarrico felt that the commit'
tee "was controverting and destroying the rights of American
citizens" by its investigation, the writer emotionally re
plied:
I am certain that Congress had no such intention.
However, 10 of my friends, very dear friends, have
gone to jail for coming before this body and saying
that Congress may not investigate in any area in
which it may not legislate, and since the Constitu
tion of the United States specifically states that
Congress shall make no law restricting the freedom
of speech, and since countless decisions of the
courts have held that this provision of the Consti
tution means that Congress cannot investigate into
areas of opinion, of conscience, of belief, I believe
^Ibid., p. 262.
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that in.asking that those men be cited for contempt
of Congress and in successfully sending these men
to jailj that this committee has subverted the mean
ing of the American Constitution; yes.20
In his statement, Jarrico was alluding to the con
tempt charges invoked by the use of the First Amendment. He
declined to answer committee questions, basing his refusal
on the Fifth, and as a result it was he who was publicly
suspect of subverting the constitution.
Actors Victor Kilian, Jr., and Fred Graff testified
before the committee on April 13, 1951, the last of the un
friendly witnesses to appear during the first of the ten-
part, two-year, second investigation of Communist infiltra
tion of the Hollywood motion picture industry. Kilian was
told by Tavenner that the committee had information that he
had been issued a numbered registration card in the Commu
nist party in 1945. Graff was informed by Tavenner that he
held a numbered registration card in the Communist Political
Association, dated 1941. Both men took the Fifth.
Chairman Wood closed the session by announcing :
. . . that any person whose name has been given in
these public hearings as having been affiliated with
the Communist Party, or any other organization that
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may have been cited by either the committee or the
Attorney General of America as being a subversive
or front organization, who desires to do so, we
will certainly welcome their presence here at such
time as the committee may be able to make the proper
arrangements, to make whatever reply or response
they desire in connection therewith.^^
And there had been many names mentioned during this
first phase of the investigation, not only by the committee
in its dialogue with the unfriendly witnesses, but also by
the friendly witnesses, commencing with the strange and
pitiful testimony of actor Larry Parks.
After a thirteen-day layoff following V. J. Jerome's
uncooperative appearance, the committee reconvened on the
first day of spring, Wednesday, March 21, 1951, at 10:35
A.M. It is certain that Parks does not remember the day as
one of seasonal awakening but rather as one of moral deaden
ing— as did Paul Jarrico.
On March 24 of that year, Jarrico told the New York
Times, "If I have to choose between crawling in the mud with
Larry Parks or going to jail like my courageous friends of
the Hollywood Ten, I shall certainly choose the latter.
Parks was the first entertainer in 1951 who was
^^New York Times, March 24, 1951.
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162
forced to soul-search for the proper moral answer to the
question that was to face all of the subpoenaed show-
business witnesses who followed him.
The dilemma was :
If they took the Fifth Amendment, their Hollywood
careers would, for the foreseeable future, be ended.
But to testify about their friends was for some a
repugnant as well as an uncertain means of salva
tion.^^
Additionally, due to the 1947 Hollywood investiga
tion, there was the specter of prison beclouding the deci-
These confusing problems and possibilities prompted
Parks to try to avoid any conclusive, specific answers to
the majority of the committee's questions.
After some gentle prodding by Counsel Tavenner,
Parks admitted: "I'm familiar with the Actors' Laboratory
. . . I'm familiar with the Actors' Lab."
Further probing by the committee counsel elicited
from the actor who had starred in The Jolson Story: "For a
time I was sort of honorary treasurer of this organization.'
When Tavenner asked if he had served in 1949 and 1950, the
actor had another lapse of memory. "Well, I can't recall
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16 3
the exact date. I don't believe it was in 1950. I believe
it was before that. I can't tell you the exact date."
He thought he was a member of some of the other
organizations on the subversive list handed him by Tavenner.
He did not believe he held any official position in any of
them. He asked Tavenner to "refresh" his memory. It was
possible," the actor said, that he had appeared at a meet
ing of the Civil Rights Congress— and he might have been one
of the speakers. Yes, the actor acknowledged, there were
Communists attached to some of the organizations with which
he had been affiliated— "the Actors' Lab, for instance ..."
Finally, Parks conceded, "I was a member of the
Communist Party ..." He joined in 1941. "And to the best
of my recollection I petered out about the latter part of
1944 or 1945." He joined because membership "fulfilled
certain needs of a young man that was liberal in thought,
idealistic, who was for the underprivileged, the under-
dog."':
On the question of naming names of alleged Commu
nists, Parks beseechingly demurred.
It seems to me that this is not the American way of
doing things— to force a man who is under oath and
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who has opened himself as wide as possible to this
committee— and it hasn't been easy to do this— to
force a man to do this is not American justice.
I perhaps later can think of more things to say
when I leave, but this is in substance I guess what
I want to say.
26
Representatives Wood and Walter respected the ac
tor's plea largely because, as it was later made clear in
testimony, the committee already knew the names it was try
ing to get the witness to divulge. Parks was let off on the
condition that he would testify fully in executive session.
This he did, and "Parks was left with his career in limbo,
the film he was scheduled to do for Columbia Studios having
been canceled when he received his subpoena.
The longest testimony of the first part of the in
vestigation was given on April 10 by actor and friendly
witness Sterling Hayden, another former card-carrying star
member of the Communist party. He, unlike Parks, was not
hesitant to name names of alleged Communists, publicly,
before the committee and the nation. He was the first of
many who elected to put the continuance of their careers
ahead of personal and professional friendships.
26
Ibid., p. 90.
^Goodman, The Committee, p. 302.
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165
After a lengthy explanation of how he had become
enraptured by the Partisans of Yugoslavia and how he con
comitantly became exposed to Communist ideology and Commu
nists, he told the committee he joined the Communist party
in Hollywood, "approximately between the 5th and 15th of
June, 1946, but that may not be accurate.
He named Bea Winters, a secretary, as the woman who
was responsible for asking him to join the Communist party.
She was the first of a list of show-business persons named
by Hayden as Communists, ex- or current. The list included
writer-director Abraham Polonsky, actress Karen Morley, her
husband actor Lloyd Gough, and writer Robert Lees. Hayden
implied that Howard daSilva was a Communist because of his
'behavior" before the committee the previous month. He
mentioned that some of the meetings of the Communist group
to which he belonged occurred at the home of actor Morris
Carnovsky, although Carnovsky was never present. Hayden
additionally furnished the committee investigators with a
list of people he conjectured were Communists. His reason
for doing this was summed up by Chairman Wood: "Your pur
pose in furnishing the list of names to the investigators
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166
was that by proper investigation on the part of the investi
gators of the committee and the committee itself, that their
connection with the Communist Party might be revealed with
reference to some of them?" The actor replied in the af
firmative and was excused.
Hayden was excused by the committee and subsequently
by the majority of the nation's press, but not by the actor
himself. He wrote later :
Not often does a man find himself eulogized for
having behaved in a manner that he himself despises.
I subscribed to a press-clipping service. They
sent me two thousand clips from papers east and
west, large and small, and from dozens of magazines.
Most had nothing but praise for my one-shot stoolie
show. Only a handful— led by The New York Times —
denounced this abrogation of constitutional free
doms whereby the stoolie could gain status in a
land of frightened people.
The first Hollywood pigeon of the genus "stoolie"
had sung publicly, and before Chairman Wood had concluded
his ten-part marathon investigation on November 13, 1952,
many more voices would be raised in a cacophony of name-
naming .
On April 12, 1951, screenwriter Richard J. Collins
30,
Sterling Hayden, Wanderer (New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc., 1963), p. 392.
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167
took the witness stand. Collins recounted that in 1936 he
was introduced to a class in Marxism by a man who had been
to Russia and "was very enthusiastic about it." The trave
ler was writer Budd Schulberg. Collins admitted to Counsel
Tavenner that he had been a Communist. He named John Howard
Lawson as a former leader of the Communist party in Holly
wood. Ring LardnerJ Jr., was identified by the witness as
having been a member of his Communist party cell. Collins
continued: Albert Maltz had been a Communist; Samuel Sil-
len, one of the editors of the New Masses, Collins presumed,
had been a Communist; Lester Cole was a Communist; Paul
Jarrico had been; Louis B. Mayer was not ; Robert Rossen had
been but had sent a letter to Harry Cohn, head of Columbia
Pictures, saying that he was no longer a member of the
party; Schulberg had been; screenwriter Martin Berkeley had
hosted a cell meeting at his home; also in attendance was
Hollywood Ten writer Samuel Ornitz; silent movie actor Her
bert Blache had attended a cell meeting where Collins was
present; the witness had recruited writer Waldo Salt as a
Communist; writer John Bright was a Communist; Gertrude
Purcell, a member of the board of the Screen Writers' Guild
in 1938 and 1939, might have been; writers Gordon Kahn and
Leonardo Bercovici had been Communists; Elizabeth Leech
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168
Glenn had been a Communist and may have worked at a studio;
her husband Charles Glenn had co-led with Salt a section of
the Communist party; Frank Tuttle had been a Communist; and
writer Dudley Nichols was not.^^
This comprised Collins's list of persons associated
in one way or another with Hollywood who were, had been, or
were not. Communists.
In response to Representative Donald Jackson's
questions, Collins estimated that the peak membership of the
lommunist party in Hollywood during the Second World War was
several hundred," of whom he knew twenty. The witness sup
posed that of the latter group, "about" 25 per cent had
broken with the party "in various degrees." Collins agreed
that the balance of 75 per cent "might be considered to
belong actively or to be in the fellow-traveler classifica
tion."^^
Richard Collins, the second friendly witness before
the committee (he had also been subpoenaed in 1947 but was
not called to testify), summed up his reasons for stating
vhy he would not have been a friendly witness in the J.
31,
254.
Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part I, pp. 222-
Ibid., pp. 257-258.
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Parnell Thomas investigation and why now, in 1951, he w,
It would be because at that time it seemed to me
that purely on American democratic constitutional
grounds there was a question of the propriety of
asking a man his political beliefs . Without going
into the question of its propriety today, there
has been a marked change in the world situation
since 1947, and there has been as great a change
in me. It is hard to tell where one thing begins
and the other ends
It was less difficult for Paul Jarrico, Collins's
writing collaborator and friend for fourteen years, to tell
where friendship ends and personal expediency begins.
Ten days before Collins's testimony, Jarrico tele
phoned his friend and asked if he might see him. Jarrico
asked his host if he would give his personal assurance that
he would not give any names when called to testify. Collins
resisted at first but then attempted to strike a bargain.
He would not name names if Jarrico would promise he would
do nothing to help the Soviet Union in the event of war
between the United States and the Soviet Union. Jarrico
could not agree to this proposition, and Collins refused to
alter his original offer of compromise. In Collins's words,
. . . since we would not lie to each other, we had no fur
ther conversation."^^
^Ibid., p. 258. -^^Ibid., pp. 255-256.
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170
"It was/' as Walter Goodman points out, "but one of
many friendships that were shattered in the course of these
..35
hearings.
The remaining friendly witness in the first session
of Wood's investigation was Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg, former
head of the literary department of Berg-Allenberg, a motion
picture agency. She spoke up when on April 13 she identi
fied persons she had seen at Communist party meetings who
were previously cited publicly by witnesses before the com
mittee. She also introduced into the "Red" record such
personages as actress Dorothy Tree and her husband, writer
Michael Uris, writer Francis Faragoh, film maker Carleton
Moss, artist Edward Biberman (Herbert's brother), and agent
George Willner. The woman literary agent's dossier also
included Madelaine Ruthven, ex-writer and C.P. functionary
in Hollywood and its environs.
Nunnally Johnson, a producer-writer at Twentieth
Century-Fox Studios at the time of Mrs. Rosenberg's testi
mony, sent her a telegram which she presented to Tavenner
at the conclusion of her testimony. The committee counsel
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part I,
289.
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171
graciously decided to read it aloud^ "to save the witness
a little embarrassment":
Mrs. Meta Rosenberg
Stabler Hotel, Washington, D. C.
I trust this will convince you that politics is no
business for a fetching girl. Politics is for flat
chested girls.
[Laughter.]
It is certain that those persons whose names were
cited publicly for the first time by Mrs. Rosenberg as hav
ing been in attendance at Communist meetings agreed with
Nunnally Johnson.
Round two of ten opened April 17, 1951, with a
dozen new witnesses appearing and two former figures from
the 1947 hearings testifying for the second time, labor
leader Roy Brewer and Edward Dmytryk. This time director
Dmytryk was as friendly as Brewer had been in the earlier
investigation; a situation occasioned undoubtedly by time,
prison, reflection, and a personal reassessment of the mora]
question of naming names in order to continue working above
ground at his career.
As discussed in the preceding chapter, after prison
the remainder of the First Amendment unfriendly witnesses
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172
were forced underground until the anti-Communist public
passions cooled toward the end of the fifties. But this was
the beginning of that decade and the first three witnesses
before the committee that April day were Fifth Amendment
unfriendlies.
They were writers Sam Moore and Harold Buchman and
Academy Award winner actress Anne Revere, who were sworn in
April 17. Miss Revere won the Oscar for "best supporting
female player" in National Velvet.
Moore declined to answer any questions regarding his
association with the Hollywood Writers' Mobilization, claim
ing that the organization had been listed as a "so-called
»versive group" by the committee and others.
Counsel Tavenner told the witness the committee had
information that he was a member of the Communist party in
1944 and 1945 and cited the number of his C.P. registration
card for the latter year. Moore once again claimed his
LStitutional privilege of not incriminating himself.
Buchman, for reasons similar to Moore's, refused
to answer questions regarding the Hollywood Writers'
38Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part II, p. 305.
39ibid., p. 310.
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173
Mobilization. The writer informed the committee that he had
taken a "grand tour" for five months in 1937 and 1938 and
that he had spent five or six weeks in the Soviet Union.
Tavenner told Buchman the committee had information that the
writer held cards in the Communist political Association in
1944 and the Communist party in 1945 and cited their regis
tration numbers.
After refusing to comment on the C.P. membership
cards, Buchman explained to Representative Clyde Doyle that
he had "applauded" his election many years ago and that he
believed Doyle was "sincere" in his "desire to understand
what was going on here."
"But I could find a stack of very conservative
opinion, Mr. Doyle, to the effect that this committee is not
a good committee." The congressman did not choose to com
ment on the committee's goodness and Buchman was followed
by Miss Revere
The "Bourbon punctilio" of the committee, as Gordon
Kahn described the interrogators in 1947, was practised in
1951 by Tavenner when the counsel asked the actress the
place of her birth. She facetiously replied, "Thank you
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174
for not asking me when. . . . Occasionally I play grand
mothers, and it might jeopardize my professional standing."
In response to a question regarding her former mem
bership in the Actors' Laboratory, Miss Revere refused to
answer and gave the committee her interpretation of what
constituted an attempt to overthrow the American system.
Mr. Tavenner and gentlemen, this would seem to me,
based upon my observation in the course of the week
in which I have listened to these testimonies, to
be the first in a possible series of questions which
would attempt in some manner to link me with subver
sive organizations; and as the Communist Party is a
political party— legal political party— in this
country today, and as I consider any questioning
regarding one's political views or religious views
as a violation of the rights of a citizen under our
Constitution, and as I would consider myself, there
fore, contributing to the overthrow of our form of
government as I understand it if I were to assist
you in violating this privilege of mine and other
citizens of this country, I respectfully decline
to answer this question on the basis of the fifth
amendment, possible self-incrimination, and also
the first amendment.
Miss Revere requested to see the document Tavenner
held, establishing her numbered Communist party registration
cards for the years 1944 and 1945. Satisfied that the coun
sel seemed to have such evidence, she refused to answer
whether she recognized the card he handed to her
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175
The next two unfriendly witnesses appeared a week
laterj on April 24, 1951, writers' agent George Willner and
actor Morris Carnovsky.
When asked if he had been the business manager of
the New Masses in New York from 1936 to 1939, Willner re
fused to answer because that publication was listed as "sub
versive" in the committee's guide and the members were
therefore "trying to link" him with an organization already
categorized as Red.
Representative Morgan M. Moulder summed up his ob
servations on the agent's subsequent refusal to answer ques
tions about people, organizations, and events:
Mr. Willner, the record would reveal that you have
refused to answer probably 99 percent of the ques
tions propounded to you, for the alleged reason
that it would tend to incriminate you . . . And
under the Federal statutes any testimony you may
give here could not be used against you. There
fore, your refusal to testify so consistently leaves
a strong inference that you are still an ardent
follower of the Communist Party and its purpose.
That's all.^2
It was not all the dialogue for the day, however.
Carnovsky was next and gave the committee a detailed recital
of his academic and professional background before claiming
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176
lis constitutional immunity on questions concerning his
relationship with the Group Theatre, the Joint Anti-Fascist
Refugee Committee, the Civil Rights Congress, the Progres
sive Citizens of America, the Council of the Arts, Sciences,
and Professions, the American Peace Mobilization, and a 1944
Communist party membership book numbered 48975
On the following day writer Abraham Polonsky was the
first witness. When confronted with the testimony of
friendly witnesses Sterling Hayden, Mrs. Meta Rosenberg, and
Richard Collins, persons who had identified Polonsky as a
nember of the Communist party, he invoked the Fifth Amend-
nent. He subsequently refused to answer whether his wife,
Sylvia Marrow, was a member of the Communist party
On succeeding days of the following month. May 16
and 17, 1951, writer Leonardo Bercovici, actors Alvin Hammer
and Lloyd Gough, and Bea (Bernadette) Winters, former secre-
bary to Meta Reis Rosenberg, completed the list of un
friendly witnesses during the second part of the committee's
1951-1952 investigation.^^
In addition to the two committee investigators.
^^Ibid.. pp. 390-391. "^"^Ibid. . pp. 400-403.
"^^Ibid.. pp. 441-471.
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177
William A. Wheeler and Thad Page^ one major film star (John
Garfield)^ one character actor (Marc Lawrence), an un
friendly Hollywood Ten member who recanted (Edward Dmytryk),
and a recurring witness (labor leader Roy Brewer) made up
the remainder of persons friendly to the investigative body
during part two of the hearings.
The sensitive, able, and much-loved actor, John
Garfield, sprang to fame as the star of Golden Bov on
Broadway; his many notable performances in motion pictures
included Body and Soul. But before the committee, the in
telligent performer "did his best to make himself appear a
simpleton, marvelously naïve about politics, who had helped
support a variety of Communist fronts despite his firm
hatred of Communism.
He appeared before the austere panel on April 23,
1951, and consumed an entire morning (from 10:25 A.M. to
1:15 P.M.) with his account of what he described as his
"open-book" life and his hatred of communism.
He did not know any Communists in Hollywood, past
or present; he was, in his own words, an "outstanding lib
eral, " who had never joined any parties other than the
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178
Democratic and the Liberal; he was a backer of Henry Wallace
for the presidency on a third-party ticket, until he saw how
the Communists were "capturing" the ex-vice-president. Gar
field could not recall introducing actor-singer Paul Robeson
at a dinner for the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee.
He did admit being a member of the Committee for the First
Miendment. He believed the Communist party should be out
lawed; he did not support the Moscow trials ; and he was for
Finnish war relief.
The actor talked on, as the committee probed his
background. Yes, Garfield recalled having a drink on a
Russian ship in Los Angeles Harbor with Constantine Semenov
a Russian film maker invited to the United States by the
State Department; director Lewis Milestone and actor Charles
Chaplin and their wives had been aboard the ship. Finally,
Representative Donald L. Jackson became dissatisfied with
the star's lack of "accuracy" and failure to cooperate with
the committee
The congressman commented :
And you contend that during the 7 1/2 years or more
that you were in Hollywood and in close contact with
a situation in which a number of Communist cells were
^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part II, pp. 328-
359.
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operating on a week-to-week basis^ with electri
cians j actorsj and every class represented, that
during the entire period of time you were in Holly
wood you did not know of your own personal knowl
edge a member of the Communist Party?
Garfield said that was "absolutely correct ..."
Jackson pursued the questioning: "Have you been approached
to assist at Communist Party functions, or functions of
Communist-front organizations when you knew they were front
organizations?" The actor returned: ". . .1 would have
run like hell."
Jackson summed up his feelings to Representative
Wood: "I must say, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, that I am
48
still not satisfied."
The chairman waived the rule which forbade the read
ing aloud of statements by witnesses when he learned that
Garfield's prepared remarks numbered only a few sentences.
The star vocally assessed his political position :
When I was originally requested to appear before
the committee, I said that I would answer all ques
tions, fully and without any reservations, and that
is what I have done. I have nothing to be ashamed
of and nothing to hide. My life is an open book.
I was glad to appear before you and talk with you.
I am no Red. I am no "pink." I am no fellow trave
ler. I am a Democrat by politics, a liberal by
“ibid., p. 358.
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inclination, and a loyal citizen of this country by
every act of my life. ^
Actor Marc Lawrence was next, on Tuesday, April 24.
He proved not quite as amnesiac as Garfield. However, he
did complain of getting "headaches" in the thirties listen
ing to speeches at Communist group meetings. He identified
some of his fellow participants who had been mentioned be
fore by previous friendly witnesses— Lester Cole, Robert
Rossen, Richard Collins, Lionel Stander, Gordon Kahn, J.
Edward Bromberg, John Howard Lawson, Morris Carnovsky, Karen
Morley, Sterling Hayden, Larry Parks, Anne Revere, Howard
daSilva, and Lloyd Gough.
Lawrence amplified, "Now, I don't know if these peo
pie were members of the Communist Party, but it was supposed
to be have been a closed cell. I couldn't identify these
people."
He was on more certain ground where Lionel Stander
was concerned. Stander had introduced Lawrence into the
Communist party: "He was the guy that said to me, 'Get to
know this stuff and you will make out more with the
dames. '
Lawrence also distinctly remembered actor Jeff Corey
"^^Ibid.. p. 362. ^°Ibid.. pp. 367-370.
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as a person who attended meetings of a C.P. group within
the Actors' Lab.^^
Committee member Jackson was pleased with the aggre
gate of names new and old. He commended the witness —
sarcastically: "I congratulate you upon your splendid mem
ory. You should have less difficulty in learning scripts
than some of the people who have appeared here.
The only one of the unfriendly Hollywood Ten ever to
assume the cloak of friendliness before the committee was
Edward Dmytryk. The director delivered his roster of names
of persons he knew as members of the C.P. on Wednesday^
April 25, 1951.
His reason for his change of mind since 1947: "The
situation has somewhat changed." Dmytryk clarified this
comment to Tavenner, explaining that before 1947 he had
never heard anyone say he would refuse to fight for America
in a war against the Soviet Union. Now, C.P. members were
boasting that they would not fight for the United States.
The director thought that the Soviet Union and Communist
China supported the North Koreans in their attack on South
Korea. The Communists of the world were not interested in
^^Ibid.. p. 370. 52Ibid., p. 374.
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182
peace. "... there is a Communist menace . . . and the
Communist Party in this country is a part of that menace."
As a third reason for recanting, Dmytryk alluded to
the spy trials of Alger Hiss and Judith Coplon, incidents
which caused the director to remark,
I don't say all members of the Communist Party are
guilty of treason, but I think a party that encour
ages them to act in this capacity is treasonable.
For this reason I am willing to talk today.^^
Dmytryk said that what the Communist party was after
in Hollywood was (1) money, (2) prestige, and (3) control of
the content of pictures by taking over the guilds and
unions. He named seven of the 225 or 230 members of the
Screen Directors' Guild he knew to be Communists : Frank
Tuttle, Herbert Biberman, Jack Berry, Bernard Vorhaus, Jules
Dassin— "and myself."
Turning to the Screen Writers' Guild, Dmytryk named
John Howard Lawson, Lester Cole, Gordon Kahn, John Wexley,
Adrian Scott, Richard Collins, Paul Trivers, Albert Maltz,
Alvah Bessie, Arnold Manoff, Michael (Mickey) Uris, Leonardo
Bercovici, Francis Faragoh and his wife Elizabeth, and
George Corey as ex- or current Communists.
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183
After the lunch break, he proceeded with reeling
off the names, singling out Ben Margolis, an attorney for
some of the unfriendly witnesses, as having hosted a Commu
nist committee meeting at his home, which the director at
tended. Present also were writer Henry Blankfort and George
Pepper, described by the committee as "an employee of
Communist-front organizations." Writers Sam Moore and
Maurice Clark also attended C.P. fraction meetings, Dmytryk
testified.^^
The witness offered up his definition of an "in
former ." He had even consulted a dictionary to make sure
of its meaning, he told Representative Jackson.
I know that there have been comments— I don't mean
by the Communists but even among certain progres
sives and liberals— that people who talk are in
effect informers. I heard that so much that I went
to the dictionary and looked up the word. An in
former, roughly speaking, is a man who informs
against colleagues or former colleagues, who are
engaged in criminal activity. I think the Commu
nists, by using this word against people, are in
effect admitting they are engaged in criminal
activity. I never heard of anybody informing on
the Boy Scouts
The committee even had time to hear an unfriendly
nists before the committee and the former Communists who
identified them appears in Appendix A.
_____ ^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part II, p. 437.
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184
witness on May 10, 1951. He was writer Arthur Strawn, who
ihowed up for an executive session at the Drake Hotel in
Hollywood at 10 A.M. He added little to the annals of the
House group. His testimony, if it could be called that, was
released by the committee in September of that year
Roy M. Brewer, lATSE international representative
for Hollywood, who was a friendly witness in 1947, was the
last of the friendly persons to appear before the committee
in part two of its 1951 hearings. His discourse, rendered
on May 17 and 18, was the lengthiest of the session. It
dealt almost exclusively with the efforts of the C.P. to
take over the trade unions in Hollywood. Brewer managed,
however, to delve into blacklisting of anti-Communists in
cinemaland. Writers Fred Niblo and Jack Moffitt, who had
been friendly witnesses in 1947, had "practically no work
since that time," according to the crafts union chief.
Brewer said there was a Communist group in 1945 that
waged a character assassination program that "was so effec
tive that it is beyond my power to describe it . . ."
When asked by Representative Potter if there were
56
Ibid., Part VI, pp. 2053-2059.
7Ibid., Part II, pp. 488-489. ^^Ibid., p. 489.
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185
any records that would bear out his testimony about charac
ter assassination, the witness replied:
I do not think the opinion of one man is of much
value, but I think if you could document the em
ployment records of those individuals that were
not acceptable to the Communist group as against
those individuals who were in the forefront of it,
I think you would find a rather substantial indi
cation that there were influences at work. Those
influences work in many, many ways. Lots of times
the opinion of a secretary or of a clerk in a
casting bureau can make the difference between
whether one man is hired or another man is hired.
I can see, from my standpoint, knowing the set-up
in Hollywood, how easy it would be for an under
ground movement to use influence in such a way
that an individual without such protection would
be at a disadvantage, and I am of the definite
opinion that was the case. I think it can be
proven by records. I haven't attempted to do
that, but in ray judgment it could be done
It was Brewer's impression that John Garfield had
been aligned with Communist-front groups, and contrary to
the actor's testimony. Brewer felt it was impossible for a
man to be in the position the actor was and not be aware
that there was a Communist movement in HollywoodBrewer
was correct.
The week before John Garfield's death at thirty-nine
years of age in May, 1952, the actor was said to be prepar
ing a statement admitting that he had lied to the committee
59
Ibid., pp. 489-490.
60.
Ibid., p. 516.
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186
about his former affiliations. He admitted that he belonged
to thirty-two Red-front organizations and had signed twelve
petitions on behalf of Red causes and groups.
Part three of the committee's investigation began
May 22j 1951, with the appearance of that year's Oscar-
winning star José Ferrer.He was represented by Abe
Portas, who was later to serve— for a brief time— as a
Supreme Court Justice. The actor's presence before the
committee constituted the longest testimony of the third
session, covering almost two days.
In the forties, Ferrer had been among the more ac
tive theatre people who eventually were subpoenaed to appear
before the committee in the fifties.
He had enjoyed long runs both on Broadway and na
tionally in such plays as Othello, Cyrano de Bergerac, and
The Silver Whistle.
In responding to questions, Ferrer tried basically
the same tactics Garfield and others affected in their ap
pearances before the committee.
Ferrer had a very poor memory about places.
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187
meetings, dates, and suspected Communist fronts and organi
zations he was alleged to have supported by his name or
appearance. The actor explained,
I would like to tell you that my memory in these
matters is controlled largely by association. If
I can see where a function took place and who was
there, then I am able to tell you accurately my
participation.^ ^
Ferrer, like Garfield, avoided taking the Fifth
Amendment and avoided naming names. After looking at an
article supplied by Counsel Tavenner that indicated he had
sponsored a Communist for the New York City Council, the
actor and Representative Kearney jousted about Ferrer's
memory.
MR. FERRER. I am sorry to say, Mr. Tavenner, that
this does not refresh my memory. I repeat that
among these people are many many people whom I know,
whom I have worked with, and it is possible and even
probable that I did allow the use of my name, but I
cannot in all honesty tell you that I remember doing
MR. WOOD. Mr. Kearney, did you have a question to
ask?
MR. KEARNEY. Yes. I would like to call your atten
tion, Mr. Ferrer, to the letter that the chairman
spoke about, under date of May 21, 1951, directed
to him, of which I believe all members of the com
mittee received a copy.
Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part III, p. 538.
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I am simply searching for the truth. I can't rec
oncile your statement with that portion of your
letter which states : "I also permitted my name to
be used in support of the candidacy of Benjamin
Davis as councilman of New York City."
MR. FERRER. Mr. Tavenner just asked me about that,
Mr. Kearney, and I told him that when I am now asked
under oath, do I remember, I cannot honestly say "I
do remember." The reason I wrote this this way— and
I still say it was careless on my part— was that I
come here to testify before you gentlemen assuming
that most of the charges leveled against me are true.
MR. KEARNEY. Is this true: "I also permitted my
name to be used in support of the candidacy of
Benjamin Davis as councilman of New York City."
MR. FERRER. I don't remember, but I say it prob
ably was, Mr. Kearney. Under oath I don't want to
say it was. For the purposes of brevity and sim
plicity, in this letter I said it was true.
MR. KEARNEY. We want to know if it was true.
MR. FERRER. I can't honestly, completely say it
was true.
MR. KEARNEY. This letter was written 2 days ago.
MR. FERRER. Yes.
MR. KEARNEY. A lot of the matters you testified
about occurred in 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945.
MR. FERRER. Yes.
MR. KEARNEY. Here, only 2 days ago, you stated
definitely that you permitted your name to be used
to further the candidacy of Benjamin Davis as coun
cilman of New York City.
64
MR. FERRER. Yes, sir.
^Ibid., p. 552.
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189
Kearney was later astonished by the star's vagueness
about an article that appeared in the April 22, 1946, issue
of the Daily Worker, which indicated Ferrer supported the
forthcoming May Day parade. The congressman asked, "Mr.
Ferrer, do you want this committee to believe that during
all the years you lived in New York City, that you never
knew that May Day was the Communist Party day in the city of
New York and all over the nation?" He got this naïve reply
from the actor: "I would like them to believe, but even if
they don't, it is the truth.No information exists that
Ferrer had ever been a Communist.
On May 23, writer Budd Schulberg succeeded Ferrer in
the witness chair and demonstrated to the committee a con
siderably greater grasp of his fact-retention prowess than
had his predecessor. In a telegram received by the commit
tee on April 14, 1951, Schulberg stated: ". . .my recol
lection of my Communist affiliation is that it was approxi
mately from 19 37 to 1940 . .
After reiterating the names of a number of persons
the committee had already heard described as Communists, the
witness explained his reason for leaving the party : he
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190
could not write what he wanted as an individual and still
follow the Communist party dictum of writing for propaganda
purposes only.
Tavenner substantiated Schulberg's point concerning
the domination of the party over its members^ and particu
larly its writersj when two reviews of the witness's book
What Makes Sammv Run? were cited by the committee counsel:
MR. TAVENNER. To emphasize clearly the way in which
the Communist Party changed and followed the dictates
of some directing authority^ I want to read into the
record, just very briefly, some of those outstanding
points which you mentioned in the course of your
testimony. What I am going to read now is from the
Daily Worker of April 7, 1941, and also from the
People's World of April 2, 1941, being the favorable
review of Charles Glenn. This is his language:
"For slightly fewer years than they have awaited the
great American novel, whatever that may be, American
bibliophiles and critics have been awaiting the
Hollywood novel. While they may argue its merits
and demerits I've a feeling that all critics, no
matter their carping standards, will have to admit
they've found the Hollywood novel in Budd Schulberg's
What Makes Sammy Run?"
Now, in the retractive statement of Charles Glenn
published in the People's World of April 24, 1941,
this is what he says, and I quote:
"The first error I made was in calling the book the
Hoilywood nove1."
And I quote again, from the Daily Worker of April 23,
1941:
"Recently I wrote a review on Budd Schulberg's book.
What Makes Sammy Run? I said it was the story of a
Hollywood heel and could be regarded as the Hollywood
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novel. On the basis of quite lengthy discussion
on the book. I've done a little reevaluating, and
this helps me emphasize the points I've tried to
make here. "
He then makes various criticisms, and adds:
"Can it then be termed 'the Hollywood novel'?"
I want the record to also show one or two other
points, so that it may be plain. I quote from the
Daily Worker of April 7, 1941, and the People's
World of April 2, 1941, which was the favorable
review:
"Former works on the film city have been filthy
with four-letter words, spoken and implied * * *
None of these things hold true for Schulberg's
"There is nothing vulgar in what he says, nothing
superficially vulgar, that is. * * *
"Writing in the first person, Schulberg tells of
the good as well as the bad."
Then, after the meeting, from the Daily Worker of
April 23, 1941, appears this statement :
"We do not intend to go into all the aspects of
the conscience of a writer, a conscience which
allows him (with full knowledge of the facts) to
show only the dirt and the filth."
And from the People's World again, of April 24,
1941, after the meeting I quote :
"In a full-drawn portraiture of either Sammy Click
or Hollywood, the people must be seen in action,
living the lives they lead. Even more effective
would the filth of Sammy Click become when counter-
posed to the cleanliness of the people."67
Director-writer Frank Wright Tuttle was the next
^Ibid.. pp. 593-594.
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192
witness appearing on May 24 in Washington. Like Schulberg,
he was friendly to the committee's operation. Richard Col
lins had described Tuttle as a Communist. The witness had
seen Collins's allegation in the press and had contacted the
committee, indicating he wanted to testify.
Tuttle named seven directors who had been Commu
nists, including himself, and added that he thought two of
them, Michael Gordon and Jules Dassin, had left the party.
After informing on more than two dozen more persons
associated with the Communist party, Tuttle explained his
reasons for so doing:
I believe that there is a traditional dislike among
Americans for informers, and I am an informer, and
I have thought about this constantly. I believe all
decent people who share this dislike for informers,
if they think about this carefully, will agree with
me that at this particular moment it is absolutely
vital. In a case like this, with ruthless aggres
sion abroad in the world, the aggressors, I believe,
are as ruthless with their own people as they are
with those they consider their enemies; and I feel
that today it is absolutely necessary for Americans
to be equally ruthless
Director Robert Rossen, in his first appearance be
fore the committee on June 25, 1951, attempted to be both a
friendly and unfriendly witness. He would not name names.
^Qjbid.. p. 629. ^^Ibid., p. 637.
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19 3
ae did respond to Tavenner's comment that he had been named
as a Communist before the committee (and by implication
therefore was one), and the question: did the fact of his
being a Communist influence his decision to change from
being a writer to a producer?
Rossen answered:
Without conceding the validity of your statement,
sir, I should like to say that my interest in becom
ing a director and producer was primarily one in
which (1) I thought I could express my ability; (2)
I thought I could get increased prestige and what
ever economic gains I could get coincident with
this rise of mine in the film industry
He admitted that he had directed a three-act play in
1932, Steel, under the auspices of the Dailv Worker, and in
answer to Tavenner's question about whether he was now a
member of the Communist party, Rossen replied :
I should like to emphatically state that I am not
a member of the Communist Party. I am not sympa
thetic with it or its aims. I don't believe in any
divided loyalty, and in the event this country goes
to war I stand ready now, as I always have, to bear
arms in its defense and to serve in whatever capa
city the country may call on me, against any and
all of its enemies, including the Soviet Union.
The witness then declined to answer whether he had
!ver been a member of the Communist party, including
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'yesterday.
Less than two years later^ on May 1, 1953, Rossen
appeared again and answered all questions posed by the com
mittee regarding his former membership in the Communist
:ty.^^ He died in 1956.
Actor J. Edward Bromberg was on June 26, 1951, the
last and only totally unfriendly witness in part three of
the committee's investigation.^^
He declined to answer virtually every question sub
mitted by Tavenner and the congressmen. The actor died
later that year in London at the age of forty-seven.
On December 15 and 16, 1969, under the auspices of
the American National Theatre Academy, Dream of a Black
listed Actor played at the Theatre DeLys in New York. It
was written by Conrad Bromberg, son of the late actor.
For the next three parts of its investigation the
committee members moved to the place that was the object of
the 1947 investigation, Los Angeles, a city that contains
Hollywood.
Over a ten-day period in September of 1951, the
72
Ibid., pp. 719-738.
•^Suber, "Hearings, " p. 233.
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195
committee heard forty-nine witnesses, some of whom had
little or nothing to do with the entertainment field. The
testimony of the few witnesses who, in the opinion of this
author, were most identified with the theatre is generally
assessed here. The remaining witnesses are identified as to
occupation and whether they were friendly or unfriendly.
On September 17, stage and film director Michael
Gordon rebuffed questions concerning his affiliation with
groups on the "subversive" list of the attorney general of
the United States. He likewise declined to comment on his
"alleged acquaintance" with Frank Tuttle, the director who
had named Gordon as a former Communist. In the event of war
with the Soviet Union, the witness indicated he would fight
for the United States, but he would disclose nothing about
his "personal opinions" on the actions of the United States
in the Korean War.
From the testimony of Larry Parks to the appearance
of writer Martin Berkeley was only slightly more than six
months in time; it was a millennium in the business of nam
ing names. Berkeley was accompanied by attorney Edward
Bennett Williams, who later represented Senator Joseph
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196
McCarthy in his Senate censure hearings. In his nonstop
performance, the writer identified 162 persons as current
or ex-Communists
Williams opened the discussion on September 19,
1951, by noting that Berkeley and his family had been
threatened the night before. A phone call had promised
repercussions if the writer disclosed "names of members of
the Communist Party which had not been known or disclosed
prior to this session.
Throughout his testimony, Berkeley admitted he had
been a Communist but now presented himself as one of the
most vigorous anti-Communists in the United States. The
writer stated that Carl Foreman was then on the Screen
Writers' Guild board and to Berkeley's knowledge. Foreman
had never "disavowed his communism.The witness summed
up his staunch patriotism when he replied to Representative
Potter's question about his past and present experiences
with communism. He said, "Mr. Potter, I believe that anyone
who was then a member of the party or joined the party since
^^Richard English, "What Makes a Hollywood Commu
nist?" The Saturday Evening Post, May 19, 1951, p. 40.
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part IV, p. 1576.
"^^Ibid., p. 1599.
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197
1945 and who retains his membership today is a traitor.
Berkeley completed his name-naming later that day, behind
closed doors, in an executive session of the committee.
Actor Jeff Corey was the first witness to apply a
new color term to his professional work status. He appeared
on September 21, 1951. Earlier that year his fellow actor,
Marc Lawrence, had identified Corey as a person who had
attended Communist meetings. In answer to Counsel Taven
ner ' s question about whether the actor was employed in his
profession in California, Corey replied :
I am really not, sir. My name was brought up at an
earlier committee hearing and since then I have been
gray-listed, if not completely black-listed. Hith
erto I had been quite busy as an actor, but my pro
fessional fortunes have waned considerably, coinci
dent with the mentioning of my name
When Corey was asked if he knew Lawrence, he ans
wered ironically: "I know him as an actor who played an
informer ; with great verisimilitude, in a picture called
Asphalt Jungle. C o r e y did not elect to inform and took
the First and Fifth Amendments.
Writer-producer Carl Foreman, whom Berkeley had
78lbid., p. 1612.
7%otion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part V, p. 1733.
SQibid.
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198
named as a Communist only five days previously^ declined to
answer questions during his appearance before the committee
on September 2A, 1951
The cleverest witness in the ten-day period was
writer-producer Sidney Buchman, who admitted being a Commu
nist from 1938 to 1945, but evaded naming names and also
avoided taking the Fifth Amendment when he made his public
confession on September 25.®^ Buchman was eventually cited
for contempt.
"In contempt he indubitably was, and the House ap
proved the citation by a vote of 316-0. He was found guilty
and given a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of $150,'
Walter Goodman wrote. The committee, he added, "had gotten
its man, but the really interesting question, on the naming
of names, remained unsettled.
Twelve friendly witnesses and thirty unfriendly
witnesses completed the September, 1951, investigation of
the film industry. In addition, Karl Tunberg, president of
the Screen Writers' Guild, told the committee on September
25 that only a small fraction of his group's 1,200 members
Slibid., pp. 1753-1771. G^Ibid., pp. 1856-1880.
^^The Committee, p. 306.
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199
. _ 84
were Communists.
The dozen who responded graciously to all committee
questions were all admitted former members of the Communist
party. They appeared at ease in naming names. Two of them
appeared in executive session^ Eugene Fleury, artist and art
instructor (on September 10), and Robert Shayne (Robert
Shaen Dawe), actor (on September 11).
Two other cooperative witnesses made their identi
fications of other Communists in sworn statements given to
investigator William A. Wheeler on September 10. They were
Miss Anne Ray, writer and wife of writer Melvin Frank, and
Miss Eve Ettinger, story editor for a movie studio.
The balance of the helpful ex-Communists made their
identifications at the public hearings. They were Harold J.
Ashe, magazine writer and C.P. functionary, and his former
wife, Mildred; Mrs. Ashe was described by the committee as
a "communist party organizer." The Ashes spoke their piece
on September 17. On the following day, Leo Townsend, a
writer, gave the committee the names of more than a score
of show-business figures who were party members.
On September 20, 1951, the friendly witnesses who
G^Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Part V, p. 1835.
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200
publicly put the finger on the Reds in Hollywood were com
poser David Raksin and publicist William Frank Blowitz. The
next day the committee heard from writer Elizabeth Wilson
(Mrs. Richard Wilson), who was also able to present the
names of more than a score of show-business figures whom
she knew to be Communists.
Mrs. Bernyce Polifka Fleury, an artist and wife of
Eugene Fleury, was able on September 24 to give the names
of Communists not even identified by her spouse in the ear
lier secret session. Writer George Beck rounded out the
list of friendly September witnesses on the twenty-fifth
day of that month.
Three of the thirty unfriendly witnesses that Sep
tember appeared in executive session on the twelfth. They
were Prokop Jack Prokop (also known as Jack Frank), who was
associated with a dry-cleaning business ; Mrs. Hannah
Schwartz Donath, who listed herself as a "nonprofessional,"
and who was the wife of actor Ludwig Donath (Donath was
later to be named a Communist by actor Lee J. Cobb); and
Miss Bella Lewitzky (Mrs. Newell Reynolds), a dancer.
On September 17, in public hearings, the unfriendly
witnesses were Charles Daggett, a publicist and former news
man (on January 21, 1952, he became friendly); and Percy
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201
Solotoy, furniture manufacturer, who was identified by-
Mildred Ashe on that day as a C.P. member.
On September 18, the committee had to content itself
to learn virtually nothing about Hollywood Reds from the
witnesses, but that was offset by the plethora of names
announced by Leo Townsend. Those who were mute about the
C.P. on that day were Henry Blankfort, writer; Howland
Chamberlin, actor; Mrs. Helen Slote Levitt (Mrs. Alfred
Levitt), former executive secretary of the Actors' Labora
tory, former secretary to actor John Garfield, and described
by the committee as a "functionary" of the C.P.; her husband
Alfred Levitt, studio reader and also a writer; Miss Bess
Taffel, writer; and Herbert Arthur Klein, writer and publi
cist .
The following day marked the appearance of no
friendly witnesses; the committee was confronted with four
uncooperative persons. They were Philip Edward Stevenson,
writer; Daniel Lewis James, writer; Lilith James (Mrs.
Daniel L. James), writer; and Georgia Backus (Mrs. Hy Alex
ander), actress.
September 20 was indeed a full day for the solons in
Hollywood. There were two friendly witnesses (Raksin and
Blowitz) to counterbalance the balky seven under public
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202
scrutiny that day: Robert L. Richards, writer, and his
wife, Ann Roth Morgan Richards, former secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild; Mrs. Ellenore Abowitz (wife of Murray Abo-
witz, M.D.), a lady who was termed by the committee a "func
tionary" of the C.P.; Miss Marguerite Roberts, Michael Wil
son, and John Sanford, all writers ; and Miss Herta Uerkvitz,
architectural researcher for a motion picture studio.
Four uncooperative witnesses made a reluctant ap
pearance on September 21: Max Howard Schoen, D.D.S., a
friend of John Howard Lawson; Miss Mary Virginia Farmer,
actress; Miss Louise Rousseau, writer; and Murray Abowitz,
M.D., member of the Hollywood Independent Citizens' Commit
tee of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions. (Meanwhile, the
committee had ex-Red writer Elizabeth Wilson on hand that
day to aid in identification.)
September 24 saw the last of the month's— and the
year's— unfriendly show-business personages sworn in: Reu
ben Ship, radio writer; Donald Gordon, editor, story depart
ment, motion picture studio; Josef Mischel, writer and
studio story editor; and Lester Koenig, writer and associate
85
producer.
®^A11 testimony and identifications of the forty-
three persons who took part in the September session is from
Motion Picture Hearings, 1951, Parts V and VI.____________
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203
The committee dredged up hundreds of names, many of
them new, to add to its swelling dossier on celebrities who
were said to have given their allegiance to the Communist
party.
In the nation's Capitol in the winter and spring of
1952, the committee members of the second session of the
Eighty-Second Congress heard the testimony of ten show-
business witnesses, three of whom were among the most illus
trious names in the American theatre, director Elia Kazan
and writers Lillian Heilman and Clifford Odets. The gentle
men were friendly; the lady was not.
Kazan appeared initially before a private executive
session of the committee on January 14, 1952, and then again
in executive session on Thursday, April 10, 1952.
In the latter appearance Kazan submitted a statement
declaring that he had been a member of the Communist party
and announced: "I want to tell you everything I know about
It.”®®
His statement told about his nineteen-month member
ship in the Communist party, 1934-1936, the names of the
members of the Group Theatre who were Communists, and how
'^Motion Picture Hearings, 1952, Part VII, p. 2408.
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204
he came to leave the party. Kazan reported he left after
he was asked to apologize and be repentant for refusing to
fall in with the party line. The director^ in his state
ment j said, "I had had a taste of police-state living and I
didn't like it."®^
Kazan described the duties of C.P. members as four
fold :
(1) To "educate" ourselves in Marxist and party
doctrine;
(2) To help the party get a foothold in the Actors
Equity Association;
(3) To support various "front" organizations of
the party;
(4) To try to capture the Group Theatre and make it
a Communist mouthpiece.
The witness's statement noted that numbers two and
four were failures and numbers one and three only semi-
successful. Kazan concluded his prepared remarks with a
complete listing of the plays and films he had directed and
his assessment of the political significance of each
On two consecutive days. May 19 and 20, 1952, the
foremost social playwright of the thirties, Clifford Odets,
told the committee about his experiences as a member of the
87
Ibid., p. 2411.
88
Ibid., pp. 2408-2414.
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205
Communist party. (Odets had testified in secrecy at an
executive session on April 24, 1952.) The morning testimony
of the first day revealed few new show-business names and
dealt largely with the playwright's financial contributions
to the New Masses and various other left-wing periodicals
and his trip to Cuba in June of 1935 as chairman of the
American Commission to Investigate Labor and Social Condi-
. Cuba.®^
The afternoon session revealed that Odets's dis
illusion with the Communist party was essentially the same
as Kazan's. He believed he was writing plays that dealt
with the real problems of America in the thirties. The
Communist party, through its organ, the Daily Worker, criti
cized the playwright for not writing "progressive plays"
and in effect, said Odets, told its readers, "He is stupid,
he has too much talent. He is wasting his time writing
about ordinary, middle-class life when he could be writing
a glorious play about the war in Spain."®®
Opening the second day of testimony on May 20,
Counsel Tavenner suggested to Odets that the committee
^Motion Picture Hearings, 1952, Part VIII, pp.
°lMd., p. 3476.
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206
records show that he had had connections with various
Communist-front organizations aftei h'' claimed he had left
the party; further, these connections continued until June
22, 1950.^^
Tavenner asked: "How do you reconcile your state
ment that your break with the Communist Party was complete
and final with this record of affiliation with Communist-
front organizations as shown by these exhibits?" Odets
summed up the tangled problem of the American liberal:
Well, I will say again, as I said before, Mr.
Tavenner, that the lines of leftism> liberalism,
in all of their shades and degrees, are constantly
crossing like a jangled chord on a piano. It is
almost impossible to pick out which note is which
note. I have spoken out on what I thought were
certain moral issues of the day, and I found my
self apparently in line with your documentation,
I have found myself frequently on platforms with
Communists that I did not know about then but evi
dently are now known Communists. I have said before
that many of these people have some very good tunes.
They have picked up some of our most solemn and
sacred American tunes and they sing them. If I as
an American liberal must sometimes speak out the
same tune, I must sometimes find myself on plat
forms, so to speak, with strange bedfellows. I
have never wittingly, since these early days, have
ever wittingly, joined or spoken on an exclusively
Communist program or platform, not to my knowledge.
I see that one must do one of two things. One must
pick one's way very carefully through the mazes of
liberalism and leftism today or one must remain
•^Ibid.. p. 3508.
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silent. Of the two, I must tell you frankly I
would try to pick the first way, because the little
that I have to say, the little that I have to con
tribute to the betterment or welfare of the American
people could not permit me to remain silent.
Lillian Heilman, America's most prominent woman
playwright, attempted in advance of her appearance before
the committee on May 21 to make a "trade" with Chairman
John S. Wood. The exchange of letters between Miss Heilman
and Wood was introduced and read to the committee by Taven-
Dear Mr. Wood: As you know, I am under subpena to
appear before your committee on May 21, 1952.
I am most willing to answer all questions about
myself. I have nothing to hide from your committee
and there is nothing in my life of which I am ashamed.
I have been advised by counsel that under the fifth
amendment I have a constitutional privilege to de
cline to answer any questions about my political
opinions, activities, and associations, on the grounds
of self-incrimination. I do not wish to claim this
privilege. I am ready and willing to testify before
the representatives of our Government as to my own
opinions and my own actions, regardless of any risks
or consequences to myself.
But I am advised by counsel that if I answer the
committee's questions about myself, I must also ans
wer questions about other people and that if I refuse
to do so, I can be cited for contempt. My counsel
tells me that if I answer questions about myself, I
will have waived my rights under the fifth amendment
and could be forced legally to answer questions about
^Ibid., pp. 3510-3511.
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others. This is very difficult for a layman to
understand. But there is one principle that I do
understand : I am not willing, now or in the future,
to bring bad trouble to people who, in my past asso
ciation with them, were completely innocent of any
talk or any action that was disloyal or subversive.
I do not like subversion or disloyalty in any form
and if I had ever seen any I would have considered
it my duty to have reported it to the proper authori
ties . But to hurt innocent people whom I knew many
years ago in order to save myself is, to me inhuman
and indecent and dishonorable. I cannot and will
not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions,
even though I long ago came to the conclusion that
I was not a political person and could have no com
fortable place in any political group.
I was raised in an old-fashioned American tradition
and there were certain homely things that were taught
to me: To try to tell the truth, not to bear false
witness, not to harm my neighbor, to be loyal to my
country, and so on. In general, I respected these
ideals of Christian honor and did as well with them
as I knew how. It is my belief that you will agree
with these simple rules of human decency and will
not expect me to violate the good American tradition
from which they spring. I would, therefore, like to
come before you and speak of myself.
I am prepared to waive the privilege against self
incrimination and to tell you everything you wish
to know about my views or actions if your committee
will agree to refrain from asking me to name other
people. If the committee is unwilling to give me
this assurance, I will be forced to plead the privi
lege of the fifth amendment at the hearing.
A reply to this letter would be appreciated.
Sincerely yours,
LILLIAN HELLMAN
The answer to the letter is as follows :
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Dear Miss Heilman: Reference is made to your letter
dated May 19j 1952, wherein you indicate that in the
event the committee asks you questions regarding
your association with other individuals you will be
compelled to rely upon the fifth amendment in giving
your answers to the committee questions.
In this connection, please be advised that the com
mittee cannot permit witnesses to set forth the terms
under which they will testify.
We have in the past secured a great deal of informa
tion from persons in the entertainment profession
who cooperated wholeheartedly with the committee.
The committee appreciates any information furnished
it by persons who have been members of the Communist
Party. The committee, of course, realizes that a
great nuitÛDer of persons who were members of the Com
munist Party at one time honestly felt that it was
not a subversive organization. However, on the other
hand, it should be pointed out that the contributions
made to the Communist Party as a whole by persons who
were not themselves subversive made it possible for
those members of the Communist Party who were and
still are subversives to carry on their work.
The committee has endeavored to furnish a hearing to
each person identified as a Communist engaged in work
in the entertainment field in order that the record
could be made clear as to whether they were still
members of the Communist Party. Any persons identi
fied by you during the course of committee hearings
will be afforded the opportunity of appearing before
the committee in accordance with the policy of the
committee.
Sincerely yours.
John S. Wood, Chairman
Wood commented on the substance of his letter to the
•^Ibid.. pp. 3545-3546.
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210
playwright: . . it is in my view that in the function
of this committee we cannot be placed in the attitude of
trading with the witnesses as to what they will testify to
, Miss Heilman declined to comment or answer and
also refused to respond to the committee's questions when
she appeared.
A gentleman with an "implied clearance" in the
winter-spring investigation of 1952 was Hollywood tough guy
Edward G. Robinson.He had appeared before the committee
previously, but unlike Kazan and Odets, publicly rather than
privately. His earlier appearances were on October 27 and
December 21, 1950. In the October appearance he was ques
tioned by members of the committee's investigative staff
because the congressmen were in their districts preparing
for the November 7 elections.
In December of 1950, he appeared before the regular
committee, as he did again April 30, 1952.
The actor on all three occasions was not a friendly
witness in the sense of offering the committee names or
information about the operations of the Communist party.
94Ibid., p. 3545.
9^New York Times. February 10, 1951, and February
23, 1951.
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211
On the other hand, in answering questions, he was not un
friendly to the point of invoking the Bill of Rights.
The actor explained that his voice was hoarse due to
having just completed 250 stage performances of Darkness at
Noon. "It is, perhaps," said Robinson, certifying his
Americanism, "the strongest indictment of communism ever
presented.
Robinson denied he had ever been a member of the
Communist party but admitted that on occasions he had been
duped into contributing to Communist-front organizations.
Congressmen Jackson and Moulder declared that they did not
believe the actor was a Communist. Moulder commended the
actor for "patriotic service for our great country.
Robinson, "humble past the point of embarrass-
It, said:
Thank you sir. You are very kind to say that.
What I am most jealous of, after good theatrical
notices, is my Americanism, and I am very happy
to hear that coming from you.
Believe me. Congressman Jackson, when you said
^^Ibid.. p. 2432.
^®Goodman, The Committee, p. 304.
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that you didn't believe that I am a Communist, it
made me feel good.^^
Playwright Hyman (Hy) Solomon Kraft was the only
other unfriendly witness of the ten entertainment figures
subpoenaed in the first half of 1952. He was called before
the committee on March 20.^^^ His position on answering the
committee's questions came to be known as the "diminished
fifth," meaning that he was not then a Communist but declin
ing to say whether he ever had been.
The remaining friendly witnesses were writers Melvin
Levy, Michael S. Blankfort, Isobel Lennart, and Stanley
Roberts, and musician, composer, and arranger George Bass
in the last half of 1952, Chairman Wood closed his
marathon investigation of communism in the entertainment
world by hearing only four witnesses— writers Bernard C.
Schoenfeld and Roy Huggins, actress Karen Morley, and
director-performer and Broadway play doctor Abram S. (Abe)
Burrows. The writers were friendly, the actress was not.
^^Motion Picture Hearings, 1952, Part VII, pp.
2432-2433.
^^^English, "What Makes a Hollywood Communist?" p.
40. ___________________________
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213
and Burrows was evasive.
Schoenfeld's testimony on August 19 was in the
familiar pattern of a liberal Democrat seeking another out
let for his frustrations about the slowness of social
change. He joined the Communist Political Association, be
lieving that since it had supported Roosevelt for re-
election in 1944, it "would continue to work within the
framework of the existing Democratic Party.His reasons
for leaving the Communist party also followed familiar lines
established by earlier show-business writers. That is,
Schoenfeld found he was unable to function as an individual
artist and still satisfy the rigid orthodoxy of Communist
party propaganda.
Huggins, on the other hand, had been dabbling with
communism since the late thirties, when as an undergraduate
at the University of California at Los Angeles he "became a
Xlarxist. From that time until the mid-forties he was in
and out of the Communist party. His final reason for with
drawal dealt with a larger and certainly more meaningful
concept to the committee than a writer's freedom to create.
102,
'Motion Picture Hearings, 1952, Part IX, p. 4251.
^Ibid., p. 4266.
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214
Huggins stated his "basic reason for" his "with
drawal" when he appeared on September 29, 1952: he felt
that "the party had finally reached a point where you simply
could not be a member of the Communist Party and consider
yourself to be an American citizen. It was that simple
y,104
Abe Burrows, co-author of the hit Broadway musical
Guvs and Dolls, attempted on November 12, 1952, to avoid any
conclusive statements to the committee about his Communist
party affiliations or friends by establishing his personal
ity as that of a vagabond piano player who just liked to go
to parties and "ham" it up.^^^ It appeared from the testi
mony of previous friendly witnesses that many of these par
ties that engaged Burrows's talent were of the Communist
variety. The witness admitted contributing money to support
the New Masses and the People's World but denied ever having
written anything for a Communist party publication.
The thrust of his lengthy testimony was obtuse and
yet cooperative.
104
Ibid.. pp. 4277-4278.
lOSjyjotion Picture Hearings, 1952, Part X, p. 4477.
^°^Ibid., pp. 4480, 4491.
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215
Chairman Wood asked if Burrows had ever been a mem
ber of the C.P.
MR. BURROWS. Well, as far as I have ever been, as
I said, I have never applied for party membership;
if there is a party card with my name, I know noth
ing about it, but, as I said, I did associate with
these fellows.
MR. WOOD. I know, but you can answer that question
in your own express way as to whether or not you
have ever been or considered yourself as a member of
the Communist Party.
MR. BURROWS. I was considered a Communist.
MR. WOOD. You so considered yourself, too?
MR. BURROWS. I was considered a Communist. In my
own heart I didn't believe it, but I think I was
considered a Communist, and that was the whole thing
of my coming here to talk about Mr. Vinson's testi
mony. [Radio director Owen Vinson testified on
October 2, 1952, that Burrows was a member of the
C.P.]
MR. WOOD. You say you were considered by others to
be. You know yourself whether or not you were, don't
you?
MR. BURROWS. Well, you see, sir, by all of the ac
tions I did, all of the material things, all of the
facts, I guess I committed enough acts to be called
a Communist. I am testifying here under oath.
MR. WOOD. Well, what would you call yourself?
Would you have called yourself a Communist at that
time?
MR. BURROWS. Not in my own heart, sir. But I am
here under oath, and I am here to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and
there is an element of truth in the statement that
I was a Communist, but there is also an element of_____
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untruth, and I am left in that position.
MR. WOOD. We understand your position in that re
spect, but now can't you answer on your own as to
whether or not you were ever a member of the Commu
nist Party?
MR. BURROWS. Well, I don't see how I could answer
it any differently from how I did answer it. I
would like anybody's help in this if I could have
it, sir.
MR. WOOD. I understand about the witness who gave
the testimony. You have given a clear answer to
that, but you have not expressed yourself clearly
as to what you have to say about it.
MR. BURROWS. Well, sir, let's put it this way: I
don't deny the truth of the accusations of the wit-
MR. WOOD. Any other questions?
MR. TAVENNER. I might make one comment. You stated
that you desired to use your weapons against commu
nism.
MR. BURROWS. Yes, sir.
MR. TAVENNER. I might say, our observations have
been that ridicule is about one of the most effec
tive weapons against members of the Communist Party.
MR. BURROWS. They can't take it. I know in Russia,
I read daily about what happens with writers there,
and about Stalin likes an opera or doesn't like an
opera, and he likes it to be serious. I read one
item somewhere where they don't like jokes, they
don't like funny stuff.
MR. WOOD. May I resume? I cannot understand how
at this time you can emphatically say you are not
now a member of the Communist Party and why you can
not so clearly express yourself in the same manner
as to whether or not you have ever been.
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MR. BURROWS. Because of my associations, sir, and
the fact that I was around with those fellows, and
I did go to meetings with them, and attended things
with them. I have to go on this case by the objec
tive facts of what other people thought and what it
looked like. I was, by association— by association,
sir, I can't under oath deny that.
MR. WOOD. Well, that is the point. You are not
necessarily a Communist by association; I mean you
weren't.
MR. BURROWS. I didn't say I was by association.
But I say they thought me one, and I was assumed
to be one, and I am not denying they had a right to.
MR. WOOD. You mean to say that to a full extent you
conducted yourself and participated in all of the
Communist activities at that time with a reservation
in your own heart?
MR. BURROWS. Yes, sir. That is very well put.
MR. VELDE. And you did attend Communist Party meet
ings, knowing them to be such?
MR. BURROWS. Well, I attended meetings at which
Communists were present. I still don't know whether
study groups were Communist Party meetings, HICCASP
meetings, radio writers' meetings; it is all kind
of jelled together in my mind. Those were very bad
years for me in the terms of personal trouble, and
my mother and father both died, and I, as a matter
of fact, had to seek help from a psychiatrist, and
that whole period is kind of a painful, very painful
period to me.
MR. WOOD. I am sorry to pursue this line of thought
further, but your participation in those organiza
tions, you say, cast some suspicion upon you, as I
understand it, that others considered you a Commu
nist, but were you actually a member of the Commu
nist Party or any of those organizations?
MR. BURROWS. I have answered that, sir.
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MR. WOOD. I do not mean Communist-front organiza
tions or any other activities that would cast a
reflection on you, but actually attend Communist
Party meetings of Communist members.
MR. BURROWS. As I say, I was at meetings which had
Communists at them, and I was at these study groups
I have told you about.
MR. WOOD. And they were Communist Party meetings?
MR. BURROWS. I imagine they could be called Commu
nist Party meetings. I imagine so. I really am
very vague on that. I am sorry if I sound over-
MR. WOOD. Any more questions, Mr. Tavenner?
MR. TAVENNER. No, sir
Evaluation of the Hearings
Economic determinism, not democratic patriotism,
created the blacklist that fell like a shroud over the
entertainment world in the first years of the sixth decade
of this century.
If the movies employed blacklisted artists, they
were subject to boycott by sundry civic and church organi
zations . If television hired the political untouchables,
it was in the equally compromising position of being on the
receiving end of ostracism by commercial sponsors.
The blacklist was a public relations gimmick in
^07Ibid., pp. 4500-4502.
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219
motion pictures and in television but not to any significant
extent in the living theatre. How, when, and where a the
atre blacklist operated is discussed in Chapter VIII. Why
such a list was so meaningful in most entertainment media
and not in the theatre is briefly examined here.
The blacklist in Hollywood did not start with the
Hollywood Ten or end with John Wood's extended investigation
of communism. Certainly the number of witnesses called by
Wood and the resultant names offered by the friendly testa
ments produced many new movie and television undesirables,
but blacklisting was not always a response to controversial
political ideas.
The Negro as a performer or a worker in Hollywood
studios was a member of a tacit blacklist until the past
decade. In the twenties movie stars such as Fatty Arbuckle,
Mary Miles Minter, and Mabel Normand were persona non grata
on the screen for their morals— not their politics. The
reason, economics— fear of boycott by organizations that
might pressure the ticket buyer into staying away from the
movie theatre.
By the time the Hollywood Ten had returned from
jail. Communist China in 1949 and North Korea in 1950 had
become political threats that stimulated American
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220
demonologists into renewed interest in ferreting out Commies
of the home-grown variety. But whereas in the early fifties
the movie producer or television sponsor lived in dire fear
of picketing or boycott, the entire history of the liberal
New York theatre audience and the Broadway stage militated
against political blacklisting. Therefore, the committee
was forced to turn again to the movies and to television not
only because they were the most vulnerable of the entertain
ment media but also because they were infinitely more valu
able from a publicity angle than the theatre.
All of the big living theatre names appearing before
chairman Wood— Kazan, Odets, Garfield, Ferrer, Robinson, and
to a lesser extent Schulberg, Burrows, and Miss Heilman—
were known to the mass public because of their identifica
tion with movies and theatre and success.
This latter condition— success— undoubtedly con
tributed heavily to their respective decisions to be
friendly with the committee in varying ways and degrees
ranging from informing and ineptitude to intellectuality and
integrity.
The lesser luminaries from the theatre who also
worked in the movies— daSilva, Geer, Corey, Carnovsky, Brom
berg, Gordon and Miss Bondergaard and Revere— were as one
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221
in their reluctance to cooperate with the committee's ob
jectives .
With the exception of friendly witness Marc Law
rence, those theatre and film people who had the most to
lose by being blacklisted managed, each in his own way, to
avoid the problem. The already less fortunate artists stood
fast against the committee and then saw their careers and
incomes, in virtually every case, diminish to almost nothing
for a decade.
Approximately eighty-five witnesses appeared before
John Wood with forty-eight categorized as unfriendly,
thirty-two friendly, and the remainder in a limbo of vague
cooperation without outright defiance.
Elia Kazan, after his testament before the commit
tee, returned to a career in films and the theatre. How
ever, his most prolific and vital work on the New York stage
preceded his appearance as an informer. Budd Schulberg, a
friendly witness, did not return to any significant work in
the theatre after his appearance before the committee.
Kazan and Schulberg subsequently teamed up to direct and
write a hit movie in the mid-fifties— On the Waterfront—
dealing with a theme they had recent knowledge of— inform
ing. Blacklisted Michael Gordon directed ten theatrical
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222
productions from 1951 to 1958, when he returned to films.
Howard daSilva managed to sustain himself during the fifties
in New York on and off Broadway as an actor-director and
teacher. In the fall of 1969 he starred as Benjamin Frank
lin in the hit Broadway musical 1776.
Larry Parks and Marc Lawrence appear to have been
the victims of a reverse blacklist and although they gave
the committee names of alleged Communists their film and
theatrical careers came to an abrupt halt along with the
unfriendly blacklistees. Odets remained active in films and
the theatre after his appearance before the committee and
died in 1963.
Abe Burrows went on to greater success as an author
television celebrity, and Broadway play doctor. José Ferrer
continued his career on Broadway and in films, as did
Lillian Heilman. Miss Revere worked intermittently in the
theatre on both coasts and Miss Sondergaard did not return
to films until after her appearance in Uncle Vanya on stage
in Los Angeles in the fall of 1969. Will Geer became "hot"
in 1970 when he was featured in the film version of William
Faulkner's The Reivers. Blacklisted actor Morris Carnovsky
worked and taught in the New York theatre during the fifties
and his 196 3 performance as King Lear at Stratford,
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223
Connecticut was widely acclaimed.
Actor Jeff Corey became the most celebrated drama
teacher in Hollywood during the fifties and was always
graciously accepted within the studio gates as a talent
observer and critic as well as coach, but never as an actor.
He did one play at the Circle Theatre in Hollywood during
this period and in 1959 played at La Jolla, California in
a production of A View from the Bridge. He is currently
working full time again in movies and television as well as
continuing his active career as a drama instructor.
Besides the heinous conditions caused individual
artists by the blacklist, the majority of the respondents
to this researcher's questionnaire concurred on the theory
that the work of the committee not only destroyed careers in
the early fifties but also significantly reduced controver
sial creativity in writing for both films and the theatre.
There was little reason for an established writer to attempt
a subject he felt no Broadway producer would tangle with and
few if any producers encouraged anti-establishment efforts
by tyro playwrights. Undoubtedly, this dearth of provoca
tive realistic writing gave rise to the absurdist school
which avoided not only social or political themes but theme
itself.
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224
The matter of the time factor in playwriting, polit
ical positions and the intellectual history of the liberal
movement in the United States in the twentieth century
should have been considered by the committee in its 1951-
1952 investigation of communism in the entertainment field.
It was not. Virtually all of the unfriendly artists who
appeared before John Wood were blacklisted for opinions and
positions they held in the past, notably in the distant past
of the prewar social ferment of the thirties. As in the
case of the Hollywood Ten, the majority of the unfriendly
witnesses in the early fifties shared Schulberg and Kazan's
disenchantment with communism, but unlike the writer and the
director they refused to prove their reformation by inform
ing on their friends.
If it was possible in the thirties to be an American
Communist and believe in a coalition government of demo
cratic and socialist elements, it was equally possible in
1947 to surrender that belief when Czechoslovakia became the
last East European country to have such a coalition de
stroyed by Soviet machinations. The committee's failure to
research and develop the anti-Communist background of the
witnesses it deemed hostile was manifest in the transcript
of the 1951-1952 hearings.
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225
No doubt, in the thirties, many of the unfriendly
witnesses of the fifties were sympathetic to Marxism and
truly ignorant of prewar Stalinism in the Soviet Union.
Later, when the crimes and purges of the Soviet ruler and
system became public knowledge, it is certain many of these
same people denounced Russian totalitarianism as they had
once railed against Nazi totalitarianism.
One of the consistent curiosities that threads
through much of the hearings is the reliance of the commit
tee on Communist periodicals to support its case against the
hostile witnesses. While sometimes intimating and more,
often stating flatly that Communists lied to achieve their
evil ends, the committee continuously cited the voice of the
party, the Daily Worker, and Red periodicals, such as New
Masses and Mainstream, as publications verifying the inves
tigators ' charges of communism in show business.
Lillian Heilman's carefully reasoned correspondence
and her subsequent dialogue with the committee was a splen
did example of the manner in which unfriendly witnesses
might have avoided taking constitutional immunity and risk
ing the resultant blacklist.
It is apparent that the overwhelming majority of the
attorneys for the unfriendly witnesses failed to prepare
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226
properly; it is patent in the transcripts that they neg
lected to advise their clients on the possible variables
available when answering the committee's questions.
Surely Miss Heilman's prestige and intellectual
gifts were helpful in her appearance as a committee witness
It is equally certain^ however, that a significant
number of unfriendly witnesses had a sufficient amount of
intellect and confidence to challenge the interrogators'
questioning procedures. Why they did not and why they were
not so counseled by their lawyers remains a mystery.
The committee usurped the functions of the grand
jury without the protective secrecy of that body by making
charges publicly in a purported effort to obtain informa
tion. The committee was able to punish people for acts or
associations that would not be regarded as crimes in a court
of law. The punishment was the loss of their livelihood and
the annihilation of their reputations.
In this sense the committee conducted trials rather
than hearings, and the jury that sat in judgment on the
guilt or innocence of the witnesses was a public court made
up of such self-appointed watchdogs of the nation's security
as the right-wing faction of the anti-Communist American
Legion.
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227
Outspoken liberal and left-wing anti-Communist
watchdogs are also necessary for the security of a democ
racy; the committee's constant bellicose overstating of the
significance of Communist subversion in show business must
have enraged the liberal intellectuals and thus weakened
their rational interest in the real nature of the problem.
Of primary significance and totally disregarded by
the Wood investigation was the fact that communism^ as that
word is understood in this century, has developed in a
revolutionary sense only in countries devoid of a strong
middle class and fraught with economic extremes, whose gov
ernments are administered by a minuscule ruling elite hold
ing sway over an oppressed peasant majority.
Whether any committee member had this understanding
of what factors are involved in communism as a radical
method of social change is debatable. What is apparent from
a careful reading of the John Wood investigation is that no
committee member revealed any such understanding.
This failure to comprehend the historical perspec
tive of communism as a revolutionary force served the com
mittee well in the sense that it could deal with the problem
of internal subversion in a manner that was sufficiently
simplistic for the public to understand and sympathize with.
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228
When national interest in and fear of communism began to
diminish at the conclusion of the Korean War, public sym
pathy for the committee's work likewise diminished. Why
interest and fear waned in the mid-fifties is discussed in
the evaluation of the following chapter, which deals with
that period.
In its 1952 Annual Report the committee managed to
conclude mistakenly that because it exposed certain persons
as Communists, this led to a marked diminution of Red in
fluence in Hollywood films. Obviously, if the unfriendly
witnesses were blacklisted, their incomes were resultantly
diminished; hence, there was less money for the Commie cof
fers. Since the committee never proved there was any sig
nificant Red propaganda in films, the report's contention
that because of this exposure, the blacklistees had less
change of infiltrating their philosophy into films was mean-
. , 108
ingless.
At no time during the Thomas, Wood, or subsequent
investigations of Hollywood film content was the committee
aver able to establish conclusively that Communist party-
^^®U.S., Congress, House Committee on Un-American
!lctivities. Annual Report, 82nd Cong., 2nd Sess., December
28, 1952, p. 40.
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229
line dogma managed to find its way to the American people
via the American cinema.
Rather than exorcising the Red spirits from the
silver screen, the Wood investigation was another person
alized persecution of entertainment people.
Sximmary
Chapter V presented and evaluated John Wood's 1951-
1952 committee investigation of the entertainment field.
Simultaneously, with the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy's
pre-eminence in the area of investigating domestic commu
nism, the House committee conducted its longest and most
thorough probe of Red infiltration in show business.
The Fifth Amendment was used for the first time by
the witnesses who refused to cooperate with the investiga
tors. By the end of 1952, the committee was running out of
publicity-getting names and with the coming of the new
Republican administration, the business of searching for
ommunists in the entertainment field was waning.
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CHAPTER VI
HAROLD H. VELDE AND FRANCIS S. WALTER'S 1953-1954-
1955 ENTERTAINMENT HEARINGS AND THE COMMITTEE'S
1956 INVESTIGATION OF THE FUND FOR THE
REPUBLIC'S REPORT ON BLACKLISTING
Containing international coitimunism by investigating
domestic communism was not the American national pastime in
1953 and 1954^ but such inquiries certainly took up an in
ordinate amount of time in the Eighty-third Congress. With
Senators William E. Jenner and Joseph McCarthy leading the
upper House inquisitions, the committee's new chairman in
the lower House, Harold H. Velde, a former FBI agent who
was elected to Congress on the slogan, "Get the Reds out of
Washington and Washington out of the Red," conducted 178
days of taking testimony from more than 650 witnesses, most
of whom took the Fifth Amendment.^
- ‘ -Goodman, The Committee, pp. 321-322.
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231
In contrast to the general barrage of congressional
investigations, the Velde committee seemed to feel no spe
cific obligation to extend itself much past John S. Wood's
lengthy 1951-1952 examination of the entertainment industry,
Description of the Hearings
After a brief sojourn in Los Angeles in March of
1953— a trip that netted only one unfriendly screen writer,
Ben Maddow,^ and one friendly but little-known actor, Roy
Erwin— the committee returned to New York to hear on con
secutive days in May the testimony of bandleader Artie Shaw,
Broadway choreographer Jerome Robbins, actor Lionel Stander,
and the recantation of Robert Rossen.
On Monday morning. May 4, 1953, in room 1105 of the
United States courthouse, Foley Square, New York, committee
members Donald L. Jackson, Kit Clardy, Gordon H. Scherer,
Clyde Doyle, James B. Frazier, Jr., Bernard W. Kearney, and
Chairman Velde heard witness Shaw weep "with remorse over
'ing been duped by the Communists.
The bandleader told the congressmen he first came
Santa Vittoria .
^Goodman, The Committee, p. 323.
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232
into national prominence overnight in 1938 on the basis of
a record called "Begin the Beguine." Suddenly he was being
called upon to lend his name and talents to many variegated
causesj some of which, the witness admitted, were Communist
fronts. He denied ever having joined the C.P. "I can only
emphatically state I am against the objectives of the Commu
nist Party in the United States," he solemnly averred.^
Approximately five years earlier, in her divorce
petition, Kathleen Winsor, Shaw's former wife, stated that
Shaw confessed he had become a registered member of the
Communist party and he tore up his card immediately upon its
being issued to him.^
The following day. May 5, was highlighted by the
appearance of dancer-choreographer and friendly witness
Jerome Robbins. Velde, "like a frugal housewife, squeezed
out a last few names to fatten the industry blacklist," and
Robbins helped amiably in the verbal decoction.^
U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Investigation of Communist Activities in the
New York City Area, Hearings, 83rd Cong., 1st Sess., Part I,
May 4, 1953, pp. 1151-1193. Hereinafter cited as Hearings,
New York City.
^Goodman, The Committee, p. 323.
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233
At the time of his appearance before the committee,
Robbins was represented on Broadway by The King and I. His
previous New York productions were On the Town, Million-
Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, Call Me Madam, Miss Liberty,
and Two Is Company. His ballets included Fancy Free, Inter
play , Facsimile, Age of Anxiety. The Pied Piper, and The
He admitted that he had been a member of the Commu
nist Political Association from 1944 to 1947 and that his
unit was known as the "theatrical transient group," a part
of the cultural division. At one of the earliest meetings
Robbins attended he was asked "in what way did dialectical
materialism" help him in his ballet. Fancy Free. Since the
choreographer had prepared Fancy Free before attending any
C.P. meetings, he told Counsel Tavenner he "found the ques
tion a little ridiculous and a little outrageous.
Robbins compared what the American Communist was
expected to do with the Soviet artist:
I could not understand how the Soviet musicians
could be accused of writing— I think the word—
formalistic music and bourgeois music, having to
repent publicly and then get a benediction to
move on and continue composing.
'Hearings, New York City, pp. 1314-1317.
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I found this intolerable to an artist. I feel that
they must be allowed to say what they want to say
as they feel it, and that the minute they become
subject to any dictums they're being false.®
Robbins cited his reasons for joining the Communist
Political Association: it was fighting fascism and, there
fore, anti-Semitism and it "was striving to make out of
communism an American form of communism and [he believed]
that it would coordinate with other political parties rather
than be as secretive a thing as the Communist Party became
when it changed back again.
The witness admitted he was wrong on both assump
tions and that he terminated his affiliation with the party
for these reasons and
that the artist was not free; that he wasn't—
that he became a puppet to the Communist line.
Communist propaganda. There was the attempt to
move everything that way.
10
In bizarre juxtaposition to Robbins's disdain for
having his work used as a tool for political propaganda,
were his last words with Representative Doyle before leaving
the witness chair :
®Ibid.. p. 1319. ®Ibid., pp. 1320-1321.
^°Ibid.. p. 1321.
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MR. DOYLE. Now, I have a very personal question—
and I have never met you; I have never talked with
you before, have I?
MR. ROBBINS. No, sir.
MR. DOYLE. Well, then, let me ask you: What is
it in your conscience, or what was it in your ex
perience, that makes you certainly one of the top
men in your profession, one who has reached the
pinnacle in your art, willing to come here and in
spite of the fact that you knew some other people,
who claim to be artists or authors or musicians,
would put you down as a stoolpigeon, and voluntar
ily testify as you have today?
MR. ROBBINS. I've examined myself. I think I
made a great mistake before in entering the Commu
nist Party, and I feel that I am doing the right
thing as an American.
MR. DOYLE. In other words, you feel you are
doing the right thing as an American?
MR. ROBBINS. Yes, sir.
MR. DOYLE. Well, so do I.
Again I want to compliment you.
Now, let me say this, too: You are in a wonderful
place, through your art, your music, your talent,
which God blessed you with, to perhaps be very
vigorous and positive in promoting Americanism in
contrast to communism. Let me suggest to you that
you use that great talent which God has blessed you
with to put into ballets in some way, to put into
music in some way, that interpretation.
MR. ROBBINS. Sir, all my works have been acclaimed
for its [s_ic] American quality particularly.
MR. DOYLE. I realize that, but let me urge you to
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even put more of that in it where you can appro
priately
11
The next unfriendly witness was every bit as hostile
as Robbins had been cooperative. Not since October of 1947,
when the committee first heard articulate, emotional, sar
donic, and unfriendly witnesses Lawson, Trumbo, and their
First Amendment brethren of the Hollywood Ten, had the con
gressmen faced such a tough show-business personality as
actor Lionel Stander. He "whipped up a furious storm in the
course of taking the Fifth Amendment,a storm inter
spersed with enough good humor to keep him on the stand
somewhat longer than the usual uncooperative witness.
Stander was sworn in on the morning of May 6, 1953,
and immediately asked that the lights and television cameras
be turned off because as "a professional performer," he only
appeared "on TV for entertainment or for philanthropic
organizations." His presence before the committee fell into
neither category. The actor added that if his appearance
and entire testimony were seen live before the American
public— "just the way I make it"— he did not think he "would
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 323.
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237
have as strenuous objectionsj but I still might object.
Chairman Velde said that such a request had been
honored before when the cameras and lights might have made
the witness nervous and interfered with the testimony,
inder replied, "I am not exactly calm this morning.
To support his request, he said that as an actor he
liked to give a good performance and in order to perform,
it was necessary to rehearse; this he had not been able to
do. The cameras and lights were turned off only after
Stander agreed to answer the questions put to him by coun
sel .
Stander had appeared before the special committee
on Tuesday, August 27, 1940, in executive session and "de
nied having been a member of the Communist Party and stated
that he never intended to be," according to a statement made
by his attorney at the 1953 session.
From the appearance of actor Marc Lawrence on April
24, 1951 (the friendly witness who identified Stander as a
Communist), to Stander's performance was more than two
years, during which the witness claimed he was blacklisted.
^Ibid., p. 1344.
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238
Throughout the two-year period the witness had consistently
requested to appear before the tribunal to refute Lawrence's
charges and also condemn the informer as a "psychopathic"
16
and a perjurer.
He further charged that in 1948 or 1949 he was
forced to make a nightclub personal appearance because he
had been blacklisted by the major studios "by merely news
paper accusation, without anybody charging me with any
thing . "
Stander supported this thesis, remarking that
through newspaper headlines people get peculiar
attitudes. Mere appearance here is tantamount—
not just appearance ; the mere fact, in my case,
I was subpenaed, is tantamount— to being black
listed because people say, "What is an actor
doing in front of the Un-American Activities
Committee?
When Chairman Velde later observed that the witness
was apparently "excited and nervous," Stander, paraphrasing
an allegation he made earlier, wryly commented, "Not as
nervous as Marc Lawrence, who came out of a mental institu
tion."^^
The next friendly witness had been uncooperative
^^Ibid., pp. 1346-1347. ^'^Ibid.. p. 1354.
^Qlbid.. p. 1355. l^lMd., p. 1369.
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239
during his first appearance before the committee. Writer-
director Robert Rossen indicated on June 25^ 1951 that if he
changed his mind about naming names he would get in touch
with the committee.
On May 1, 1953, the day following Stander's testi
mony, Rossen returned to the witness chair and "testified
that he had been a Communist from 1937 to 1947 and had con
tributed about $40,000 to Party causes3 he gave fifty-seven
names, most all of them well worn by now from Committee
handling.
Earlier that day, Lee Sabinson, who produced Fini-
an's Rainbow and Dalton Trumbo's Biggest Thief in Town on
Broadway and such Hollywood films as Home of the Brave,
Trio, and Counter-Attack. appeared before the committee.
He emphasized that although he was not now a Communist, he
would claim his privilege under the Fifth Amendment when
questioned about past membership
Sabinson, when confronted with documentation showing
his name aligned with Communist-front groups, usually re
plied that he had no recollection of such associations, but
^^Goodman, The Committee, pp. 323-324.
^^Hearings, New York City, p. 1429.
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240
even so he would do the same thing today.
Following the same line of reasoning, the producer,
who was accompanied by his attorney, Osmund K. Frankel,
dumbfounded the committee members and their counsel, Robert
Kunzig, during this exchange:
MR. KUNZIG. . . . I have a photostatic copy of a
page of the Daily Worker of Monday, February 16 —
MR. FRANKEL. What year?
MR. KUNZIG (continuing). Marked "Sabinson Exhibit
No. 6" for identification. It states in a head
line: "Eighty City Leaders Ask Council Seat Gerson;
Issue Up Today." It lists Lee Sabinson, producer,
as one of those who wanted to seat Simon W. Gerson
to the city council seat made vacant by the death
of Councilman Peter C. Cacchione, Brooklyn Commu
nist .
Are you the Lee Sabinson listed in that article?
MR. FRANKEL. You didn't give the date, or the
year.
MR. KUNZIG. Will you put the year in? I'm sorry.
MR. FRANKEL. 1948.
MR. SABINSON. I most likely was the Lee Sabinson.
Since the people elected Cacchione, I thought his
successor most likely should be a Communist, since
the people of New York City elected the man.
MR. CLARDY. Witness, may I ask you this : You said
you "most likely"—
MR. SABINSON. Yes- I—
MR. CLARDY. Did you mean that to be an affirmation
that you were the person so identified?_________________
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MR. SABINSON. I have no recollection of this, but
most likely this is true because I would today do
the same thing.
MR. CLARDY. In other words, you are in no position
to say you were not?
MR. SABINSON. I am in no position to say I was not.
MR. SCHERER. You said today you would urge it?
MR. SABINSON. If the people elected a Communist,
and that Communist died, then I think he should be
replaced by a Communist.
MR. CLARDY. Today?
MR. SABINSON. Yes, if the people elected the man.
That is the will of the American people, in this
instance.
MR. KUNZIG. So, if the will of the American people
were to elect Communists and have a completely
Communist government of the United States of Amer
ica, that would be entirely satisfactory to you?
MR. SABINSON. Whatever the will of the American
people is [is] perfectly satisfactory to me.
MR. KUNZIG. Including a Communist government in
New York, Washington, or anywhere?
MR. SABINSON. Whatever the will of the American
people is [is] perfectly satisfactory with me,
because the people are sovereign.
MR. KUNZIG. I think you have made your position
completely clear.22
In replying to Congressman Doyle's request for
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cooperation with the committee in the area of subversive
activitiesj Sabinson generously responded:
If I am familiar with any subversive activities, I
will cooperate.
And at this point may I tell you that in 86th
Street in New York City on Friday night there was
a Bundist meeting, at which Senator McCarthy was
"heiled," and again at [sici this Friday there is
going to be such a meeting
There was laughter.
Acting Chairman Kit Clardy, who had the dehumanizing
habit of calling any witness "Witness" instead of by his
name, thundered, "There will be no laughter in this hearing
room during the time I am chairman or you will all be ex
pelled from the room— and I mean all.
Whether all meant disbanding the proceedings Clardy
did not clarify.
But there was no more laughter.
Other unfriendly show-business witnesses appearing
during those four days in May were television and theatre
director Mortimer Offner, writer Cedric Henning Belfrage,
playwright and screenwriter Arnaud d'Usseau, and songwriter
Jay Gorney.
^^Ibid.. p. 1439.
24
Ibid., p. 1440.
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243
Writer-actress-director Carin Kinzel Burrows, wife
of Abe, was a friendly witness on May 5, 1953, and a good
deal less oblique in her testimony than her husband. The
committee asked her to name names. She did, but no ques
tions were asked about her husband. She admitted joining
the C.P. in 1940. She believed she quit in 1946. She tes
tified in executive session; her testimony was released by
the committee on the same day.^^
At 4:30 P.M., Tuesday, June 2, 1953, in room 1117
of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in the film capital, the
distinguished actor Lee J. Cobb became an informer.
His statement was given to committee investigator
William A. Wheeler in executive, or private, testimony later
released by the full committee. It was brief and not not
able for any new information other than that John Howard
Lawson had attempted to adapt Konstantin Stanislavski's
acting precepts to prevailing Communist ideologies. Cobb
described this extraordinary venture thus : "The excuse was
that however good Stanislavski was, he would be so much
better if he were a Communist, and so the purpose was to
add the Communist portion to Stanislavski which he was not
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Several weeks later, on June 15, 1953, in Washing
ton, B.C., actress Jean Muir volunteered to come before the
committee to explain why she had not worked since August 25,
1950. Miss Muir testified that she had been signed to play
the part of Mrs. Aldrich in "The Aldrich Family" television
show.^^ The show was cancelled and she was fired, according
to the actress, because NBC had received approximately ten
telephone calls and two telegrams regarding her alleged
Communist affiliations.
NBC put the number of phone calls at more than
twenty but less than thirty
Whatever the number of calls, they were the work of
former FBI man Theodore C. Kirkpatrick, who was also secre
tary -treasurer of American Business Consultants, a group
^^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los
Angeles Area, Hearings, 83rd Cong., 1st Sess., Part VI,
June 2, 1953, p. 2350. Hereinafter cited as Hearings, Los
Angeles.
^^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Investigation of Communist Activities in the New
York City Area. Hearings, 83rd Cong., 1st Sess., June 15,
1953, Part I, pp. 1-18. (Miss Muir testified in executive
session on that day. Her testimony was released by the com
mittee on May 25, 1955, 84th Cong., 1st Sess.)
^^Merle Miller, The Judges and the Judged (Garden
City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1952), p. 38.________
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that published the weekly newsletter Counterattack, whose
aim "was to expose the Communist menace.•
Three months earlier Kirkpatrick's group had also
published a book called Red Channels, the Report of Commu
nist Influence in Radio and Television. The publication
listed 151 names associated with the industry, along with
the so-called Communist or Communist-front organizations
with which each had been affiliated. Miss Muir's had been
one of the names in Red Channels, together with nine sub
versive allegations.^^
Testifying before the committee. Miss Muir made no
attempt to deny that she had supported organizations that
had been labeled subversive by the attorney general, but
she did flatly deny that she had ever been a Communist
With the exception of actress Lucille Ball's appear
ance, the committee's relationship with the world of enter
tainment was, for the remainder of 1953, relatively unevent-
And 1954 was no different. Reports released by the
^^Ibid.. pp. 35-36. -^^Ibid., p. 36.
^iRearings, New York City, p. 11.
^^Hearings, Los Angeles, Part VII, pp. 2561-2572.
("Lucy" appeared in executive session before committee in
vestigator Wheeler on September 4, 1953, and confessed that
she had registered to vote Communist in 1936 to make her
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246
committee indicate that Chairman Velde's group investigated
only three persons on three different days, with almost a
year elapsing between the appearance of the first two wit
nesses and the third.
On January 13, 1954, writer Allan E. Sloane was
added to the list of people deemed friendly to the commit
tee's work.
Sloane had been listed in Red Channels and admitted
to the committee his former C.P. membership and also his
association with Communist-front groups.
As a newspaperman he began to be disenchanted when
he was told to hawk the Daily Worker on street corners.
Sloane rebelled. He said this order was beneath him, but
it was explained to him that this was all part of "Party
discipline."
The witness described the unique use of Communist
code words when introducing people who were not acquainted
with each other :
Socialist grandfather happy. She swore that she did not
ever vote Communist.)
33u.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Communist Methods of Infiltration (Entertain
ment) , Hearings, 83rd Cong., 2nd Sess., Part I, January 13
and 18, 1954• Part II, December 14, 1954. Hereinafter cited
as Entertainment Hearings.
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It involves the use of Aesopian language. When,
for instance, in this particular meeting of the
MWC, Lampe11 introduced me to the lyric writer, he
described him as a terrific guy. When a Communist
introduces somebody to you as a terrific guy it
means you are being introduced to somebody who is
a fellow Communist. When he is called a good guy
it means you are being introduced to somebody who
is known to be a fellow traveler, or not unsympa
thetic to your being a Communist. When you refer
to somebody or.ask about him and are told he is a
bastard that does not mean he is of illegitimate
parentage but an active anti-Communist and to watch
your step. Therefore, I say I was introduced at
one of these meetings to this lyric writer who was
described to me as a terrific guy, which meant a
green light for an all-out discussion of things of
a dialectic materialism viewpoint. In other words,
this is a brother Communist.
MR. VELDE. Was this usage of words you have just
referred to common in your own group or in all
groups?
MR. SLOANE. This was common in the circles we
people moved in— the writers of radio and TV mate
rial. Any fellow writer was also in our social
circle. If you would go to a party, you would
meet somebody. You would tell somebody you met
that person and he would say "He is a terrific
guy." He meant, specifically, a Communist, and
it was a sort of signal. When you hear somebody
in a conversation use the word "terrific" you can
sense that that person is almost sending out sig
nals . You have heard when a male butterfly sends
out vibrations the females hear them. The same
way if you heard the words "terrific guy" come
out and if the conversation was political, you
would bet your last dollar that person referred
to was a Communist .2“ ^
Sloane later explained how he and a lyric writer,
Entertainment Hearings, Part I, pp. 3863-3864.
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248
whom he did not identify, wrote a children's playlet under
the direction of the cultural wing of the C.P.:
. . . Then another time they called, and this time
they said "We would like a little playlet suitable
for presentation by the school children," so another
person and I sat down and figured out this Divide
and Conquer thing. It told how a lot of children
were to be on a stage playing marbles, and along
came a big bully who said "Let me play," and the
children said "No." So he called one of the chil
dren aside and said "You can't play with them be
cause you are a Negro." So they chased the Negro
away. Then he said "You can't play with him be
cause he is a Jew." So they chased the Jew away.
Then before long there was no one left to play.
He divided them all. Then they all came out and
chased him away. He was supposed to be Hitler,
and so the person I am speaking of and I combined
our talents and figured out the playlet in this
manner.
This almost perfectly shows the cultural aspects
of the Communist Party
35
Much to the satisfaction of the committee, and not
without a basis in fact, the witness compared art under
capitalism and communism :
This is the vicious thing about communism, captur
ing an artist. I would also say there is no such
thing as a Communist artist, because communism in
volves slavery and art involves freedom and you
can't have an enslaved free man.^^
In 1948, after Sloane had left the C.P. and was
^Ibid.. °Ibid., p. 3867.
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still believed by Communist-front organizations to be a
fellow traveler,he co-wrote with another fellow traveler,
Millard Lampe11, the acceptance speech of the presidential
candidate of the Progressive party, Henry Wallace.
Sloane testified that he had once named an old
merchant marine character in a radio show Pop Silverman to
please his father. (Sloane's real name was Allan Silverman
and was legally changed.)
The director of the show demanded the name be
changed, saying, "that old Communist line."
"'Everybody has to have a Jewish name in the script,
or an Italian name— why do you have to do that?— fix that.'"
and Sloane did.^^
The following Monday, January 18, 1954, Broadway and
Hollywood stage designer Howard Bay refused to answer all
self-incriminating questions submitted to him by the com
mittee and added that because he refused, "No inference need
^^The term fellow traveler in this instance meant to
the Communist party that a person was not a member of that
party but was knowingly and openly sympathetic and suppor
tive of many of the goals of communism. This was the defi
nition from the left. The right tended to use the term in
the collective as a synonym for dupe, comsymp, fool, trai
tor, and tool of the International Communist conspiracy.
Ibid., p. 3869. 39Ibid.. p. 3874.
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be drawn as to my guilt.
The committee disagreed^ as it had so many times
beforej but the witness maintained his stance and did not
cooperate with the congressmen.
Slightly less than a year later^ on December 14,
1954j,the committee heard the testimony of a most coopera
tive actor-writer-director, Nicholas Bela.
Near the end of Bela's testimony Counsel Kunzig
posed a question based on the rumor that since the expose
of Communist activity in the motion picture industry, the
residue of the Communist left wing had secreted itself in
the legitimate stage in New York. Counsel wanted to know
if the witness had any information on that.
Bela responded that it would be a question of guess
ing but he did not think the rumor was correct, except for
a few, like Waldo Salt, for example, who wrote the book for
the musical comedy The Sand Hog, which was running off-
Broadway
Having admitted to the committee that he had been a
Communist, the witness generously sprinkled his testimony
with expressions of grieving remorse, concluding his
"^°Ibid.. p. 3881. ^^Ibid.. Part II, p. 7269.
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251
appearance by asking to be allowed to stand while he pub
licly repented his errors :
I feel if I am allowed I would like to stand. That
the House of Representatives represents the country,
and the committee of the House of Representatives
is also, therefore, a representation of this coun
try. So I want to thank you for hearing me. I
want to humbly apologize for the grave error which
I have committed, and beg of you to forgive me.
Thank you
For four consecutive days during August of 1955, the
committee's new chairman, Francis E. Walter, heard testimony
from twenty-three witnesses, mostly actors, who "were sev
eral steps below star rank.
These were the only investigations conducted by the
Walter committee that dealt exclusively with the living
theatre and the New York stage.
When Chairman Walter was asked to reveal the reason
for the investigation, "he referred vaguely to Communist
infiltration of the entertainment unions and to the filling
of Communist coffers with Broadway salary checks, but nei-
44
ther line was pursued."
On Monday morning, August 15, 1955, the committee
42
'Ibid., p. 7270.
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252
returned to Foley Square, New York City, and heard actor
George Tyne decline to answer questions regarding his pri
vate and political beliefs. He did not indicate a specific
constitutional amendment as the reason for his position.
He and actor Elliott Sullivan were cited for contempt and
acquitted in 1961, "when the district court found their
indictments 'fatally defective' because the government had
not submitted the Committee's resolution ordering the hear-
The next witness, actor John Randolph, started his
career in the late thirties in the Federal Theatre. When
Counsel Tavenner asked the witness about his knowledge of
a group of Communist Party members within the Federal
Project," the actor invoked both the First and Fifth Amend-
_ 47
ments.
He explained that he had engaged in much television
work until 1952, when he was blacklisted by the vigilante
anti-Communist publication. Counterattack, and AWARE, Inc.
Again he took the First and Fifth Amendments
'^^Entertainment Hearings, Part VI, pp. 2262-2275.
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 378.
^^Entertainment Hearings, Part VI, pp. 2276-2279.
^Qlbid.. pp. 2284-2285.
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253
Actor Stanley Prager followed Randolph and invoked
the same amendments while declining to answer the commit
tee's questions, as did Prager's successor, actor Martin
49
Wolfson.
Actor Lou Polan was next to testify, and like the
opening witness, George Tyne, he refused to answer questions
not on the basis of a constitutional amendment but for per
sonal reasons. Polan said, "I wish to put this committee
on notice that I will not assist you in your lawless efforts
to censor the legitimate theatre or control the entertain
ment field which, in my opinion, are the real aims of this
committee. The actor insisted that he wanted to give h;
reasons for being uncooperative; Counsel Tavenner "per
mitted" him only legal reasons ; the witness said his reasons
were legal; the chair, without hearing Polan's reasons, said
they were not legal; Polan's counsel said they were; the
chair said he could refuse to answer on the grounds that he
did not have to answer; and the witness was excused. He was
not cited for contempt.^ ^
Unfriendly witnesses, actor Phil Leeds and actress
^^Ibid., Prager testimony, pp. 2286-2 300; Wolfson
testimony, pp. 2300-2310.
5°Ibid.. pp. 2311-2312. ^^Ibid., pp. 2312-2314.
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254
Sarah Cunningham^ wife of John Randolph^ completed the first
day's testimony.
The following morning marked the appearance of the
second witness who would be called in contempt of Congress
during the four-day period, August 15-18. Actor Elliott
Sullivan made no effort at constitutional refuge when he was
sworn in by Chairman Walter on August 16. The actor was
advised by Congressman Gordon H. Scherer that he was in
contempt. Chairman Walter responded: "I don't think it
makes any difference to him. So why tell him?"
Sullivan emotionally replied:
Of course it makes a difference, and I have a wife
and two children, and I am very anxious to work and
this is a big waste of time as far as I am concerned.
The harassment that is involved in this is utter
nonsense, and when you make a statement such as you
don't think it makes any difference to me, I beg to
differ with you very strongly about that. It makes
a serious difference to my entire life, my appear
ance here, and I resent that remark.^^
Commenting on the fear that was extant in America
during the early and mid-fifties, the witness explained the
significance of a skit he participated in at a summer camp.
The purpose was to entertain an audience there by
satirizing a condition which exists in this country
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today, and I believe the best musical theater of
the past has always been the kind which has sati
rized current events. In my estimation this sketch
falls into that category. The fact that you are
asking me about a 2-minute sketch that takes place
80 miles away from New York would lead me to believe
that there is [sicl some censorship notions about
your raising the question. Is it your province to
examine material that goes on the stage anywhere,
and to comment on it in such a way that it may dis
courage people from making comments about things
that go on today?
This again seems to me to be contrary to the stated
purposes of this committee, and it very clearly
indicates what I have said in my statement here that
this committee encourages censorship, and it encour
ages fear to produce this kind of material. In my
estimation this is as good a piece of American the
ater as you could possibly get. It presents two
men who are selling the Bill of Rights to each other,
and then the minute each of them buy it, they dis
close themselves as being members of the FBI, or
some other Government agency, and they arrest each
other. Of course, this is exaggerated, but such
is the nature of humor on the stage. However, it
is not terribly exaggerated when you consider the
fact that a newspaper reporter some time ago at
tempted to get signatures to the very Bill of Rights
itself, and out of 125 people, I believe, he suc
ceeded in getting one signature, and the rest were
afraid to sign it or considered him to be some sort
of a subversive, as several of them actually said.
53
Three unfriendly witnesses on the fringe of the
theatre, folksinger Lee Hays, composer Irma Jurist, and
artist Susan d'Usseau completed the second day's question
ing.
53.
Entertainment Hearings, Part VI, p. 2345.
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256
Actor George Hall, an admitted former Communist and
the only friendly witness during the Broadway hearings,
testified the following morning.
He explained to Counsel Tavenner on August 17 why
he now saw that having joined the Communist party was "a
mistake" and why using the Fifth Amendment was wrong and
therefore, by implication, why he was friendly to the com
mittee's investigation:
A mistake in the sense that I concluded that it is
a distortion of the simple truth of democratic
processes. For instance, it was said, or the fifth
amendment was used or "invasion of privacies" was
used as an excuse for not answering, and one of the
reasons was that someone's ancestors came to this
country many, many years ago, and signed the decla
ration, and what have you, and the witnesses testi
fied that they were following what they felt the
ancestors would want them to do. But I don't think
the point was made clear that those specific ances
tors fought, died, and created this country on the
basis of a 2-party system, and I think they would
be twirling in their graves if they thought this
ancestor of today was fighting for a 1-party dic
tatorship.
That is what I want to avoid most specifically, and
I learned to realize that was coming about, and it
was a one-party dictatorship, which is more of an
invasion of privacy than any use of any [gun] which
this Constitution gives to citizens of this country.
The 1-party dictatorship completely deprives, let
us say, 50 percent of those who may choose to vote
or are eligible to vote, by directing that there is
only 1 choice. Our system provides us a choice to
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be right or wrong and to change our minds if we so
choose to do so.54
After announcing that he was going to investigate a
New York theatre blacklist against non-Communists which
created a preference of employment for "people who were
either members of the Communist Party or who adhered to the
leadership of the Communist Party," Chairman Walter made
this astonishing appraisal of actor Hall's testimony:
. . . Every patriot in the history of America has
been proud of the enemies that he has made, and I
am sure that you will be proud as you go along in
life of the enemies that you have made. Your con
tribution here cannot be appraised. It may well
be that it is equal to that of a division of in
fantry, and nobody knows in this cold war to what
extent this sort of a revelation has contributed
to ultimate victory— and the victory will be
ultimate
The transcript of the hearing indicates that there
was no applause.
Actress Madeline Lee, wife of actor Jack Gilford,
used four amendments in her declination to answer the com
mittee inquiries on August 17. She said:
I am declining on the basis of the first amendment,
that you are prying into my personal affairs, be
liefs, and opinions, and on the basis of the fourth
amendment, that this is an illegal search and
^"^Ibid.. p. 2384. ^^Ibid.. pp. 2386-2387.
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seizure of my property, and deprivation by due proc
ess of law of the only thing I have to sell in this
industry— my talent and my good name. I also decline
on the basis of the eighth amendment, that this is a
cruel and unusual punishment that you are inflicting
without due process of law, and on the basis of the
fifth amendment, that you may not compel me to be a
witness against myself
Theatrical producer Peter Lawrence; actors Joshua
Shelley, George Keane, Albert M. Ottenheimer, Alan Manson,
and Tony Kraber; public relations counsel Ivan Black; motion
picture production employee Harold J. Salemson; and theatri
cal stage manager David Kanter constituted the remainder of
the August witnesses who refused to answer questions on the
basis of constitutional immunity.
Peter (Pete) Seeger, "bard of the Wallace movement
and a popular figure in Communist-front activities," testi
fied on August 18, 1955, the final day of the Broadway hear
ings, and "put on a folksy manner in the witness chair," but
soon "dropped the stage business and objected calmly and
succinctly to the intrusion on his privacy.
In answering the committee's questions on August 18,
Seeger followed the examples of actors George Tyne and
Elliott Sullivan and avoided using the Fifth Amendment
'Goodman, The Committee, p. 378.
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refuge.^® As a result, he was also cited for contempt and
sentenced to a year in prison, after a trial in which
Chairman Walter was put on the stand. Six years later the
court of appeals reversed the conviction on the grounds that
his indictment was defective. The reason for the reversal
was much the same as it had been the previous year in the
cases of Tyne and Sullivan, failure of the government to
submit the committee's resolution ordering the hearings.
Seeger did not appear on television between his 1950
listing in Red Channels and September, 1967, when at the
urging of television satirist Dick Smothers he was allowed
to perform on the CBS variety show, "The Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour." He was not allowed to sing a folk song, "Knee
Deep in Big Muddy," which was critical of the Vietnam war
and President Lyndon Johnson. Ironically, the following
year the television series was peremptorily canceled for
reasons Dick Smothers believed to be political, not theat
rical .
The last and most varied talent to be investigated
by the Walter committee in 1955 was subpoenaed to the August
^^Entertainment Hearings, Part VII, pp. 2447-2460.
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 378.
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260
hearingsj but because of professional commitments, he did
not testify until Friday, October 14, of that year. In
Bollywood, unfriendly witness Sam (Zero) Hostel told com
mittee counsel Frank Tavenner he had acquired his nickname
as the result of his "financial standing in the community,"
a reference no doubt to his loss of income as the result of
being accused by Martin Berkeley of Communist affiliations.
Mostel denied ever knowing or meeting his accuser.
In June of 1956, the two-volume Report on Black
listing by John Cogley, former executive editor of Common
weal, saw publication.
The cost of the reports was underwritten by the Fund
for the Republic, Inc., headed by the erstwhile president
of the University of Chicago, Robert M. Hutchins. A teacher
of legal procedure and evidence before he became an academic
administrator, Hutchins undoubtedly riled the committee
toward the end of the previous year when he was quoted as
saying, "I wouldn't hesitate to hire a Communist for a job
ne was qualified to do provided I was in a position to see
he did it.
Entertainment Hearings, Part VIII, pp. 2492-2493.
^^New York Times. November 8, 1955.
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261
The reports charged that blacklisting because of
political affiliation was prevalent in all areas of the
entertainment field except the New York theatre. They fur
ther asserted that the leaders of the show-business world
had given the task of judging and clearing accused Reds to
such organizations as the American Legion, publications like
Red Channels, Counterattack, and groups like AWARE, Inc.,
and staunch anti-Communist columnists George Sokolsky and
Victor Riesel.^^ The irony of this was that the above
"judges" were co-contributors, with the committee, in
creating the blacklist. These organizations and publica
tions relied heavily on the committee hearings and reports
as the basis for their newsletters and press releases sub
stantiating communism's grip on the entertainment world.
The month after the issuance of the Cogley reports
the committee decided to investigate the value of the black
listing analysis. For many of the same reasons that the
committee's work was often chastised, the reports were
equally vulnerable. Cogley's examination relied heavily on
anonymous informers, the use of Miss "X" and Mr. "M" in
place of names, citing individually inadequate investigation
62.
John Cogley, Report on Blacklisting. Vol. I:
Movies ; Vol. II: Radio-Television.
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262
to support a whole concept of inefficient inquiry. Probably
the greatest failure of the reports was their insistence on
avoiding the key issue regarding the blacklisted person's
right to work— national security.
In Washington, D. C., on July 10, 1956, the com
mittee opened its Investigation of So-Called Blacklisting in
the Entertainment Industry by subpoenaing John Cogley as its
first witness.
The interrogation was conducted by the former in
vestigator for the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee,
Richard Arens. He was a tough and sarcastic inquisitor who
intimated that Cogley's former employer. Commonweal, a
liberal Catholic publication, was not Catholic at all. He
charged the investigation with being researched by persons
who were debatable patriots and accused Cogley of being soft
on the Communist affiliations of the "sad cases" contained
in the report.This attack was not altogether unjusti
fied, since Michael Harrington, one of the researchers, was
Activities, Investigation of So-Called "Blacklisting" in
Entertainment Industry— Report of the Fund for the Republic
Inc., Hearings, 84th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 10, 1956, Part
I, p. 5193. Hereinafter cited as Blacklisting Hearings.
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a publicly confessed Socialist^ bitterly critical of the
inequities of capitalism.
Further; the vast majority of those blacklisted were
or had been Communists "or had done their darndest to pass
as such," and Cogley avoided mentioning this rather than
defending the right to work of the suspected persons, re
gardless of political persuasion.
Repeatedly paraphrasing the argument, "This is the
way I wrote the book," Cogley proved to be not only an inept
defender of the report but also the only defense witness
called by the committee
In Cogley's chapter on blacklisting on Broadway he
made this observation, which provoked Arens to ask the wit
ness why he would not describe Paul Robeson as a Communist
rather than a "political person":
In general the few actors who have found it diffi
cult to find work on Broadway are people so politi
cally active that their "unemployability" is based
on the fact that they are a nuisance to work with.
Producers who are quite willing to hire actors
"listed" in Red Channels or even those who refuse
’ Michael Harrington, The Other America ; Poverty in
the United States (New York: The Macmillan Co, 1962).
^^Blacklisting Hearings, Part I, p. 5194.
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to cooperate with Congressional Committees, draw
the line in cases where they feel a performer is
primarily a "political person" who also acts,
rather than an actor who happens to take an in
terest in politics. But these cases are relatively
few in number. The exclusion of such performers is
not based on the existence of any kind of a "list."
Paul Robeson is a good example.^®
Cogley's explanation was that other people "who had
refused to cooperate with the committee by taking" the Fifth
Amendment were employed on Broadway but Robeson was not,
because he had become secondarily an actor and primarily a
controversial political figure and therefore "a nuisance to
the rest of the cast.
Arnold Forster, general counsel for the Anti-
Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, appeared before the com
mittee on July 11, and acknowledged that he was possibly the
"New York public-relations expert" referred to in Volume II
of the Cogley report.Forster was somewhat ambiguous
about his role in guiding blacklisted persons to those who
might clear or rehabilitate them, although he did admit that
uch people did exist and that writers George Sokolsky,
Frederick E. Woltman, Victor Riesel, and American Legion
°Report on Blacklisting, Vol. II, p. 214.
^Blacklisting Hearings, p. 5189.
°Ibid., p. 5229. _________________
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265
representative James F. O'Neil were among them.
Woltman was the next witness and denied his role in
assisting to rehabilitate blacklisted performers^ referring
emphatically to the instance of humorist Henry Morgan. Con
trary to the implication that the witness had made a deal to
plant a favorable story on Morgan, Woltman claimed he wrote
a straight news story about a union meeting where the humor
ist spoke and damned Communists
Talent consultant Vincent W. Hartnett testified the
following day that Cogley's assertion that he was in the
business of exposing and then clearing people for fees was
an "outrageous falsification.
He accused Cogley of "McCarthyism in reverse," be
cause he cropped evidence the way "some unscrupulous poli
ticians crop photographs."^^
In further testimony Hartnett insinuated that J.
Edward Bromberg had kidded the committee by pleading a heart
attack and then went to Ann Arbor to work. Bromberg's son
Conrad recently wrote:
. . . there's no question that five and a half
years of semi-employment will have some deleterious
71lbid.. p. 5242.
72Ibid.. Part II, p. 5292. 73jbid., p. 5300.
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effect on a man's mental and physical health. His
appearance before the Committee was postponed once
because of a heart attack sustained a month earlier.
Letters from physicians were introduced stating that
such an appearance and the accompanying tension and
anxiety would be dangerous to his health. He suf
fered from rheumatic heart disease and its concomi
tant cardiac decompensation^ so that any prolonged
cardiac demand for greater output (such as we find
in times of tension) would further weaken an already
weakened heart. But the heart beats harder not only
at hearings, but sitting at home waiting for the
phone to ring. (As you well know, the phone is the
actor's lover-enemy, because it either rings with
work or silently withholds it.) It's hard to pin
down in terms of months or years how much his life
was curtailed by the blacklist and its effects. I
feel it was, to a measurable degree.
An old face from the 1947 Thomas and 1951-1952 Wood
hearings came forth again as a witness on July 12, 1956.
He was labor leader Roy M. Brewer. He also denied any hand
in clearing blacklisted artists, charges made by Cogley in
his investigation. His attestation said,
I did not want, I did not seek, I do not want now,
any power over anyone. As I said, any influence
that I had came from the fact that I was willing
to work at the job of countermanding the influence
of what I consider to be a very evil for c e.75
The witness later made the observation that he believed
persons identified as Communists by the committee were
7^Based on personal correspondence between Conrad
Bromberg and the author, November 6, 1969.
______^^Blacklisting Hearings, Part II, p. 5323.________
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working on Broadway in the top plays
Paul R. Milton^^ and Godfrey P. Schmidtrepre
sented AWAREj Inc., at the investigation of the Cogley re
port and generally concurred with the committee about the
shortcomings of Cogley's inquiry, as did Francis J.
McNamara, a spokesman for Counterattack
George E. Sokolsky and Victor Riesel submitted
statements that further challenged the accuracy of Cogley's
investigation.
On July 17 and 18, 1956, the committee moved to
Philadelphia for the purported reason of hearing testimony
about blacklisting from an actress and an actor who had been
mentioned in the Cogley report as having been victims of the
process. Gale Sondergaard and Jack Gilford.
The interrogation of both quickly moved from dis
cussion of blacklisting to an accusatory posture by Arens .
He started to bring up the alleged Communist affiliations
of the two artists and provoked Miss Sondergaard into taking
the Fifth Amendment for the second time in that decade and
Gilford for the first. The result was that no information
76ibid., pp. 5324-5325. '^’ ^Ibid., pp. 5329-5353.
78ibid., pp. 5353-5367. pp. 5368-5388.
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268
pertinent to defending or condemning the Cogley report was
forthcoming on the last day of the committee's investigation
of the two-volume document.
Evaluation of the Hearings
Once again, the familiar pattern of cooperation with
the committee by the witnesses that had the most to lose was
repeated. Famous bandleader Artie Shaw, film director
Robert Rossen, and from the New York theatre, actor Lee J.
Cobb and choreographer Jerome Robbins, were the biggest and
most successful names to come before the committee during
the Velde years and their friendly stance allowed them to
maintain or regain their vaunted positions in the enter
tainment industry.
Lee Sabinson, a well established and successful filn
and Broadway producer, was the exception to the pattern and
emerged as the most courageous living-theatre artist to
appear before the investigators during 1953-1954. Not only
was he uncooperative with the investigators, but Sabinson's
candor undoubtedly astounded the committee when he stated
that if the sovereign people of New York, Washington, or
America wished to elect a Red government that choice was
SO,
Blacklisting Hearings, Part III, pp. 5390ff.
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269
satisfactory to him.
Writer Allan E. Sloane was one of the few friendly
witnesses who responded to this researcher's request for
cooperation in the study. Additionally^ his correspondence
waived the anonymity promised him^ saying "Frankly, I don't
give a damn anymore.
Although the three-page letter received from Sloane
was not significant as far as theatre information was con
cerned, it was important because of its human angle. Many
unfriendly witnesses who responded to the survey question
naire indicated strong personal vilification directed at
them for their position, including violence. Sloane was
alone in stating that "midnight phone calls" and "flight
and institutionalization" of a member of his family and
"public disavowal by a church" resulted from his friendly
contact with the committee. He also notes the foreshorten
ing of J. Edward Bromberg's life was related to the com
mittee's activities. Lastly, Sloane states that when actor
Everett Sloane appeared as a witness in radio celebrity
John Henry Faulk's lawsuit against AWARE, Inc., actor Sloane
replied to attorney Louis Nizer's question on how he
®^Based on personal correspondence between Allan
Sloane and the author, March 5, 1970.
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270
happened to be blacklisted, that his name had been confused
with that of a writer named Allan Everett Sloane. Actor
Sloane later received an FBI clearance for his work on a
United Nations radio show but when Paul Milton of AWARE,
Inc. wanted him to meet with Vincent Hartnett for their
clearance the actor told Milton to "Go fly a kite.
The August 1955 entertainment hearings in New York
were obviously one of the committee's last efforts to scrape
the bottom of the publicity barrel in search of headlines.
Hollywood had borne the brunt of the Red investigations for
almost a decade and that particular medium was bankrupt of
attention-getting names. What good purpose was served by
the committee's investigations of the twenty-three actors
was not clear. The only friendly witness had previously
delivered his names to the FBI and received "absolution from
the committee,and the three witnesses who did not invoke
the protection of any constitutional amendment risked jail
sentences, but the nation was certainly no more secure be
cause of their decision. Even if Chairman Walter had proved
Broadway salary checks were finding their way to Communist
and Schuster, Inc., 1964), p. 254.
83
New York Times, September 4, 1955, Sec. 2, p. 1.
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271
purses, which he did not, the twenty-three subpoenaed wit
nesses ' living-theatre salaries were certainly far too
modest to present a threat to the Republic's sovereignty.
As previously mentioned, uncooperative Broadway
witnesses did not always enjoy complete immunity from a
blacklist. During the fifties, actress Florida Friebus-
co-chairman with Margalo Gilmore of the Actors Equity anti
blacklist committee, stated that there were three cases of
actual blacklisting in the theatre during this period which
were reversed by the committee she co-chaired.
There was an agreement between the League of New
York Theatres and Actors Equity Association that they would
not tolerate blacklisting in the theatre. This agreement
was honored in the first blacklisting case to come before
Miss Friebus's committee. The situation involved a New York
director who was being harassed in Baltimore by an American
Legion group and a local radio columnist as he was preparing
a play for a pre-Broadway opening. After a meeting involv
ing all concerned the director returned to work without
further trouble from the Legion or the columnist.
Miss Friebus indicated she did not remember the
circumstances regarding the other two cases but admitted
that her group did not stand behind an actor who had been
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272
blacklisted out of a reading after the circumstances sur
rounding the case had been thoroughly reviewed by both the
anti-blacklist committee and the artist involved. Though
the actor could have pressed his case, and would have been
supported by Equity, he elected not to, based on his own
assessment of his then politically radical views
There seems to be no question that the work of the
House committee did give sustenance to a group of self-
appointed protectors of the state such as AWARE, Inc., Red
Channels, the American Legion and others investigated in the
Cogley report. The month before the August, 1955 hearings
one such evangelist checked on the patriotism of actress
Uta Hagen, who was about to open in a play in Chicago.
ANTI-SUBVERSIVE COMMITTEE
COOK COUNTY COUNCIL
THE AMERICAN LEGION
EDWARD CLAMAGE, CHAIRMAN
1313 W. RANDOLPH STREET
CHICAGO 7, ILLINOIS
July 19, 1955
Mr. E. J. Reynolds, Acting General Manager
Edgewater Beach Hotel
5349 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, Illinois
Dear Mr. Reynolds :
My attention has been directed to a forthcoming play
^'^Based on personal taped interview between Miss
Florida Friebus and the researcher, November 11, 1969.
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to be staged in the Playhouse at the Edgewater Beach
Hotel, August 2, 1955. Among the cast members will
be Uta Hagen, who has drawn protest from a great
number of people due to her activities which a great
portion of it is included in the attached report from
the "INFORMATION FROM THE FILES OF THE COMMITTEE ON
UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES," U. S. House of Representa
tives .
We never hurriedly draft a complaint for the purpose
of having persons punished in any form. There is,
however, one thing for sure, that those who have been
giving aid to the enemy, and those of being disloyal
citizens, certainly are not entitled to our respect.
We believe that it is incumbent of Miss Hagen to seek
a clearance from proper U. S. Governmental Agencies
from the charges appearing on attached report, and
if granted should proceed without interruptions to
seek a livelihood.
I am quite impressed with the cartoon appearing on
the editorial page of the Chicago American, Thursday
July 14, 1955. It deals with the three "Turncoats",
who were captured by the Red Chinese, and now being
returned home. The caption reads, "WASH YOUR HANDS
FIRST". If we are to take this attitude toward our
American soldiers, then by the same token we should
treat all others alike. I read all types of publi
cations, including Confidential which I am not in
a position to share their views or condone their
work. There is, however, in the current issue a
scandalizing item about Uta Hagen.
Edgewater Beach Hotel enjoys a great reputation. As
a lifelong Chicagoan, I am rather proud of the ster
ling reputation they enjoy, and it should be kept
that way. I trust that you will make your own ex
amination, and determine whether or not our informa
tion is correct before making a final decision to
allow Hagen being broadcasted around the nation as
a member of the cast appearing at the Edgewater Beach
Hotel.
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Yours very truly^
Edward damage. Chairman
Anti-Subversive
The committee's investigation of the John Cogley
report on entertainment blacklisting descended to an all-
time low for procedural inequity. Not only was Cogley the
only defense witness subpoenaed, but also he was treated
with caustic severity by the committee's new staff director
Richard Arens. It is clear from the transcript that even
if Cogley had been an able defender of his two-volume re
port— which he was not— Arens and Chairman Walter were more
interested in condemning Cogley and the sponsor of the re
port, the Fund for the Republic, than seriously examining
the volumes. The 1938 precedent of encouraging the pro
committee witnesses to declaim and ramble at will was once
again invoked in 1956 when the vanguard of the country's
foremost blacklisters followed Cogley to the witness chair.
As Walter Goodman properly remarked. Chairman Wal
ter's condemnation of the Fund for the Republic report could
easily have been delivered in advance of the committee's
investigation, instead of at its conclusion, when he
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275
publicly scored it as a "partisan, biased attack on all
persons and organizations who are sincerely and patrioti
cally concerned in ridding the movie industry and radio and
television of Communists and Communist sympathizers."^^
For varying political reasons the issue of Reds in
the entertainment industry was ebbing well before the issu
ance of the Cogley report. The starboard political tides of
1952 swept the Grand Old Party into the presidency and the
dominance of both Houses of Congress. Communism, the sub
ject that had been a whipping boy for two decades for Re
publicans and Southern conservative Democrats, was no longer
political grist for the "out-party" mill. A great war hero
Dwight David Eisenhower, was in the White House, largely
because of his promise to end the increasingly unpopular
Communist-capitalist war in Korea. And only the proverbial
heartbeat away from the presidency was the second most cele
brated hunter of Reds during the cold war— Richard M. Nixon
Now that the GOP was at the helm, the two decades
of waiting had made the Republicans wary of an unnecessary
rocking of the political ship of state, such as subversion
in show business. In 1948, the "outs" had almost captured
The Committee, p. 384.
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276
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue^ only to have Harry Truman wrest
the prize from Thomas E. Dewey in the last few days of the
heated quadrennial election.
Political historian Earl Latham concluded that
the frustration of twenty years had been eased.
Although it had seemed desirable and even necessary
for the more aggressive and less liberal Republi
cans j when they were on the sidewalk looking in,
to throw rocks at the house they hoped to occupy,
they were now inside and had an interest in keeping
the property intact.87
From 1951 to 1952, when John Wood was conducting his
voluminous investigation of communism in the entertainment
world, there was a corresponding decline in films dealing
with social themes. According to film analyst Dorothy B.
Jones, Hollywood had started to move away from controversy
after the Thomas investigation in 1947, and this movement
produced a return to escapist fare and films of an anti
communist nature. This avoidance of controversial themes
continued during the Harold Velde years of 1953-1954. Miss
Jones points out, antithetically, that the two most success
ful films from both an artistic and a commercial standpoint
for those years. From Here to Eternity and On the Water
front, were "inclined toward the tradition of social
^^The Communist Controversy in Washington, p. 400.
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The last event contributing to Velde's disinterest
in scouting for show-business Commies occurred on December
2, 1954, when the Senate voted to "condemn" Joseph McCarthy
for contempt of the elections subcommittee, abuse of its
members, and insults to the Senate during his censure pro
ceedings. And by April, 1955, preceding the August New York
entertainment hearings, it was remarked that "Senator
McCarthy has faded away quite satisfactorily, but the in
anities to which he gave his name still find their voice in
the United States Senate.
Thus, four factors were conducive to the Velde com
mittee's lack of concern about communism in the world of
entertainment.
1. John Wood's exhaustive 1951-1952 examination of
nearly all suspect Communist theatrical artists in the com
mittee's files.
2. The new Republican administration in the White
House and the GOP majority in both Houses of Congress.
"Communism and the Movies, a Study of Film Con
tent," in Cogley, Report on Blacklisting, Vol. I: Movies,
pp. 218-221.
"The Senator and the Economist," Commonweal.
April 1, 1955, p. 669.
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278
3. The tepid themes of Hollywood films in the years
1953-1954.
4. The decline of America's leading threat to the
Reds, Joseph McCarthy, as a national symbol of superpatriot
ism.
The committee's chairman in 1955, Francis Walter,
did manage to find a voice for McCarthy's "inanities" in
his Lower House investigation of Broadway.
Of the approximately two dozen show-business wit
nesses called by the committee in August of 1955, only
Elliott Sullivan revealed any suspect patriotism in his
testimony.
Counsel Frank Tavenner somehow managed to imply that
the sale of the Bill of Rights for one dollar in the summer
camp skit mentioned by Sullivan was ridiculing that docu
ment; and Chairman Walter inanely described the satire as
"an attempt to discredit this form of government.
Such "inanities" lent little weight to the commit
tee's importance as a defender of the nation or as a sig
nificant sleuth in the uncovering of entertainment Reds.
Rather, efforts such as attempting to equate
^•^Entertainment Hearings, Part VII, pp. 2346-2347.
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279
political satire with subversion only served to diminish
further the credibility of the committee's raison d'être
and over-all image. And by mid-1955, as Joseph McCarthy's
image continued to tarnish, the committee needed more pro
vocative publicity for its face than Broadway was able to
muster.
Summary
Chapter VI presented and evaluated the committee's
early and mid-fifties investigations of communism in show
business and its 1956 probe of the Fund for the Republic's
report on blacklisting in the entertainment world.
With the decline in significance of Senator Joseph
McCarthy's role as the nation's foremost investigator of
communism, the issue itself began to ebb. The committee's
1955 search for Communists in the New York theatre did
little for the image of the committee and less for the
domestic security of the nation. Show-business names sus
pect of subversion had run their course and the committee
had lost its number one field of investigation that always
produced sure-fire publicity.
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CHAPTER VII
THE PAUL ROBESON-ARTHUR MILLER PASSPORT
INVESTIGATIONS, 1956, AND THE MOST
RECENT 1957-1958 SHOW-BUSINESS HEARINGS
EDDIE. (He is ancrerincr.) Didn't you hear what I
told you?
ALFIERI. (With a tougher tone.) I heard what you
told me, and I'm telling you now. I'm warning you—
The law is nature. The law is only a word for what
has a right to happen. When the law is wrong it's
because it's unnatural, but in this case it is natu
ral and a river will drown you if you buck it now.
Let her go. And bless her. (A phone booth begins
to glow on the opposite side of the stage D. L.; a
faint, lonely blue. Eddie stands up. jaws clenched.)
Somebody had to come for her, Eddie, sooner or later.
(Eddie starts turning to go and Alfieri rises with
new anxiety.) You won't have a friend in the world,
Eddie! Even those who understand will turn against
you, even the ones who feel the same will despise
you! (Eddie moves off up ramp and off U. R.) Put
it out of your mind! Eddie! (Eddie is gone. The
phone is glowing in light now. Light is out on
Alfieri. Eddie has at the same time appeared beside
the phone booth from off L.)
EDDIE. Give me the number of the Immigration Bureau.
Thanks. (He dials.) I want to report something.
Illegal immigrants. Two of them. That's right.
441 Saxon Street, Brooklyn, yeah. Ground floor.
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Heh? (With greater difficulty.) I'm just around
the neighborhood, that's all . .
This dialogue from the play A View from the Bridge
was written by one of America's most distinguished play
wrights, Arthur Miller, not long before he appeared before
the committee.
The work dealt with a New Jersey longshoreman, Eddie
Carbone, who, in his zeal to keep his niece from leaving his
home, defies one of the basic tenets of the Italian charac
ter : he becomes an informer.
The theme of the play, as analyzed by this re
searcher, is that when a man knowingly betrays his own moral
code, his desire to live diminishes with each day and may
lead him to suicide
Eddie, stricken with shame, finally precipitates
his actual death at the hands of one of those he informed
upon. Through the character of Alfieri, Miller makes an
observation that the playwright was later able to champion
personally and publicly.
A View from the Bridge (New York: Dramatists Play
Service, Inc., 1957), II, 51. The play was originally copy
righted by Miller in 1955 under the title From Under the Sea.
College in Summer Session, 1960. It featured James Coburn
as Alfieri.
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282
Miller, under much pressure to inform before the
committee, declined, undoubtedly remembering full well his
words, "Even those who understand will turn against you,
even the ones who feel the same will despise you!"
Miller and America's foremost black living-theatre
actor, Paul Robeson, appeared before the committee in June
of 1956 to defend their right to retain their United States
passports.
The two witnesses are among the elite of the Ameri
can theatre. For this reason their contribution to that
medium and their divergent involvement with communism, as
indicated in their testimony, is given special attention in
this study.
Robeson, son of a Methodist minister who was a for
mer slave, was born April 9, 1888, in Princeton, New Jersey
Following All-American honors as a football star at Rutgers,
he earned his L.L.B. at the Columbia University Law School
in 1922. The year prior to his graduation from Columbia he
made his New York theatrical debut in Simon the Cyrenian at
the La Fayette Theatre. Before the end of the twenties,
Robeson had starred in London and New York in such hits as
Taboo, The Emperor Jones, All God's Chillun Got Wings, Black
Bov, Porqy and Bess, and Showboat.
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283
In the thirties the actor-singer concertized exten
sively throughout Britain and Europe and added Othello and
The Hairy Ape to his living-theatre successes. He repeated
his role of Othello in New York and on tour in America from
1943-1945. Opposite him in the role of lago was another
committee witness, José Ferrer. Robeson repeated the role
in 1959 at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford on
Avon, England.
Honors proffered him that unquestionably gave the
committee members pause were the Stalin Peace Prize and his
being named honorary professor at the Moscow State Conser-
Description of the Hearings
In Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1956, nine days
before Miller's testimony, Robeson gave one of the most
emotional, pro-Russian exhortations of any entertainment
figure who had ever appeared before the committee.
Richard Arens acted as chief interrogator of the
witness, and Chairman Francis E. Walter presided over the
heated session until he was forced to conclude, "I have
^The Biographical Encyclopaedia and Who's Who of the
American Theatre. 1966, p. 779.
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Robeson's obvious hostility to the committee was
immediately apparent when he demanded that Arens identify
himself by name and position. Arens politely complied and
proceeded with dispatch to pose the $64 question about
Robeson's C.P. membership.
The witness replied:
What do you mean by the Communist Party? As far as
I know it is a legal party like the Republican Party
and the Democratic Party. Do you mean— which, be
longing to a party of Communists or belonging to a
party of people who have sacrificed for my people
and for all Americans and workers, that they can
live in dignity? Do you mean that party?^
Robeson then invoked the Fifth Amendment and sup
ported his right to do so without inference of criminality
by citing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren.
When Arens asked the witness if he had ever been
known under the name of "John Thomas," Robeson testily re
plied, ". . .my name is Paul Robeson, and anything I have
to say or stand for I have said in public all over the
^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Investigation of the Unauthorized Use of United
States Passports, Hearings, 84th Cong., 2nd Sess., Part III,
June 12, 1956, p. 4509. Hereinafter cited as Passport Hear
ings. .
^Ibid., p. 4494.
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world, and that is why I am here today.
When Representative Gordon Scherer complained that
the witness talked very loudly when he was making a speech
but almost inaudibly when invoking the Fifth Amendment,
Robseon bragged that he had medals for his voice and dic
tion.^
He continued his refusal to answer questions until
the name Manning Johnson was mentioned.
The actor observed that he had read newspaper re
ports that Johnson was dismissed from the FBI and concluded,
"He must be a pretty low character when he could be dis
missed from that.
The issue of racism in the committee chairman's
personality was obliquely tendered by the lawyer-turned-
actor when he asked Walter to identify himself :
THE CHAIRMAN. You are speaking to the chairman of
this committee.
MR. ROBESON. Mr. Walter?
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes.
MR. ROBESON. The Pennsylvania Walter?
THE CHAIRMAN. That is right.
^Ibid., p. 4495. ^Ibid., p. 4496.
GIbid.. p. 4497.________________________________
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MR. ROBESON. You are the author of all of the bills
that are going to keep all kinds of decent people
out of the country.
THE CHAIRMAN. No, only your kind.
MR. ROBESON. Colored people like myself, from the
West Indies and all kinds, and just the Teutonic
Anglo-Saxon stock that you would let come in.
THE CHAIRMAN. We are trying to make it easier to
get rid of your kind, too.
MR. ROBESON. You do not want any colored people
to come in?
9
THE CHAIRMAN. Proceed.
Pursuing the racial implications that were perhaps
unavoidable in Robeson's appearance, Arens asked the witness
if he had ever told an audience in Paris that the American
Negro would never go to war against the Soviet government.
The actor retorted.
Listen to me, I said it was unthinkable to me that
any people would take up arms in the name of an
Eastland [Democratic senator James 0. Eastland of
Mississippi] to go against anybody, and gentlemen,
I still say that. What should happen would be that
this United States Government should go down to
Mississippi and protect my people. That is what
should happen.
He later hedgingly admitted he had made the remark.
^Ibid.. p. 4498. ^Ibid.. p. 4501.
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287
11
but in America.'
Robeson unreservedly proclaimed his adoration for
the Soviet Union, where for the first time he felt "like a
full human being." Congressman Scherer inquired why he did
not stay there. The witness's somewhat convoluted reply
Because my father was a slave, and ray people died
to build this country, and I am going to stay here
and have a part of it just like you. And no Fascist-
minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?
I am for peace with the Soviet Union and I am for
peace with China, and I am not for peace or friend
ship with the Fascist Franco, and I am not for peace
with Fascist Nazi Germans, and I am for peace with
decent people in the world.^^
When Arens asked Robeson if he had recently changed
his mind about Joseph Stalin, whom he had once called "a
great man,the actor responded in a fashion that more
than a decade later would be the clarion call of the Black
Panthers Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver, and Stokely Car
michael, one of the founders of the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee.
The accusatory response was, "You are responsible
and your forebears for 60 million to 100 million black
11
Ibid., p. 4502.
13Ibid., p. 4506.
12
Ibid., p. 4504.
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people dying in the slave ships and on the plantations, and
don't you ask me about anybody, please.
Arens responded by asking the witness if while he
was in the Soviet Union he had asked to see any slave-labor
camps. Robeson said that as far as he knew, such camps held
"Fascist prisoners who had murdered millions of the Jewish
people and who would have wiped out millions of the Negro
people could they have gotten a hold of them.
Robeson "brought a stormy morning session to a sud
den close by raising his resonant bass voice to shouting
pitch" and condemning the committee as "non-patriots" and
'un-Americans.
Chairman Walter "immediately conferred with the
three other members present, and they unanimously voted the
contempt action.
Robeson was "inordinately contemptuous" in his ap
pearance before the committee, but the decision reached by
that body was not "to give him yet another stage for his
resonant defiance"; the contempt citation was dropped.
°New York Times, June 13, 1956.
^Goodman, The Committee, p. 391.
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289
rhe committee's ostensible purpose in subpoenaing the actor,
lis right to hold a passport, was hardly mentioned in the
testimony.
On the first day of summer, June 21, 1956, Pulitzer
Prize winner Arthur Miller's appearance before the committee
ivas, in striking contrast to Robeson's, "notable for its air
of sober amiability.
The playwright and novelist was born October 17,
1915, in New York City. He received an A.B. from the Uni
versity of Michigan in 1938. His first New York play. The
Man Who Had All the Luck, opened at the Forrest Theatre on
November 23, 1944. All My Sons followed in 1947, and the
Pulitzer winner. Death of a Salesman, opened at the Morosco
Theatre in New York City, February 10, 1949. Other plays
include The Crucible, 1953; A View from the Bridge, 1955;
After the Fall, 1964; Incident at Vichy, 1965; and The
Prize, 1968.
His novels include Situation Normal, 1944; Focus,
1945; and The Misfits, which was made into a film in 1961
starring his wife, the late Marilyn Monroe.
19
Ibid., p. 392.
American Theatre, 1966, p. 682.
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290
Miller was accompanied by attorney Joseph Rauh, Jr.,
'who was identified with Americans for Democratic Action
rather than with the National Lawyers Guild.
The National Lawyers Guild has often been considered
a controversial, if not subversive, organization by various
private and governmental agencies. Contrary to Walter Good
man 's implication, it was not brought out in the Miller
testimony that Rauh identified himself with either the ADA
or the NLG.
On the Saturday preceding his appearance before the
committee. Miller had received an honorary doctor of humane
letters from the University of Michigan and proudly attached
the award to his educational résumé for the committee.
The writer stated he had received his first passport
in 1946j in 1954, his most recent request for renewal was
refused. He admitted he had been affiliated with organiza
tions that were cited as Communist-dominated but denied
that he was ever "under the discipline of the Communist
Party or the Communist cause.
Investigator Arens then ran through a list of
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 391.
^^Passport Hearings, Part IV, June 21, 1956, p.
4660.
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291
organizations, petitions, individuals, and meetings deemed
subversive by the committee; Miller acknowledged that he had
supported or had been aligned with them in some way.
Using the technique of pleading intellectual vacuity
outside of his art form. Miller agreed that he had in the
past opposed the committee's work. "I know really very
little about anything except my work and my field, and it
seemed to me that the then prevalent, rather ceaseless, in
vestigating of artists was creating a pall of apprehension
and fear among all kinds of people.
For the leading intellectual playwright of the Amer
ican postwar theatre to demean his considerable knowledge
of the world about him was a technique of defense more
easily believed if it had come from a Lionel Stander or an
Abe Burrows. Continuing in this seIf-deprecatory vein.
Miller agreed that although he had denounced poet Ezra Pound
for his anti-Semitism, he had made no similar denunciation
of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, although he concurred
with Khruschchev about Stalin's prejudice:
Now I have ceased these kinds of statements, as I
said, which were befitting the frame of mind I was
in. I ceased issuing statements right and left
except when I am personally involved because I
■^Ibid. . p. 4668.
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found I was being tangled in stuff that I was really
not prepared to defend 100 percent, and I am ashamed
to say that I should have and I did feel I was not
completely ignorant of this. It isn't a matter of
Khruschchev. I knew this before Khruschchev.^^
Miller had signed a statement in defense of twelve
Communists who were convicted in Foley Square in New York
City in 1952 for violation of the Smith Act.
The playwright defended his action in an exchange
with Representative Scherer:
MR. MILLER. I am opposed to the Smith Act and I
am still opposed to anyone being penalized for ad
vocating anything. I say that because of a very
simple reason.
I don't believe that in the history of letters
there are many great books or great plays that
don't advocate. That doesn't mean that a man is
a propagandist. It is in the nature of life and
it is in the nature of literature that the pas
sions of an author congeal around issues.
You can go from War and Peace through all the great
novels of time and they are all advocating some
thing. Therefore, when I heard that the United
States Government wanted to pass a law against the
advocacy without any overt action, I was alarmed
because I am not here defending Communists, I am
here defending the right of an author to advocate,
to write.
MR. SCHERER. Even to advocate the overthrow of
this Government by force and violence?
MR. MILLER. I am now speaking, sir, of creative
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literature. These are risks and balances of
risks.25
At this point Chairman Walter called a recess of
five minutes ; when testimony resumed, it was clear that the
committee had a unanimity of interest in pursuing Miller's
distinction between advocacy and action.
The argument centered on the committee's apparent
desire to compel the witness to say he was in favor of the
prosecution of anyone who would advocate, teach, and urge
the overthrow of the United States government by force and
violence. Miller tenaciously clung to his position that
punishment for mere advocacy without overt and clearly de
fined action could carry over into literature as well as
politics, thus placing the United States under the restric
tions that prevailed in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
Borrowing from the appeal of an author of the eight
eenth century. Miller looked at the problem of the artist's
freedom of action through the eyes of Tom Paine:
I think a work of art— my point is very simple.
I think that, once you start to cut away, there is
a certain commonsense in mankind which makes these
limits automatic. There are risks which are bal
anced. The Constitution is full of those risks.
We have rights, which, if they are violated, are
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rather used in an irresponsible way, can do damage.
Yet they are there and the commonsense of the peo
ple of the United States has kept this in sort of
a balance. I would prefer any day to say, "Yes,
there should be no limit upon the literary freedom,"
than to say "you can go up this far and no further,"
because then you are getting into an area where
people are going to say, "I think that this goes
over the line," and then you are in an area where
there is no limit to the censorship that can take
place.26
Miller vouchsafed that nothing of value had been
written in the Soviet Union for twenty-five years because of
the repression of literature that was not sympathetic to
communism. In justification for the writer's freedom from
political limitations. Miller tried delicately to distin
guish the position of the artist from that of the people.
In answer to Representative Kearney's question— was
the witness putting the artist and literature in a pre
ferred class?— Miller explained in distinctly non
egalitarian terms :
I thought we were going to get to this and it places
me in a slightly impossible position, and I would be
lying to you if I said that I didn't think the art
ist was, to a certain degree, in a special class.
The reason is quite simple and maybe absurd but, if
you are asking me what I think, I will tell you . . .
Most of us are occupied most of the day in earning
^Ibid.. p. 4674.
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a living in one way or another. The artist is a
peculiar man in one respect. Therefore, he has got
a peculiar mandate in the history of civilization
from people, and that is he has a mandate not only
in his literature but in the way he behaves and the
way he lives . . .
The artist is inclined to use certain rights more
than other people because of the nature of his work.
Most of us may have an opinion. We sit once or twice
a week or we may have a view of life which on a rare
occasion we have time to speak of. That is the art
ist's line of work. That is what he does all day
long and, consequently, he is particularly sensitive
to its limitations.27
Betraying his feigned intellectual limitations.
Miller answered Kearney's statement on the artist's living
in a different world from anyone else with what Miller had
learned from Socrates ;
No, he doesn't, but there is a conflict I admit.
I think there is an old conflict that goes back to
Socrates between the man who is involved with ideal
things and the man who has the terrible responsi
bility of keeping things going as they are and pro
tecting the state and keeping an army and getting
people fed.28
The witness was even more dignified and proper when
the name of ex-Communist Elia Kazan was introduced into the
testimony. Miller acknowledged that he knew Kazan as a
director of two of his plays and that he had been a friendly
27Ibid., pp. 4675-4676.
28
Ibid., p. 4676.
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296
witness before the committee. The playwright refused to
agree with Arena's assertion that he had publicly condemned
the director for his being an informer and speculated that
Kazan might direct one of his plays in the future.
Miller explained to the committee that after his
passport had been denied he was besieged by foreign news
papermen from the right and center press. He was forced to
hide out in his Roxbury^ Connecticut, home to avoid them.
Miller's reason: "I do draw a line between criticism of the
United States in the United States and before foreigners.
Much to the playwright's surprise, Arens asked him
if he had co-authored a play. Miller did not remember any
such endeavor until his interrogator reminded him of a one-
act drama he had written in 1939 with Norman Rosten, Listen
Mv Children. Arens proceeded to read an excerpt from the
Curtain slowly opens. The committee members are
engaged in activity of an extraordinary variety,
amid an equally extraordinary environment. Profuse
flag bunting over the walls. There are several
huge clocks ticking ominously. Also a metronome
which is continually being adjusted for tempo
change.
Secretary, at desk, pounds typewriter and, as
alarm clock rings, she feeds the committeemen
^Ibid.. pp. 4677-4678. ^°Ibid.. p. 4680.
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spoonsful of castor oil.
In center of room, in rocker, sits a man. He is
securely tied to chair, with a gag in his mouth
and a bandage tied over his mouth. Water, coming
from a pipe near ceiling, trickles on his head.
Nearby is a charcoal stove holding branding irons.
Two bloodhounds are tied in the corner of room.^^
When Miller described the play as a "farce," Arens
asked if his play You're Next, attacking the House Committee
on Un-American Activities, was also "just a little farce,"
and if he knew that it was reproduced by the Communist
Party. The witness replied "No.
Arens asked if Miller was aware that his play The
Crucible "was the case history of a series of articles in
the Communist press drawing parallels to the investigations
of Communists and other subversives by congressional com
mittees?" The author responded that the comparison was in
evitable and that the non-Communist press had the same re-
Miller wanted a passport so that he could travel to
England to discuss a British production of A View from the
Bridge and to be there with the woman whom he would marry
• ^ • ‘ •Ibid., pp. 4681-4682.
^^Ibid., p. 4684.
^Ibid.,
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on July 13, Marilyn Monroe.
The playwright's contempt citation, issued July 25,
1956, was occasioned by his reply to Arena's effort to get
him to name names. Miller's answer was in keeping with
Lillian Heilman's refusal to inform. He said:
Mr. Chairman, I understand the philosophy behind
this question and I want you to understand mine.
When I say this I want you to understand that I
am not protecting the Communists or the Communist
Party. I am trying to and I will protect my sense
of myself. I could not use the name of another
person and bring trouble on him. These were writ
ers, poets, as far as I could see, and the life of
a writer, despite what it sometimes seems, is pretty
tough. I wouldn't make it any tougher for anybody.
I ask you not to ask me that question. . . .
I will tell you anything about myself, as I have.^^
Miller carried his case to the court of appeals,
which found in September, 1958, that he had not been prop
erly informed that he was risking contempt if he refused to
answer questions based on conscience alone. The contempt
charge was dropped. "Thus the court managed, without becom
ing involved with the substantive issues, to escape the
embarrassment of sending an international celebrity to
^'^New York Times, June 22, 1956.
^^Passport Hearings, Part IV, p. 4686.
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An interesting footnote to the matter involved Mil
ler's alleged C.P. membership card:
As Miller brought his appealj the Committee released
a reproduction of a card, dated 1943, in which "A.
Miller," a "writer" of 18 Schermerhorn Street,
Brooklyn— a former address of the playwright— applied
for membership in the Communist Party. The card was
not signed by Miller, who described it as "either a
forgery or . . . done unknown to me." In the place
set aside for the name of the person proposing the
new member was the signature of "Sue Warren," a one
time acquaintance of Miller's, who had declined to
answer any of the Committee's questions. Miller
called the release of the ambiguous card "a trans
parent attempt to influence the course of my appeal,"
and so it was
During 1957, the committee heard only one witness
related to the entertainment world, actress Lee Grant (Mrs.
Arnold Manoff). She appeared in executive session in Wash
ington on April 1 of that year; her testimony was released
in 1958.
Arens, who had displayed little "Bourbon punctilio"
throughout his tenure as interrogator, asked Miss Grant her
real name and where and when she was born. She answered
that her true name was Lyova Rosenthal and that she was born
in New York City in 1926.
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 394. ^^Ibid.
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300
After outlining her educational and professional
background, the actress stated that she was currently in the
Broadway production Hole in the Head.^^
In answer to the $64 question. Miss Grant took the
diminished fifth," claiming that she was not then a member
of the C.P., but refusing to answer whether she ever had
been in the past or any other questions relating to her
former affiliations.^^
An interesting exchange between Miss Grant, her
counsel, Leonard B. Boudin, Congressman Scherer, and Arens,
concluded with a clean bill of patriotic health for one of
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's advisers and speechwriters :
MR. ARENS. Was your employment in the production
Danger procured for you by any person who, at any
time, was known to you to have been a Communist?
MR. BOUDIN. Could I have a word with the witness?
Will you excuse me a second, Mr. Congressman?
MR. DOYLE. Yes.
(Counsel conferred with the witness.)
MR. BOUDIN. The answer with respect to that, and
^®U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Communism in the New York Area (Entertainment),
Hearings, 85th Cong., 2nd Sess., April 1, 1957, p. 2595.
Hereinafter cited as 1957-1958 Entertainment Hearings.
39
Ibid.. pp. 2595-2596.
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generally, would have been the same, namely, that
Miss Grant got the job through the routine way and
is not prepared to say who were and who were not
members of the Communist Party.
MR. ARENS. Danger was a series of productions, was
it not, or was it a single production?
MISS GRANT. Yes.
MR. ARENS. Danger.
MISS GRANT. You want to know what Danger is?
MR. ARENS. Yes, ma'am.
MISS GRANT. Do I answer this? You don't know the
nature of the television show?
MR. ARENS. No, I don't. At least this record
doesn't reflect it.
MISS GRANT. Danger is like any other of the tele
vision shows that appears from week to week on a
certain day.
MR. ARENS. It is a serial?
MISS GRANT. No, it is not a serial. It is a
series, like Alcoa.
MR. ARENS. It is a series then?
MISS GRANT. Yes.
MR. ARENS. Which ran for how long?
MR. SCHERER. Who was it that played in that? I
have forgotten.
MISS GRANT. There was no lead in Danger.
MR. SCHERER. A different cast?
MISS GRANT. A new show every week like all these
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302
showsj Alcoa or Montgomery or Philco.
MR. SCHERER. Didn't you yourself play it regularly?
MISS GRANT. No.
MR. ARENS. Were you in just one show?
MISS GRANT. No.
MR. ARENS. Did you participate in more than one
show?
MISS GRANT. Yes.
MR. ARENS. There were other actors and actresses
who appeared in it more than once?
MISS GRANT. Yes. You see in all these shows, such
as Mr. Montgomery, for instance, likes an actor, and
he finds in a certain particular play he played a
father best, and another play he does the boy best,
so then he will hire him once every 5 months, you
know.
MR. ARENS. But Mr. Montgomery didn't have anything
to do with this series entitled. Danger?
MISS GRANT. No, I am giving you a going example.
MR. ARENS. I just wanted the record to be clear
that Mr. Montgomery had nothing to do with the
series
Shortly before its most recent public entertainment
hearings on June 18 and 19, 1958, the committee heard on
May 8, 1958, in executive session the unfriendly testimony
of free-lance writer Louis Solomon. His appearance was
40
Ibid., pp. 2598-2599.
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303
notable for its brevity, two and one-haIf pages of printed
testimony, and that no specific Communist affiliations were
mentioned. Only the big C.P. membership question was
posed
In all, nineteen persons testified during the two
days in June, a dozen of whom were related to show business,
with seventeen invoking the Fifth Amendment, one the First
Amendment, and a former official of the C.P., John Lautner,
on hand as the only cooperative witness.
Stage manager Bernard Gersten, employed by the Amer
ican Shakespeare Festival in Stratford) Connecticut, was the
first of the seventeen witnesses to take the Fifth Amendment
when he came before the committee on June 18. When staff
director Arens asked Gersten the usual preliminary questions
about his past employment record, the stage manager gave a
lengthy answer about the "legislative purpose" of the com
mittee. Provoked by the uncooperative and evasive response,
Arens sardonically replied, "Perhaps it would help you if we
had another preliminary question. Are you now a member of
^^1957-1958 Entertainment Hearings, pp. 2591-2593.
Solomon's closed-door testimony before the committee's sub
committee in New York City was made public later in 1958.
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the Communist Party?
When asked if actor Will Geer was a member of the
Shakespeare festival, Gersten wryly commented that there
were twenty-four actors in the company, listed alphabeti
cally; they had equal billing clauses in their contracts
and he could not remember all their names; therefore, he
could not mention the name of one player without listing
all of them. He finally confessed that Geer was a member
of the company but indicated he knew him only "as an actor"
and in "no other way."
Actor-director-teacher Paul Mann, also testifying
on June 18, 1958, read an opening statement that charged
among other things that the committee had "investigated
nearly everybody— from Shirley Temple at the age of 10 to
ex-President Truman.
In rebuttal, when the above testimony was published,
the committee made the following remarks :
The case of Paul Mann was typical. He falsely
accused the committee of having "investigated"
Shirley Temple when she was only 10 years of age.
The truth, of course, is that this committee has
never investigated Shirley Temple. The facts of
the Shirley Temple incident are as follows :
^^Ibid., p. 2480. ^^Ibid., p. 2483.
"^"^Ibid., p. 2500._____________________________
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Twenty years ago^ an expert witnessj in the course
of his testimony before the Special Committee on
Un-American Activities, explained how the Communist
Party uses prominent non-Communists to promote Mos
cow's line, relying on the willingness of many such
people (or their agents) to sign statements without
bothering to read them. As an example of what he
meant, he pointed out that, on the occasion of its
first anniversary, a French Communist Party news
paper had recently featured greetings from three of
America's best-known male movie stars (whose names
he gave) "and even Shirley Temple."
The witness had prefaced this example of how the
Communist Party uses non-Communists and anti
communists to promote its cause with these words :
"I am not trying to make these persons' names stand
out in any odious manner whatsoever." A reading of
the full testimony of the witness in question— a
recognized authority on communism— makes it clear
that he had no intention of implying or hinting
that Shirley Temple or any of the other persons
whose names had been used by the French Communist
newspaper were Communists, pro-Communists, or
fellow travelers.
Yet Paul Mann attempted to use the testimony of
this witness to give new and wider circulation to
the tale that this committee had "investigated"
Shirley Temple, a fable that has been repeatedly
used by Communists and their sympathizers in their
efforts to discredit committees of the Congress
investigating communism.
The alleged investigation of President Harry S.
Truman was not mentioned in the committee's retaliatory
defense of Mann's charges.
On June 18, actor Earl Jones (not to be confused
45
Ibid., pp. 2475-2476.
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306
with actor James Earl Jones) constitutionally declined to
state whether he had appeared in theatre productions of
Strange Fruit and The Iceman Cometh and a television produc
tion of Green Pastures. He further maintained his un
friendly stance when questioned about his association with
a number of Communist-front organizations
Actor-teacher-director Will Lee followed Jones ; he
obviously resented Arens's rehashing questions the actor
had answered in a preview hearing held in closed session.
Before citing the First and Fifth Amendments, he
introduced into the inquiry his Brooklyn education in Amer
ican history. Lee said,
I have been born in Brooklyn; and in Brooklyn, in
Public School 144 that I went to, I was always told
that an individual had a right to select what he
wants to be part of, speak freely, his associations,
and that this was also clearly pointed out to us as
inseparable from the Bill of Rights.
I will not cast any shadow over the Bill of Rights ;
and in raising this question, I stand on the right
as given to us by James Madison and his associates
. . .48
Television director Charles S. Dubin was next, and
using his Bill of Rights privilege, refused to answer
46Ibid.. pp. 2514-2516.
^^Ibid., pp. 2517-2518. p. 2519.
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307
questions about his possible membership in the C.P., the
Stage for Action^ the National Council of the Arts, Scien
ces, and Professions, and if he had been a signer of the
nominating petition on behalf of George Blake Charney, for-
49
mer head of the C.P. in New York State.
Actress Adelaide Klein Annenberg, who had just
closed the previous Saturday night in Jane Eyre at the
Belasco Theatre in New York, was another unfriendly witness
on June 18. She refused to answer questions concerning her
association with the C.P., the People's Radio Foundation
Inc., Howard Fast, and Martin Berkeley. She refused to tell
whether she had taken a public stand on the recent Communist
purges in Hungary and earlier ones in the Soviet Union.
Living-theatre publicist James D. Proctor was the
first unfriendly witness on the second day of the 1958 pub
lic hearings on June 19.
Proctor, employed then by producer Kermit Bloom-
garden for the Broadway production of Look Homeward,Angel,
had previously served as publicist for The Diarv of Anne
Frank and Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.
In contrast to the 1947 hearings, the 1958
Ibid., pp. 2523-2527. ^°Ibid., pp. 2534-2537
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308
committee allowed the witnesses to read an opening state
ment ; Proctor's remarks were generally representative of the
tenor of the other entertainment figures subpoenaed that
year. Replying to Arens's $64 question, the publicist said
I am going to read a short statement, Mr. Arens, in
reply to that question.
I refuse on several grounds to answer your question.
First, I consider your question improper. You are
asking it, seeking to pry into my private opinions
and associations. A concomitant of the right of
free speech is the right to remain silent about
one's thinking, and I have the right— in fact, the
obligation— to resist any such invasion of my rights,
to refuse to discuss or divulge my opinions and as
sociations. I, therefore, exercise my constitutional
rights under the first amendment to refuse to answer.
Second, I do not think this committee has the right,
the authority, or the power to require an answer to
the question. There can be no legitimate purpose.
The only possible results of the inquiry are to
cause me to lose employment since, as you know, any
one called before this committee alone is considered
controversial and, therefore, a candidate for the
blacklist.
And, to publicly assist the members of this commit
tee as a professional publicist, I cannot publicly
recognize the techniques employed by the committee
in that respect. The committee cannot claim it is
seeking information, since it has already questioned
me in closed session.
The committee cannot pretend after so very many
years of investigation that there can be any legiti
mate reasons for the continuance of the investiga
tion at this time. I consider the first two reasons
adequate and sufficient. I know, however, if I rest
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on them alone I shall be subject to harassment and
[the] expense of defending contempt proceedings,
which I cannot afford.
I, therefore, also invoke my fifth amendment rights
to refuse to be a witness against myself and on that
ground, also, refuse to answer the question.
I will add— not because this committee has any
right to know, but only because under the circum
stances my failure to make a statement may injure
my associates— that I am not a member of the Commu
nist Party.51
challenged the right of the publicist to invoke the Fifth
Amendment : "... He is not invoking the amendment in good
faith, and not because it will incriminate him, but because
he will probably face contempt charges and put him to great
expense.
The witness chose to disregard Scherer's admonition;
he was not, however, charged with contempt.
During the June, 1958, hearings, the lengthiest
testimony of an unfriendly witness came from producer Joseph
^^Goodman, The Committee, p. 443. The John Birch
Society is an organization founded by Robert Welch of Mas
sachusetts . Its purported purpose is to furnish information
about the International Communist Conspiracy.
^^1957-1958 Entertainment Hearings, p. 2546.
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310
Papirofsky, known professionally as Joe Papp. The witness,
who was producing Shakespearean plays in Central Park, gave
the committee his dissenting point of view on June 19.
As a student under the GI Bill of Education, Papp
had been employed by the Actors' Laboratory Theatre in
California for two years and later by CBS as a stage mana
ger, a position he still held at the time of the hearings.
The witness denied current membership in the C.P.
but took the Fifth Amendment on the years preceding 1957
In an exchange somewhat reminiscent of the discus
sion by the Dies Committee of Christopher Marlowe, Arens,
Congressman Moulder, and Papp debated the influence of Mar
lowe's great contemporary— and Papp's potential as a Shake
spearean producer— to infuse the product with the Red line :
MR. MOULDER. At any time during your professional
career or in connection with the work that you are
doing at the present time, do you have the oppor
tunity to inject into your plays or into the acting
or the entertainment supervision which you have, any
propaganda in any way which would influence others
to be sympathetic with the Communist philosophy or
the beliefs of communism?
MR. PAPIROFSKY. Sir, the plays we do are Shake
speare's plays. Shakespeare said, "To thine own
self be true," and various other lines from Shake
speare can hardly be said to be subversive or in
fluencing minds. I cannot control the writings of
^Ibid., pp. 2551-2552.
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Shakespeare. He wrote plays 500 years ago.
I am in no position in any plays where I work to
influence what the final product will be, except
artistically and except in terms of my job as a
producer.
MR. MOULDER. My point is, do you intentionally
control the operation of the entertainment which
you produce or supervise for the purpose of in
fluencing sympathy toward communism? That is my
point.
MR. PAPIROFSKY. The answer to that is obviously
"No." The plays speak for themselves. I began
to mention the plays that we did. Maybe some of
these plays might be considered propagandistic.
MR. ARENS. We are not concerned with the plays
and you know we are not, and there is no sugges
tion here by this chairman or anyone else that
Shakespeare was a Communist. That is ludicrous
and absurd. That is the Commie line.
The inquiry of this committee is solely with ref
erence to Communist activities. Communist propa
ganda, the extent to which Communists, people in
the Communist Party, have used their prestige in
the theater to promote Communists ; and for you to
twist this testimony in the presence of the public
press here to give an implication that the chairman
is trying to elicit information from you that
Shakespeare was subversive or this committee is
investigating Shakespeare, investigating that type
of thing, is not only ludicrous, but it is highly
unfair
Musician-singer Paul Villard, writer Richard Sasuly,
actor Clifford Carpenter, and writer-editor-publicist Irwin
Silber comprised the last of the unfriendly witnesses to
Ibid.. pp. 2556-2557.
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appear before the conimittee during its most recent probe
into the role of communism in the entertainment world
Evaluation of the Hearings
In their appearances before the committee, Paul
Robeson and Arthur Miller represented not only widely diver
sified attitudes toward communism, but also vastly different
emotional approaches to the investigators' questions.
Robeson was in the best theatrical tradition of the
Hollywood Ten, demonstrating sarcasm, irascibility, rude
ness, and generally unsavory and unacceptable behavior,
publicly, before a Congressional committee. On the other
hand, the 1955 Walter committee proved no more adept at
handling obstreperous witnesses than had the 1947 Thomas
aggregate.
One of the purported reasons for the untimely con
clusion of the first Hollywood hearings was the fact that
the press was having a field day with the witnesses' bad
manners, and, more importantly, the committee's response in
kind. Undoubtedly sensing the possibility of a repetition
of this bad publicity, the Walter committee wisely decided
to avoid allowing Robeson a return performance on the public
Ibid.. pp. 2656ff.
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313
stage and dropped his contempt citation. If there was one
area the committee consistently showed a sensitivity for, it
was publicity.
The vast majority of those persons interviewed for
this study indicated they believed the committee's real pur
pose was not hunting dangerous Red show-business subver
sives, but rather publicizing the patriotism of the investi
gators for their own political expediency.
In contrast, the investigators were at their best
and most docile when confronted with a calm witness of in
tellectual and literary reputation— such as Lillian Heilman
or Arthur Miller.
Though Miller endeavored to present himself to the
committee as an artist somewhat removed from and above the
world of domestic politics, his efforts were not entirely
successful. Miller, because of his celebrated position in
American letters, was in a better situation than any pre
vious witness to develop the historical time factor in the
Communist movement in America. By 1956, his writing career
had covered more than two decades and his testimony alluded
sporadically to his own metamorphosis as a progressive who,
as he matured, became increasingly disenchanted with Commu-
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314
Miller's admission of his youthful affiliation with
groups that were later named by the committee as having been
Red dominated was the ideal circumstance for an in-depth
discussion by the playwright of the constantly changing
attitudes toward communism evidenced by the American liberal
AlsOj Miller obviously knew he would be confronted
with the above charges. In view of the fact that he had
already written The Crucible, which severely condemned the
practice of witch hunting in early Massachusetts, this point
in his testimony was the perfect juncture for the playwright
to present a prepared statement about his feelings relevant
to the committee's real, not purported, role in American
history. Rather than take this opportunity, he simply ad
mitted he had opposed the committee's work in the past be
cause the investigations caused fear and apprehension in
artists as well as other people.
In Miller's subsequent discussion with the committee
regarding the distinction between advocacy and action, the
playwright missed a second opportunity to clearly enunciate
a position on changing ideas he held over the years and the
action he had taken to implement those ideas. His general
observations on advocacy and action were valid; however, the
playwright's failure to put those observations in the
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315
perspective of his own public life and professional career,
particularly as they related to his changing views on com
munism, was another improper choice made by the witness.
On the asset side of the playwright's appearance was
Miller's sensitive, though occasionally snobbish, observa
tions on the historical role of the artist in society. His
general theme that men such as he were in a special class
because they dealt with opinions and a view of life that the
common fellow had no time for, may not have endeared him to
the committee, but the thesis must certainly have buoyed his
followers in the intellectual community. Lastly, and much
to the playwright's credit, was his refusal to name names
or to publicly deprecate his old friend Elia Kazan's role
as an informer.
Not to be disregarded in assessing Arthur Miller's
decisions during and before his testimony was the rather
human fact that he was then about to marry the foremost sex
symbol of modern motion pictures, Marilyn Monroe, and any
unnecessary provocation of the committee might have delayed
their honeymoon in England.
The dozen unfriendly show-business witnesses called
in June of 1958 represented the end of the rope for the
committee's twenty-year on-again off-again investigation of
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316
communism in the entertainment field. None of the sub
poenaed persons were anywhere near star status and therefore
incapable of producing headlines for the always publicity
conscious committee.
In its Annual Report for 1958, the committee noted
it was struck by the "agility" of the June witnesses
as they protected the Communist conspiracy and the
identity of its members. They [the witnesses] were
more concerned with villifying [sic] the committee
than with providing the Congress with the sort of
information that would be of help in enacting legis
lation vital to the security of the nation.
The report went on.
They [the witnesses] injected into the hearings
statements designed to arouse sympathy for them
selves as persecuted martyrs, attempted to becloud
the real issues and made unfounded statements in
their efforts to discredit this committee.
The summation obliquely concluded, "By indirection, however,
they unwittingly supplied the committee with valuable in
formation."^^
The committee had a continuing responsibility to
report on the current status of the alleged menace they
always referred to as the Communist conspiracy. Was this
conspiracy international in scope in 1958 in the same way
^^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
Activities, Annual Report, 1958, 86th Cong., 1st Sess., p.
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317
the committee believed it to be in 1938? And if so, were
these dozen minor show-business persons truly being directed
from the Kremlin in any destructive or meaningful manner
that would in any way seriously jeopardize the interests of
America? The answer is "unlikely" in both cases. Were
these witnesses in possession of any information that might
have helped the committee in enacting legislation vital to
the security of the nation? The answer again is if the
dozen did have such crucial information and had chosen to
reveal it to the committee, it is also unlikely that the
congressmen would have proposed any legislation vital to the
security of the Republic.
Through thousands of investigations over a twenty-
year period, in and out of the entertainment world, no law
or laws remotely connected with the vital security of the
nation ever resulted from the committee's work.
Summary
Chapter VII presented and evaluated the 1956 pass
port hearings of Paul Robeson and Arthur Miller and the
committee's most recent 1958 investigation of the entertain
ment field.
The committee was at its worst and best as they
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318
responded to the different personalities of Robeson and
Miller. The actor created an atmosphere of tension and
emotion and the playwright, in contrast, appealed to the
intellect of the investigators. The committee responded in
kind to each man.
The June, 1958, House Committee on Un-American
Activities probe concluded two decades of investigating
Communists in the entertainment world.
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CHAPTER VIII
THE 1969-1970 NEW PRIMARY DATA GATHERED FROM
CORRESPONDENCE, QUESTIONNAIRES, AND
PERSONAL TAPED INTERVIEWS
Appendix A of this study contains the names of
seventy-two friendly witnesses and the approximately 325
persons they identified as Communists. On January 15, 1970,
100 requests (roughly 25 per cent of the above total) for
new information were mailed to seventy persons named as
Communists before the committee who did not subsequently
appear as friendly witnesses, twenty friendly witnesses and
ten non-witnesses. The requests contained a cover letter,
questionnaire, and a return-self-addressed stamped envelope
bearing this researcher's name.^ On February 15, 1970, a
reminder was sent to those persons who had not yet responded
to the first mailing. March 14, 1970, was the last date new
A sample copy of the cover letter and questionnaire
appears in Appendix D of this study.
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320
information was incorporated into this study.
The twenty friendly witnesses and the seventy per
sons identified as Communists were chosen (1) on the basis
of this researcher's professional theatrical knowledge of
the artists whose careers seemed most linked to the living
theatre, and (2) the figures of twenty and seventy consti
tute roughly 25 per cent of the total of each group identi
fied in Appendix A. The remaining ten non-witnesses were
selected on the basis of particular information they might
offer to the study due to their occupations or unique in
sights into the subject matter of the research. This latter
group of ten were also selected on the basis of this re
searcher's professional judgment.
Additionally, twelve persons were interviewed per
sonally on tape by this writer. They were selected on the
same basis as the ten non-witnesses and where possible were
given copies of the questionnaire in advance of the inter-
Thirty-six persons responded to the cover letter and
questionnaire with twenty-two filling out the questionnaire
and fourteen answering by letter only. No friendly wit
nesses answered the questionnaire. Only one friendly wit
ness was found who was willing to discuss the subject of
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321
this study with this researcher.
The forty-eight persons who responded to this re
searcher's request for information were writers Albert
Maltz, Lester Cole, John Howard Lawson, Ring Lardner, Jr.,
Budd Schulberg, Paul Jarrico, Isobel Lennart, Frank Tarloff,
David Lang, Allan Sloane, Louis Solomon, Pauline Townsend,
Elizabeth Wilson, Melvin Levy, Wilma Shore, Silvia Richards,
Michael Blankfort, Robert Lees, Robert Richards, Hy Kraft,
Howard Dimsdale, Harold Buchraan, and Ben Barzman; actors
Jeff Corey, Mary Virginia Farmer, Will Geer, Lloyd Gough,
Rose Hobart, Victor Kilian, Martin Wolfson, Marsha Hunt,
Howard daSilva, Florida Friebus, Lee Grant, Frank Maxwell,
Ralph Bellamy, Adelaide Klein Annenberg, and Georgia Backus ;
directors Herbert Biberman, Michael Gordon, Vincent Sherman,
Carl Foreman, and Elia Kazan; producers Shepard Traube and
Adrian Scott; drama critic John Crosby, actor's agent Jack
Fields, and professional informer Harvey Matusow.
One director, one producer, and seven writers indi
cated in their letters that they felt they could offer
little information about the living theatre. One writer's
office stated he was out of the country and the matter would
be turned over to him when he returned, and another writer
evidenced a vacillating interest in the study for highly
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322
personal and emotional reasons and promised information
eventually. No subsequent response from either was avail
able at the time of this writing. A director replied that
he was planning a book on his experiences with the committee
and therefore did not wish to simplify the matter for this
study. And lastly, a writer declined to cooperate, stating
"This whole problem is so long ago and so distasteful to me
that even at this period I find little empathy in any fur
ther investigation in the matter."
The majority of the thirteen persons mentioned in
the preceding paragraph, who decided not to cooperate in
this study, appeared before the committee as cooperative
witnesses.
All of the following answers to the queries posed
in the questionnaire were paraphrased for brevity and clar
ity except where direct quotes were deemed significant.
Presentation of the Data
Under the category of Probable Effects of the com
mittee's work on the American theatre the following obser
vations were made regarding the achievement of that coun
cil's purposes as stated on page 1 of this study and page 1
of the questionnaire.
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323
A blacklisted writer believed the purpose of the
committee was unconstitutional because what it succeeded in
doing in part was to pervert the Constitution. He further
stated that the committee frightened writers from writing
what they might have wanted to write, thus keeping from the
audience points of view which the investigators opposed.
A witness who appeared in executive session and
relied on constitutional privilege when asked to name names
felt the committee was exclusively a "publicity-getting
group of men who had no morality or real principles except
to get their names into print." The witness further ob
served that "attacking Hollywood stars was juicy stuff for
making headlines" and that "Martin Dies and all of his suc
cessors were of the same stripe, small-minded men of little
integrity and conscience who made national reputations out
of the great Red scare."
An actor who was an unfriendly witness stated the
committee never defined what un-American meant. The actor
also shared an observation with a blacklisted writer con
cerning the fact that the committee did not propose a single
piece of legislation during the twenty-year period analyzed
in this study.
A blacklisted writer commenting on the committee's
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324
purposes declared that "attacking private enterprise and
advocating socialism or government ownership is a change in
economics, not necessarily a change in the form of govern
ment." He then offered the question, "Would propaganda for
publicly-owned power be deemed subversive?"
A member of the Hollywood Ten thought the commit
tee's intention to investigate propaganda was patently il
legal because it involved "an attempt to impose political
censorship on the expression or circulation of ideas, opin
ions, beliefs,— activities which are the right of every
citizen, a right clearly protected by the First Amendment."
A writer who took the diminished Fifth said that
the committee was not interested in the Communist party of
the United States, but rather, its interest was primarily
and almost exclusively in the so-called Front Organizations
and individual liberals. The writer believed that the com
mittee did succeed in the sense that they liquidated a num
ber of progressive organizations and immobilized individ
uals through blacklist and imprisonment. However, he con
cluded they never proved any link between American pro
gressive organizations and propaganda instigated by foreign
countries.
Another blacklisted writer felt that since Congress
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325
cannot legislate in the area of opinion, according to the
First Amendment to the Constitution, it should not be
allowed to investigate in that area. He further observed
that although the committee had a lack of success in
achieving its stated purposes, that did not prevent them
from achieving an unstated purpose, "the suppression of
dissent"; in that, he said, "it was quite successful, and
for quite a long time."
A blacklisted director observed that the stated
purposes of the committee were ambiguous, and that words
like "un-American" and "subversive" were generalizations
that defy precise and objective definitions.
A blacklisted writer who was not a witness replied
that if there were any foreign subversion, it would cer
tainly have been under attack by J. Edgar Hoover.
An actor who took the Fifth Amendment felt that the
rhetoric describing the committee's function was only rele
vant in "an environment of intense subversion and incipient
treason" which was not "the context of the world the com
mittee presumed to investigate and therefore the resolution
was so much demagogy."
Another blacklisted writer and witness concluded
the investigators succeeded brilliantly in their real aim.
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326
to completely silence the millions of liberal Americans—
not the comparative handful of Communists."
Another member of the Hollywood Ten asserted that
no Communist propaganda was ever found in films, radio, or
television because it was not there and that the "search"
was "phony and thoroughly political" and they (the commit
tee) "attacked labeled individuals and damned their work
along with their labeling."
A non-witness believed the committee's record was a
serious blight on the history of Congress and felt the final
proof of that statement was the committee's 1969 request to
change their name because "it had become anathema wherever
it was heard."
A blacklisted writer who was forced to leave the
country to secure work stated that the real targets of the
committee were those who "on the international level had
opposed the rise of Nazism and Fascism, and on the domestic
level who had fought against minority discrimination, rights
of union organization etcetera." He concluded, "... the
committee showed a complete unwillingness to discuss what
might or might not be in the American tradition, and con
sistently refused to deal with actual issues."
Finally, a blacklisted writer in the most definitive
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answer to this question had the following to say:
In my opinion the Committee could not achieve its
purposes since the Congressional law empowering it
was alien to both the letter and the spirit of the
Constitution. When I say this, I want to make it
clear that I do not oppose the right of Congres
sional committees to investigate for purposes of
proposing legislation. However, whatever the per
sonnel of the House Committee on Un-American Activi
ties or however it conducted its hearings, its
stated purpose in the legislation empowering it did,
and must, involve an invasion of the civil rights
of citizens. There are laws to cover crimes. There
are law enforcement agencies to arrest and try citi
zens who commit crimes. But this Committee, by its
history and by its policy— openly stated in the
Congress by one of its members. Congressman Carl
Mundt— operated not in the field of crime but in
the field of ideas. By its very history and by its
open policy it operated in the very field forbidden
to it by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
It is precisely for this reason that in the nine
years of its existence up until March 1948 this
Committee succeeded in having only one case of
legislation passed by the Congress— and the bill
was immediately declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Since the purpose of Congressional investigation
is precisely to gather information on the basis of
which Committee members then propose new legislation
to the country at large, this zero batting average
on the part of the Committee should in itself, in
my opinion, render its efforts highly suspect.
Question B under Probable Effects concerned the
decision of whether to answer the committee's questions or
not. It asked, "If you were a witness and therefore were
confronted by this alternative, please describe your
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328
resolution. If you were not a witness^ and were aware you
might be^ how were you prepared to resolve this choice?"
A member of the Board of the Actors Laboratory The
atre felt that the committee was getting at "The Lab," not
individuals, and therefore the group voted to refuse to
answer certain questions. According to the actress, none
of the group took the Fifth Amendment.
An unfriendly witness stated he was
unwilling to purchase personal immunity at the ex
pense of others, and reluctant to invite the inevit
able contempt citation by describing my own activi
ties but refusing to recite a list of names, on the
advice of council [sicl I availed myself of my con
stitutional prerogative under the Bill of Rights and
stood mute.
An actor and unfriendly witness said, "Few people
realize that if you answer any questions you open the door
to all others. I had no wish to name my friends and make
them vulnerable."
The longest answer to this question came from a
witness who took the Fifth Amendment and said he would never
do so again, citing the fact that the Fifth position was
good law but lousy public relations." He went on to say:
The rationale for the 5th was this : by court-
established rules of the game the witness could not
be selective in refusal to answer questions protected
by the 5th. In practice this meant that one could
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not admit CP membership and then refuse to name
names^ result being citation for contempt. Nor
would "I don't remember" suffice. The witness then
would be confronted by an informer who would swear^
perhaps truthfully, that the witness knew him.
Result, perjury and a possible 5 yrs.
The public could scarcely be expected to understand
these legal ramifications. The natural reaction:
"If they won't talk they must have something to
hide." The witness was in the impossible posture
of standing mute while the Committee convincingly
pled for information on an International Conspiracy
dedicated to the destruction of the nation.
If on the other hand the witness had taken the
position that he would answer to anything except
names, the Committee would have been faced with two
alternatives (1) to let the witness speak freely of
his reasons, valid, naive or even opportunistic for
CP membership or (2) to shut him up with an immedi
ate question about names and a citation for con
tempt, thereby exposing the punitive purpose for
its existence as opposed to the legislative function
which it claimed.
In the first of these alternatives I do not know of
any witness who had anything of a remotely "con
spiratorial" nature to hide. (The testimony of the
"cooperative" witnesses, at least in the Theatre and
allied fields, may perhaps be judged by the fact that
not a single one to my knowledge "volunteered" his
testimony but only came forth after massive threats
to his economic and professional life.) In the sec
ond alternative surely one might reasonably have
expected a public reaction. "They say they want
them to give information, but all they're doing is
throwing them in jail."
Of course many witnesses, with family responsibili
ties etc., doubtless were in no position to accept
such punitive measures. In my own case, in retro
spect, I can think of no overwhelming hardship to
myself or anyone else to override the possibility
of dulling, if not pulling, the Committee's teeth.
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If enough of us had done this I believe that such
a possibility was a very real one.
An actor who was an unfriendly witness said that
although he knew his material well-being would be affected
by his refusal to answer the committee's questions, he was
faced with his "own dignity and self-esteem as well as the
future of my child."
An unfriendly witness in 1947 felt then and now that
he was performing a patriotic service in denouncing the
committee's attempt to ask about Communist party membership
or belief. He said, "I answered questions which (as I
understood it) did not violate my elementary rights of con
science and association."
A writer who was not a witness said he would have
refused to answer because he felt that after the committee
had finished dealing with individuals who provided a large
"harvest of publicity," they
would then turn to less-rewarding (publicity-wise)
fields such as schools and universities. I felt I,
like many others in the theatre and screen, was
better able to defend myself than school teachers
and university professors might be.
A writer and unfriendly witness called the committee
a "cancer within the American body politic." He said he hac
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331
watched the committee "month after month and year after year
attacking everything that I considered humane and progres
sive in American life— the New Dealj Welfare legislation of
all sortsj Liberal and Radical groups, and I had seen it
give open forum to such reactionaries as Gerald K. Smith."
He further observed that the Hollywood Ten's appeal of their
contempt citations would have been reversed at the Supreme
Court level if the two most liberal members of the court
had not unexpectedly died during the summer of 1950. He
concluded that the court that ruled on the Hollywood Ten's
petition for reverse of the contempt citation was differ
ently constituted than the court that had been in existence
when the Ten first challenged the committee in 1947.
A non-witness who thought he might be a witness said
he had thought the situation over for many many hours and
was never able to arrive at a conclusion regarding how to
answer the committee's questions. He felt he was lucky that
he never had to face the situation, but he has still not
been able to decide how he would have responded had he been
forced into that predicament.
An actress who was an unfriendly witness said the
only alternative she ever considered was the First Amend
ment— which did not appear to offer quite such safe grounds
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332
constitutionally as the Fifth— and she never considered the
alternative of answering questions.
A writer and unfriendly witness stated that ten
^ears after he took the Fifth Amendment his private position
was beautifully summarized by the English writer E. M.
Forsterj who wrote: "If I ever have to choose between my
country and my friends^ I hope I have the courage to choose
my friends."
An actor and unfriendly witness who took the Fifth
Amendment regretted the unfortunate impression the Fifth
Amendment made in the public eye. He said, "I sometimes
thought it might have been better to risk a prison term and
answer questions that you were disposed to answer and simply
refuse to answer questions you chose not to . . ."
Another actor who was an uncooperative witness ans
wered the query by simply saying, "... the question is
mildly insulting."
A writer who took the Fifth Amendment said he would
have been willing to overlook his philosophical opposition
to the committee in order to avoid the blacklist and loss of
opportunity to support his family by talking about his own
"involvement," particularly since he believed that involve
ment was humanitarian in its motivations and certainly not
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333
in his opinion un-American. However^ the writer concluded,
. . . it was absolutely clear that the committee
wanted more; wanted names of others "involved,"
and that was something I was never prepared to do.
Having no alternative except jail, I reluctantly
took the "Fifth."
Under Possible Effects of the committee's work,
question A asked if the committee had any constructive in
fluence on the American theatre. The answer was a unanimous
"No" from the questionnaires and the interviewees. One
writer allowed for the possibility that the creation of a
few plays, such as The Crucible, might not have occurred
were it not for the committee's work. An actor who did not
respond directly to the question did observe that individ
uals may have been "strengthened through their willingness
to 'take it' but it did not make their lives, personal or
professional, richer ..."
Another actor said in response to this question.
In its clumsy way, the committee brought home to American
theatre people that 'It Can Happen Here,' Fascism, that is.'
A blacklisted director concurred that there were no
constructive effects from the committee's activities on the
American theatre and stated that it was his
belief the theatre has never recovered from the blow
struck bv the committee. For its greatest iniurv was
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done to the American audience. Ideas became sus
pect. They disappeared for decades. Writers, audi
ences and producers surrendered to the intimidation.
And from a director who went back to acting after
twenty years, the following remarks came:
Are you not aware that this question is a joke?
The committee must have been aware that there was
no way for them to make any headway in the American
theatre, which please understand was and is New
York City where no boycott of any production had
ever been in the least successful and couldn't be
for the simple reason that the public in New York
is too special and diffuse and impersonal. There
fore, they never even made any attempt to question
the loyalties in the American theatre.
Question B under Possible Effects asked for comments
on any destructive influences the committee's activities may
have had on the American theatre.
A blacklisted writer felt that since plays are pro
duced with an eye toward film and television, he was sure
that money to back a play written by a blacklistee would
make the financing difficult if not impossible. He specu
lated that in the period when the blacklist was in total
effect in Hollywood it must have affected production and
casting in the theatre.
Another blacklisted writer said if he had an idea
for a play which he felt might be considered "dangerous" by
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335
the committeej he probably would not have written it, and
he imagined that this actually happened to a number of
writers .
An actor who took the Fifth Amendment cited the
cases of Elia Kazan and Clifford Odets, who "capitulated,
they made no contribution to the theatre comparable to that
which they had made before. Fear is not conducive to a
healthy theatre— the Committee spread fear."
A New York theatre person believed that
as a result of Senator McCarthy and HUAC, many of
our playwrights created their own self-censorship
and began writing bland plays, trivial plays. Our
theatre did suffer in this respect. In England,
the writers had no such sword hanging over their
heads and the British theatre flourished as a
A First Amendment witness agreed that the commit
tee's activities closed the Federal Theatre and said:
It so happens that in my opinion the only unique
contribution to theatre form that the United States
has given to the world was that of the Living News
paper as it evolved in several plays presented by
the WPA Theatre. I believe that it required a sub
sidized theatre such as the WPA to present theatre
in the form of the Living Newspaper and that the
educational effects of the Living Newspaper plays
were benign and important. This form of theatre
died when the WPA theatre died.
He went on to say that he does not believe it is the
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336
proper function of any government to legislate what people
may or may not produce in the theatre. The writer concluded
his observations on this question with the following state
ment :
There is no way of proving the intimidating effects
that the committee's activities had upon various
individual theatre producers who may have declined
play scripts because they were afraid of being
attacked by the committee or one of its members
in Congress. However^ the general effects of gov
ernmental intimidation are very clear. One may
only imagine what the effect upon Russian writers
is today of the imprisonment of a small number of
writers and expulsion of several others from the
Writers Union to realize what this would produce
by way of self-censorship amongst writers them
selves as well as intimidation of theatre produ
cers and directors. I feel certain that the com
mittee had something with the same effect upon
the American Theatre as a whole.
A blacklisted actor felt the destructive effects of
the committee's activities on the American theatre were too
numerous to tabulate. He believed there was an elimination
of valuable talent by economic and "often literal death."
As examples of the latter, he cited Mady Christian, J. Ed
ward Bromberg, and John Garfield.
A writer claimed that "implicit censorship and ex
plicit threats to theatrical personnel to toe the Committee
line inevitably reduced the freedom of expression in the
theatre." He stated that a writer
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shyed [sic.] away from too piercing an examination
of any controversial subjects since non-production
was a virtual certainty, and if by some odd chance,
the controversial work did show promise of being
staged, economic pressure sufficed to kill it early
Another writer believed that a careful study could
document the committee's role in the final dissolution of
the Group Theatre and that its activities also had an effect
on the writing of Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, and many
others.
Still another writer felt the destructive effect was
"atmospheric." He believed there was
a general sense of fear, fear to attack the status
quo, fear to assert revolutionary solutions to social
ills. (Or indeed to assert that social ills were a
proper subject for dramatic treatment.) It's diffi
cult, unfortunately, to be specific. It was some
thing one felt in discussions with fellow writers ;
a tendency toward self-censorship.
Another writer also concurred in the belief that dramatists
exercised self-censorship, pointing out that "there was no
point in writing plays that couldn't attract investors or
Broadway producers."
A director with a background in both theatre and
films stated that theatre is worth attending "only when it
stands high above film and T.V. It can do so only when
ideas are rampant."__________________________________________
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338
And another writer described the destructive effects
he believed the committee's activities had on Clifford Odets
and Elia Kazan.
By terrorizing sensitive and creative people, such
as the late Clifford Odets, who subsequently testi
fied as a friendly witness, and denounced many of
the people who had been closest to him, and the very
substance on which his talent had fed, the theatre
lost a beautiful and lyrical voice. This was also
true of men like Elia Kazan who realized, I believe,
with great bitterness that they had sold off their
most valuable possession.
Another director with a background in theatre and
films believed that the unstructured character of the Amer
ican theatre minimized the kind of organized blacklisting
that was operative in other media. He concluded.
In a broader sense, however, the impact of HUAC—
and the subsequent rise of McCarthy for which it
paved the way— can not be discounted. The protes
tant spirit that vitalized all the arts in America
during the 30's and the early 40's wilted and
virtually disappeared.
An actress noted that within a year after the hear
ings (she did not say which one) the Actor's Lab ceased to
function as a school or production unit for "live" actors.
Another actor agreed that the Actor's Lab died as a result
of the California State Un-American Activities Committee
hearing on its purported subversiveness and concluded that
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339
"that same hearing brought up the sordid information that
the Actors Lab specialized in subversive plays by Shaw,
0'Casey and Chekov."
Question C under Possible Effects asked for an
opinion on results of the committee's activities that can
not yet be evaluated.
A writer said he could not be specific but he be
lieved "that a whole generation of critical creativity [was]
discredited." He further attested that
much of the inarticulate, abstract, introverted
theatre which followed (some of it of considerable
value) came because of an instinctive avoidance, by
the new and rising talents of turning towards con
frontations of issues, which because of the Commit
tee's activities, had been made to seem un-American
and dangerous.
He concluded that
there were really no noteworthy plays about such
enormous events as the Korean War, the developing
nuclear threat, the tragic deterioration of white-
black relationships in the decade which followed
the committee. The fear which the committee in
spired on the various campuses left incalculable
damage, which cannot yet be evaluated— as it did
in all areas which need free and open inquiry.
A producer and director said he was not sure that
the blacklist is over today. When he was recently engaged
to direct a segment of a particularly successful New York-
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340
based television show he learned that the actors had to be
cleared with an office downstairs at CBS before he could
hire them for the program. He asked, "Is it over?"
A writer believed that "there are effects which we
will never know, like what plays weren't written, which
might have been or what writers were in effect killed—
literally and figuratively— who might have written meaning
ful plays."
A First Amendment witness speculated on the harm the
committee's activities did to the careers and lives of
thousands of people. He stated: "Only by specifically
interrogating every individual who did not cooperate with
the Committee and asking what specifically happened to their
career and life as a result of the position they took, could
these effects be evaluated."
A director observed.
Although the gradual recovery of our culture from
the debilitating effects of that era have been sub
stantial, there is the danger that Americans, once
having submitted to that kind of suppression, may
have developed a tolerance and susceptibility to
its possible recurrence.
A writer noted "the fact that a blacklist could have
been effected gives credence to the fear that it may well
happen again." He said, "A fear that a controversial play—
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341
using an anti-establishment theme can be used in the future
to stigmatize an artist who participates in such a project
would stop him from writing or acting in it."
An actor-director said^
If it were possible to find out the total of blasted
careers, and lives of a few prominent people and
literally hundreds of little people, totally inno
cent people, actors, writers, directors who suffered
by this monstrous hoax of the American people it
would make a story for which every effort would be
made to bury for all time.
An unfriendly witness believed that we are rather
"astigmatic" in evaluating the period of the early 50's in
America. He said, "it caused a fear to 'think-feel-and
experience concern' in our entire population. I do not
believe we have yet recovered. It is possible that we lost
a generation."
Another writer believed that Arthur Miller, in his
play After the Fall, gave certain hints of the committee's
effect on the playwright. He speculated further that the
period of McCarthy and the committee's activities undoubt
edly put certain limitations on Miller's dramatic themes,
imagination and his choice of material. And another writer
mentioned that seIf-censorship "is a difficult habit to
break, persons who might today be contributing to the
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342
theatre . . . have long since given up."
Finally, under Possible Effects, Questions D and E
asked about a "blacklist" on Broadway. Though one writer
stated that he had in his possession "the literal blacklist
in circulation among all studios and covering the entire
entertainment field," no specific evidence was available
concerning a blacklist in the New York theatre.
General observations were made along the lines that
some friends of the persons responding to the questionnaire
may have lost work in the theatre but this was impossible
to pin down. One writer mentioned the rumor that Larry
Parks could not get work on Broadway. And finally, an un
friendly witness indicated that a director named Mervin
Williams was fired at the Pasadena Playhouse, after doing
two impressive productions, for what he implied were polit
ical reasons. The actor further stated that members of the
cast of a play left when they heard he had been hired and
that he was expelled from the staff of a Los Angeles-based
theatrical venture for his political position, which was
described as "too risky."
The third category concerned the Actual Effects of
the committee's activities on the American theatre. Ques
tions 1 and 2 under A, concerning the Federal Theatre, askec
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343
if the person was working in the Federal Theatre at the time
it was closed and to name other theatres closed as a result
of the committee's activities.
The Actor's Lab was once again cited as a theatre
that was closed indirectly by the committee in the sense
that many unfriendly witnesses were members of the "Lab."
The group was also investigated by the California Un-
American Activities Committee. Hence, economic attrition
followed the unfavorable publicity given the witnesses and
the theatre closed.
One writer speculated that the Group Theatre came to
an early end as a result of the climate of the times, which
included the committee's activities. Another writer ob
served that the University of Washington Theatre Workshop
(he believed it was called by that name) under Florence Bean
James "was virtually destroyed by the activities of a State
Committee whose methods were identical with the Federally
appointed House Committee. There was no other evidence
that any additional theatres were closed as a result of the
committee's activities.
louse and the state committee's chairman was Albert Canwell.
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344
Question B under Actual Effects asked how the com
mittee hearings affected lives in four areas : income, ca
reer change, theatre activity, and personal relationships.
The blacklisted writers followed the familiar pattern of
going underground and writing for the black market— and for
salaries considerably less than they commanded previous to
their blacklisting.
After his appearance before the committee as an
unfriendly witness, an actor related that his income came
to a complete halt and he did not earn another cent at his
profession for twelve years. He stated, "There were per
sonal relationships that were hinged to professional activ
ities and this ultimately effected [sic] quality and fre
quency of contacts." And the actor concluded, "By and
large— the meaningful relationships were not at all altered
— at least no more so than they are in the course of living
a life blacklisted or not ..."
Another actor indicated that his salary went from
$40,000 a year to nothing as a result of the blacklist, and
that for three years he worked in a variety of businesses
outside of the theatre before he gradually began his return
to show business.
A blacklisted writer was unable to find work for
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345
three years and thereafter started working under a pseudonym
and was forced to accept any job at any price and received
no credit for the work. He commented:
. . . one was driven to move in a tight circle of
people who were in a similar plight. Some former
"friends" were fearful of association— others were
unappealing after sessions on witness stand during
which they named all their dearest chums.
Another blacklisted writer was forced to move to
England to continue his career^ and observed that
unfriendly witnesses were shunned socially; it was
bad business to be friendly with an unfriendly.
And the friendly witnesses named their friends —
who else? So relations were severed.
Another blacklisted writer who was forced into exile
in England claimed to have endured considerable financial
hardship after comparable affluence in Hollywood. He also
stated that he lost some very frightened "Liberal" friends
and he believed that the break-up of his marriage also was
helped by the blacklist; he noted further that "dozens of
Hollywood and theatre marriages foundered on this same
political rock."
A Fifth Amendment unfriendly witness had his con
tract terminated by a major Hollywood studio when he refused
to cooperate with the committee.
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346
Another blacklisted writer indicated he had no in
come for several years as a result of his being an un
cooperative witness and was forced to work as a maître d'
and a salesman until he was able to start writing again and
then under another name. He further stated that as a result
of his political position his wife was forced to go to work
alsOj which left much less time for them to be with their
children. He said that "they [the children] had no idea
why their lives were so uprooted."
Another writer living abroad reported that his
wife's passport was withdrawn by the local American Embassy
concurrent with his being identified as a Communist by a
friendly witness. The writer remained abroad after being
blacklisted and found it
difficult to write for my own theatre^ aside from
the enormous disadvantages of blacklisting. Theatre
must come from deeply indigenous experience ; I did
not feel I knew enough about the new world I was
suddenly experiencing, and I felt myself alienated
from my own.
He went on to say that during the period of McCarthy, people
with whom he had previously been closely associated "sedu
lously avoided" him and his family.
A blacklisted television director stated he remained
friendly with Elia Kazan because he thought he was an
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347
artist and believed he was going through "hell" with his own
conscience. The director referring again to Kazan said:
I don't know why he gave names. He didn't have to.
Perhaps he was fearful of losing his career in
Hollywood. But he could have been distinguished
in the theatre. I never discussed it with him
since it's his personal problem. I think he knows
I took a different stance, and we enjoy mutual re
spect. I felt the same way about Robert Rossen,
who informed on people, after holding out for a
long time. I guess it may have killed Bob finally.
But I thought he was a man of talent and I was not
going to be his judge, so when we met I was
friendly.
Another First Amendment witness and writer declared
he was blacklisted in Hollywood for twenty years and suf
fered a disastrous decline in his income as a result of the
committee's activities. He believed that "many playwrights
who showed 'promise' in the 30's ceased writing for produc
tion as a result of the committee's activities." He con
cluded by saying that his friendships have never been re
stricted to people who shared his "radical views."
A blacklisted writer indicated he could not get a
passport from the United States State Department and there
fore had no way of seeking work in the film industries of
Europe.
A blacklisted actress noted that her career came to
a complete halt and that she was turned down by the PTA
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348
when her son was in elementary school for what she believed
to be her political posture.
A blacklisted actor commenting on personal relation'
ships stated that the committee's activities "increased the
number of former friends."
After returning from prison a blacklisted writer was
forced to work as a waiter and cook in a restaurant and a
stock clerk in a warehouse because he could not get work in
his field. The writer had been earning $30,000 a year and
his income dropped to nothing. He became a carpenter but
claimed that he could not consider himself a martyr because
he enjoyed the work thoroughly. He noted that his former
wife was a cooperative witness, which created a difficult
situation for the children for a while. The problem has
since been resolved.
An unfriendly witness declared :
In 1951 or early '52 I wrote a long one-act play
which was based upon some security hearings which
had occurred at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around the
year 1949. I had secured a copy of the transcripts
from the lawyer who defended three men in what I
can only describe as a Kafka-esque hearing. When
I finished the play, I found that there was no
group in the United States able to produce it. By
this I don't mean a professional theatre since it
was not a full length play, but an over-length one
act play. However, in the 1930's I had written a
number of one act plays which had found production
in quite a few left wing amateur groups in different
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States in the United States. All of these groups
had ceased to exist in the '50's. It is my belief
that the activities of the committee were consid
erably involved in this changed picture.
A writer indicated he was no longer interested in
maintaining a relationship with a former friend of his who
had become a friendly witness after having been uncoopera
tive in his first appearance before the committee.
Question C under Actual Effects of the committee's
activities asked how the publicity surrounding the hearings
affected those involved.
A writer indicated that the primary reason for tak
ing his children out of the Beverly Hills schools and going
to Europe to live for eleven years was the publicity sur
rounding the hearings. He added that he found those years
the most rewarding of his life and that there was no doubt
in his mind that he did owe the House Committee on Un-
American Activities a "thank you" note.
A producer-director whom Martin Berkeley identified
as being a Communist declared that Berkeley was in error.
A lawyer for the producer-director felt that if Berkeley
were challenged it would invite an appearance before the
committee and thus become a "circus." The lawyer believed
the committee would back up and protect Berkeley if he was
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350
challenged for lying, and then there would be a subsequent
contest over perjury and Berkeley would be in the patriot's
role. Hence, the lawyer's advice was to forget the whole
thing.
Another writer who was involved with a popular tele
vision show at the time his name was publicly mentioned by
a friendly witness was dropped "within minutes" from the
show. He was subsequently dropped as a client by the agency
that represented him. And another writer believed that be
cause of the fact that he was named frequently by friendly
witnesses, this gave a different attitude toward his writing
work. He said, "What I thought was mildly satiric comedy
was judged as though having some subversive goal."
A director felt it was prudent to turn down a
script that was thematically "daring" out of concern for
the fact the past publicity attendant to him might impair
the script's chances for public acceptance.
A blacklisted actor felt that it spoke well for the
American community that in spite of the unfairness of the
blacklist, one was able to live and function anyway and that
he personally was not denied his GI education because of his
political beliefs.
Another writer felt that the publicity surrounding
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351
the hearings strengthened certain personal ties by cutting
off all business possibilities and "even agents were in
accessible" as a result of the publicity. A blacklisted
writer believed that his elder child was disturbed by the
publicity and his wife to a somewhat lesser degree was emo
tionally distressed well beyond the economic difficulties
resulting from the writer's loss of employment. Another
blacklisted writer said a cross was set on fire with lighter
fuel on his front lawn and his wife lost her job in an en
tirely different field; friends who wished to hire him had
to request that he get a "clearance" by "cooperating" or
they could not give him a job.
A First Amendment witness felt that his career as a
writer was adversely affected by the many newspaper and mag
azine articles attacking him because of the stand he took
before the committee. Additionally, he declared his life
was threatened several times by anonymous telephone calls,
which had a further unsettling effect on him. He stated he
received a considerable number of hate letters which were
not enjoyable reading. He felt that the publicity sur
rounding his decision to test the constitutionality of the
committee's activities adversely affected his teen-age son
in his school work. A subsequent move out of the country
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352
did not alleviate the pressures for the son and the writer
declared the whole thing was a very "painful" process for
the son. He concluded by saying he believes his decision
to leave the country was partially, not wholly, motivated
by a desire to try and free both of his children from public
pressures they felt in their own peer group as a result of
the hearings.
A writer stated that "the evening of the day I ap
peared a neighbor whom I scarcely knew, brought me a bunch
of roses from his garden." An actor, blacklisted in films,
returned to acting in the theatre where he had been active
for twenty years and found no evidence of blacklisting
Question D under Actual Effects asked how the com
mittee hearings generally affected lives.
A blacklisted writer assessed the effect of the
committee hearings on his life, saying that "loss of income
from work— economic disaster— social status destroyed— life
work broken." A writer who was forced to work in a restau
rant because of the blacklist had that job exposed in a
Hollywood gossip column and the resultant publicity helped
to move him out of the restaurant business.
An actor stated the blacklist changed the course of
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353
his life for twelve years. He named John Houseman, Theatre
Guild and Playwright's Company, Lawrence Langer, and others
who were kind enough to use him in the theatre as early as
1955. He returned to film work in the 60's. A blacklisted
actress who had done well in pictures and television had no
work after the committee hearings.
A writer commented,
. . . it is admittedly not easy to be denied the
practice of a profession to which you have devoted
all of your adult years. (It must be infinitely
more shattering to an actor— a writer can at least
sit down and write something.) Self-doubt can
become a problem. But it can be worked through.
An actor stated that the hearings broke up his mar
riage and changed his life entirely. A blacklisted writer
believed that books he had authored were removed from
American and foreign libraries as a result of his name and
its relationship to the committee hearings. He felt he
could not prove this charge but was certain it was true.
Another blacklisted writer felt that it was a valuable ex
perience because he found he "could survive without assured
security such as a place in the 'show biz' establishment,"
and the blacklist made it possible for him to take greater
chances with his career with what he described as "very
positive results." Two writers agreed that the blacklist
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354
had taken them out of active political participation because
of the subjective feeling that their names lent to a cause
might do it harm rather than good.
Finally, a blacklisted writer who, previous to being
identified as a Communist, had worked alternately in the
theatre and for the screen found that after being black
listed he felt it was impossible to write for the theatre
under a pseudonym. He turned more and more to film work and
finally moved to Europe, where he writes exclusively for the
cinema.
The final question under Actual Effects asks for
information regarding "vigilante" type organizations and
their effect on individuals. The Motion Picture Alliance
for the Preservation of American Ideals and the American
Legion were cited as organizations devoted to protecting
the country from internal Communist subversion.
A blacklisted writer concluded that he did not know
of any such organization, but "it was common knowledge how
ever, that every studio and TV organization had its 'clear
ance ' fellow whose job it was to keep 'tainted' folk from
being employed."
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355
Evaluation of the Data
The committee's stated purposes were generally
viewed by those cooperating in this study as unbelievable—
if not unconstitutional. Words such as subversion and un-
American were meaningless unless clearly defined by those
who chose to apply their use. Since these terms were never
clarified by the committeethe charges leveled at the wit
nesses were directed from a group of men who had, at best,
a vague interpretation of who was a good American and at
worst, an undefined interpretation.
The committee's unstated purposes were quite clear,
however, and it was in this area where the investigators
were most successful. They managed to stir up a lot of pub
licity by constantly charging persons in the entertainment
field with subversion and they managed to suppress dissent
by creating an atmosphere of fear. The persons silenced,
however, were not only Communists, but unfortunately lib
erals as well.
The committee's great search for subversives ap
peared at least debatable on constitutional grounds and
highly suspect on grounds of national security. Their in
vestigators ' activities clearly overlapped the efforts of
the always efficacious Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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356
The bureau was interested in keeping tabs on American Com
munists, whereas the committee was apparently more inter
ested in the task of trying to prove a relationship between
a foreign-dominated Red conspiracy and American organiza
tions and individuals. The investigators were as unsuccess
ful in this task as they were in producing any significant
legislation meaningful to the security of the United States.
Therefore, the probable effects of the committee's activi
ties had little to do with the results the tribunal pur
ported to achieve in its public statements of resolve.
The persons who responded to the questionnaire and
who consented to be interviewed for this study were in com
plete agreement on the fact that they would stand by their
past public positions on answering the committee's questions,
The rules of the game were clear to the witnesses and the
purchase of immunity from the blacklist was made at the
price of informing on their friends. The committee func
tioned in this sense as a punisher of people rather than as
a legislative body intent upon making laws to protect the
country from domestic Red subversion.
Since the time of their public declaration of atti
tude toward the committee's right to question them, several
witnesses considered variations on the black or white choice
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357
of informing or going to jail and/or being blacklisted.
None of the witnesses, however, were certain what alterna
tives are available and legal should they be in a like
situation today or tomorrow.
Had the committee been honest about its alleged goal
of seeking information about Communist subversion in the
entertainment field, it could have avoided putting the wit
ness into an either-or position when answering questions.
It is clear that many Fifth Amendment witnesses did not
object to talking about themselves and their prior political
activities, but became uncooperative only when they were
asked to name names.
The committee had a stated public responsibility to
deliver data concerning the Red menace in show business,
and rather than do so, they closed off any potential infor
mation by forcing the suspect witnesses into taking consti
tutional refuge prematurely.
It is entirely possible that the term "Fifth Amend
ment Communist" might never have come into being if the
Supreme Court of 1950 had been of the same political bal
ance as the 1947 court. Had the Hollywood Ten's use of the
First Amendment been justified by the high court, undoubt
edly all of the subpoenaed witnesses of the 50's would have
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358
used that ruling as their legal reason for declining to
answer questions. The unexpected deaths of the two justices
changed the course of hundreds of lives in the entertainment
world and probably affected thousands more.
Other than inspiring a few plays, the committee's
activities had no constructive influence on the American
theatre. Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, The Cru
cible, and After the Fall all dealt loosely with the subject
of informing, and Conrad Bromberg's Death of a Blacklisted
Actor was a personal chronicle of his father's experiences
resulting from the committee's work. To this extent, the
theatre offered material to the audience that might not have
been written or produced were it not for the invidious na
ture of the times.
The destructive results of the committee's probes
on the American theatre and the influence of that body's
work that cannot yet be evaluated are indeed actual and are
assessed as such in this study.
These actual effects were two in number. First,
the 1938 Dies committee investigation of the Federal Theatre
contributed heavily to the already controversial atmosphere
surrounding the project. The negative publicity generated
by those hearings helped make it possible for Congress to
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359
cut off funds for the WPA Theatre with only a minimal
challenge from the Roosevelt New Dealers. In short, the
committee's activities regarding the Federal Theatre
clinched the termination of that institution and with it
the hope of a national theatre for America.
Second, the committee's post-war investigations
created economic chaos, career change, and personal un
happiness and tragedy for hundreds of artists in all areas
of the entertainment field— with the theatre being actually,
if only somewhat indirectly, affected. One indirect result
of the federal committee's work was the creation of similar
committees on the state level who, through their investiga
tions, helped close theatres in California and Washington.
Another indirect but apparently actual result of
the committee's work is less easily proved. The atmosphere
of fear created by the investigations undoubtedly produced
self-censorship in the field of writing, if not outright
avoidance of controversial themes. One can only speculate
on what subjects were not tackled because of the committee's
activities, but it is safe to assume, based on the new data,
that such a situation did exist.
All of the blacklisted artists suffered a grave loss
of income, but the actors were the hardest hit. The writers
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360
could go underground and continue working on the black
market under pseudonyms. This process was demeaning to
their self-respect as well as financially unrewarding when
compared to their pre-blacklisting salaries. But they could
get by.
The majority of the actors who earned most of their
income from films and television were forced into alien
occupations for nearly a decade. The living theatre, par
ticularly in New York^ was able to sustain only a few of
them. When there was acting work on Broadwayj the blacklist
did not deter artists from securing employment there. But
the general paucity of employment in the living theatre^ in
addition to the far smaller salaries offered by stage work,
made life for the blacklisted actors far less endurable
than for the writers who faced the same problem.
The personal relationships that were modified by
the committee's activities seemed to have no consistent
pattern. Some blacklistees continued their friendships with
cooperative witnesses. Others avoided such contacts, some
times out of revulsion and sometimes out of compassion. The
writers in the black market generally kept in contact with
each other for economic purposes. The actors had no such
need and their personal relationships that were not tied to
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361
professional activities varied only slightly. As one actor
tated, the "meaningful relationships" were not harmed.
In at least one instance, a blacklisted writer en
joyed his temporary career change and another felt the com
mittee's investigations helped the quality of his writing
because the blacklist protected him from Hollywood commer
cialism.
Finally, isolated instances of passport problems,
marital troubles, and family alienation completed the per-
onal troubles faced by the blacklistees.
Publicity created exile for some artists and a dif
fusion of concentration on their work for others. Fear of
further adverse publicity deterred at least one artist from
challenging the person who identified him as a Communist.
On the other hand, one writer appreciated the negative pub
licity because it forced him to move to Europe— a move he
enjoyed and believed he would not have made were it not for
the committee. The publicity problem of guilt by associa
tion extended past personal relationships and in several
instances made objective non-political examination of the
writing work of the blacklistees impossible.
Overt physical violence resulting from publicity
was not a problem, but the threat of it was. Generally,
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362
the new data indicated that it was difficult to distinguish
whether publicity was the cause or result of being black
listed. The deaths of certain persons because of the com
mittee's investigations are speculative and therefore im
possible to document.
The general effects of the committee hearings on the
lives of the blacklistees have already been discussed. In
addition to economic attrition, personal sadness, and career
destruction, the investigations definitely suspended further
active participation in politics for all unfriendly wit
nesses. Fear of contaminating the "cause" was the reason
for their self-imposed moratorium on political involvement.
Fear of reprisal for unpopular political positions
has no place in a democracy. In this sense, the committee
created the very situation they were supposedly endeavoring
to stamp out— a totalitarian climate that had no room for
politically intolerable ideas.
Summary
Chapter VIII presented and evaluated the new primary
data gleaned from correspondence, questionnaires, and per
sonal taped interviews conducted by this researcher.
The new information supported the theory that the
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363
living theatre survived the committee's investigations and
the resultant blacklist far more successfully than any of
the other major entertainment media.
If an actor blacklisted in films and television
could find work in the theatre, the job was not denied him
because of any unpopular political credo he espoused.
The writers generally agreed that the atmosphere
created by the committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy cast
a pall on themes that might be considered controversial then
or in the future and that self-censorship was a difficult
and stifling habit to break.
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CHAPTER IX
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS
Summary
The House Committee on Un-American Activities in
vestigated persons in the entertainment field for twenty
years from 1938-1958. Primarily, this study examined those
investigations to determine what relevance they had to the
living theatre in America. Secondarily, as a background to
how and why the committee was created, this researcher
attempted to put into proper historical perspective the
political, economic, and cultural milieu of America in the
early and mid-1930's.
Five different, important, and erratically-
publicized series of hearings were researched to determine
in what way the committee's investigations affected individ
ual artists, the American theatre in general, and closely
related institutions and activities.
To explore these historical relationships, the
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355
following specific questions were posed:
I. What were the actual effects of the committee
hearings on the American theatre?
A. What theatres closed?
B. What theatre people lost work?
II. What were the probable effects?
A. Was there a moral dilemma faced by the wit
nesses?
B. Were there personal enmities created by the
hearings?
C. Did the committee's procedures influence the
nature and results of its findings?
III. What were the possible effects?
A. Was the evolution of the American theatre
modified?
B. Was there a constructive influence?
C. Are there effects that cannot yet be evalu
ated?
Conclusions
The Special House Committee on Un-American Activi
ties was formed in 1938 after nearly a decade of extreme
economic and social unrest in the United States. Its
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366
alleged purposes were outlined in extraordinarily general
terms in a resolution authorizing the formation of the com
mittee. Words such as "un-American" and "subversive" and
phrases such as propaganda that "attacks the principles of
the form of government as guaranteed by the constitution"
were used by the committee to label and describe those per
sons or organizations with whom they disagreed.
Because the committee was generally chaired, com
posed, and staffed by congressmen and persons with a con
servative political viewpoint, the overwhelming majority of
their investigations centered on liberals— whom the inves
tigators rightly and wrongly labeled Communists.
The chief, but not the only, function of an inves
tigatory committee of Congress is to investigate for the
purpose of creating legislation. The committee's show-
business hearings created no significant laws vital to the
security of the nation in the twenty-year period examined.
The hearings were punitive rather than legislative in their
effect and were used to harass, punish, and economically
boycott those individuals whose ideas, in the opinion of
the committee, were judged dangerous to the safety of the
United States. Since the First Amendment clearly states
that Congress cannot legislate against ideas, it is clear
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367
that the committee^ for either their alleged or actual pur
poses, should not have been allowed to investigate ideas.
The committee learned almost from its inception that
the area that could generate the most publicity for its
activities, members, and chairmen was the field of enter
tainment. The committee's first chairman, Martin Dies,
undertook to examine communism and Communists in the
government-sponsored Federal Theatre. The 1938 Dies in
vestigation and the extravagant publicity attendant on it
contributed heavily to the decision made by Congress on
June 1, 1939 to eliminate the theatre from the Roosevelt
New Deal.
The liberal Democratic administration, already under
fire from myriad conservative and Republican sources, made
no effort to save the Federal Theatre. Thus, America lost
its first and only subsidized theatrical venture— a venture
that, had it been allowed to continue, might have produced
a national theatre for America and international recognition
comparable to the National Theatre of Great Britain.
The Federal Theatre hearings were the first major
publicity triumph for the committee and they knew the rea
son— show business draws attention. In killing the Federal
Theatre, the committee and Congress not only put more than
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368
8^ 000 persons back on relief rolls, but also ended truly
controversial theatre of a political and social nature and,
most importantly, America's unique contribution to the drama
— the Living Newspaper.
Because of America's tactical alignment with the
Soviet Union during World War II, the committee's chief
nemesis, communism, was temporarily avoided as a subject for
investigation. Immediately after the war, communism was
again the enemy and the committee, with its new chairman
J. Parnell Thomas, turned its publicity-seeking attention
to Communists of the Hollywood variety. They were not dis
appointed. Hollywood's elite paraded before the cameras and
chose sides on the issue of whether the committee had the
right to ask a mar about his political beliefs. Eventually,
when it appeared the Hollywood Ten were not going to turn
out to be the heroes their enthusiasts believed them to be,
those same enthusiasts, particularly a group named The Com
mittee of 100, retreated from publicity as hastily as they
had sought it.
Again, as a result of the media's awareness of the
public's interest in show business, the committee had its
second major publicity triumph. In 1947, the Hollywood Ten
refused to answer the committee's questions about their
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369
private political beliefs, basing their reticence on the
First Amendment. Their declination resulted in contempt
charges and when the 1950 Supreme Court refused to reverse
the citations, the ten went to jail for their beliefs.
In 1951 and 1952, concomitant with the rise of Sena
tor Joseph McCarthy as the foremost cold-war hunter of Reds,
the committee, under Chairman John Wood, made its most ex
tensive and thorough probe of Communist infiltration of show
business. During these hearings, the uncooperative wit
nesses, not wishing to go to jail, took the Fifth Amendment
instead of the First. The Fifth Amendment kept the un
friendly witnesses out of jail— and out of work. The un
friendly witnesses, and persons identified by cooperative
witnesses as Communists, who did not subsequently appear as
friendly witnesses, made up the show-business blacklist.
The persons named on that list were unemployable in
motion pictures and television and radio for nearly a dec
ade. The majority of these persons were writers. They were
able to continue working at considerably reduced salaries
and without credit, on the black market that grew up as a
result of the committee's work. The actors were less fortu
nate, and many were driven into other occupations until the
anti-Communist public passions began to cool in the early
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370
1960's.
The one area that was not intimidated by the com
mittee or the blacklist was the living theatre. When jobs
were available in the theatre^ ability was the test, not
political beliefs. Actors Equity Association and the League
of New York Theatre Owners drew up an anti-blacklist agree
ment and the resolution was scrupulously implemented by both
organizations. With rare and not properly documented ex
ceptions, the New York theatre, and the American theatre in
general, had no organized blacklist.
According to the new data, the damage done to the
living theatre was in another area not easily documented—
words that were not written.
What subjects of a controversial nature were avoided
is impossible to ascertain, but the fear of not getting such
subjects produced— or the fear that there might be harsh
punitive reprisals in the future for views or positions held
in the past— were unquestionably valid fears that did exist.
And their existence is directly traceable to the committee,
whose methods and procedures silenced perhaps a generation
of writers, writers who might have contributed bounteously
to a healthy theatre in a democratic society.
By the end of 1952 the committee was running out of
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371
publicity-attracting names, and with the election of Dwight
David Eisenhower to the presidency and the return, after
two decades, of Republicanism to Washington, D.C., the Lower
House business of sleuthing for show-business Reds was ebb
ing.
Shortly after the time of Senator McCarthy's censure
by his peers and his subsequent decline in national promi
nence, the committee made a brief 1955 investigation of
communism in the New York theatre. No important publicly-
known persons were involved and all but one of the twenty-
three witnesses subpoenaed refused to be intimidated by the
committee's former awesome public image.
The entertainment field, always previously capable
of insuring headlines for the investigators, had run out of
big names, and therefore important public relations value
for the always publicity-conscious committee.
In 1956 the committee investigated the right of two
prominent show-business persons to retain their United
States passports. One, Paul Robeson, was an admitted Com
munist and the other, Arthur Miller, a we11-credentialed
liberal-intellectual. The committee, deporting itself in a
vastly different manner with each man, had one last brief
respite from publicity oblivion when it engaged in a yelling
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372
confrontation with Robeson.
In June of 1958^ the committee closed down its
twenty-year investigation of communism in the entertainment
world with an uneventful and hardly publicized examination
of a dozen suspect^ but unknown by the public^ Reds from
the New York theatre. Namesj time^ and publicity had run
their course for the committee's entertainment investiga
tions and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of careers and lives
were changed, wrecked, or destroyed in their wake.
Though little specific evidence was available, this
researcher felt that any assessment of the general, prob
able, and possible effects of the committee's work on the
American theatre should include the following observations.
With few exceptions, the overwhelming majority of
the unfriendly witnesses came ill advised and ill prepared
for their appearance before the committee. Commencing with
Hallie Flanagan in 1938— whose inept testimony can be ex
cused by the fact that she was the first theatre notable to
be interrogated— through Arthur Miller's 1956 testament, the
uncooperative witnesses made no apparent effort to assess
the biases and prejudices of their interrogators.
The fact that Lillian Heilman, among a few others,
was able to not name names and still avoid taking constitu
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373
tional refuge clearly indicated that such avenues of testi
mony were possible. It is also entirely possible that these
avenues were not used by the unfriendly witnesses because
most of them did not have the financial resources to pursue
and prepare the extensive legal advice necessary for such a
maneuver.
If one is inclined to believe in a Kremlin- and/or
Peking-directed international Communist conspiracy— a con
spiracy that was and is fomenting a near domestic, violent,
revolution in twentieth-century America— then it is fair to
say that the investigators possibly frightened off this con
spiracy. In this context, the above intimidation could then
be adjudged to be a constructive result of the committee's
work. However, it is more probable that the majority of
fear produced by the committee's work occurred in liberal
rather than Communist circles.
The possibility of opportunism should not be over
looked when assessing the reasoning behind many artists'
decisions to affiliate in one way or another with the C.P.
From a way to meet girls, to being identified, image-wise,
with humanitarian causes, are only a few of the many pos
sible reasons why a naïve person might have been romanced
into Red-oriented or -dominated groups.
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374
With the possible exception of John Howard Lawson,
virtually no unfriendly witnesses evidenced any public
record of Marxist acumen. Nor did any of the investigators
indicate any particular keenness of insight into Communist
dogma. Furtherj the Congressmen certainly made little or
no effort to plenish that vacuum when they almost inces
santly asked the $64 question concerning C.P. membership at
the outset of the interrogation.
The committee had enough hard evidence to make laws
affecting Communists and communism in the United States, if
that was indeed their real intention. However, it is far
more probable that the investigators' real interest was, as
stated earlier, publicity rather than legislation. Their
failure to carefully question the alleged Communists for
purposes of eliciting new information about C.P. activities
in the United States is patent throughout the public record
of the tribunal.
It is also certain that the committee's activities
not only contributed substantially to the demise of the
Federal Theatre, but probably blunted all theatre of the
Left, a theatre that had demonstrated enormous vitality and
scope throughout much of the post-World War I period. The
drastic change in the social and political nature of the
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375
drama before and after World War II is therefore a definite
probable result of the committee's efforts.
Finally, this researcher concluded that the com
mittee, as constituted and procedurally operated since its
inception, served so little benefit to the nation compared
with its enormous injustices to individuals that it should
be abolished from the Lower House investigatory bodies.
Implications
Though this writer favors the abrogation of the
House Committee on Un-American Activities (currently titled
the House Internal Security Committee), he does not hold
with that legion of militant thought that believes no
assessment of Communist activities in America is necessary.
Another new type of bi-partisan committee, with a
mandate from Congress to honestly examine the historical
time factor in the Communist movement in America, could
well prove to be an important contribution to the political
education of the American public. An education that
clearly distinguishes between the real and the imagined
internal Communist threat to the nation would be a valuable
service to a populace sadly steeped in the Red mythos cre
ated by political panderers.
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376
This new type of committee should conduct its hear
ings in a manner that would evoke the maximum amount of
information about domestic communism with a minimum amount
of personal damage to the witnesses. Counsel should have
the right at all times to function for their clients as they
normally would in a civil court of law. And most signifi
cantly, at no time should the witnesses be placed in the
position of incriminating former or present acquaintances
for the purpose of soliciting the benevolence of said new
committee.
Under suggestions for further research implied by
this study, four are recommended.
1. A content analysis of the social and political
nature of plays in different decades, commencing with the
1920's through the present, is advised. This analysis
should range from the few, but obvious, post-World War II
political and social plays, e.g.. The Crucible, In the Mat
ter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, State of the Union, and Advise
and Consent to the comparative plethora of such plays in the
pre-World War II era.
2. A study is recommended of why artists seemed to
identify so strongly with the purported goals of the C.P.,
not only before World War II, but on through the early
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377
1950'Sj when the blacklist was at the height of its effec
tiveness .
3. An analysis of the generational context of the
committee's effect on the children of the blacklistees is
thought to be a worthwhile research study.
4. Finally, and most importantly, a study of how
the personal lives of friendly, unfriendly, and involved
non-witnesses were affected by the committee's investiga
tions is also recommended as a foundation or staff research
effort. Because of the large number of people directly or
indirectly scored by the committee's activities, such a
study is believed to be beyond the capability of the average
graduate researcher.
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378
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APPENDIX A
THE FRIENDLY WITNESSES AND THE PERSONS
THEY IDENTIFIED AS COMMUNISTS
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APPENDIX A
THE FRIENDLY WITNESSES AND THE PERSONS
THEY IDENTIFIED AS COMMUNISTS
This section contains an extensive list of the
friendly witnesses and the persons they named as Communists.
The list is necessarily incomplete because some testimony
given in executive session has never been released.
The information was compiled from the transcripts
of the committee's hearings, cumulative indexes and supple
ments, and its annual reports.
The names of.the cooperative witnesses are in alpha
betical order with the exception of Martin Berkeley, who
appears first for reasons of his role as the number one
friendly witness who provided the committee with the most
names, names that were later authenticated by the investi
gative panel and other witnesses. In addition, Berkeley's
documentation was the most thorough of any of the Hollywood
attestants.
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY, WRITER
Appeared September 19, 1951
Appeared in executive, or
secret session in 1953.
Testimony not made public.
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Sam Albert, musician
Robert Ames, craftsworker,
movie industry
Louis (Lou) Amster, writer
Mrs. Adelaide Klein Annenberg,
actress^
Spencer Austrian, attorney for
C.P. fraction of which Berke
ley was a member
Sonora Babb, writer
Ben Barzman, writer (collabo
rated with Bess Taffel on
scripts)
George Bassman, musician-
composer
Kay (Mrs. George) Bassman
Leon Becker, musician
Albert Bein, writer
Nicholas (Nick) Bela, writer
Edward Biberman, artist and
one of the organizers of the
Artists' Union of the WPA Art
Project
Cf. 1957-1958 New York Entertainment Hearings, p.
2536. The committee's staff director, Richard Arens, indi
cated that Berkeley told the committee Mrs. Annenberg had
been a member of the C.P.
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Sonja Dahl (Mrs. Edward
Biberman), actress, secretary
of Hollywood Anti-Nazi League
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Gale Sondergaard (Mrs. Herbert
J. Biberman), actress
Leo Bigelman, M.D., Los Ange
les physician
Henry Blankfort, writer
Laurie (Lorry) Blankfort,
writer
Allen Boretz, writer
John Bright, writer
Josephine (Mrs. John) Bright,
C.P. organizer, Los Angeles
Mexican-American community
J. Edward (Joe) Bromberg,
Goldie (Mrs. J. Edward) Brom
berg
Harold Buchman, writer
(brother of Sidney Buchman)
Sidney Buchman, writer
Beatrice (Bea) Buchman (Mrs.
Sidney Buchman). Beatrice
Buchman was actiye in the
Hollywood Anti-Nazi League.
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Miss Jessie Burns, motion
picture studio reader
Hugo Butler, writer
Allen Campbell, writer
Dorothy Parker, writer
(Mrs. Allen Campbell)
Harry Carlisle, C.P. function
ary; said to be a former
writer and natiye of Austra
lia
Edward (Ed) Chodoroy, writer-
producer
Jerome Chodoroy, writer
Maurice Clark, writer
Paul Cline, C.P. functionary,
Los Angeles-Hollywood area
Lester Cole, writer
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Noryal Crutcher, organizer.
Technicians' local, lATSE
Miss Leona D'Ambarey, motion
picture studio secretary
Robert (Bob) D'Ambarey,
brother of Leona D'Ambarey
Danny Dare, producer-director
Howard daSilya, actor
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Howard Dimsdale, writer
Carl Dreher, motion picture
studio engineer and technician
Arnaud d'Usseau, writer
Susan Wells (Mrs. Arnaud
d'Usseau), head of Communist
book shop
Edward Eliscu, writer
Cyril EndfieId, writer-
director
Guy Endore, writer
Eve Ettinger, motion picture
studio story editor
Francis Faragoh, writer
Mary Virginia Farmer, actress
Carl Foreman, writer-director
Ed Gilbert, motion picture
studio set designer
Kelly Gleichman (former hus
band of Viola Brothers Shore),
organizational secretary,
Hollywood area, C.P.
Harold Goldman, writer
Kathleen (Mrs. Harold) Goldman
Donald Gordon, motion picture
studio reader, assistant story
editor
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Michael Gordon, director
Jay Gorney, musician-song
James (Jimmy) Gow, writer
(collaborated with Arnaud
d'Usseau on stories)
Morton Grant, writer
Dashiell (Dash) Hammett,
writer
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicity
writer, later a producer,
according to Berkeley's testi
mony
Vera (Mrs. Lou) Harris
Lillian Heilman, playwright
Trying Paul Hentschel, crafts
worker, member lATSE
Edward (Eddie or Ed) Huebsch,
Ian McLellan Hunter, writer
Alice Goldberg (Mrs. Ian
Hunter), secretary
Daniel (Dan) Lewis James,
writer
Lilith James (Mrs. Daniel L.
James), writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Gordon Kahn^ writer
Charles Katz, attorney for
C.P. fraction of which Berke
ley was a member
Roland William Kibbee, writer
Jeff Kibre, C.P. functionary,
later an official in the
Fishermen's Union
Michael (Mike) Kilian, actor
Victor Kilian, actor (father
of Michael Kilian)
Herbert Kline, editor of New
Theatre, later produced docu
mentary films. Not to be
confused with Herbert Arthur
Klein, former wire-seryice
correspondent, later a teacher
and actiye in Los Angeles-
Hollywood area, C.P.
Lester Koenig, writer-producer
Hyman (Hy) Solomon Kraft,
writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
Marc Lawrence, actor
Stanley Lawrence, C.P. func
tionary, organizer of motion
picture studio professionals,
former Los Angeles taxicab
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
John (Jack) Howard Lawson,
writer
Robert (Bob) Lees, writer
Isobel Lennart, motion picture
studio reader, later a screen-
Charles Leonard, writer
Alfred Lewis Leyitt, writer
Helen Slote (Mrs. Alfred Lewis
Leyitt), secretary of C.P.
fraction in Actors' Laboratory
and also former secretary to
actor John Garfield
Melyin (Mel) Leyy, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Allen Matthews, actor
John "Skins" Miller, actor^
Patricia (Mrs. John) Miller
Josef Mischel, writer
Maurice Murphy, actor, C.P.
functionary
Mortimer Offner, writer
"Skins" Miller was formerly a partner in the yaude-
yille team of Miller and Mack.
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Sadie (Mrs. Samuel) Ornitz
Charles Page, writer and for
mer executiye secretary.
Screen Writers' Guild
Matt Peliman (also known as
Mike Pell, Max Appelman, Max
Appelbaum), C.P. organizer
Mortimer William (Bill)
Pomerance, former business
agent. Screen Cartoonists
Guild, local 852, AFL, Paint
ers ' International; later
executiye secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild
Gertrude Purcell, writer
Maurice Rapf, writer
Robert (Bob) Reed, member of
C.P. actors' fraction. Federal
Theatre Project, New York City
Ann Roth Morgan Richards (Mrs.
Robert L. Richards), former
assistant executiye secretary,
Screen Writers' Guild
Frederick (Fred) Rinaldo,
writer (collaborated with
Robert Lees on scripts)
W. L. Riyer, writer
Marguerite Roberts, writer
(Mrs. John Sanford)
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Robert B. (Bob) Roberts,
producer
Catherine O'Neal (Mrs. Robert
B. Roberts)
Wayne Ronka, musician
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Madeleine Ruthyen, ex-writer,
C.P. functionary (organiza
tional secretary for Hollywood
section, C.P.)
Lee Sabinson, motion picture
studio reader, later a Broad
way producer
Frances Sage, actress
Waldo Salt, writer
John Sanford, writer
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Mrs. Virginia Schulberg (for
mer wife of Budd W. Schulberg;
later Mrs. Peter Viertel)
Eya Shafran, C.P. educational
director, Los Angeles-
Hollywood
Victor (Vic) Shapiro, publi
cist
Viola Brothers Shore, writer
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Wilma Shore, writer (daughter
of Viola Brothers Shore and
wife of Louis (Lou) Solomon
George Sklar, writer
Lionel Stander, actor
Alice Twitchell (the former
Mrs. Lionel Stander)
Donald Ogden Stewart, writer
Arthur Strawn, writer
Elliott (Ely) Sulliyan, actor
Bess Taffel, writer
Shepard Traube, theatrical
director-producer
Paul Triyers, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Tania (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle
(Berkeley referred to her as
"Sonia" in his testimony.)
Herta Uerkyitz, motion picture
studio architectural research-
Michael H. (Mickey) Uris,
writer
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
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Friendly witness
MARTIN BERKELEY
(Continued)
CHARLOTTE DARLING ADAMS,
FORMER SECRETARY, SCREEN
CARTOONISTS' GUILD, LOCAL
852, AFL, PAINTERS' INTER
NATIONAL
Appeared March 26 and
June 2, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Bernard Vorhaus, director
John Weber, agent
Richard Weil, writer
John Wexley, writer
Irying J. White, radio writer-
director
George Wiliner, writers' agent
Tiba (Mrs. George) Willner
Cecil Beard, cartoonist
Edward Biberman, artist
Sam Cloner, studio laborer
Noryal Crutcher, organizer.
Technicians' local, lATSE
Frank Drdlik, set designer
Eugene Strong Fleury, artist
and art instructor
Bernyce Polifka Fleury, artist
and teacher (Mrs. Eugene
Fleury)
Ed Gilbert, set designer
Donald Gordon, motion picture
studio reader, assistant story
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Friendly witness
CHARLOTTE DARLING ADAMS
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Dayid Hilberman, cartoonist
Libby (Mrs. Dayid) Hilberman
Maurice Howard, succeeded M.
William Pomerance as business
agent. Screen Cartoonists'
Guild
Eyelyn (Mrs. Maurice) Howard
John Hubley, cartoonist
Jeff Kibre, C.P. organizer,
motion picture studios
Phil Kelin, cartoonist
Joe Kromberger, studio elec-
Kate Lawson (Mrs. John Howard
Lawson)
Hank Morley, laboratory tech-
Mary Nolan (Mrs. Frank Nolan)
Paul Robert Perlin, motion
picture studio worker
Henry Peterson, motion picture
studio carpenter, son of:
Hjalmar Peterson, also a mo
tion picture studio carpenter
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Friendly witness
CHARLOTTE DARLING ADAMS
(Continued)
MORRIS L. APPELMAN,
C.P. FUNCTIONARY
Appeared January 10, 1952
EiAROLD J. ASHE,
MAGAZINE WRITER,
C.P. FUNCTIONARY
Appeared September 17, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Mortimer William (Bill)
Pomerance, former business
agent. Screen Cartoonists'
Guild, local 852, AFL Paint
ers ' International, later
executiye secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild
Edwina (Mrs. M. William)
Pomerance
Naomi Robeson, ex-actress,
C.P. functionary
Zachary Schwartz, cartoonist,
later an artist and designer
of teleyision adyertising
John Howard Lawson, writer
Charles Page
Polly (Mrs. Charles) Page
Mildred Ashe, his former wife
John Broman, C.P. name for
Jack Wilson
Charles Daggett, newspaperman
Will Geer, actor
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicity
writer
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Friendly witness
EiAROLD J. ASHE
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Vera (Mrs. Lou) Harris
Jeff Kibre, Fishermen's Union,
San Pedro
Virginia (Mrs. Jeff) Kibre
Herbert (Herb) Arthur Klein,
former wire-seryice corres
pondent in Germany (not to be
confused with the editor of
New Theatre)
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A.) Klein
Stanley Lawrence, C.P. func
tionary, organizer of motion
picture studio professionals,
ex-Los Angeles taxicab driyer
John Howard Lawson, writer
John Leech, writer, C.P. func
tionary
Ralph Smith, set designer
Lionel Stander, actor (C.P.
name, J. or Jay Stander)
Lucy Stander (formerly Mrs.
Lionel Stander)
Tania (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle.
Ashe indicated that the wife
of the director was also a
C.P. functionary.
Rena Vale, WPA Writers' Proj
ect
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MILDRED ASHE, C.P. FUNC
TIONARY, FORMER WIFE OF
HAROLD J. ASHE
Appeared September 17, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Harold J. Ashe, ex-husband
John Bright, writer
John Broman (real name John
[Jack] Wilson), newspaperman
Charles Daggett, newspaperman
Carl Dreher, motion picture
studio engineer and technician
Mary Virginia Farmer, actress,
held high position in Federal
Theatre Project
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicist
Vera (Mrs. Lou) Harris
Jeff Kibre, C.P. functionary
Virginia (Mrs. Jeff) Kibre
Herbert (Herb) Arthur Klein,
former wire-seryice corres
pondent, later a teacher
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A.) Klein
John Leech, writer, C.P.
functionary
Walter McElroy, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Lionel Stander, actor
Lucy Stander, former wife of
Lionel Stander
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEOPOLD LAWRENCE ATLAS,
WRITER
Appeared March 12, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Lewis Allen, playwright
Ben Barzman, writer
Ben Bengal, writer
Leonardo Bercoyici, writer
Alyah Bessie, writer
Mrs. Alyah Bessie
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Tom Chapman, motion picture
studio reader
Clarice (Mrs. Tom) Chapman
Johnny Cole
Lester Cole, writer
Guy Endore, writer
Ann Froelich, writer
Lester Fuller, director-writer
Gertrude (Mrs. Lester) Fuller
Morton Grant, writer
Elizabeth (Betty) (Mrs. Mor
ton) Grant
Anne Green, writer (Mrs.
Howard Koch)
Gordon Kahn, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEOPOLD LAWRENCE ATLAS
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
John Howard Lawson, writer
Alfred Lewis Leyitt, writer
Melyin (Mel) Leyy, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Ann Roth Morgan Richards, for
mer assistant executiye secre
tary, Screen Writers' Guild
(Mrs. Robert L. Richards)
Marguerite (Maggie) Roberts,
writer (Mrs. John Sanford)
Naomi Robeson, ex-actress,
C.P. functionary
John Sanford, writer
Victor (Vic) Shapiro, publi
cist
Philip (Phil) Edward Steven
son, writer
Arthur Strawn, writer
Bess Taffel, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Mrs. John Weber (wife of the
writers' agent)
George Willner, writers' agent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEOPOLD LAWRENCE ATLAS
(Continued)
GEORGE BASSMAN,
MUSICIAN-COMPOSER
Appeared January 28, 1952
GEORGE BECK, WRITER
Appeared September 25, 1951
Named as meinber or former
member of Communist party
Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson,
writer (Betty Anderson; Mrs.
Richard Wilson)
Sonora Babb, writer
Martin Berkeley, writer
Victor (Vic) Shapiro, publi
cist
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Ann Froelich, writer
Morton Grant, writer
Elizabeth (Mrs. Morton) Grant
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicist
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Mortimer Offner, writer
Madelaine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary, ex-writer
John Sanford, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
GEORGE BECK
(Continued)
NICHOLAS (NICK) BELA,
ACTOR-WRITER-DIRECTOR
Appeared December 14, 1954
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Leo Townsend, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
John Wexley, writer
George Willner, writers' agent
Mrs. Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson,
writer (Mrs. Richard Wilson)
Dorothy Babb
Sonora Babb, writer
Ben Barzman, writer
Martin Berkeley, writer
Edward Biberman, artist
Sonja Dahl, actress (Mrs.
Edward Biberman)
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Thomas (Tom) Brandon, C.P.
organizer and operator of
Brandon Films, New York City
J. (Joe) Edward Bromberg
Miss Jessie Burns, motion pic
ture studio reader
Lester Cole, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
NICHOLAS (NICK) BELA
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Richard Collins, writer
Dorothy Comingore, actress
(Mrs. Michael H. Uris)
Carl Dreher, motion picture
studio engineer and technician
Rose (Mrs. Carl) Dreher
Arnaud d'Usseau, writer
Edward (Ed) Eliscu, writer
Stella (Mrs. Edward) Eliscu
Guy Endore, writer
Mary Virginia Farmer, actress
James (Jimmy) Gow, writer
(collaborated on scripts with
Arnaud d'Usseau)
Edward (Ed) Huebsch, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Marc Lawrence, actor
John Howard Lawson, writer
Robert Lees, writer
Isobel Lennart, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Margaret (Mrs. Albert) Maltz
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
NICHOLAS (NICK) BELA
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Mortimer Offner^ writer-
director
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Gertrude Purcell, writer
Maurice Rapf, writer
Frederick (Fred) Rinaldo,
writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg,
former head of literary de
partment, motion picture
talent agency, Hollywood
Robert Rossen, writer-director-
producer
Lee Sabinson, Broadway pro
ducer
Waldo Salt, writer
Budd W. Schulberg, writer
Martha Solomon, poet
Elliott (Ely) Sulliyan, actor
Herta Uerkyitz, motion picture
studio reader
George Willner, writers' agent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MAX NATHAN BENOFP, WRITER
Appeared March 24, 1953
MILDREN (MRS. MAX N.)
BENOFF
Appeared February 17, 1953
WILLIAM FRANK BLOWITZ,
PUBLICIST
Appeared September 20, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Richard Collins, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Elena (Mrs. George) Beck
Marie (Mrs. Frederick) Rinaldo
Mrs. Pauline S. Townsend,
writer (Mrs. Leo Townsend)
Tania (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle
Alvah Bessie, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Mrs. Lester Cole
Elizabeth Leech Glenn, C.P.
functionary
Morton Grant, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
WILLIAM FRANK BLOWITZ
(Continued)
LLOYD BRIDGESJ ACTOR
Appeared October 22, 1951
LOUIS F. BUDENZ, EDITOR-
WRITER
Appeared January 15^ 1952
MRS. CAR IN KINZEL BURROWS'^
(MRS. ABE BURROWS),
ACTRESS-WRITER-DIRECTOR
?Vppeared May 5, 1953
Named as meinber or former
member of Communist party
John Howard Lawson, writer
Mrs. John Howard Lawson
Self (The actor furnished the
committee with "an executiye
sworn statement, testifying
fully as to his former Commu
nist Party membership. It has
not been made public.")^
Michael Seymour Blankfort,
writer ("appeared before com
mittee January 28, 1952 and
denied Communist Party mem
bership; still under inyesti-
gation.")^
Mike Gold, author
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
writer
Georgia Backus, actress (Mrs.
Hy Alexander)
^U.S., Congress, House, Committee on Un-American
A.ctiyities, Annual Report for the Year 1952, 82nd Cong.,
2nd Sess., p. 40.
^Ibid., p. 58.
^It is interesting to note that the committee did
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MRS. CARIN KINZEL BURROWS
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Henry Blankfort, writer
Angela Clarke
Mrs. Pauline Lauber Finn, ex
ecutiye secretary, Hollywood
Writers' Mobilization
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Elaine Gonda, in charge of
radio transcription company
(Mrs. Charles Glenn)
Annette Harper, radio actress
Dwight Hauser, radio writer-
director
Pauline Hopkins, radio writer
(Mrs. Owen Vinson)
Nina (or Anna) Klowden, radio
actress
Mitchell Lindeman, radio
director, associate producer
Leon Meadows
Sam Moore, radio writer
Silyia Richards, writer
Reuben Ship, radio and screen
not query Mrs. Burrows about her husband's relationship with
the C.P.j neither did Mrs. Burrows youchsafe any comments
according to the transcript of her testimony.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MRS. CARIN KINZEL BURROWS
(Continued)
LEE J. COBB, ACTOR
Appeared June 2, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Robin Short, C.P. radio group,
Hollywood
Eugene R. Stone, radio writer
Lynn Whitney, actress
Phoebe Brand, actress (Mrs.
Morris Carnoysky)
Lloyd Bridges, actor
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Jeff Corey, actor
Ludwig Donath, actor
Rose Hobart, actress
Victor Kilian, actor
Marc Lawrence, actor
John Howard Lawson, writer
Peter (Pete) Lyons, radio
Arnold Manoff, writer
Larry Parks, actor
Robert (Bob) Reed, actor
Anne Reyere, actress
Shimen Ruskin, actor
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEE J. COBB
(Continued)
RICHARD J. (DICK) COLLINS,
WRITER
Appeared April 12, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Gerry Schlein, actress (Mrs.
Charles Schlein)
Gale Sondergaard, actress
(Mrs. Herbert J. Biberman)
Elliott (Ely) Sulliyan, actor
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
George Tyne, actor
Leonardo Bercoyici, writer
Martin Berkeley, writer
Herbert Blache, actor
Mrs. Herbert Blache
John Bright, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Mrs. Pauline Lauber Finn,
executiye secretary, Hollywood
Writers' Mobilization
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Elizabeth Leech Glenn, C.P.
functionary (Mrs. Charles
Glenn)
Nora (Mrs. George) Hallgren,
C.P. functionary
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
RICHARD J. (DICK) COLLINS
(Continued)
CHARLES DAGGETT,
NEWSPAPERMAN
Appeared January 21, 1952
Named as member or former
meinber of Communist party
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Madelaine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary
Waldo Salt, writer
Ambur Dana, secretary (Mrs.
Waldo Salt)
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Harold J. Ashe, magazine
writer, C.P. functionary
Daggett named a number of newspapermen, seyeral
attorneys, and others as members of the C.P. in the Los
Angeles-Hollywood area, but they were not in the show-
business fractions of the C.P.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
CHARLES DAGGETT
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Ben Barzmanj writer
William Frank Blowitz^ publi
cist
John (Jack) Broman (also known
as John [Jack] Wilson), news
paperman
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Miss Urcel Daniel, newspaper
woman
George Glass, motion picture
publicist
Jay Gorney, musician-song
Sondra (Mrs. Jay) Gorney
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Herbert Arthur (Herb) Klein,
former wire-seryice corres
pondent, teacher
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A.) Klein
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
Henry Meyers, writer
Karen Morley, actress (Mrs.
Lloyd Gough)
Larry Parks, actor
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
CHARLES DAGGETT
(Continued)
MISS URCEL DANIEL,
NEWSPAPERWOMAN
Appeared July 8, 1952
DANNY DARE, PRODUCER-
DIRECTOR
Appeared March 2 3, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Lucy (Mrs. Lionel) Stander
George Thomas, Jr., publicist
Leo Townsend, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Robert Wachsman, publicist
Lou Amster, writer
Charles N. Judson, newspaper-
Herbert Arthur (Herb) Klein,
former newspaperman, teacher
Minna (Mrs. Herbert) Klein
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Jessie Burns, motion picture
studio reader
Mrs. Pauline Lauber Finn, ex
ecutive secretary, Hollywood
Writers' Mobilization
^Miss Daniel named a number of newspapermen and
other persons as members of the C.P., but they were not in
the show-business sector of the C.P.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DANNY DARE
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
John Howard Lawson, writer
Ray E. Spencer, writer
Tanya (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle
Trying J. White, radio writer,
director
THOMAS F. DELANEY, ORGANIZER Howard Fast, author and
LOCAL 155, UE (UNITED writer. New York City
ELECTRICAL WORKERS)
Appeared October 13, 1952
EDWARD DMYTRYK, DIRECTOR
Appeared October 29, 1947,
and refused to answer ques
tions concerning Communist
party membership
Appeared again April 25,
1951, and testified freely
about former party member
ship
Leonardo Bercoyici, writer
John (Jack) Berry, director
Alyah Bessie, writer
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Henry Blankfort, writer
Maurice Clark, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
George Corey, writer
Mrs. George Corey, department
store advertising executive
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
EDWARD DMYTRYK
(Continued)
ROY ERWIN, WRITER
Appeared March 13, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Jules Dassin, director
Francis Faragoh, writer
Elizabeth (Mrs. Francis)
Faragoh
Michael Gordon, director
Gordon Kahn, writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Sam Moore, radio writer
George Pepper, executiye sec
retary, Hollywood Council of
Arts, Sciences, and Profes-
Adrian Scott, writer-producer
Paul Triyers, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Michael H. Uris, writer
Bernard Vorhaus, director
John Wexley, writer
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROY ERWIN
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Georgia Backus, actress
(Mrs. Hy Alexander)
Harry Carlisle, writer, C.P.
functionary
Bert Cooper, radio
Dwight Hauser, radio writer-
director
Pauline Hopkins, radio writer
(Mrs. Owen Vinson)
Nina Klowden, radio actress
(also known as Anna)
Paul McVey, radio actor
Sam Moore, radio writer
Karen Morley, actress (Mrs.
Lloyd Gough)
Ben Pollin, photographer for
radio network
John Rapf, radio
Jack Robinson, radio writer
Mary Robinson, radio writer
(Mrs. Jack Robinson)
Owen Vinson, radio director
Herman Waldreen, radio actor
(also known as Herman Waldman
and Dayid Wolfe)
Lynn Whitney, actress
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
EVE ETTINGER, MOTION
PICTURE STUDIO STORY
EDITOR
Appeared September 10, 1951
MISS RUTH FISCHER, SISTER
OF HANS AND GERHART EISLER
MRS. BERNYCE POLIFKA FLEURY,
ARTIST (MRS. EUGENE FLEURY)
Appeared September 24, 1951
EUGENE STRONG FLEURY
ART1ST-ART INSTRUCTOR
Appeared September 10, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Nicholas (Nick) Bela, actor-
writer-director
Martin Berkeley, writer
Lester Fuller, writer-director
Lee Sabinson, Broadway pro-
Gerhart Eisler
Hans Eisler, composer-
musician
Edward (Ed) Biberman, artist
Eugene Strong Fleury, her
husband
Dayid Hilberman, cartoonist
Mortimer William Pomerance,
former business agent. Screen
Cartoonists' Guild, local 852.
AFL Painters' International,
later executiye secretary.
Screen Writers' Guild
Bernyce P. Fleury, his wife
Dayid Hilberman, cartoonist
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
EUGENE STRONG FLEURY
(Continued)
ANNE RAY FRANK, WRITER
(MRS. MELVIN FRANK) (SISTER
OF VIRGINIA SCHULBERG
VIERTEL)
Appeared September 10, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Libby (Mrs. David) Hilberman
John McGrew, animator
Mortimer William Pomerance,
former business agent. Screen
Cartoonists' Guild, local 852,
AFL Painters' International,
later executive secretary.
Screen Writers' Guild
Harold Buchman, writer
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg, head
of literary department of
Hollywood motion picture tal
ent agency
Robert Rossen, writer-
director -producer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
CHARLES H. GARRIGUES
NEWSPAPERMAN
Appeared March 21, 1953
GEORGE GLASS, MOTION
PICTURE PUBLICIST AND
PRODUCER
Appeared January 21, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Lou Amster, writer
Libby Burke, dancer
Miss Urcel Daniel, newspaper
woman
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A .) Klein
(Garrigues identified her as a
writer.)
Tom O'Connor, newspaperman
William E. (Bill) Oliyer,
newspaperman, drama critic
Ed Robbins, newspaperman
Ben Barzman, writer
Charles Daggett, newspaperman
Jay Gorney, musician-song
Gordon Kahn, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
Henry Meyers, writer
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Janet Steyenson, writer (Mrs.
Philip Edward Steyenson)
Leo Townsend, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
JULIAN GORDON, FORMER MOTION Self, as former Communist and
PICTURE TECHNICIAN; LATER
WORKED FOR INDEPENDENT
MOTION PICTURE PRODUCER
MAKING STOCK AND ACCESSORIES
Appeared March 24, 1953
GEORGE HALL, ACTOR
Appeared August 17, 1955
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
president and one of the
founders of the Communist Club
of Hollywood. Did not name
any other members of C.P.
DWIGHT HAUSER, RADIO
WRITER-DIRECTOR
Appeared March 30, 1953
Sarah Cunningham, actress
(Mrs. John Randolph)
Irma Jurist, composer
David Kanter, assistant stage
manager
George Keane, actor
Betty Winkler, actress (Mrs.
George Keane)
Alan Manson, actor
John Randolph, actor
Joshua Shelley, actor
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
Georgia Backus, actress (Mrs.
Hy Alexander)
Henry Blankfort, writer
Abram (Abe) Burrows, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DWIGHT HAUSER
(Continued)
STERLING HAYDEN, ACTOR
Appeared April 10, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Carin Kinzel Burrows, actress-
writer-director (Mrs. Abe
Burrows)
Roy Erwin, writer
Annette Harper, radio actress
Nina (or Anna) Klowden, radio
actress
Paul Marion, actor
Paul McVey, radio actor
Sam Moore, radio writer
Naomi Robeson, ex-actress,
C.P. functionary
Owen Vinson, director of
radio programs
Murray Wagner, radio actor
and announcer (also spelled
"Murry")
Lynn Whitney, actress
Robert Lees, writer
Karen Morley, actress (Mrs.
Lloyd Gough)
Maurice Murphy, actor
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
STERLING HAYDEN
(Continued)
HAROLD ADOLPH HECHT,
PRODUCER
Appeared March 23, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Bernadette (Bea) Winters,
secretary at Hollywood talent
and literary agency, later
secretary to a producer
Martin Berkeley, writer
Edward Biberman, artist
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director -producer
Gale Sondergaard, actress
(Mrs, Herbert J. Biberman)
John Bright, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Roland William Kibbee, writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Melyin (Mel) Levy, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Gertrude Purcell, writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg, head
of literature department of
Hollywood motion picture
talent agency
Madelaine Ruthven, C.P. func
tionary, ex-writer
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness Named as member or former
member of Communist party
HAROLD ADOLPH HECHT Frank Wright Tuttle, director
(Continued)
Elizabeth Wilson, writer (Mrs.
Richard Wilson; Betty Ander
son)
Hecht named the following as haying held membership in the
C.P. and described them as "aspiring actors and actresses"
in the Federal Theatre Project.
Georgia Burns
Rose Pearson
Trudy Peck
Robert Sloan
LEROY TRAVERS HERNDON, JR., Anne Kinney (C.P. name Jane
TEACHER; ASSIGNED BY C.P. Howe), C.P. member at large
TO HOLLYWOOD PROFESSIONAL
SECTION OF C.P.
Appeared March 27, 1953
ROY HUGGINS, WRITER- Ellenore (Mrs. Murray) Abo-
PRODUCER witz®
Appeared September 29, 1952
Murray Abowitz, M.D.
Ben Barzman, writer
8m
Testimony of a number of witnesses reyealed that
Dr. and Mrs. Abowitz were actiye in C.P. show-business ac-
tiyities in Hollywood, as were many other business and pro
fessional men and women from the Greater Los Angeles area.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROY HUGGINS
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Norma Barzman, writer
(Mrs. Ben Barzman)
Val Burton, writer
Harry Carlisle, C.P. function
ary
Howard Dayis, optometrist
Leslie (Les) Edgley, writer
Guy Endore, writer
Elliott Grennard, writer
Lilith James, writer
Robert Lees, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Robert L. Richards, writer
Ann Roth Morgan Richards
(Mrs. Robert L. Richards),
former assistant executiye
secretary. Screen Writers'
Guild
Wilma Shore, writer
George Sklar, writer
Janet Steyenson, writer
(Mrs. Philip E. Steyenson)
Philip Edward Steyenson,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness Named as member or former
member of Communist party
LEON JANNEY, ACTOR Self
Appeared February 13, 1952
("Janney appeared in executiye session and testified fully
as to his former membership in the Communist Party. It has
not been made public.")^
MANNING JOHNSON, FORMER
FBI AGENT
CHARLES W. JUDSON,
NEWSPAPERMAN
Appeared January 26, 1952
Paul Robeson, singer-actor
Charles Daggett, newspaperman
Miss Urcel Daniel, newspaper
woman
Charles H. Garrigues, news
paperman
Herbert Arthur (Herb) Klein,
former wire-seryice corres
pondent, teacher
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A.) Klein
1952 Annual Report, p. 41.
^^Judson, a former member of the C.P., named a num
ber of other newspapermen and C.P. functionaries who were
not in the show-business sector of C.P. actiyities.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ELIA KAZAN, DIRECTOR
Appeared April 10, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Sid Benson (also known as Ted
Wellman), C.P. functionary
Phoebe Brand, actress (Mrs.
Morris Carnoysky)
J. Edward Bromberg, actor
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Anne Howe, executiye secretary
of Contemporary Theatre, and
former official in the League
of Workers Theatres
Tony Kraber, actor
Lewis Leyerett, actor
Paula Miller, actress
Clifford Odets, writer
Robert (Bob) Reed, actor
Art Smith, actor
FRED KEATING, ACTOR Self
Appeared July 19, 1951
("Keating appeared in executiye session and testified fully
as to his former membership in the Communist Party. It has
not been made public." )H
^^1952 Annual Report, p. 41.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROLAND WILLIAM KIBBEE,
WRITER
Appeared June 2, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
George Bassman^ musician-
composer
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
John Bright, writer
Harold Buchman, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Arnaud d'Usseau, writer
James (Jimmy) Gow, writer
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicity
writer
Jeff Kibre, C.P. organizer,
motion picture studios
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Maurice Murphy, actor
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz
Maurice Rapf, writer
Waldo Salt, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Elizabeth Wilson, writer
(Mrs. Richard Wilson), Betty
Anderson
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
yiISS ANNE KINNEY
(C.P. NAME JANE HOWE)
C.P. MEMBER AT LARGE
Appeared December 22, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Ellenore Abowitz (Mrs. Murray
Abowitz)
Harold J. Ashe, magazine
writer, C.P. functionary
Mildred Ashe, C.P. functionary
(the former Mrs. Harold J.
Ashe)
John Bevins, motion picture
studio worker
Howland Chamberlin, actor
Leona McGinty (Mrs. Howland
Chamberlin)
Bea Burke, writer
Miss Urcel Daniel, newspaper
woman
Charles A. (Brick) Garrigues,
newspaperman
Julian Gordon, former motion
picture technician
Carl Grant
Ann Howe, executiye secretary
of Contemporary Theatre
Barta Humouna, teacher, actiye
in Contemporary Theatre
Libby Jacobson
Herbert Arthur (Herb) Klein,
ex-correspondent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MISS ANNE KINNEY
(Continued)
BABBETTE LANG, SECRETARY
(MRS. DAVID A. LANG)
Appeared June 2, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Minna (Mrs. Herbert A.) Klein
John Leech, C.P. functionary,
writer
Elizabeth Leech, C.P. func
tionary
Bella Lewitzky, dancer (Mrs.
Newell Reynolds)
Jay Moss
Ed Robbins, newspaperman
Jack Wetherwax
Jane Wilson (also known as
Jane Wallace), C.P. functionary
(Mrs. John [Jack] Wilson)
Dolph Winebrenner, newspaper-
Dayid A. Lang, writer, her
husband
Russell William Burnstein,
motion picture studio engineer
Clare (Mrs. Russell W.) Burn-
Guy Endore
Henriette (Mrs. Guy) Endore
Carl Foreman, writer-director
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
BABBETTE LANG
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Estelle (Mrs. Carl) Foreman
Catherine Larkin (sister of
Margaret Maltz)
Jean (Mrs. Robert) Lees
Charles Leonard^ writer
Helen (Mrs. Charles) Leonard
Albert Maltz, writer
Margaret (Mrs. Albert) Maltz
Eunice Mindlin, motion picture
studio secretary
Ann Roth Morgan (Mrs. Stephen
Morgan, later Ann Roth Morgan
Richards), former assistant
executiye secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild
Stephen (Steye) Morgan, C.P.
contact man, Hollywood (de
ceased)
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Sadie (Mrs. Samuel) Ornitz
Estelle (Mrs. Oscar) Saul
Viola Brothers Shore, writer
Esther Jerry Wagner, radio
announcer
George Willner, writers' agent
Tiba (Mrs. George) Willner
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
BABBETTE LANG
(Continued)
DAVID A. LANG, WRITER
Appeared March 24, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Michael Wilson, writer, C.P.
functionary
Sol Barzman, writer
George Bassman, musician-
composer
Nicholas (Nick) Bela, writer
Max Nathan Benoff, writer
Connie Lee Bennett, writer
Seymour Bennett, writer
Alyah Bessie, writer
Edward Biberman, artist
Arthur Birnkrant, writer
Henry Blankfort, writer
Laurie (Lorry) Blankfort
William Frank Blowitz, publi
cist
Allen Boretz, writer
John Bright, writer
Harold Buchman, writer
Val Burton, writer
Hugo Butler, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DAVID A. LANG
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Maurice Clark, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Dorothy Comingore, actress
Paul Curtiss
Howard Dimsdale, writer
Arnaud d'Usseau, writer
Edward Eliscu, writer
Cyril Endfield, director
Guy Endore, writer
Carl Foreman, writer
Estelle (Mrs. Carl) Foreman
Morton Grant, writer
Elliott Grennard, writer
Edward (Ed) Huebsch, writer
Daniel Lewis (Dan) James,
writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Lester Koenig, writer-producer
Pauline Lagerfin, writer
Millard Lampe11, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DAVID A. LANG
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Isobel Lennart, writer
Charles Leonard, writer
Helen (Mrs. Charles) Leonard
Alfred Lewis Leyitt, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Henriette (Henrietta) Martin,
Henry Meyers, writer
Eunice Mindlin, studio secre
tary
Stephen (Steye) Morgan, C.P.
contact man, Hollywood
Mortimer Offner, writer
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Maurice Rapf, writer
W. L. Riyer, writer
Marguerite Roberts, writer
Robert B. (Bob) Roberts,
producer
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Louise Rousseau, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DAVID A. LANG
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Madelaine Ruthven, C.P. func
tionary, ex-writer
Waldo Salt, writer
Adrian Scott, writer-producer
Victor Shapiro, publicist
Wilma Shore, writer
George Sklar, writer
Joseph (Joe) Solomon, writer
Louis (Lou) Solomon, writer
John Stanford, writer
Bess Taffel, writer
Frank Tarloff, writer
Paul Trabusis, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Michael H. Uris, writer
John Wexley, writer
Michael Wilson, writer, C.P.
functionary
Julian Zimet, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
yiARC LAWRENCE, ACTOR
?lppeared April 24, 1951
ISOBEL LENNART, WRITER
l^ppeared May 20, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
J. Edward Bromberg, actor
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Lester Cole, writer
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Jeff Corey, actor
Howard daSilya, actor
Lloyd Gough, actor
Karen Morley (Mrs. Lloyd
Gough)
Sterling Hayden, actor
Gordon Kahn, writer
Larry Parks, actor
Anne Reyere, actress
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Lionel Stander, actor
Martin Berkeley, writer
Alyah Bessie, writer
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
direct or -producer
Henry Blankfort, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ISOBEL LENNART
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
J. (Joe) Edward Bromberg,
actor
Miss Jessie Burns, motion
picture studio reader
Lester Cole, writer
Elizabeth Leech Glenn, C.P.
functionary
George Hallgren, studio
employee
Nora (Mrs. George) Hallgren,
C.P. functionary
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Roland William Kibbee, writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
• Maurice Murphy, actor
Madelaine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary, ex-writer
George Sklar, writer
George Willner, agent
Tiba (Mrs. George) Willner
Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson,
writer (Mrs. Richard Wilson)
(Betty Anderson)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MELVIN (MEL) LEVY, WRITER
Appeared January 28, 1952
BART LYTTON, WRITER;
LATER HEAD OF A SAVINGS
AND LOAN COMPANY BEARING
HIS NAME
Appeared March 25-26, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Martin Berkeley, writer
William Frank Blowitz, publi
cist
Lester Cole, writer
Carl Foreman, writer-director
Edward Huebsch, writer
Alfred Lewis Leyitt, writer
Mortimer Offner, writer
George Willner, writers' agent
Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson,
writer (Mrs. Richard Wilson)
George Beck, writer
Maurice Clark, writer
Elizabeth Leech Glenn, C.P.
functionary, writer
Jay Gorney, musician-song
Daniel Lewis (Dan) James,
writer
Lilith James, writer (Mrs.
Dan James)
John Howard Lawson, writer
Stanley Prager, actor-writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
BART LYTTON
(Continued)
EDITH MACIA,
UNDERCOVER AGENT, FBI,
LOS ANGELES AREA
Appeared March 28, 1953
PAUL MARION, ACTOR
Appeared October 2, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Ann Roth Morgan Richards,
former assistant executiye
secretary. Screen Writers'
Guild
John Wexley, writer
Harold Dimsdale, writer
Charles Ellis (name changed
to Charles Stone), radio
actor-writer
Shirley Ellis (Mrs. Charles
Ellis)
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
Georgia Backus, actress
(Mrs. Hy Alexander)
Jeff Corey, actor
Ellen Dayidr^on, ex-actress
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Lloyd Gough, actor
Karen Morley, actress (Mrs.
Lloyd Gough)
Margaret Gruen, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAUL MARION
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Alvin Hammer, actor
Annette Harper, radio actress
Pauline Hopkins, radio writer
(Mrs. Owen Vinson)
Paul Jarrico, writer
Nina (or Anna) Klowden, radio
actress
Marc Lawrence, actor
Mitchell Lindeman, radio
director, associate producer
Edwin Miller Max, actor
Sam Moore, radio writer
Benjamin (Ben) Polin, photog
rapher for radio network
Jack Robinson, radio writer
Mary Robinson, radio writer
(Mrs. Jack Robinson)
Arthur (Art) Shapiro, radio
writer or publicist
Reuben Ship, radio and screen
Eugene R. Stone, radio writer
Owen Vinson, radio director
Herman Waldreen (also known as
Herman Waldman and Dayid
Wolfe), radio actor
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAUL MARION
(Continued)
CLIFFORD ODETS (deceased)
WRITER-DIRECTOR
Appeared May 19-20, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Stanley Waxman, actor and
radio announcer
Trying J. White, radio writer-
director ; playwrightj screen
writer
Lynn Whitney, actress
William (Billy) Wolff, radio
writer
HARVEY NARCISENFELD
Appeared Noyember 12, 1952,
in executiye session (a
portion of the secret testi
mony was released in 1953).
Jody Gilbert, actress
Sid Benson (also known as Ted
Wellman), C.P. functionary
Phoebe Brand, actress (Mrs.
Morris Carnoysky)
J. Edward Bromberg, actor^^
Elia Kazan, director
Tony Kraber, actor
Lewis Leverett, actor
■ ‘ ■^Odets testified on May 19, 1952, that Bromberg
recruited him into the C.P.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LARRY PARKS, ACTOR
Appeared March 21, 1951
Additional executive
testimony released in 1953
GERTRUDE PURCELL, WRITER
Appeared April 8, 1953
PAUL BENEDICT RADIN,
RADIO-TELEVISION AGENT
Appeared March 12, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Roman Bohnen, actor
J. Edward Bromberg, actor
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Lee J. Cobb, actor
Lloyd Gough, actor
Victor Kilian, actor
John Howard Lawson, writer
Karen Morley, actress
Anne Revere, actress
Sam Rosen
Gale Sondergaard, actress
(Mrs. Herbert J. Biberman)
Dorothy Tree, actress
(Mrs. Michael H. Uris)
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
^^Radin swore that he was not a member of the C.P.,
that dues were collected at C.P. meetings, but not from him
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAUL BENEDICT RADIN
(Continued)
DAVID RAKSIN, COMPOSER
Appeared September 20^ 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Jay Gorney, musician-song
writer
Sondra (Mrs. Jay) Gorney
Joseph Losey, director^'^
Mrs. Joseph Losey
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg, head
of literary department,
Hollywood motion picture
talent agency
Waldo Salt, writer
Leo Townsend, writer
Pauline Swanson Townsend,
writer (Mrs. Leo Townsend)
John Weber, agent
John Wexley, writer
Mischa Altman, musician
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Leo Bigelman, M.D.
Richard Collins, writer
Bernice Fraser
Radin testified that Losey tried to recruit him
into the C.P.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
DAVID RAKSIN
(Continued)
SILVIA RICHARDS, WRITER
Appeared March 25, 1953
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Paul Jarrico, writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Madelaine Ruthyen, ex-writer,
C.P. functionary
Waldo Salt, writer
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
Georgia Backus, actress
(Mrs. Hy Alexander)
Lewis Allen, playwright
Mrs. Lewis Allen
Carin Kinzel Burrows, actress-
writer-director (Mrs. Abe
Burrows)
Edward Chodoroy, writer
Howard Dimsdale, writer
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Lee Gold, writer
Pauline Hopkins, radio writer
Tamara Hoyey, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
SILVIA RICHARDS
(Continued)
JEROME ROBBINS,
CHOREOGRAPHER
Appeared May 5, 1953
STANLEY ROBERTS, WRITER
Appeared May 20, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Millard Lampell, writer
Mrs. Millard Lampell
Arnold Manoff, writer
Sam Moore, radio writer
Ed Rolfe, writer
Lynn Whitney, actress
George Willner, agent
Tiba (Mrs. George) Willner
Edward (Ed) Chodoroy, writer-
producer
Jerome Chodoroy, writer
Lloyd Gough, actor
Madeline Lee, C.P. functionary
and actress (Mrs. Jack Gil
ford)
Edna Ocko
Elliott (Ely) Sulliyan, actor
Ben Barzman, writer
John (Jack) Berry, director
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
STANLEY ROBERTS
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Edward Biberman, artist
Sonja Dahl, actress (Mrs.
Edward Biberman)
Hugo Butler, writer
Jean Butler (Rouyerol), writer
(Mrs. Hugo Butler)
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Arnaud d'Usseau, writer
Susan Wells (Mrs. Arnaud
d'Usseau), head of Communist
book shop
Carl Foreman, writer
Lloyd Gough, actor
Karen Morley, actress
(Mrs. Lloyd Gough)
Alex Greenberg, C.P. organi
zation secretary for the group
to which Roberts belonged
Edward Huebsch, writer
Mrs. Edward Huebsch
Gordon Kahn, writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Robert Lees, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
STANLEY ROBERTS
(Continued)
MRS. META REIS ROSENBERG,
FORMER HEAD OF LITERARY
DEPARTMENT, MOTION PICTURE
AGENCY, FORMER MOTION
PICTURE STORY EDITOR
Appeared April 13, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Irwin Lieberman, teleyision
Mrs. George Pepper, official
Hollywood Council, Arts, Sci
ences, and Professions
Abraham (Abe) Polonsky,
writer-director
Bernard C. Schoenfeld, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Jane (Mrs. Paul) Triyers
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Michael H. Uris, writer
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
Bernard Vorhaus, director
Edward Biberman, artist
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Francis Faragoh, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
MRS. META REIS ROSENBERG
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Carleton Moss, writer
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Abraham (Abe) Polonsky,
writer-director
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Madeleine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary
Waldo Salt, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Tania (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle
Michael H. Uris, writer
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
George Willner, writers' agent
ROBERT ROSSEN, WRITER-
DIRECTOR-PRODUCER
Appeared June 25, 1951,
denied former Communist
party membership.
Appeared again May 7, 1953,
in the party.___________________________________________
Georgia Backus, actress
(Mrs . Hy Alexander)
Ben Barzman, writer
Alyah Bessie, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROBERT ROSSEN
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
William Frank Blowitz, publi
cist
John Brightj writer
Harold Buchman, writer
Sidney Buchman^ writer
Hugo Butler, writer
Maurice Clark, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Edward Dmytryk, director
Guy Endore, writer
Francis Faragoh, writer
Pauline Lauber Finn, executiye
secretary, Hollywood Writers'
Mobilization
Lester Fuller, director
Morton Grant, writer
Louis (Lou) Harris, publicity
Ian McLellan Hunter, writer
Daniel (Dan) Lewis James,
Lilith James, writer (Mrs.
Dan James)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROBERT ROSSEN
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Paul Jarrico, writer
Hyman (Hy) Solomon Kraft,
writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Isobel Lennart, writer
Melvin (Mel) Levy, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Henry Meyers, writer
Josef Mischel, writer
Sam Moore, radio writer
Mortimer William (Bill)
Pomerance, former business
agent. Screen Cartoonists'
Guild, local 852, AFL Paint
ers ' International, later
executive secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild
Gertrude Purcell, writer
Maurice Rapf, writer
Ann Roth Morgan Richards,
assistant secretary. Screen
Writers' Guild (Mrs. Robert
L. Richards)
Fred Rinaldo, writer
Marguerite Roberts, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ROBERT ROSSEN
(Continued)
BERNARD C. SCHOENFELDj
WRITER
Appeared August 19, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Stanley Robertsj writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg,
literary agent, talent agency
Madeleine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary, ex-writer
Waldo Salt, writer
Adrian Scott, writer-producer
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Victor Shapiro, publicist
Louis Solomon, writer
Glenda Sulliyan
Leo Townsend, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Michael H. Uris, writer
Bernard Vorhaus, director
John Wexley, writer
John (Jack) Berry, director
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
BERNARD C. SCHOENFELD
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Gale Sondergaard, actress
(Mrs. Herbert J. Biberman)
Hugo ButlerJ writer
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Edward (Ed or Eddie) Huebsch,
John Howard Lawson, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Henry Meyers, writer
Stanley Roberts, writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg,
former head of literary de
partment of Hollywood motion
picture talent agency
Paul Triyers, writer
Jane (Mrs. Paul) Triyers
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Tanya (Mrs. Frank W. ) Tuttle
Michael H. Uris, writer
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
Bernard Vorhaus, director
Hetty (Mrs. Bernard) Vorhaus
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
BERNARD C. SCHOENFELD
(Continued)
BUDD WILSON SCHULBERG,
WRITER
Appeared May 2 3, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Michael Wilson, writer, C.P.
functionary
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
John Bright, writer
Harry Carlisle, writer, C.P.
functionary
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Gordon Kahn, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
Stanley Lawrence, C.P. func
tionary
John Howard Lawson, writer
Tillie Lerner, writer
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg
Waldo Salt, writer
Robert Tasker, writer
Tania (Mrs. Frank W.) Tuttle
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ZACHARY SCHWARTZ,
CARTOONIST; LATER ARTIST
AND DESIGNER OF TELEVISION
ADVERTISING
Appeared May 7, 1953
SOL SHOR, WRITER
Appeared March 12, 1953
Named as member or former
meiriber of Communist party
Edward Biberman, artist
Mrs. Bernyce Polifka Fleury,
Edward Nolan
Leopold Lawrence Atlas, writer
George Beck, writer
Nicholas Bela, writer
Mrs. Nicholas Bela
Herbert Biberman, writer-
director-producer
Miss Jessie Burns, motion
picture studio reader
Hugo Butler, writer
Tom Chapman, reader
Clarice (Mrs. Tom) Chapman
Maurice Clark, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Dorothy Comingore, actress
Edward Eliscu, writer
Carl Foreman, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
SOL SHOR
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Ann Froelichj writer
Morton Grant, writer
George Hallgren, credit mana
ger, Twentieth Century-Fox
Nora (Mrs. George) Hallgren
Harold A. Hecht
Lester Koenig, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Alfred Lewis Leyitt, writer
Melyin Leyy, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Henry Meyers, writer
Josef Mischel, writer
Mortimer Offner
Maurice Rapf, writer
W. L. (Les) Riyers, writer
Dayid Robeson, motion picture
studio reader or writer
Madeleine Ruthyen, ex-writer,
C.P. functionary
Harold Salemson, publicity
agent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
SOL SHOR
(Continued)
MAX SILVER, FORMER
ORGANIZATIONAL SECRETARY,
C.P. LOS ANGELES
Appeared January 23, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Waldo Salt, writer
John Sanford, writer
Bernard Skadron, business
manager for motion picture
celebrities
Lillian (Mrs. Bernard) Skadron
Ray E. Spencer, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Frank Wright Tuttle, director
Michael H. Uris, writer
Bernard Vorhaus, director
Ruth (Mrs. John) Weber
Irving J. White, radio writer,
director
Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson,
C.P. functionary, writer (Mrs.
Richard Wilson)
Michael Wilson, writer
Dorothy Comingore, actress
Paul Robert Perlin, studio
worker
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ALLAN E. SLOANE, RADIO
TELEVISION SCREEN WRITER
Appeared January 13, 1954
LEO TOWNSEND, WRITER
Appeared September 18, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Lan Adomian, composer
Millard Lampe11, writer
Peter Lyon, radio writer
Ben Barzman, writer
Norma (Mrs. Ben) Barzman,
Nicholas (Nick) Bela, writer
Ben Bengal, writer
Sidney Benson, C.P. function
ary
Alyah Bessie, writer
Phoebe Brand, actress (Mrs.
Morris Carnoysky)
Harold Buchman, writer
Morris Carnoysky, actor
Elizabeth Leech Glenn, ex
writer, C.P. functionary
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Jay Gorney, musician, song
Sondra (Mrs. Jay) Gorney
Edward Huebsch, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEO TOWNSEND
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Daniel (Dan) James, writer
Paul Jarrico, writer
Sylyia (Mrs. Paul) Jarrico
John Howard Lawson, writer
Robert Lees, writer
Joseph Losey, director
Louise (Mrs. Joseph) Losey
Arnold Manoff, writer
Marjorie (Mrs. Arnold) Manoff
(also known as Marjorie Potts
and Marjorie MacGregor)
Henry Meyers, writer
Karen Morley, actress (Mrs.
Lloyd Gough)
Mortimer Offner, writer
Larry Parks, actor
Joy Pepper, C.P. functionary
Abraham Lincoln (Abe) Polon
sky, writer-director
Sylyia (Mrs. Abraham) Polonsky
Maurice Rapf, writer
Frederick (Fred) Rinaldo,
writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
LEO TOWNSEND
(Continued)
PAULINE SWANSON TOWNSEND,
WRITER (MRS. LEO TOWNSEND)
Named as meiriber or former
member of Communist party
Robert Rossen, writer-
director-producer
Waldo Salt, writer
Bess Taffel, writer
John Weber, agent
John Wexley, writer
Lewis Allen (Louis Allan),
playwright
Dorothy (Mrs. Leopold) Atlas
Ben Barzman
Norma Barzman, writer
Sol Barzman, writer
Elena Beck
Catherine Becker
Nicholas Bela, writer
Ben Bengal, writer
Max Benoff
Mickey (Mrs. Max) Benoff
Mildred Benoff
Arthur Birnkrant, writer
Mrs. Goldie Bromberg
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAULINE SWANSON TOWNSEND
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Harold Buchman, writer
Mrs. Harold Buchman
Ruth Burrows
Harry Carlyle
Beatrice Lubitz Cole
Richard Collins
Ernest Dawson
Andreas Dinam
Susan Wells d'Usseau
Leslie Edgley, writer
Mrs. Leslie Edgley
Cyril Endfield, director,
writer
Elizabeth Faragoh
Howard Fast, writer
Pauline Lauber Finn
Mrs. Elizabeth Leech Glenn
Jay Gorney
Sandra (Mrs. Jay) Gorney
Alice Hunter, head, Hollywood
Democratic Committee, or its
successor, the Hollywood In
dependent Citizens' Committee
of the Arts, Sciences, and
Professions
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAULINE SWANSON TOWNSEND
(Continued)
456
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Dan James, writer
Lilith James, writer
Louise Janis
Shirley Kanter
Ring Lardner, Jr., writer
John Howard Lawson, writer
Helen (Mrs. Charles) Leonard
Peter Lyon, radio writer
Bart Lytton
Marjorie MacGregor
Ben Maddow, writer
Henrietta Martin, writer
Patricia (Patsy) Moore
Louise Moss (Mrs. Joseph
Losey)
Richard O'Boyer
William (Bill) Pomerance,
producer, writer
Edwina (Mrs. William) Pomer-
Stanley Prager, actor-writer
Paul Radin
Maurice Rapf, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAULINE SWANSON TOWNSEND
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Mrs. Maurice Rapf
Robert L. RichardsJ writer
Ann Roth Morgan Richards
(Mrs. Robert L. Richards)
Fred Rinaldo^ writer
Marguerite Robertsj writer
(Mrs. John Sanford)
Meta Reis Rosenberg, attorney
for Music Corporation of
America
Paul Rosenfeld
Robert Rossen
Mrs. Sue (Robert) Rossen
Madeleine Ruthyen
Waldo Salt, writer
John Sanford, writer
Artie Shaw, orchestra leader
Mrs. Robert (Mary) Shaw
Robert Shaw, writer
Reuben Ship, radio and screen
Louis Solomon, writer
Philip (Phil) Steyenson,
writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
PAULINE SWANSON TOWNSEND
(Continued)
FRANK WRIGHT TUTTLE,
DIRECTOR
Appeared May 24, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Janet (Mrs. Philip) Steyenson.
Frank Tarloff, writer
Tania (Mrs. Frank W. ) Tuttle
Clara (Mrs. Mischa) Walden
John Weber, agent
Eyerett Weil
John Wexley, writer
Cookie (Mrs. John) Wexley
Angus Wooley
Barbara (Mrs. Angus) Wooley
(Barbara Roberts)
Julian Zimet, writer
John (Jack) Berry, director
Alyah Bessie, writer
Edward Biberman, artist
Sonia Dahl (Mrs. Edward
Biberman)
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
director-producer
John Bright, writer
J. Edward Bromberg, actor
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
FRANK WRIGHT TUTTLE
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Goldie (Mrs. J. Edward) Brom
berg
Hugo Butler, writer
Maurice Clark, writer
Lester Cole, writer
Richard Collins, writer
Jules Dassin, director
Edward Dmytryk, director
Charles Glenn, writer, C.P.
functionary
Elizabeth Leech (Mrs. Charles)
Glenn, C.P. functionary
Michael Gordon, director
Nora Hellgren, C.P. function
ary
Edward Huebsch, writer
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
Stanley Lawrence, C.P. func
tionary
John Howard Lawson, writer
Robert Lees, writer
Albert Maltz, writer
Fred Rinaldo, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
FRANK WRIGHT TUTTLE
(Continued)
OWEN VINSON, DIRECTOR OF
RADIO PROGRAMS
Appeared October 2, 1952
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Mrs. Meta Reis Rosenberg,
agent
Madeleine Ruthyen, ex-writer,
C.P. functionary (assisted
John Howard Lawson in C.P.
hierarchy in Hollywood)
Waldo Salt, writer
Eya Shafron, C.P. functionary
(deceased)
Robert Tasker, writer
(deceased at that time)
Dorothy Tree, actress (Mrs.
Michael H. Uris)
Clark Triyers, writer
Paul Triyers, writer
Dalton Trumbo, writer
Michael H. Uris, writer
Bernard Vorhaus, director
Harmon (Hy) Alexander, radio
writer
Georgia Backus, actress
(Mrs. Hy Alexander)
Lee Barrie, singer
Abram (Abe) Burrows, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
OWEN VINSON
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Dayid (Daye) Ellis, radio
actor-writer
Charles Glenn, radio writer
Elaine Gonda (wife of Charles
Glenn named in this testi
mony) , in charge of radio
transcription company
Annette Harper, radio actress
Nina Klowden, radio actress
(also known as Anna Klowden)
Mitchell Lindeman, radio
director, associate producer
Paul Marion, radio actor
Edwin Miller Max, actor
Sam Moore, radio writer
Ken Pettus, radio writer
Naomi Robeson, ex-actress,
C.P. functionary
Jack Robinson, radio writer
Mary Robinson, radio writer
Louis Scofield, radio writer-
Janette (Mrs. Louis) Scofield
Reuben Ship, radio and screen
Eugene R. Stone, radio writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
OWEN VINSON
(Continued)
ELIZABETH WILSON, WRITER
(MRS. RICHARD WILSON),
née ELIZABETH(BILLY)
ANDERSON
Appeared September 21, 1951
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Louis Terkel, radio actor-
writer
Ida (Mrs. Louis) Terkel
Herman Waldreen (also known
as Herman Waldman and Dayid
Wolfe), radio actor
Stanley Waxman, actor
Lynn Whitney, actress
William (Billy) Wolff, radio
George Beck
Herbert J. Biberman, writer-
dire ctor -producer
Leo Bigelman, M.D.
John Bright, writer
Harold Buchman, writer
Beatrice (Bea) Buchman (Mrs.
Sidney Buchman; "yery actiye"
in Hollywood Anti-Nazi League)
Jessie Burns, reader at studio
Harry Carlisle
Thomas (Tom) Chapman, studio
reader
Lester Cole, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ELIZABETH WILSON
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Richard (Dick) Collins, writer
Sonja Dahl (Mrs. Edward
Biberman)
Ambur Dana (Mrs. Waldo Salt)
Richard (Dick) Fiske, studio
worker
Elizabeth Leech Glenn (Mrs.
Charles Glenn), C.P. func
tionary
Morton Grant, writer
Betty (Mrs. Morton) Grant
Margaret (Peggy) Gruen, writer
Lou Harris, publicity writer
Vera (Mrs. Lou) Harris
Paul Jarrico, writer
Sylyia (Mrs. Paul) Jarrico
Ring W. Lardner, Jr., writer
John (Jack) Howard Lawson,
Sue (Mrs. John H.) Lawson
Robert (Bob) Lees, writer
Melyin (Mel) Leyy, writer
Arnold Manoff, writer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Friendly witness
ELIZABETH WILSON
(Continued)
Named as member or former
member of Communist party
Marjorie (Marge) (Mrs. Arnold)
Manoff (also known as Marjorie
Potts and Marjorie MacGregor)
Allen Matthews, actor
Maurice Murphy, actor
Mortimer (Mortie) Offner,
writer
Samuel (Sam) Ornitz, writer
Sadie (Mrs. Sam) Ornitz
Maurice Rapf, writer
Fred Rinaldo, writer
Madelaine Ruthyen, C.P. func
tionary
John Sanford, writer
Budd Wilson Schulberg, writer
Virginia Schulberg (then Mrs.
Budd Schulberg)
Louise Seidel
Gale Sondergaard, actress
(Mrs. Herbert J. Biberman)
John Staff, C.P. functionary
Robert Tasker, writer
Herta Uerkyitz, studio re
searcher
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
APPENDIX
THE COMMITTEE'S EVIDENCE OF COMMUNIST PARTY
MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNFRIENDLY TEN
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APPENDIX B
THE COMMITTEE'S EVIDENCE OF COMMUNIST PARTY
MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNFRIENDLY TEN
The committee's chief investigator^ Louis J. Rus
sell j and his aides read into the record the list of Commu
nist affiliations of the Unfriendly Ten immediately follow
ing their uncooperative appearance before the committee
during the October^ 1947, hearings.
Investigation by the committee and its staff re
vealed that all of the ten had been issued numbered Commu
nist party registration cards in Los Angeles County. Eight
of the C.P. membership cards were reproduced in the exhibit:
introduced into evidence at the hearingsThe cards for
Edward Dmytryk and Adrian Scott do not appear in the ex
hibits, but they were read into the record by Russell
Motion Picture Hearings, 1947, Appendix, pp. 538-
pp. 468-469.
Ibid., Dmytryk record, pp. 462-466; Scott record.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Information from the Files of the Committee
on Un-American Activities. United States
House of Representatives, on the Communist
Affiliations of John Howard Lawson
John Howard Lawson is a screen writer and one of the
most active Communists in the Hollywood movie industry. He
has written the following scripts : Dynamite (M-G-M); The
Sea Bat (M-G-M); Blushing Brides (M-G-M); Ship from Shanghai
(M-G-M); Bachelor Apartment (Radio Films); Success at Any
Price (RKO-Radio)j 1934; Goodbye Love (RKO-Radio), 1934;
Treasure Island (M-G-M), 1934; Party Wire (Columbia), 1935;
Blockade (United Artists-Wanger), 1938; Algiers (United
Artists-Wanger), 1938; They Shall Have Music (United
Artists-Goldwyn), 1939; Four Sons (20th Century-Fox), 1940;
Earthbound (20th Century-Fox), 1940; Sahara (Columbia),
1943; Counterattack (Columbia), 1945.
The files of the House Committee on Un-American
Activities show that—
1. Rena M. Vale, a former member of the Communist
Party and a screen writer, testified before the Special
Committee on Un-American Activities on July 22, 1940, that
Mr. Lawson had been identified to her as a Communist Party
member when she met him at a Communist Party fraction meet
ing. She further testified that Mr. Lawson during the
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468
meeting gave advice on inserting the Communist Party line
into drama. The State legislative committee investigating
un-American activities in California has cited Mr. Lawson
as "one of the most important Marxist strategists in south
ern California^" in its 1945 report, page 118. The Cali
fornia report notes on the same page that Rena M. Vale also
testified before the State legislative committee and that
the witness identified Lawson as a member of the Communist
Party fraction of the Screen Writers Guild who had given
advice on the Communist Party program in the writing of the
play. Sun Rises in the West. The State legislative commit
tee states further, in its 1947 report, page 260, that Mr.
Lawson directed a Communist bloc of about 65 members in
local 47, the Hollywood local of the American Federation of
Musicians, AFL, between the years 1937 and 1940.
2. The Communist Party has been publicly defended
by John Howard Lawson. The Daily Worker, in an article on
April 16, 1947, page 2, and reprinted in the Sunday edition
of April 20, 1947, page 8, announced that Mr. Lawson was one
of the signers of a statement opposing any legislative at
tempts to restrict the activities of the Communist Party.
The organization sponsoring the statement was the Civil
Rights Congress, which the House Committee on Un-American
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469
Activities, in a report published September 2, 1947, de
clared to be "dedicated not to the broader issues of civil
liberties, but specifically to the defense of individual
Communists and the Communist Party." The Civil Rights Con
gres is now defending such persons as Gerhart Eisler, an
agent of the Communist International convicted of passport
fraud, and Eugene Dennis, Communist Party general secretary
convicted of contempt of Congress. The Civil Rights Con
gress is the successor to the International Labor Defense,
former legal arm of the Communist Party, according to former
Attorney General Francis Biddle. John Howard Lawson also
came to the support of the Communist Party on another occa
sion, according to the Daily Worker for March 18, 1945,
page 2. Mr. Lawson was listed in this issue as one of the
signers of a statement hailing a War Department order allow
ing military commissions for Communists. Sponsor of the
statement was the National Federation for Constitutional
Liberties, which was cited as a Communist front organization
by former Attorney General Biddle. Biddle pointed out the
organization's defense of such prominent Communist leaders
as Sam Darcy and Robert Wood, party secretaries for Penn
sylvania and Oklahoma, respectively. The organization was
also cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on
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470
Un-American Activities on June 25, 1942, and March 29, 1944.
3. John Howard Lawson has given his support to a
number of individual Communists. The People's World, offi
cial west coast Communist organ, reported on October 22,
1942, page 2, that Mr. Lawson was backing Mrs. La Rue McCor
mick, a candidate for the California State Senate on the
Communist Party ticket. Mr. Lawson was one of the signers
of a statement in defense of the Comintern agent Gerhart
Eisler, according to the Daily Worker for February 28, 1947,
page 2. The organization sponsoring this statement in be
half of Eisler was the Civil Rights Congress.
Mr. Laws on was a sponsor of the Schappes Defense
Committee, according to an undated letterhead of the organ
ization. This committee worked for the release of Morris
U. Schappes, an avowed Communist teacher convicted of per
jury in New York City, and the organization was cited as a
Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-American
Activities on March 29, 1944. Mr. Lawson was also a signer
of an open letter which the Schappes Defense Committee sent
to New York Gov. Thomas Dewey in an effort to have Schappes
pardoned. This fact was reported in the New York Sun, Sep
tember 27, 1944. Mr. Lawson was a member and sponsor of
the Citizens Committee for Harry Bridges, according to an
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471
organization letterhead dated September 11^ 1941. Bridges,
who led the disastrous San Francisco general strike of 1934^
was identified as a Communist Party member by the Daily
Worker itself. The Daily Worker of February 13_, 19 37, page
2, announced Mr. Lawson as a signer of a cable sent to the
Brazilian Chamber of Deputies on behalf of Luis Carlos
Prestes, former member of the Communist International Exec
utive Committee and a Brazilian Communist leader, and on
behalf of Arthur Ewert, another Comintern representative
and a former Communist deputy of the German Reichstag, both
of whom were imprisoned by the Brazilian Government in con
nection with an attempted revolt. The cable was sent under
the auspices of the Joint Committee for the Defense of
Brazilian People, which was organized specifically for the
defense of Communist Prestes and Ewert.
4. John Howard Lawson has long been affiliated with
the Communist Party's official organ, the Daily Worker. On
May 18, 1934, page 1, the Daily Worker headlined the arrest
of its "correspondent" John Howard Lawson for "being pres
ent" at a trial of strike leaders in Birmingham, Ala.,
printed a long story by Lawson on the trial. Lawson's story
eulogized one of the strike leaders, whom he identified as
a Communist Party organizer. He reported that the organizer
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472
at one point in the trial told the court in ringing tones
that "The Communist Party is actively participating in
strike struggles and building a powerful trade-union move
ment * * * in order to establish a Soviet America as part of
the world struggle of the toiling masses for communism."
This article was the basis of a libel suit against Lawson,
according to the Daily Worker which appeared later (June 1,
1934, p. 1). This later issue of the Daily Worker also
claimed that the arrest of Lawson in Birmingham had been
aimed at driving the Daily Worker from the South. The Daily
Worker officially listed Mr. Lawson as one of its contribu
tors in the issue of December 21, 1935, page 3. Mr. Lawson
has contributed articles to the publication as recently as
June 1, 1947, page 7. Mr. Lawson's support of the publica
tion has also included appeals for financial aid. In the
issue of September 6, 1935, he wrote that he wished "to add
my voice to the appeal of the Daily Worker for a $60,000
sustaining fund." The same article, appearing on page 5,
refers to the Soviet Union as "the great toiler for peace."
5. Other Communist publications have also received
support from John Howard Lawson. New Masses is an official
Communist weekly magazine. Mr. Lawson has been listed as a
contributing editor in New Masses issue for October 1927,
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473
page 3; December 15^ 1936, page 35; January 5, 1937, page
23; February 18, 1941, page 30; January 27, 1942, page 24;
and April 30, 1946, page 2. The People's World is an offi
cial west-coast Communist paper. According to the Daily
Worker for April 15, 1946, page 11, Mr. Lawson served as
chairman of a meeting held on April 9, 1946, in Los Angeles
under the auspices of the People's World. The Worker re
ported that in his speech at the meeting, Mr. Lawson called
for an end to fear of the word "Marx." A prowar press con
ference held in behalf of the People's World on August 4,
1943, in Los Angeles was endorsed by Mr. Lawson, according
to the issue of the People's World for July 9, 1943. On
June 24, 1944, the People's World reported that Mr. Laws on
had praised the paper. Mainstream is a literary magazine
which has been promoted by the Communist press and which
advertises itself in the Daily Worker as a "Marxist literary
quarterly" (Daily Worker, June 11, 1947, p. 4). Mr. Lawson
is listed as a member of the editorial board of Mainstream,
according to the issue of Political Affairs for November
1946. The 1947 winter issue of Mainstream carries an arti
cle by Mr. Lawson on page 23. On June 11, 1947, Mr. Lawson,
together with Hanns Eisler, composer of The Comintern,
addressed a meeting sponsored by Mainstream in New York
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474
Cityj according to a leaflet put out by the publication.
6. John Howard Lawson has been affiliated with
numerous organizations whose principal purpose was the de
fense of Communists. He served as treasurer of both the
National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners
and the National Committee for People's Rightsj according
to letterheads of these organizations. Attorney General
Francis Biddle (in the Congressional Record^ September 24,
1942, p. 7686) stated that the "National Committee for the
Defense of Political Prisoners is substantially equivalent
to International Labor Defense, legal arm of the Communist
Party" and pointed out that the organization had defended
such Communists as Earl Browder and Angelo Herndon. "In
January 1938," the Attorney General went on to say, "its
(National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners)
name was changed to the National Committee for People's
Rights." The Special Committee on Un-American Activities
cited the National Committee for Defense of Political Pris
oners as a Communist front on June 25, 1942, and March 29,
1944, and cited the National Committee for People's Rights
as a Communist front on the same dates.
7. The International Labor Defense, in addition to
being identified as the legal arm of the Communist Party by
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475
Attorney General Biddle^ has been cited for its Communist
character by the Special Committee on Un-American Activi
ties ^ Prof. John Dewey's Committee for Cultural Freedom,
Massachusetts House Committee on Un-American Activities and
the California Committee on Un-American Activities. The
official publication of the organization which defends Com
munists is called the Labor Defender. John Howard Lawson
was a contributing editor to the Labor Defender, according
to an issue of the publication for October 1936, page 3.
John Howard Lawson also served as a sponsor of the Sleepy
Lagoon Defense Committee, which was supported by the Inter
national Labor Defense, according to a letterhead of August
9, 1944. In addition, the California State Legislative
Committee on Un-American Activities has noted that Mr. Law
son was a sponsor of the Citizens Committee for the Defense
of Mexican-American Youth (1945 report, p. 195). The latter
committee was the predecessor of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense
Committee and was avowedly organized by La Rue McCormick,
one-time Communist candidate for California State senator.
8. John Howard Lawson endorsed legislation spon
sored by the American Committee for Protection of the For
eign Born, according to the Daily Worker for April 11, 1938,
page 5. The committee, which specializes in defending
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476
foreign-born Communists like Gerhart Eisler and Harry
Bridges, was cited as a Communist front by the Special Com
mittee on Un-American Activities on June 25, 1942, and March
29, 1944, and by Prof. John Dewey's Committee for Cultural
Freedom in April 1940. Mr. Lawson was also a member of the
American Committee for Anti-Nazi German Seamen, according
to a committee letterhead dated January 8, 1939. The organ
ization was engaged in defending German seamen active in
distributing Communist literature in Germany. New Masses
for December 6, 1938, page 20, reports that Mr. Lawson was
one of the signers of a telegram sent to Peru pleading for
the release of Communist political prisoners in that coun
try.
9. John Howard Lawson has shown an active interest
in the Soviet Union. The Daily Worker of April 28, 1938,
page 4, shows that Mr. Lawson was a signer of a statement by
the American Progressives Defending the Moscow Trials, which
was the usual name affixed to a series of trials then being
held in the Soviet Union for numerous opponents of dictator
Stalin. It has been established that these trials had for
their aim the purging of all political enemies of Josef
Stalin and his political cohorts, although the Communist
press portrayed the subjects of these trials as being
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477
counter-revolutionists and collaborators with Great Britain
in an attempt to overthrow the Soviet regime by furnishing
military information to alleged British espionage agents.
10. The National Council of American-Soviet Friend
ship was cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee
on Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944. Mr. Lawson
acted as a sponsor of a reception for Mikhail KalatozVj
Soviet film representative^ which was held in Hollywood on
August 22, 1943, under the auspices of the National Council
of American-Soviet Friendship. According to the Daily
Worker for July 5, 1943, page 4, Mr. Lawson also signed a
statement defending the film. Mission to Moscow, which had
been charged by a number of authorities on the Soviet Union
with being distorted and unreliable. The statement was pro
moted by the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.
11. Soviet Russia Today was the official monthly
publication of the Friends of Soviet Union, the predecessor
of the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. The
magazine was cited as a Communist front by the Special Com
mittee on Un-American Activities on June 25, 1942, and
March 29, 1944. John Howard Lawson contributed to Soviet
Russia Today, according to the issue of the publication for
March 1935, page 9. The same publication of September 1939,
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478
page 25, listed Mr. Lawson as one of the signers of an Open
Letter for Closer Cooperation with the Soviet Union. The
publication for November 1937, page 79, records the name of
Mr. Lawson as one of the signers of a Golden Book of Ameri
can Soviet Friendship.
12. The American Council on Soviet Relations has
been cited by Attorney General Francis Biddle as a Communist
front (Congressional Record, September 24, 1942, p. 7688)
and has received the same citation from the Special Commit
tee on Un-American Activities on March 29, 1942. Prof. Johr
Dewey's Special Committee for Cultural Freedom in April 1940
characterized the organization as under Communist control,
influence, or in collaboration with the Communist Party.
One of the signers of an open letter sent to the president
of the American Council on Soviet Relations was John Howard
Lawson, according to an official folder of the council.
13. Many Communist-front organizations which sup
ported Soviet foreign policy were backed by John Howard
Lawson. The American League Against War and Fascism was
active in support of Soviet foreign policy against the
democracies between 1932 and 1937. It has been cited by
Attorney General Biddle as an organization seeking "to
create public sentiment on behalf of a foreign policy
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479
adapted to the interests of the Soviet Union" (Congressional
Record, September 24, 1942). The Special Committee on Un-
American Activities has cited this organization as subver
sive on January 3, 1940, and March 29, 1944. The Daily
Worker for June 27, 1934, page 1, reveals that Mr. Lawson
was a speaker at a were backed by John Howard Lawson [sic.] .
The American League Against War and Fascism [sic]. Mr.
Lawson was a sponsor of the New York City Conference Against
War and Fascism, which was organized by the American League
Against War and Fascism, according to the Daily Worker for
January 11, 1937, page 2. Mr. Lawson has also contributed
to Fight, the official publication of the American League
Against War and Fascism, according to as [sic] issue of
Fight for October 1934, page 3. The league was dedicated
to an openly treasonable program.
14. When the Communist line changed in favor of a
united front of the democracies against the Fascist aggres
sors, the Communists in America formed a successor to the
American League Against War and Fascism in 1937, known as
the American League for Peace and Democracy. The theatrical
subsidiary of the American League for Peace and Democracy
was the Theatre Arts Committee, which was cited as a Commu
nist front by Prof. John Dewey's Committee for Cultural
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480
Freedom in April 1940. The Theatre Arts Committee was also
affiliated with the League of Workers Theatres, a section of
the International Union of the Revolutionary Theatre with
headquarters in Moscow. John Howard Lawson was a member of
the advisory council of the Theatre Arts Committee, accord
ing to an undated letterhead of the organization.
15. After the Stalin-Hitler Pact was signed in
1939, the Communists established the American Peace Mobili
zation, which opposed lend-lease, aid to Britain, the de
fense program, and picketed the White House. It also sup
ported a number of strikes in defense industries. The or
ganization has been cited as a Communist front by the Attor
ney General Francis Biddle, by the Special Committee on
Un-American Activities, and the California Committee on
Un-American Activities. An official program listed John
Howard Lawson as a sponsor of a meeting held by the American
Peace Mobilization in New York City on April 5 and 6, 1941.
16. Among the new Communist fronts that sprang up
when the Soviet Union and the United States were allies in
a war against fascism was the Artists' Front to Win the War,
which made its debut at a mass meeting at Carnegie Hall in
New York City on October 16, 1942. The organization was
cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on
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481
Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944. The official pro'
gram for the mass meeting at Carnegie Hall listed John How
ard Lawson as one of the sponsors. Thus^ Mr. Lawson has
publicly avowed his allegiance to the line of the Communist
Party during four distinctly divergent periods.
17. At the Seventh World Congress of the Communist
International^ held in Moscow in 1935^ George Dimitroffj
general secretary^ called upon all affiliated Communist
parties to make the greatest efforts in behalf of the cam
paign of the Spanish Communists during Spain's civil war.
A number of projects were organized by American Communists
in response to this request. Among them were the Medical
Bureau and North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democ
racy, cited as subversive by the Special Committee on Un-
American Activities on April 21, 1943, and March 29, 1944,
and the American Society for Technical Aid to Spanish Democ
racy, cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee
on Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944. John Howard
Lawson served as secretary and as a member of the board of
directors of the American Society for Technical Aid to
Spanish Democracy, according to the issues of New Masses for
February 16, 1937, page 28, January 19, 1937, page 25, Jan
uary 26, 1937, page 32, and an organizational letterhead
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482
dated February 19, 1937. Mr. Lawson was one of the patrons
of a benefit performance and dance sponsored by the Man
hattan chapter of the Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democ
racy, according to an undated announcement of the dance,
held May 22, 1937. On a letterhead dated April 29, 1939,
the Medical Bureau and North American Committee to Aid
Spanish Democracy announced that Mr. Lawson was a member of
its theater-arts committee.
18. The American Committee to Save Refugees was
part of the Communist campaign for Spanish Communists and
was cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on
Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944. The organization
provided transportation and support for international Com
munist agents such as Gerhart Eisler. John Howard Lawson
was the signer of a statement sponsored by the American
Committee to Save Refugees, according to an undated leaflet
of the organization entitled "For the Rescue of Refugees."
19. The Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee like
wise is engaged in providing transportation and support for
international Communist agents like Gerhart Eisler. It was
cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-
American Activities on March 29, 1944. It was cited for
contempt of Congress on April 16, 1946, and its leaders were
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483
convicted in a Federal court on June 21, 1947. John Howard
Lawson was one of the sponsors of a dinner held by the Joint
Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee in New York on October 21,
1943; according to a dinner program.
20. The League of American Writers was an affiliate
of the International Union of Revolutionary Writers ; with
headquarters in Moscow, and the league was pledged to the
defense of the Soviet Union and the use of "art as an in
strument of the class struggle." This organization was
cited as a Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-
American Activities on January 3, 1940, June 25, 1942, and
March 29, 1944. Attorney General Francis Biddle said that
"The overt activities of the League of American Writers in
the last 2 years leave little doubt of its Communist con
trol" (Congressional Record, September 24, 1942, p. 7686).
The league was founded at a Congress of American Revolu
tionary Writers held April 26 through 28, 1935 in New York
City. The Daily Worker for January 18, 1935, page 5, re
veals that John Howard Lawson was one of the signers of the
call for this Congress of American Revolutionary Writers.
The Daily Worker for April 29, 1935, pages 1 and 2, further
revealed that Mr. Lawson presented a reading of Technique
in the Drama at this writers' congress. Mr. Lawson was
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484
listed as a member of the executive committee of the League
of American Writers in the Daily Worker for April 30, 1935,
and as vice president of the League of American Writers in
New Masses for June 17, 1941, page 10, and the Daily Worker
for September 14, 1942, page 7. A statement sponsored by
the league in behalf of a second front was signed by Mr.
Lawson according to the Daily Worker for September 14, 1942,
page 7. A statement signed by John Howard Lawson appears on
page 67 of a league pamphlet entitled "We Hold These
Truths." Mr. Lawson was a signer of the call to the second
biennial meeting of the League of American Writers, accord
ing to New Masses for May 4, 1937, page 25. Mr. Laws on
signed the call for the third congress also, according to
the magazine. Direction, for May-June 1939, page 1. Mr.
Lawson signed the call for and also attended the fourth
congress of the league which was held in New York June 6
through June 8, 1941, according to New Masses for June 17,
1941, pages 9-10, and for April 22, 1941, page 25.
21. The League of American Writers operated a
writers' school at 1717 North Vine Street in Hollywood.
The People's World for February 11, 1943, page 5, listed
Mr. Lawson as a lecturer at the writers' school.
22. At this same time, the Communists were
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485
operating a Los Angeles workers' school. Eva Shafran, a
Communist organizer^ was the director, and La Rue McCormickj
who was a candidate for California State senator on the
Communist Party ticket, served on the board of directors.
According to official literature of the school, John Howard
Lawson taught at the Los Angeles workers' school in 1943,
1944, and 1945.
23. The People's Educational Center in Los Angeles
also was Communist-directed. It was started in the fall of
1943 with a loan of $1,000 from the writers' school of the
League of American Writers and it received a rather complete
Communist library from the Los Angeles workers' school. The
People's Educational Center has been cited as a Communist-
front organization by the joint fact-finding committee on
un-American activities of the California Legislature and
records show that numerous members of the faculty and staff
of the People's Educational Center were card-holding members
of the Communist Party, among them Carl Winters, Eva Shaf-
ran, Mildren Raskin, and Bruce Minton. A booklet announcing
the curriculum of the center for the winter of 1947 lists
John Howard Lawson as a member of the board of directors of
the People's Educational Center. Also leaflet America's
10th Man lists John Howard Lawson as a lecturer for a series
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485
starting September 26, 1944.
24. The Hollywood Writers Mobilization was the name
given to the Hollywood League of American Writers after the
League of American Writers could no longer conceal its Com
munist domination. The original pledge of the League of
American Writers to defend the Soviet Union and to use "art
as an instrument of the class struggle" is now the basis
upon which the policies of the Hollywood Writers Mobiliza
tion are founded. John Howard Laws on is a member of the
editorial board of the Hollywood Quarterly^ a publication
sponsored by the Hollywood Writers Mobilization^ according
to the 1947 report of the California legislative committee
investigating un-American activities (p. 107) . The Holly
wood Citizen News for January 13^ 1947, lists John Howard
Lawson as the proposer of a plan adopted by the Hollywood
Writers Mobilization to set up a committee to investigate
any investigators of Communist influence in the movie in
dustry. Mr. Lawson presented the plan at a meeting of the
mobilization on January 12, 1947, in the El Patio Theater
in Hollywood, the newspaper reported. Mr. Lawson also
served on the general committee in charge of a writers'
congress held by the Hollywood Writers Mobilization at the
University of California at Los Angeles October 1 through 3,
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487
1943, according to an official program of the congress.
25. Book Union, Inc., is a Communist book-of-the-
month club, which was launched at the initiative of Inter
national Publishers, a Communist publishing house. The
Book Union was closely associated with the League of Ameri
can Writers and was cited for Communist character by the
Special Committee on Un-American Activities on March 29,
1944, and by Prof. John Dewey's Committee for Cultural Free
dom in April 1940. John Howard Lawson is listed as a member
of the advisory council of the Book Union in an undated
letterhead of the organization. The letter offered members
the book, Soviet Communism: A New Civilization?
25. The American Youth for Democracy is the offi
cial successor of the Young Communist League. It has been
the subject of a report by the House Committee on Un-
American Activities which described its character in detail.
Its "sinister purposes" have been denounced by the director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Congressional Rec
ord, Mar. 24, 1947, p. A1298) . John Howard Lawson is listed
as a national sponsor of the American Youth for Democracy in
the organization's publication, the Spotlight, for April
1944, page 19.
27. The New Theatre was the official monthly
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magazine of the League of Workers Theatres, a section of
the International Union of Revolutionary Theatre, with head
quarters in Moscow. The league was used to present Commu
nist propaganda plays and to raise funds for Communist pur
poses . The magazine was cited as a Communist front by the
Special Committee on Un-American Activities on March 29,
1944. John Howard Lawson contributed to the New Theatre of
June 19 35, page 10, and he is listed as contributing editor
in the issues for February 1934, page 3, and November 1934,
page 11.
28. The New Theatre League was a successor of the
League of Workers Theatres. It was formed in January 1935
and was cited for its Communist character by the Special
Committee on Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944, and
by Prof. John Dewey's Committee for Cultural Freedom in
April 1940. It also presented Communist propaganda plays
and raised funds for Communist purposes. The New Theatre
League published the Theatre Workshop on which John Howard
Lawson served as a contributing editor, according to an
issue of the publication for January 1937. Tlie Daily Worker
for April 23, 1936, page 5, reported that Mr. Lawson sent
greetings to the biennial national conference of the New
Theatre League in Philadelphia.
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489
29. The Theatre Union was one of the affiliates of
the League of Workers Theatres, which in turn was tied to
the Moscow-directed International Union of the Revolutionary
Theatre. Theatre Union reflected the current line of the
Communist Party in its propaganda and was used to raise
funds for Communist purposes. It produced plays by such
writers for New Masses as George Sklar and Albert Maltz. A
leaflet of the Theatre Union announced that John Howard
Lawson was a member of its advisory board.
30. Frontier Films were producers and distributors
of pro-Communist films, including a film on the Communist-
led strike at the Allis-Chalmers plant in Milwaukee. The
organization was headed by the following contributors to the
Communist press : Albert Maltz, Kyle Crichton, Irving Ler-
ner, Clifford Odets, Edwin Rolfe, and George SeIdes. It
was cited for a Communist character by the Special Commit
tee on Un-American Activities on March 29, 1944, and by
Professor John Dewey's Committee for Cultural Freedom in
April 1940. The Daily Worker for April 6, 1937, page 9,
shows that John Howard Laws on was a member of the staff of
Frontier Films.
31. The Hollywood Democratic Committee was the
successor of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, which was
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490
organized by Isaac Romaine, alias V. J. Jerome, a member of
the central commiteee of the Communist Party. An official
ballot of July 26, 1944, lists John Howard Lawson as a can
didate for the executive board of the Hollywood Democratic
Committee. The People's World for August 3, 1943, reported
that Mr. Lawson enunciated a program of action for the
Hollywood Democratic Committee at a meeting of the committee
in 1943.
32. The Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts,
Sciences, and Professions has been charged with being
Communist-dominated by Harold Iekes and other liberals, who
previously had supported it. It was cited as a Communist
front by the House Committee on Un-American Activities on
September 2, 1947. John Howard Lawson was a member of the
board of directors of the Hollyv/ood branch, according to the
1947 report of the California Committee on Un-American
Activities, page 297.
33. The Progressive Citizens of America was founded
as a frankly pro-Communist group as a result of the split in
the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences,
and Professions after Harold Iekes and other liberals had
condemned the Independent Citizens Committee as Communist-
dominated. The Progressive Citizens of America was cited
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491
as a Communist front by the House Committee on Un-American
Activities in a report of June 12, 1947. An official ballot
of February 11, 1947, listed John Howard Lawson as a candi
date for membership on the executive board of the southern
California chapter of the Progressive Citizens of America.
An official pamphlet of the organization also listed Mr.
Lawson as a sponsor of the second State-wide legislative
conference of the Progressive Citizens of America, held on
February 15, 1947, in the California Junior High School,
Sacramento, Calif.
34. John Howard Lawson has won favor in official
Communist circles on a number of occasions. The Communist
Party's official organ in this country, the Daily Worker,
on October 18, 1935, page 5, lauded Mr. Lawson as one of the
persons who have forced the attention of "bourgeois critics
on a left cultural movement which has "established the revo
lutionary theater in the top flight of dramatic art." The
Daily Worker identified the revolutionary theater as one
that "claims * * * that the theater is a weapon in the class
struggle." On June 8, 1947, page 11, the Daily Worker
carried a sympathetic interview of Mr. Lawson by the Daily
Worker's film critic, David Platt. Two of Mr. Lawson's
plays. Marching Song and Saga Center, were heralded in
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492
International Literature^ No. 6, 1935j page 104. Inter
national Literature is the official organ of the Interna
tional Union of Revolutionary Writers^ which has its head
quarters in Moscow.
35. The writings of John Howard Lawson himself have
indicated his closeness to the Communist Party. In an art
icle in New Theater magazine^ November 1934, page 12, Mr.
Lawson bluntly asserts that "as for myself, I do not hesi
tate to say that it is my aim to present the Communist posi
tion, and to do so in the most specific manner." "This is
what I believe to be a correct approach," he writes. His
article was concerned with the technique and approach of
playwrights.
Mr. Lawson stresses the influence on playwriting by
Marx and Engels, the founders of the Communist philosophy,
in his book Theory and Technique of Playwriting, published
in New York in 1936. On page 45 through 48 he describes the
theories of Marx and Engels as they affect playwriting and
challenges criticism which has been leveled against the
theories. "The success of the Russian Revolution, and the
rapid economic and cultural growth of the Soviet Union, have
centered the world's attention on the theories of Marx,"
Mr. Lawson also points out.
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493
The rise of the revolutionary theater is hailed by
Mr. Lawson in an article which appeared in the New Theater
magazine for June 1, 1934^ pages 6 and 7. Mr. Lawson criti
cizes Broadway theater productions, saying that "Broadway is
sick because it represents a sick bourgeoisie * * *" and
predicting that "the reactionary theater will continue to
show signs of decay * * *." He states that the "revolu
tionary theater is on the threshold of its vital growth"
and asserts that "creative work draws its whole inspiration
and meaning from the vital forces of its period; in our day,
the vital forces at work are the growing strength of the
revolution, the upsurge of a new class * * *." Mr. Lawson
concludes at another point that "there is only one direction
in which the drama can move forward: it must join the march
of the advancing working class ; it must keep pace with the
quickening momentum of the revolution."
The Communist Party line was also advanced in the
screen play which Mr. Lawson wrote for the movie. Blockade,
according to the California Committee on Un-American Activ
ities in its 1945 report, page 118.
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Information from the Files of the Committee
on Un-American Activities, United States
House of Representatives, on the Communist
Affiliations of Dalton Trumbo
The filesj records, and publications of the Commit
tee on Un-American Activities contain the following informa
tion concerning the Communist-front affiliations of Dalton
Trumbo:
1. According to the Hollywood Reporter, August 22,
1946, well-known trade publication of the motion-picture
industry, Dalton Trumbo was asked if he was the holder of
Communist Party Book No. 36802. The committee knows of no
denial by Mr. Trumbo of this fact. He has, however, openly
endorsed Communist candidates. Communist legal defendants,
and has openly cooperated with the Communist legal defend
ants, and has openly cooperated with the Communist Party
and its instruments [sic]. According to the Los Angeles
Times of November 2, 1942, Mr. Trumbo endorsed Mrs. La Rue
McCormick, Communist candidate for State senator. In a
speech quoted in the Worker of June 22, 1947, page 11 (maga
zine), Mr. Trumbo is quoted as follows:
And the defense of the rights of the Communist
Party, and of all real or alleged Communists, is the duty
not only of liberals and progressives, but all men and
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495
women who have love for their country and respect for its
Constitution.
At an official meeting of the Communist Party fea
turing as its chief speaker^ William Z. Foster, party chair
man, the poem. Confessional, by Dalton Trumbo, was pre
sented, according to the People's World of September 10,
1947, page 4.
No. 2. In April 1940, during the period of the
Stalin-Hitler pact when the Communist Party was actively
denouncing President Roosevelt as a warmonger, and agitating
against lend-lease and the defense program, the Daily Worker
published in serial form Dalton Trumbo's antiwar story en
titled "Johnny Got His Gun." This book was widely sold at
all Communist Party book shops and also extensively circu
lated at meetings of the American Peace Mobilization. A
synopsis of this story appeared in the People's World of
May 22, 1940. Both of these papers are official Communist
Party organizations. Mr. Trumbo has been a contributor to
the New Masses, official Communist Party weekly magazine,
according to its issues of April 15, 1941, page 13, and
September 26, 1944, page 28. The New Masses has been cited
as a Communist periodical by Attorney General Biddle, ac
cording to the Congressional Record of September 24, 1942.
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496
It has been cited as a Communist magazine by the Special
Committee on Un-American Activities on June 24, 1942, and
March 29, 1944. According to the People's World of July 16,
1943, Mr. Trumbo v/as a member of a committee to sell paint
ings at an auction for the benefit of the New Masses, which
was held in Hollywood. Mainstream is a Communist quarterly
magazine specializing in the literary field. It is being
actively promoted by the official Communist press at the
present time. Mr. Trumbo is listed in the winter 1947 issue
of Mainstream as a member of its editorial board. It should
be noted in this connection that it has been a long-standing
prcictice for Communist publications to utilize only Commu
nists as staff members and frequent contributors.
3. Mr. Trumbo has made it a practice to appear in
defense of Communist cases. He defended Harry Bridges,
according to the Los Angeles Examiner of May 25, 1941.
Bridges was cited as a member of the Communist Party by the
Daily Worker, the official Communist organ. Mr. Trumbo was
at a testimonial dinner in behalf of Harry Bridges at Park
Manor Hotel, Los Angeles, on April 12, 1941, according to
the San Diego Labor Union Weekly of April 18, 1941. Jesus
3emandez Tomas, a leading Spanish Communist was barred from
entry to this country by the State Department. Dalton
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497
Trumbo enlisted in his defense^ according to the People's
World of November 30, 1943. Mr. Trumbo was also the author
of a pamphlet entitled "Harry Bridges," which was written
for defense purposes. According to the New York Times of
December 22, 1943, page 40, Mr. Trumbo was a signer of a
declaration issued by the so-called Reichstag Fire Trial
Anniversary Committee honoring George Dimitrov, former gen
eral secretary of the Communist International.
4. The American Peace Crusade was organized by the
American Peace Mobilization. Attorney General Biddle has
stated that: "The most conspicuous activity of the American
Peace Mobilization was the picketing of the White House,
which began in April 1941, in protest against lend-lease and
the entire national defense program. * * * On the afternoon
of June 21, 1941, he (Frederick V. Field, national secre
tary) suddenly called off the picket line around the White
House" (Congressional Record, September 24, 1942). Mr.
Trumbo was a speaker at a mass meeting held under the aus
pices of the American Peace Crusade on April 6, 1940, ac
cording to the New Masses of August 6, 1940, page 22. He
was a speaker at a Peace rally at the Los Angeles Olympic
Auditorium on April 6, 1940. He was also a speaker for the
American Peace Mobilization at the Shrine Auditorium in Los
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498
Angeles on February 24j 1941. Mr. Trumbo was the author of
a skit which was presented at a meeting of the American
Peace Mobilization in Los Angeles on February 24, 1941,
5. The International Workers Order has been cited
by Attorney General Biddle as "one of the strongest Commu
nist organizations" (Congressional Record, September 24,
1942). This organization has consistently supported Commu
nist candidates, the Communist press and Communist cam
paigns. It was cited as a Communist front by the Special
Committee on Un-American Activities on January 3, 1940, and
June 25, 1942. According to the People's World of May 28,
1943, page 3, Mr. Trumbo was a speaker for the International
Workers Order.
6. The American Youth for Democracy according to
the official statements of its leaders, was formerly the
Young Communist League. On April 17, 1947, the Committee on
Un-American Activities issued a report on the American Youth
for Democracy in which it called upon the governors or leg
islatures of the various States and the administrative heads
of the colleges and universities "to thoroughly expose the
Communist connections of the American Youth for Democracy
as well as the inimical objectives of the Communist Party in
America." The Congressional Record of March 24, 1947, page
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499
A-1298; contains a statement made by the Honorable J. Edgar
Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in
which he spoke of the American Youth for Democracy as the
organization "which conceals the evils and the corruption of
American communism. This name is but a new one for the
former Young Communist League. It reflects all the sinister
purposes of the Communist Party of the United States. It
employs the same techniques and has the same objectives,
namely the conversion of our haven of liberty and freedom
to worship as we choose to a godless, totalitarian state
where the adversaries of democracy can do as they please."
The American Youth for Democracy was also cited as a Commu
nist front by the Special Committee on Un-American Activi
ties in the report of March 29, 1944. According to the
letterhead of the American Youth for Democracy for December
1, 1944, Dalton Trumbo was a sponsor.
7. The Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee is en
gaged in providing transportation and support for interna
tional Communist agents such as Gerhart Eisler. The Joint
Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee was cited for contempt of
Congress on April 16, 1946, and its members were convicted
in a Federal court on June 27, 1947. According to a letter
head dated February 26, 1946, issued by the Spanish Refugee
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500
Appeal of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, Mr.
Trumbo was a national sponsor. Mr. Trumh^ ra also listed
as a sponsor of a dinner held by the Joint Anti-Fascist
Refugee Committee at the Hotel Astor in New York City on
October 21, 1943, according to its printed invitation.
8. The National Federation for Constitutional Lib
erties has been cited by Attorney General Biddle as part of
the "Communist solar system" and he stated that "The defense
of Communist leaders such as Sam Darcy and Robert Wood,
party secretaries for Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, have been
major efforts of the federation" (Congressional Record,
September 24, 1942). This organization has been cited as a
Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-American
Activities on June 25, 1944, and March 29, 1944. Mr. Trumbo
signed an open letter published by the National Federation
for Constitutional Liberties under the title of "600 Promi
nent Americans."
9. The Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee was an aux
iliary of the International Labor Defense, properly termed
by Attorney General Biddle as the "legal arm of the Commu
nist Party." According to a letterhead of this Defense
Committee, dated August 9, 1944, Mr. Trumbo was a sponsor.
10. The League of American Writers was the American
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501
affiliate of the International Union of Revolutionary Writ
ers, with headquarters in Moscow. It has been cited as a
Communist front by the Special Committee on Un-American
Activities on January 3, 1940, June 25, 1942, and March 29,
1944. It has also been cited as under Communist auspices
by Attorney General Biddle in the Congressional Record of
September 24, 1942. The organization has been pledged to
the defense of the Soviet Union and "use of art as an in
strument of the class struggle." The Daily Worker of Sep
tember 5, 1940, page 7, lists Mr. Trumbo as a member of the
League of American Writers. The League of American Writers
held a conference in Hollywood on June 20-21, 1942. Accord
ing to the People's World of June 10, 1942, June 17, 1942,
Mr. Trumbo was head of one of its speakers panels. Accord
ing to People's World of March 31, 1943, page 5, Mr. Trumbo
lectured at a conference sponsored by the West Coast Chapter
of the League of American Writers, during the summer of 1942
in Hollywood. He was also a contributor to a magazine
called Clipper published by the League of American Writers.
11. The Writers Congress held on October 1, 2, 3,
1943, was sponsored by the Hollywood Writers Mobilization,
successor to the Hollywood Branch of the League of American
Writers, which has been cited as a Communist front by the
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502
Special Committee on Un-American Activities and by Attorney
General Biddle and the Committee for Cultural Freedom,
headed by Prof. John Dewey. Mr. Trumbo was an active par
ticipant in one of the panels of the Writers Congress ac
cording to the People's World of October 13, 1943, page 5.
12. The Hollywood Writers Mobilization previously
known as the Hollywood Chapter of the League of American
Writers, arranged a series of forums at the El Patio Theater
in Hollywood, beginning December 2, 1946. Mr. Trumbo was a
speaker at these forums.
13. The Hollywood Forum was held under the auspices
of the Daily People's World, official west coast organ of
the Communist Party, according to the Daily Worker of April
15, 1946, page 11. Mr. Trumbo was a speaker at a forum
meeting held on April 9, 1946.
14. The Hollywood Democratic Committee was the
successor to the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League which was or
ganized by Isaac Romaine, alias V. J. Jerome, member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Hollywood
Anti-Nazi League dissolved during the time of the Stalin-
îitler pact. According to the People's World of August 3,
1943, page 38, Mr. Trumbo made a collection speech in behalf
of the Hollywood Democratic Committee.
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503
15. The Motion Picture Democratic Committee was
cited as a Communist front by the California Joint Fact-
Finding Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1943
report, and by the House Committee on Un-American Activities
on September 2, 1947. Melvin Douglas and Philip Dunne re
signed from the executive board on the Motion Picture Demo
cratic Committee because of its Communist control. Accord
ing to the bulletin of the Motion Picture Democratic Com
mittee dated March 26, 1940, Mr. Trumbo was a speaker at its
meeting held on April 6, 1940. His subject was "America
Declares Peace." This meeting was held during the period
of the Stalin-Hitler pact.
16. According to the Daily Worker of October 7,
1942, page 7, Mr. Trumbo was a sponsor of the Artists' Front
to Win the War. The Artists' Front to Win the War was an
organization which supported the then current Communist de
mand for a second front. Many of its sponsors were writers
for the Communist press who had opposed the war during the
Stalin-Hitler pact, such as Alvah Bessie, Angelo Herndon,
Alfred*-Kne\Tnborg, Albert Maltz, and Ruth McKenney. On Sep
tember 14, 1942, a meeting was held by the so-called Citi
zens for Victory Committee at the Philharmonic Auditorium
in Los Angeles. Mr. Trumbo was the author of a six-page
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504
article entitled "An Open Letter to American People," which
was distributed at this meeting, urging the readers to pe
tition and wire the President for the opening of a second
17. Another Communist promoted enterprise was the
so-called Council for Civic Unity. The People's World,
official west coast Communist organ for April 28, 1944, men
tioned that Dalton Trumbo made a collection speech for this
organization which netted $3,000. A similar group, known
as the Academic and Civil Rights Council, mentions Dalton
Trumbo as a speaker in the People's World of January 2,
1941. Affiliated with the Council for Civic Unity were the
following Communist groups : American Youth for Democracy,
formerly known as the Young Communist League; Morning Frei-
heit Association, supporting the Morning Freiheit, Yiddish
organ of the Communist Party; the International Workers
Order and other organizations.
18. Paul Robeson, who has a long record of Commu
nist affiliations, was the moving spirit in what was known
as American Crusade to End Lynching which organized a pil
grimage to Washington, D. C., for September 23, 1946. This
venture was actively supported by the Communist press. Mr.
Trumbo was a signer of the call for this pilgrimage, which
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505
was another example of Communist efforts to organize mass
marches and mass demonstrations on capital cities.
19. According to the People's World of January 15,
1941, page 5, Mr. Trumbo was listed as a speaker at a ban
quet sponsored by the North California Civil Rights Council
held at the Whitcomb Hotel in San Francisco on January 18,
1941. This meeting was primarily concerned with efforts to
defend the Communist Party and Communist cases. Mr. Trumbo
also took part in a series of meetings held about May 10,
1942, for the purpose of launching a committee to free Earl
Browder.
20. According to the program of a members meeting
of the Hollywood Arts, Sciences, and Professional Council
of September 17, 1947, Mr. Trumbo was listed as a speaker.
The Hollywood Arts, Sciences, and Professional Council is a
branch of the Progressive Citizens of America which was
formed by the left wing group of the ICCASP after the latter
organization was dissolved when its Communist denominations
could no longer be concealed.
21. The Daily People's World, official Communist
Party publication on the west coast, dated May 2, 1947,
listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the sponsors of the Los
Angeles Chapter of the Civil Rights Congress.
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506
22. The Worker, official publication of the Commu
nist Party dated September 22, 1946, published a picture of
the editor and editorial board of a new magazine entitled
'Mainstream," which was referred to as a "Marxist literary
magazine." Dalton Trumbo, whose picture appeared with this
article, was stated to be a member of the board of direc-
23. A circular announcing a "People's Rally for
Peace" meeting at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on
April 24, 1941, under the auspices of the American Peace
Mobilization listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the speakers.
The purpose of this meeting, according to the circular, was
to urge the defeat of the House of Representatives bill for
lease-lend.
The Daily People's World, a Communist newspaper for
the west coast, dated July 15, 1941, states that Trumbo was
in attendance at a meeting of the American Peace Mobiliza
tion held at the Hollywood Town Forum, Hollywood, Calif., on
May 17, 1941.
24. The Daily Worker, dated June 20, 1941, listed
Trumbo as a speaker at a Free Speech Rally sponsored by the
Southern California Branch of the National Federation for
Constitutional Liberties held at the Embassy Auditorium in
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507
Los AngelesJ June 18, 1941.
25. The Clipper, official magazine of the League of
American Writers, described above, for the month of August
1941, stated that Dalton Trumbo had been a contributor for
the past 12 issues of this magazine.
A circular avertising [sic] the School for Writers
sponsored by the Hollywood Chapter of the League of American
Writers for the 1941-42 term mentioned Dalton Trumbo as a
lecturer.
The Daily People's World, dated March 31, 1943, in
an article entitled "Young Writers Develop Technique in
Workshop," stated that Dalton Trumbo participated in the
writers conference held during December 1942, under the
slogan "The Pen Is a Sword," in which beginners, veteran
screen writers, novelists, poets, and writers in every me
dium discussed just how each writer could make his pen a
weapon for democracy. The article further stated that the
conference was called by the Writers Workshop, which was
sponsored by the League of American Writers.
The Screen Writer, the official publication of the
Screen Writers Guild, for the month of June 1946, published
an edited transcript of an informal discussion held under
the auspices of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization between
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508
the noted Russian writer Konstantin Simonov and members of
the Screen Writers Guild. The forum was presided over by
Dalton Trumbo.
26. The California Eagle, dated March 7, 1946,
listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the sponsors of the American
Youth for Democracy, formerly the Young Communist League,
dance held in Los Angeles on March 4, 1946, for the benefit
of the United Electrical Workers who were on strike. This
is a Communist-controlled union.
A pamphlet advertising the "Salute to Young America"
program under the auspices of the American Youth for Democ
racy to be held at the Hotel Hollywood, Hollywood, Calif.,
on December 1, 1944, listed Dalton Trumbo as a member of the
sponsoring committee and Mrs. Trumbo as secretary of the
committee.
The Daily People's World for December 5, 1944,
stated that Trumbo was a speaker at the above meeting.
A pamphlet advertising the "Youth Conference" under
sponsorship of the American Youth for Democracy, scheduled
for October 21, 1945, at the Los Angeles City College,
listed Dalton Trumbo as a sponsor.
A printed advertisement announcing a "Welcome Home,
Joe" dinner sponsored by the Los Angeles County American
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509
Youth for Democracy, scheduled to be held December 16, 1945
listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the dinner committee members.
This meeting was avertised [sic.] to be held at the Ambassa'
dor Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.
27. The Daily Worker, dated October 19, 1942,
listed Dalton Trumbo as a sponsor of a dinner under the aus
pices of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee to be held
at the Astor Hotel, New York City, on October 27, 1942.
This organization has been described above.
A pamphlet issued by the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee
Committee, dated October 21, 1944, listed Dalton Trumbo as
one of the national sponsors of this organization. Letter
heads of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, 192
Lexington Avenue, New York City, obtained for the years 1945
and 1946, also listed Dalton Trumbo as a national sponsor of
this organization.
28. The Daily Worker, dated September 16, 1944, in
an article entitled "Film Front," lists Dalton Trumbo as
being affiliated with the Hollywood Democratic Committee.
This organization has been described above.
29. The Daily Worker, dated November 22, 1944,
stated that Dalton Trumbo was elected to the board of direc
tors of the Screen Writers Guild.
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510
The Screen Writer^ official publication of the
Screen Writers Guildj in the 1946 issues reflected that
Dalton Trumbo was the editor of the Screen Writer.
A proposal appeared in the Screen Writer, edited by
Dalton Trumbo, July issue, 1946, for an American Authors
Authority. According to this report, the authority is to
be a marketing monopoly which will copyright and lease to
users all writings by American authors. It is to begin with
scripts for screen and radio and articles for magazines. By
controlling this lucrative field, the authority will be the
exclusive agent for America's most successful writers.
30. A letter head for the People's Educational
Center, dated January 11, 1945, announced the second annual
neeting of the People's Educational Center, a Communist
school at the Shoreham Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan
uary 21, 1945. The announcement listed Dalton Trumbo as a
speaker during the evening session on the subject. Role of
bhe Motion Picture in Shaping the Future.
Page 33 of the report of the California State Legis
lature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activi
ties, dated 1947, classifies the People's Educational Center
as a Communist front.
31. The Daily People's World, dated July 22, 1946
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511
published a photograph of Dalton Trumbo along with an arti
cle stating that Trumbo would be "an inaugural guest speaker
Saturday evening, August 10, 1946, at the California Labor
School Summer Term for White Collar and Professional Workers
on the Monterey Peninsula." The article further stated that
reservations would be accepted at the California Labor
School, 216 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif.
Page 101 of the report of the California State Leg
islature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Ac
tivities, dated 1947, lists the California Labor School as
a Communist school.
32. The Daily Variety, a Hollywood trade magazine
for the month of June 1945, listed Dalton Trumbo as a member
of the executive council of the Hollywood Independent Citi
zens Committee of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions. This
organization has been described above.
33. The Daily People's World, official Communist
Party publication on the west coast, dated May 2, 1947,
listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the sponsors of the Los
Aingeles chapter of the Civil Rights Congress.
The Civil Rights Congress has been engaged in de
fending Gerhart Eisler, Comintern agent, and Eugene Dennis
executive secretary of the Communist Party.
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512
34. The Daily People's World, dated March 20, 1946,
stated that Dalton Trumbo was a speaker at a meeting held at
the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Calif., under the aus
pices of the Mobilization for Democracy.
The Daily People's World, dated April 5, 1946, in an
article entitled "We Are With— Trumbo Pledges Every Effort
on Fight of Native Fascists," comments on a speech by Dalton
Trumbo delivered at a meeting of the Mobilization for Democ
racy held previously in Los Angeles in which Trumbo is re
ported to have outlined several undertakings by the United
States Government, such as Expedition Muskox, Bikini, and
the policies of MacArthur in Japan, all of which Trumbo in
terpreted as an indication of United States imperialism and
the work of Fascist reaction in the United States.
35. The California Sentinel, dated May 8, 1947,
published a list purported to be the official list of the
officers and board of directors of the Southern California
Progressive Citizens of America. Dalton Trumbo was listed
as a member of the board of directors.
Page 236 of the report of the California State Leg
islature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Ac
tivities, dated 1947, refers to the Los Angeles Chapter of
the Progressive Citizens of America as a consolidation of
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513
the National Political Action Committee and the Hollywood
Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts^ Sciences, and
Professions, which are referred to as Communist fronts.
36. The Daily People's World, dated October 19,
1942, listed Dalton Trumbo as one of 400 prominent people
who signed an open letter to President Roosevelt urging the
United States to sever diplomatic relations with Spain.
This letter was made public, according to the article, by
the Council for Pan-American Democracy, which has attacked
alleged American imperialism.
37. The Daily People's World, dated November 6,
1945, carried an advertisement under the heading, "Break
relations with Spain," advising that a meeting was scheduled
for the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Calif., for Novem
ber 14, 1945, at which Dalton Trumbo would serve as chair
man. The meeting was said to be under the auspices of the
American Committee for Spanish Freedom. This was part of
the Communist campaign in behalf of Loyalist Spain initiated
at the seventh Congress of the Communist International— the
summer of 1935.
38. The Daily Worker, dated May 24, 1947, listed
Dalton Trumbo as one of the speakers at the Artists Fight
Back meeting sponsored by Mainstream, to be held at
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514
Manhattan Center, New York City, on June 11, 1947. The
article stated that the rally would give the answer of the
writers and artists to the "Un-American Committee's" attacks
on democratic culture in America.
The New York World Telegram, dated June 11, 1947,
listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the speakers at the Artists
Fight Back rally held at Manhattan Center, New York City,
on June 11, 1947.
The Worker, dated March 2 3, 1947, published a write
up on the magazine Mainstream showing the table of contents
for the winter edition, 1946, listing Dalton Trumbo as a
contributor with a poem entitled "Confessional." This maga
zine has been described above.
39. The Daily People's World, dated October 24,
1942, listed Dalton Trumbo as one of the persons who en
dorsed LaRue McCormick as Communist Party candidate for
State senator of Los Angeles County.
The Daily People's World, dated July 6, 1944, an
nounced that Dalton Trumbo would be one of the judges of a
short-story contest sponsored by the Daily People's World
to run from August 1, 1944, to February 1, 1945.
The Daily People's World, dated March 26, 1946,
listed Dalton Trumbo as a speaker at a forum held at the
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515
Embassy Auditorium on April 8, 1946, under the auspices of
the Daily People's World entitled "Art— Weapon of the Peo
ple." A photostatic copy of this publicity is attached.
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APPENDIX C
THE BRIEFS OF THE HOLLYWOOD TEN
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APPENDIX C
THE BRIEFS OF THE HOLLYWOOD TEN
This section contains the opening statements of the
Hollywood Ten as published in Gordon Kahn's book Hollywood
on Trial.
Statement of John Howard Lawson
For a weekj this Committee has conducted an illegal
and indecent trial of American citizens, whom the Committee
has selected to be publicly pilloried and smeared. I am not
here to defend myself, or to answer the agglomeration of
falsehoods that has been heaped upon me. I believe lawyers
describe this material, rather mildly, as "hearsay evi
dence." To the American public, it has a shorter name:
dirt. Rational people don't argue with dirt. I feel like
a man who has had truck-loads of filth heaped upon him; I
am now asked to struggle to my feet and talk while more
truck-loads pour more filth around my head.
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518
NOj you don't argue with dirt. But you try to find
out where it comes from. And to stop the evil deluge before
it buries you— and others. The immediate source is obvious.
The so-called "evidence" comes from a parade of stool-
pigeons J neurotics, publicity-seeking clowns, Gestapo
agents, paid informers, and a few ignorant and frightened
Hollywood artists. I am not going to discuss this perjured
testimony. Let these people live with their consciences,
with the knowledge that they have violated their country's
most sacred principles.
These individuals are not important. As an indi
vidual, I am not important. The obvious fact that the Com
mittee is trying to destroy me personally and profession
ally, to deprive me of my livelihood and what is far dearer
to me— my honor as an American— gains significance only
because it opens the way to similar destruction of any
citizen whom the Committee selects for annihilation.
I am not going to touch on the gross violation of
the Constitution of the United States, and especially of
its First and Fifth Amendments, that is taking place here.
The proof is so overwhelming that it needs no elaboration.
The Un-American Activities Committee stands convicted in the
court of public opinion.
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519
I want to speak here as a writer and a citizen.
It is not surprising that writers and artists are
selected for this indecent smear. Writers, artists, scien
tists, educators, are always the first victims of attack by
those who hate democracy. The writer has a special respon
sibility to serve democracy, to further the free exchange of
ideas. I am proud to be singled out for attack by men who
are obviously— by their own admission on the record— out to
stifle ideas and censor communication.
I want to speak of a writer's integrity— the integ
rity and professional ethics that have been so irresponsibly
impugned at these hearings. In its illegal attempt to es
tablish a political dictatorship over the motion picture
industry, the Committee has tried to justify its probing
into the thought and conscience of individuals on the ground
that these individuals insert allegedly "subversive" lines
or scenes in motion pictures. From the viewpoint of the
motion picture producer, this charge is a fantasy out of
the Arabian Nights. But it is also a sweeping indictment
of the writer's integrity and professional conduct. When
I am employed to write a motion picture, my whole purpose
is to make it a vital, entertaining creative portrayal of
the segment of life with which it deals. Many problems
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520
arise in writing a picture. Like all honest writers, I
never write a line or develop a situation, without fully-
discussing its implications, its meaning, its tendency, with
the men in charge of production. Where a line or a situa
tion might relate to controversial issues, I am particularly
insistent on full discussion, because such issues affect
studio policy, critical response and popularity of the pic
My political and social views are well known. My
deep faith in the motion picture as a popular art is also
well known. I don't "sneak ideas" into pictures. I never
make a contract to write a picture unless I am convinced
that it serves democracy and the interests of the American
people. I will never permit what I write and think to be
subject to the orders of self-appointed dictators, ambitious
politicians, thought-control gestapos, or any other form of
censorship this Un-American Committee may attempt to devise.
My freedom to speak and write is not for sale in return for
a card signed by J. Parnell Thomas saying "O.K. for employ
ment until further notice."
Pictures written by me have been seen and approved
by millions of Americans. A subpoena for all those who have
enjoyed these pictures and recognized them as an honest
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521
portrayal of our American life.
Thus, my integrity as a writer is obviously an in
tegral part of my integrity as a citizen. As a citizen I
am not alone here. I am not only one of 19 men who have
been subpoenaed. I am forced to appear here as a represen
tative of 130 million Americans because the illegal conduct
of this Committee has linked me with every citizen. If I
can be destroyed no American is safe. You can subpoena a
farmer in a field, a lumberjack in the woods, a worker at
a machine, a doctor in his office— you can deprive them of
a livelihood, deprive them of their honor as Americans.
Let no one think that this is an idle or thoughtless
statement. This is the course that the Un-American Activi
ties Committee has charted. Millions of Americans who may
as yet be unconscious of what may be in store for them will
find that the warning I speak today is literally fulfilled.
No American will be safe if the Committee is not stopped in
its illegal enterprise.
I am like most Americans in resenting interference
with my conscience and belief. I am like most Americans in
insisting on my right to serve my country in the way that
seems to me most helpful and effective. I am like most
Americans in feeling that loyalty to the United States and
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522
pride in its traditions is the guiding principle of my life.
I am like most Americans in believing that divided loyalty-
which is another word for treason— is the most despicable
crime of which any man or woman can be accused.
It is my profound conviction that it is precisely
because I hold these beliefs that I have been hailed before
this illegal court. These are the beliefs that the so-
called Un-American Activities Committee is seeking to root
out in order to subvert orderly government and establish an
autocratic dictatorship.
I am not suggesting that J. Parnell Thomas aspires
to be the man on horseback. He is a petty politician, serv
ing more powerful forces. Those forces are trying to intro
duce fascism in this country. They know that the only way
to trick the American people into abandoning their rights
and liberties is to manufacture an imaginary danger, to
frighten the people into accepting repressive laws which are
supposedly for their protection.
To anyone familiar with history the pattern for the
seizure of dictatorial power is well known. Manufactured
charges against "reds," "communists," "enemies of law and
order" have been made repeatedly over the centuries. In
every case, from the Star Chamber in Stuart England to the
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523
burning of the Reichstag in Nazi Germany, the charges have
included everyone with democratic sympathies ; in every case
the charges have been proven false; in every case, the
charges have been used to cover an arbitrary seizure of
In the terrible wave of repression that swept Eng
land at the end of the eighteenth century, Charles James Fox
asked a simple question: "We have seen and heard of revo
lutions in other states. Were they owing to the freedom of
popular opinions? Were they owing to the facility of popu
lar meetings? No, sir, they were owing to the reverse of
these." The writers and thinkers who were jailed and si
lenced at that time were all cleared a few years later. The
great scientist, Priestley, whose home was burned, was
forced to flee to America where he was honored as an apostle
of liberty. The persecutions under the Alien and Sedition
Acts in our own country in 1798 were all proved to be the
irresponsible means by which a reactionary political party
sought to maintain itself in power. Congress officially
repaid all the fines collected under the Sedition Act. The
cry of sedition was again raised through the land in 1919
in order to build up the illusion of a non-existent national
emergency and thus justify wholesale violations of the Bill
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524
of Rights, designed solely to crush labor, prevent American
participation in the League of Nations, and keep reaction in
power.
Today, we face a serious crisis in the determination
of national policy. The only way to solve that crisis is by
free discussion. Americans must know the facts. The only
plot against American safety is the plot to conceal facts.
I am plastered with mud because I happen to be an American
who expresses opinions that the House Un-American Activities
Committee does not like. But my opinions are not an issue
in this case. The issue is my right to have opinions. The
Committee's logic is obviously: Lawson's opinions are
properly subject to censorship; he writes for the motion
picture industry, so the industry is properly subject to
censorship; the industry makes pictures for the American
people, so the minds of the people must be censored and
controlled.
Why? What are J. Parnell Thomas and the Un-American
interests he serves, afraid of? They're afraid of the Amer'
ican people. They don't want to muzzle me. They want to
muzzle public opinion. They want to muzzle the great Voice
of democracy. Because they're conspiring against the Amer
ican way. of life. They want to cut living standards.
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525
introduce an economy of poverty, wipe out labor's rights,
attack Negroes, Jews, and other minorities, drive us into a
disastrous and unnecessary war.
The struggle between thought-control and freedom of
expression is the struggle between the people and a greedy
unpatriotic minority which hates and fears the people. I
wish to present as an integral part of this statement, a
paper which I read at a Conference on Thought Control in
the United States held in Hollywood on July 9th to 13th.
The paper presents the historical background of the threat
ening situation that we face today, and shows that the at
tack on freedom of communication is, and has always been,
an attack on the American people.
The American people will know how to answer that
attack. They will rally, as they have always rallied, to
protect their birthright.
Statement of Dalton Trumbo
Mr. Chairman :
As indicated by news dispatches from foreign coun
tries during the past week, the eyes of the world are fo
cused to-day upon the House Committee on Un-American
Acitvities [sic]. In every capital city these hearings will
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526
be reported. From what happens during the proceedings, the
peoples of the earth will learn by precept and example pre
cisely what America means when her strong voice calls out to
the community of nations for freedom of the press, freedom
of expression, freedom of conscience, the civil rights of
men standing accused before government agencies, the vital
ity and strength of private enterprise, the inviolable right
of every American to think as he wishes, to organize and
assemble as he pleases, to vote in secret as he chooses.
The quality of our devotion to these principles will
be weighed most thoughtfully by all who have been urged to
emulate the American way of life. Whether we wish it or
not, the Committee and its witnesses appear here before the
world as a living test of American democracy in action. By
reason of this we have all been committed to a very heavy
responsibility.
I shall therefore pass quickly over the hearsay and
slander of witnesses classified as friendly to this Commit
tee, as well as over other evidence already established as
perjury. I call your attention only briefly to political
coincidence that nearly all friendly witnesses summoned by
the Committee have violently opposed the ideals of Wendell
Willkie and Franklin Roosevelt, while without exception the
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527
unfriendly witnesses have supported such ideals. I shall
make no comment at all on the petty professional jealousies,
the private feuds, the intra-studio conflicts which here
have been elevated to the dignity of the record. And only
with reluctance and shame do I find it necessary to recall
how fulsomely this Committee has complimented witnesses who
have proposed that all who disagree with them be deprived
of citizenship and handed over to the mercy of mobs.
There are three principal points which I wish to
stress in my statement to this Committee:
First: In the course of these hearings your Com
mittee has launched a direct attack upon the constitutional
rights of property and of management and of that system
which we call private enterprise. You have attempted to
compel management to hire and fire at your own dictation,
without any regard for rights and agreements already estab
lished between management and labor within the motion pic
ture industry. But even beyond this, you have attempted to
dictate to industry what kind of product it shall make and
what kind it shall not make.
Let every business man in America clearly understand
that if this Committee can usurp the rights of management in
one industry, it has established the precedent by which it
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528
can usurp the rights of management in all industries.
Modern history reveals many instances abroad where workers
in private industry have resolutely defended the rights of
management against the encroachments of a corporate state.
I am certain they will make such a defense in this country
against the attempt with which this Committee is presently
engaged.
Second: The Committee in its hearings has consis
tently attacked the constitutional guarantees of a free
presS; which encompass the guarantee of a free screen. The
American film, as a medium of communication, as a purveyor
of ideas, is completely beyond the investigatory powers of
this Committee. No committee of the Congress can dictate
to the motion picture industry what ideas it shall and shall
not incorporate into films, nor can it dictate to the Amer
ican people what ideas they may and may not see upon the
screens of their neighborhood theaters.
But you have not exclusively attacked the principle
of a free screen. In the past, you have sought to intimi
date workers in the radio industry. And during these hear
ings you have thanked witnesses who have testified against
the theater, the publishing business, and the press itself.
This constant attempt to interfere with the rights of every
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529
medium of free expression provides the consistent brown
thread which binds together all testimony thus far presented
by friendly witnesses. It clearly reveals your intention to
establish a slave screen, subservient to the cultural stand
ards of J. Parnell Thomas and the humanitarian precepts of
John E. Rankin.
Third: The Committee throughout its hearing has
approved even the grossest attacks upon the right of the
artist to express his ideas freely and honestly in his work.
Similarly, you have sought testimony attacking his right to
function in craft organizations and trade unions for the
advancement of his interests. You are now attacking his
right to think, and seeking by public inquisition to ferret
out his innermost ideas and his most private and personal
convictions. No institution on earth possesses this power
over American citizens. You violate the most elementary
principles of constitutional guarantees when you require
anyone to parade for your approval his opinions upon race,
religion, politics, or any other matter.
We must furthermore remember always that the defense
of constitutional rights is not simply a convenience to be
invoked in time of need, but a clear and continuous obliga
tion imposed equally upon all of us at all times. We are.
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530
as citizensJ literally commanded by its implications to
defend the Constitution against even the slightest en
croachment upon the protective barrier it interposes between
the private citizen on one hand and the inquisitors of gov
ernment on the other.
Already the gentlemen of this Committee and others
of like disposition have produced in this capital city a
political atmosphere which is acrid with fear and repres
sion; a community in which anti-Semitism finds safe refuge
behind secret tests of loyalty; a city in which no union
leader can trust his telephone; a city in which old friends
hesitate to recognize one another in public places ; a city
in which men and women who dissent even slightly from the
orthodoxy you seek to impose, speak with confidence only in
moving cars and in the open air. You have produced a capi
tal city on the eve of its Reichstag fire. For those who
remember German history in the autumn of 1932 there is the
smell of smoke in this very room.
Statement of Albert Maltz
I am an American and I believe there is no more
proud word in the vocabulary of man. I am a novelist and a
screen writer and I have produced a certain body of work in
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531
the past fifteen years. As with any other writer, what I
have written has come from the total fabric of my life— my
birth in this land, our schools and games, our atmosphere
of freedom, our tradition of inquiry, criticism, discussion,
tolerance. Whatever I am, America has made me. And I, in
turn, possess no loyalty as great as the one I have to this
land, to the economic and social welfare of its people, to
the perpetuation and development of its democratic way of
life.
Now at the age of thirty-nine, I am commanded to
appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
For a full week this Committee has encouraged an assortment
of we11-rehearsed witnesses to testify that I and others are
subversive and un-American. It has refused us the oppor
tunity that any pickpocket receives in a magistrate's court
— the right to cross-examine these witnesses, to refute
their testimony, to reveal their motives, their history,
and who, exactly, they are. Furthermore it grants these
witnesses congressional immunity so that we may not sue them
for libel for their slanders.
I maintain that this is an evil and vicious pro
cedure ; that it is legally unjust and morally indecent— and
that it places in danger every other American, since if the
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532
rights of any one citizen can he invaded, then the consti
tutional guaranties of every other American have been sub
verted and no one is any longer protected from official
tyranny.
What is it about me that this Committee wishes to
destroy? My writings? Very well, let us refer to them.
My novel. The Cross and the Arrow, was issued in a
special edition of 140,000 copies by a war-time Government
agency, the Armed Services Edition, for American servicemen
abroad.
My short stories have been reprinted in over thirty
anthologies by as many publishers— all subversive, no doubt
My film. The Pride of the Marines, was premiered in
twenty-eight cities at Guadalcanal Day banquets under the
auspices of the United States Marine Corps.
Another film. Destination Tokyo, was premiered
aboard a United States submarine and was adopted by the
Navy as an official training film.
My short film. The House I Live In, was given a
special award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for its contribution to racial tolerance.
My short story. The Happiest Man on Earth, won the
1938 0. Henry Memorial Award for the best American short
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533
story.
This, then, is the body of work for which this Com
mittee urges I be blacklisted in the film industry— and to
morrow, if it has its way, in the publishing and magazine
fields also.
By cold censorship, if not legislation, I must not
be allowed to write. Will this censorship stop with me?
Or with the others now singled out for attack? If it re
quires acceptance of the ideas of this Committee to remain
immune from the brand of un-Americanism, then who is ulti
mately safe from this Committee except members of the Ku
Klux Klan?
Why else does this Committee now seek to destroy me
and others? Because of our ideas, unquestionably. In 1801
when he was President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson
Opinion, and the just maintenance of it, shall never
be a crime in my view; nor bring injury to the individual.
But a few years ago, in the course of one of the
hearings of this Committee, Congressman J. Parnell Thomas
said, and I quote from the official transcript:
I just want to say this now, that it seems that the
New Deal is working along hand in glove with the Communist
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534
Party. The New Deal is either for the Communist Party or it
is playing into the hands of the Communist Party.
Very well, then, here is the other reason why I and
others have been commanded to appear before this Committee—
our ideas. In common with many Americans, I supported the
New Deal. In common with many Americans I supported,
against Mr. Thomas and Mr. Rankin, the anti-lynching bill.
I opposed them in my support of OPA controls and emergency
veteran housing and a fair employment practices law. I
signed petitions for these measures, joined organizations
that advocated them, contributed money, sometimes spoke from
public platforms, and I will continue to do so. I will take
my philosophy from Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham
Lincoln, and I will not be dictated to or intimidated by men
to whom the Ku Klux Klan, as a matter of Committee record,
is an acceptable American institution.
I state further that on many questions of public
interest my opinions as a citizen have not always been in
accord with the opinions of the majority. They are not now
nor have my opinions ever been fixed and unchanging, nor are
they now fixed and unchangeable ; but, right or wrong, I
claim and I insist upon my right to think freely and to
speak freely; to join the Republican Party or the Communist
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535
Party-j the Democratic or the Prohibition Party; to publish
whatever I please; to fix my mind or change my mind^ without
dictation from anyone; to offer any criticism I think fit
ting of any public official or policy; to join whatever
organizations I please^ no matter what certain legislators
may think of them. Above all, I challenge the right of this
Committee to inquire into my political or religious beliefs,
in any manner or degree, and I assert that not only the
conduct of this Committee but its very existence are a sub
version of the Bill of Rights.
If I were a spokesman for General Franco, I would
not be here today. I would rather be here. I would rather
die than be a shabby American, groveling before men whose
names are Thomas and Rankin, but who now carry out activi
ties in America like those carried out in Germany by Goeb-
bels and Himmler.
The American people are going to have to choose be
tween the Bill of Rights and the Thomas Committee. They
cannot have both. One or the other must be abolished in the
immediate future.
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536
Statement of Alvah Bessie
It is my understanding of the First Amendment to our
Constitution that it expressly forbids Congress to pass any
law which shall abridge freedom of speech or of opinion.
And it is my understanding of the function of Congressional
CommitteesJ that they are set up by the Congress for the
express purpose of inquiring into matter that may lead to
the initiation of legislation in the Congress.
Now either the Constitution and its Bill of Rights
mean what they say or they do not mean what they say.
Either the First Amendment is binding upon Congress and all
legislative bodies of our Government, or it means nothing
at all. I cannot agree with this so-called Committee in its
implied belief that the Bill of Rights means whatever this
body chooses it to mean, or is applicable only to those with
whose opinions this Committee is in agreement.
I am not in agreement with the opinions, activities,
or objectives of this Committee or any Committee remotely
resembling it. And since the only legislation this Commit
tee could possibly initiate would automatically abridge
freedom of speech and opinion, and would therefore be auto
matically unconstitutional, I have come to the conclusion,
that will eventually be borne out by events, that this body
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537
is totally unconstitutional and without power to inquire
into anything I think, believe, uphold, and cherish, or any
thing I have ever written or said, or any organization I
have ever joined or failed to join.
As a one-time newspaperman I have been deeply inter
ested in the mounting reaction of disapproval by the press
of the nation of the activities of this Committee. When the
conservative New York Herald Tribune can say "... the
beliefs of men and women who write for the screen are, like
the beliefs of any ordinary men or women, everybody's busi
ness but their own, as the Bill of Rights mentions. Neither
Mr. Thomas nor the Congress in which he sits is empowered to
dictate what Americans shall think . . ."; and when the
Chicago Times can say, "Of course, the real object of Chair
man Thomas and the reactionary Republican majority of the
House Un-American Activities Committee is not primarily to
uncover subversive influences in Hollywood. It is to smear
New Dealers and whatever their progressive successors may
be called . . ."— then it is not difficult to any intelli
gent person to realize that if this investigation is per
mitted to achieve its immediate objective it will not hesi
tate to move on from the motion-picture industry it has
emasculated, to the throttling of the press, the radio, the
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538
theaterJ and the hook publishers of America. We saw this
pattern at work before, in Hitler's Germany, and we under
stand it thoroughly. The true purpose of this Committee on
Un-American Activities is to provide the atmosphere and to
act as the spearhead for the really un-American forces pre
paring a Fascist America.
In calling me from my home this body hopes also to
rake over the smoldering embers of the war that was fought
in Spain from 1938 to 1939. This body, in all its previous
manifestations, is on record as believing that support of
the Spanish Republic was and is subversive, un-American, and
Communist-inspired. That lie was originally spawned by
Hitler and Franco, and the majority of the American people—
in fact, the majority of the people of the world— never
believed it. And I want it on the record at this point that
I not only supported the Spanish Republic but that it was my
high privilege and the greatest honor I have ever enjoyed to
have been a volunteer soldier in the ranks of its Interna
tional Brigades throughout 1938. And I shall continue to
support the Spanish Republic until the Spanish people in
their majesty and power remove Francisco Franco and all his
supporters and reestablish the legal government Franco and
his Nazi and Italian Fascist soldiers overthrew.
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539
The understanding that led me to fight in Spain for
that Republic, and my experience in that war, teach me that
this Committee is engaged in precisely the identical activi
ties engaged in by un-Spanish Committees, un-German Commit
tees, and un-Italian Committees which preceded it in every
country which eventually succumbed to fascism. I will never
aid or abet such a Committee in its patent attempt to foster
the sort of intimidation and terror that is the inevitable
precursor of a Fascist regime. And I therefore restate my
conviction that this body has no legal authority to pry into
the mind or activities of any American who believes, as I
do, in the Constitution, and who is willing at any time to
fight to preserve it— as I fought to preserve it in Spain.
Statement of Samuel Ornitz
I wish to address this Committee as a Jew, because
one of its leading members is the outstanding anti-Semite in
the Congress and revels in this fact. I refer to John E.
Rankin. I refer to this evil because it has been respon
sible for the systematic and ruthless slaughter or six
million of my people. Nor were they alone to die- Thirty
million others died, including American boys. It may be
redundant to repeat that anti-Semitism and anti-Communism
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540
were the number one poison weapon used by Hitler— but still
terribly relevant, lest we forget.
In speaking as a Jew, I speak in a deeper sense as
an American, as the one who has to take the first blow for
my fellow-Americans. For when Constitutional guarantees are
overridden, the Jew is the first one to suffer . . . but
only the first one. As soon as the Jew is crushed, the
others get it. Or haven't we been through this . . . the
most horrible of wars to date!
Nor did this evil die with Hitler. He and his emu
lators like Rankin propagated it well. The current Fortune
Magazine poll shows that thirty-six percent of the adult
American people have become anti-Semitic and twelve percent
anti-Catholic. It reveals a more devastating fact, namely,
that this anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic feeling tends to
run highest where Jews and Catholics are the fewest, in
remote American communities . . . how sad, to be able to
hate someone you haven't even seen!
I am struck forcibly the fact that this Committee
has subpoenaed the three men who made Crossfire, a powerful
attack on anti-Semitism . . . and appalled by the fact that
you characterized them as "unfriendly" witnesses before they
were heard and thus prejudiced opinion against them.
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541
Is it mere coincidence that you chose to subpoena
and characterize as "unfriendly" the men who produced^
wrote, directed or acted in the following feature length
pictures and short subjects, which attacked anti-Semitism
or treated Jews and Negroes sympathetically . . . Pride of
the Marines, The House I Live In, Don't Be a Sucker, None
Shall Escape, Of Mice and Men, The Brotherhood of Man, The
Commington Story, Freedom Road, Body and Soul, New Orleans,
The Master Race, and The Jolson Story.
On the front page of the Washington papers today we
find reported that our Attorney General Tom C. Clark feels
humiliated" because the American Negro people have had to
appeal to the United Nations for redress against lynching
and discrimination, and as a result, Mr. Clark is going to
enlarge the civil rights section of the United States De
partment of Justice.
The eyes of the world are on this Committee. Let
them not see that civil rights have become a mockery in
America in a Congressional caucus room, of all places!
Your Committee and its so-called "friendly" wit
nesses have been unable to name a single line . . . let
alone a picture, that is un-American or subversive by any
stretch of the imagination.
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542
Therefore, I ask as a Jew, based on the record, is
bigotry this Committee's yardstick of Americanism and its
definition of subversive? Indeed— another member of Con
gress, Senator Glenn H. Taylor, has described the conduct
of your Committee as— "Fascist-minded . . . parallel to
those pre-war leaders in Germany, Italy, and Japan." I
declare that the record bears him out.
Therefore, I feel that I stand here in the first
line of the defense of our Constitution and Freedom. I must
not fail— nor for one moment falter before the threat of
contempt, which word sounds like the short way of saying
concentration camp.
I am now ready for your questions. I shall answer
them conscientiously.
Statement of Herbert Biberman
I have listened to, watched and read the so-called
"testimony," at the so-called "hearings," of the so-called
"Committee on Un-American Activities," which the English
cartoonist Low has characterized as "a 10 cent version of
the American Way of Life," for a week.
I do not consider this Committee to be stupid. On
the contrary, I consider it to be evil. It is not Communism
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543
the House Committee on Un-American Activities fears, but the
human mind, reason itself. It is not force and violence
this Committee is investigating, but earnest, unceasing
citizenship. This Committee is in the course of overthrow
ing, not Karl Marx, but the constitutional way of American
life.
Intimidation and political bullying is and always
has been a great evil. Against it, in America, there is and
has been, one and only one protection— the fundamental law,
the conscience, the mind and the heart of America, embodied
in the Constitution of the United States of America and its
progressive ten amendments, the Bill of Rights.
Had this Committee on Un-American Activities been
born a century and three-quarters ago, there is little doubt
it would have voted against the Bill of Rights, and gone
down the drain of history with the Tories of that time. But
finding the Constitution in existence, and an obstacle in
its path, this Committee seeks to undo it, by bullying the
American people into surrendering their respect for, and
their faith in, this charter of individual freedom.
This Committee, disregarding the individual Ameri
can's right to choose his thoughts, at least as freely as
tie chooses his brand of cigarettes— by bullying and
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544
intimidation, diverts attention from the Bill of Rights, so
that it may erect in its place, "rule by accusation." It
must divert attention from the Bill of Rights because it
knows it can never erect "rule by accusation" in a country
of free, unrestrained, outspoken citizens. It therefore
coddles Mr. Adolphe Men]ou into this bit of fashionably
treacherous advice, "He won't last long if he is labeled a
Communist" and thanks him for his assistance in subverting
the American concept of the free individual.
The Bill of Rights was not conceived primarily to
protect the status-quo. Those who won national independence
for the American people understood very well that the
status-quo, by virtue of its inherent strength, is always in
the very most protected position, well able to attend to its
own security. The Bill of Rights was conceived for those
who needed it most; those with wider visions than the
status-quo ever represents in respect to man's potential.
To those who saw farther horizons for America's development
who felt compelled to push beyond its very real accomplish
ments, who believed in the perfectibility of man and his
brotherhood— to them was guaranteed by the Bill of Rights,
the calm, the security of mind and person, the dignity
necessary to expand the American dream by advocating it and
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545
pressing for its fullest realization. Against this right
to vision and the right to advocate this vision, the Con
stitution and the Bill of Rights yielded to no other right,
the right of way.
But this Committee is now engaged in an attempt to
crush this unyieldable right and to put an end to the calm,
the security, and the dignity upon which it feeds. This has
been attempted often in our country's history, by other
groups of officialdom. Such attempts have had their mo
ments, their hours, even their years, but they have never
had a single uninterrupted decade in the long life of our
Republic and they never will. American will change, but
not into its opposite. American will change out of its own
growing nature— the self-confidence, the neighborliness, and
the non-intimidability of the American people.
As an American I am proud of a fairly long record of
discussion and advocacy of social and economic change under
the law. Americans have developed a sense of easy access
to public forums, of whatever size, and this has accustomed
us very naturally to take our feelings, our opinions, and
our desires to our fellow citizens constantly and passion
ately.
I have never been a stand patter. This has always
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546
seemed to me a very dull, uncreative and unrewarding frame
of mind. My advocacy of this or that issue has often failed
of popular acceptance. In the light of developing history^
I have sometimes been proven in error, whether of degree or
kind, but I have never felt the necessity of apologizing for
error, or boasting of success, because I have felt myself
bound to my fellow citizens with a single common tie— the
hard, slow and patient work necessary if one is to contrib
ute to the correction of social and economic short-comings,
and the development of solutions under law.
If I were guilty of acts of force and violence I
would never have been called before this Committee. I would
be in the courts. And if I were guilty of such acts against
this, my country, and this, my people— I should be in the
courts, and convicted and condemned.
It is because I have committed no acts against my
country and my people that I am here. It is because I have
been an active citizen that I am here. No slothful, lazy,
self-satisfied or cynical citizen is brought here— except
those who are in the service of, or in the same bed with,
the members of this Committee. I am here because I love,
believe in, respect, and have unlimited faith in my fellow
citizens. I have been brought here because I believe they
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547
will constantly achieve a richer social and economic life
under the Constitution, which will eliminate prejudice and
inequality in spite of the efforts of this Committee to pre
vent it. I have been brought here because I believe the
American people will not give up the holy struggle for a
peaceful world, will not be bullied into an hysterical war.
I have been brought here not because.I have dreamed these
dreams but because I committed the sin of devoting ten years
to energetic advocacy of my faith in the American people
under our Bill of Rights. For this I have earned the hatred
of this Committee, and of this hatred I am especially proud,
Because my professional life and my life as a free
man have been so uncensorable by decent standards, this
Committee for Un-American Activities, in order to attempt
to embarrass and intimidate me, has, without power or au
thority under the Constitution, been forced to set up a
series of categories such as "Foreign Agent," "Subversive,"
in order to attempt, by use of these scare phrases, to poi
son the public mind against me, and against the many, many
other Americans who with slow, hard and patient persistence
have tried to be the most effective citizens their powers
permit.
Between this Committee and the nineteen "unfriendly'
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548
witnesses there is an impassable gulf. We are the ends
opposite of American life. Either this committee will be
abolished or it will abolish the Bill of Rights and the
American way of life along with it. This question will not
be decided by the Committee or by us but by the American
people. And this decision will be a decision of, by, and
for the continuance of popular constitutional government in
our country.
In this hearing I will not merely rely upon the
Constitution— I will fight for it and defend it against all
possible intimidation.
Here as well, I am a free man— accustomed to slow,
hard, patient and passionate defense of what I believe to
be American.
There is a hymn we sing, and teach our children to
sing, which scans as follows:
My country, 'tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing
Land where our fathers died
Land of the Pilgrim's pride
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring!
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549
Statement of Adrian Scott
I do not believe it is necessary for me to raise my
voice against the open war now being waged on civil liber
ties and on a free screen by the Committee on Un-American
Activities. Voices more eloquent than mine have spoken.
I wish to speak about another war. I would like to
speak about the "cold war" now being waged by the Committee
on Un-American Activities against the Jewish and Negro
people.
The evidence is clear and incontrovertible.
Edward Dmytryk, who directed Crossfire, and I, who
served Crossfire as producer, have extended invitations to
the Committee to view this picture. Our invitations were
ignored or refused.
We who made this picture are proud of it. We are
proud to lend our voices, however small, in the enormous
fight now being waged— and yet to be waged— to destroy the
un-American practice of anti-Semitism. We detest anti-
Semitism. We detest anti-Catholicism. We detest anti-
Protestantism. We detest any practice which degrades any
minority or any religion or any people.
We expected the Committee to refuse our invitation
to see and to discuss Crossfire. We expected them to refuse
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550
to discuss measures by which the practice of anti-Semitism
could be abolished. To do this would be incompatible with
the Committee's bigoted record and bigoted support.
Individually a member of this Committee may protest
that he is not anti-Semitic. He may say that some of his
best friends are Jews— or even that son,e of his best con
stituents are Jews. Or he may say, in protest, that he
loves the Negro people; and the Negro people love him— that,
in his poll tax district, the colored man knows that he
loves him, providing the colored man keeps his place. But
despite his protestations of individual innocence, the evi
dence of the Committee's collective guilt is cynically
Let the committeeman say he is not anti-Semitic.
But the rabble rousing anti-Semitic Gerald L. K. Smith pub
licly approves and supports him.
Let the committeeman say he is not against the
colored people. But the anti-Negro Ku Klux Klan and all
hate groups love and work for him.
Let the committeeman whisper in the cloak room that
he disapproves of the hatemonger, John Rankin of Missis
sippi. But has he disavowed him publicly? Has he repudi
ated his racist doctrine? Has he, more important.
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551
recommended legislation which would destroy John Rankin's
racist doctrines?
Let the committeeman say he is opposed to inhuman
treatment of minorities— and bad housing and unsanitary
ghettos. But what measures has the committeeman personally
recommended to change all this? Where has his hand been
evident in assisting minorities to take their rightful place
among their fellow men? What has he done to make fair em
ployment practices a reality?
Let the committeeman say he is not anti-Semitic.
But let the record show he does the work of anti-Semites.
Let the committeeman say he is not anti-Negro. But
let the record show that he does the work of the Ku Klux
Klan.
Today this Committee is engaged in an attempt to
destroy nineteen subpoenaed witnesses. The record of these
men is clear. They have always stood for issues which are
beneficial to the great mass of the American people.
Many times in their films they have presented the
Jew and the Negro (and other minorities as well) in un
stereotyped terms. They have made it an uncompromising rule
in motion pictures to treat all minorities with dignity.
These men oppose and actively work against Gerald
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552
L. K. Smith and the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Legion and
the Columbians and all kinds and varieties of hate groups.
They not only say they are against minority oppres-
sionj they do something about it.
The Committee is now attempting to deprive these
nineteen men of ]obs_, to establish a blacklist. By slander,
by vilification, this Committee is attempting to frighten
and intimidate these men and their employers ; to silence
those voices which have spoken out for the Jewish and the
Negro people and other people.
The Committee wants these eloquent voices stilled.
This is the cold war now being waged by the Commit
tee on Un-American Activities against minorities. The next
phase— total war against minorities— needs no elaboration.
History has recorded what has happened in Nazi Germany.
For myself and my colleagues, we will not be in
timidated. We will not be frightened. We will not permit
our voices to be put into moulds or into concentration
camps. We will continue to lend our voices so that funda
mental justice will obtain for Jews, Negroes, and for all
citizens.
Here is the partial motion picture record of these
men in behalf of minorities :
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553
Robert Rossen wrote the anti-lynch picture They
Won't Forget. His latest picture is Body and Soul which
treats Negro and Jew with dignity and justice as free men.
Howard Koch wrote Casablanca and In This Our Life.
The Negro is treated honestly as a free man.
Albert Maltz wrote Pride of the Marines and The
House I Live In which was sung by Frank Sinatra. Both pic
tures exposed anti-Semitism and religious and racial intol-
Waldo Salt wrote The Commington Story for the OWI.
An attack on anti-Semitism.
Ring Lardner, Jr., wrote The Brotherhood of Man
calling for more understanding among races and religions.
Herbert Biberman produced New Orleans, hailed by the
Negro press as intelligent treatment of Negroes.
Lewis Milestone directed Of Mice and Men in which
the Negro was handled with dignity. And, lest we forget,
Nazi Storm Troopers stopped the showing of his anti-war film
All Quiet on the Western Front, in 1931, in Germany.
Lester Cole wrote None Shall Escape which exposed
Nazi brutality to the Jews.
Richard Collins wrote Don't Be a Sucker for the
armed services. Subsequently, it was released to the
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554
public. It exposed anti-Semitism and kindred hatreds.
Irving Pichel directed A Medal for Benny, which
treated a Mexican minority with dignity.
Will the American people allow this bigoted Com
mittee to sit in judgment of these men and their records?
Statement of Edward Dmytryk
It is my firm belief that democracy lives and
thrives only on freedom. This country has always fulfilled
its destiny most completely when its people, through their
representatives, have allowed themselves the greatest exer
cise of freedom with the law. The dark periods in our his
tory have been those in which our freedoms have been sup
pressed, to however small a degree. Some of that darkness
exists into the present day in the continued suppression of
certain minorities. In my last few years in Hollywood, I
have devoted myself, through pictures such as Crossfire, to
a fight against these racial suppressions and prejudices.
My work speaks for itself. I believe that it speaks clearly
enough so that the people of the country and this Committee
which has no right to inquire into my politics or my think
ing, can still judge my thoughts and my beliefs by my work,
and by my work alone.
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555
The freedom which is so necessary for the fullest
development of a democratic nation is also indispensable for
the fullest development of any institution within that na
tion which deals with ideas and ideals. For without the
free expression of ideas, both favorable and critical, no
nation can long hope to remain free. This principle has
been stated many times before, in far better words than
mine. It is a shame that it should have to be repeated here
before this Committee.
But the intent is clear. This Committee has de
manded that the producers "clean their own house," under the
supervision of the Committee's members. They will name the
names and the producers must make out the blacklist. But
where will it end? History is all too clear on procedures
of this kind. There is no end. Is a Committee member anti-
Semitic? He will force the producers to blacklist men who
deplore anti-Semitism. Is a Committee member anti-labor?
He will force the producers to blacklist men who are pro-
labor. Is a Committee member against low-cost housing? He
will force the producers to blacklist men who advocate low-
cost housing. And thus, even without special legislation,
he will succeed in throttling, both artistically and finan
cially, one of the greatest industries in the United States.
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556
For he will have succeeded, through threats and intimida
tion, in effectively censoring a screen which has just
within the last few years begun to emerge from a never-never
land into a dim realization of its responsibilities to the
people of this nation and of the world. As an added touch
of grim humor, this attempt at censorship is being made just
at the time when, as has been remarked by every responsible
critic in the country, foreign motion pictures are success
fully challenging ours largely because of their free, open
and honest approach to the problems that beset modern man.
The men who have here been attacked, and countless
others in Hollywood who have stood up in their behalf, have
behind them a body of work, completely open to inspection,
which expresses their point of view. They have always
begged for understanding and enlightenment. They have also
preached the elimination of certain institutions, yes! They
have preached the elimination of the institution of poverty
of slums, of disease, of racial intolerance, and of all that
bigotry which prevents men from living in peace and under
standing, one with another.
If the Committee succeeds in forcing the producers
to blacklist these men it can only result in the destruction
of the industry in which they are now employed. For the
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557
loss of these men will inevitably lead to the squelching of
the ideas they represent, and which they have freely ex
hibited to the people in such pictures as The Best Years of
Our Lives, Pride of the Marines, Crossfire, The Farmer's
Daughter, yes, and even Margie! The resulting deterioration
in the quality of American pictures cannot fail to result in
the eventual extinction of our industry, both as an artistic
expression and, just as important, as a successful business
enterprise.
I cannot join in this wholesale liquidation of the
principle of free expression but, in company with my fellow-
workers, must stand against it in the interest of the entire
industry.
Statement of Ring Lardner, Jr.
I wish to speak briefly on two matters which seem to
me very pertinent to these proceedings. The first is my own
record as it has been impugned by the testimony of some of
your witnesses.
My father was a writer in the best tradition of
American literature. That tradition is very closely allied
to the democratic ideal in American life. Not only I but
my three brothers have also been writers. Two of these
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558
brothers were killed in separate chapters of the same great
struggle to preserve that democratic ideal, one as a member
of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain in 1938, the other
as a war correspondent in Germany in 1944. I make no claim
to the genius of my father or the courage of my brothers,
but I do maintain that everything I have done or written has
been in keeping with the spirit that governed their work,
their lives, and their deaths.
My principal occupation is that of screen writer, I
have contributed to more than a dozen motion pictures, among
them Woman of the Year, for which I received an Academy
Award. The Cross of Lorraine, about the anti-fascist move
ment in France during the war, the screen version of the
play Tomorrow the World, about the effects of Nazi educa
tion, Cloak and Dagger, about the heroic work of our Office
of Strategic Services, and an animated cartoon called The
Brotherhood of Man, based on the pamphlet. The Races of
Mankind, and exposing the myth that any inherent differences
exist among people of different skin color and geographical
origin. It doesn't matter to me what kind of preposterous
documents your investigators produce from unnamed sources
describing my affiliations under some such heavily cloaked
pseudonym as "Ring L." My record includes no anti
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559
democratic word or act, no spoken or written expression of
anti-Semitism, anti-Negro feeling or opposition to American
democratic principles as I understand them.
Secondly, about un-American activities in Hollywood
The atmosphere there, where I have lived for the last ten
years, is considerably different than that of the small seg
ment of Washington to which I have been exposed in the last
ten days. There are a few frightened people there— men like
Adolphe Men]ou and John C. Moffitt throw so many furtive
glances over their shoulders that they run a serious risk
of dislocation. And we have a certain amount of un-American
activity there; anti-Semitism, white supremacy nonsense and
other efforts to subvert the democratic idea. Every note
exchanged between the Motion Picture Alliance for the Pres
ervation of American Ideals and this Committee contributes
to an anti-American purpose. I wish there were a committee
qualified and competent to investigate Lhese matters. But
compared to what I have seen and heard in this room, Holly
wood is a citadel of freedom. Here anti-American sentiments
are freely expressed and their spokesmen heartily congratu
lated. Here there is such fear of the effects of free
speech that men are forbidden to read statements and are
cut off in mid-sentence lest they expose too much of what
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560
is going on here to the public.
What I am most concerned about is the ultimate re
sult that might come from a successful fulfillment of your
purpose. On Tuesday, the Chairman said that there was sub
versive material in motion pictures and proposed that it be
prevented in the future by an industry blacklist. The mo
tion picture producers have not indicated that they are
gullible enough to fall for such a ruse, but if they ever
did, the fact that I might be prevented from working at my
profession would be of little account. The really important
effect would be that the producers themselves would lose
control over their pictures, and that the same shackling of
education, labor, radio and newspapers would follow. We are
already subject in Hollywood to a censorship that makes most
pictures empty and childish. Under the kind of censorship
which this inquisition threatens, a leading man wouldn't
even be able to blurt out the words "I love you" unless he
had first secured a notarized affidavit proving she was a
pure white, Protestant gentile of old Confederate stock.
Statement of Lester Cole
I want to say at the outset that I am a loyal Amer
ican, who upholds the Constitution of my country, who does
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561
not advocate force and violence, and who is not an agent of
a foreign power.
This Committee has announced many times its interest
in facts pertinent to this inquiry. I believe many such
facts are embodied in this statement.
I have been a working screen-writer in the Motion
Picture Industry since 1932. To date, I have written
thirty-six screen plays, the titles of which and companies
which produced them are attached.
I was working in Hollywood in 1933 when screen
writers, faced with an arbitrary fifty percent cut in sala
ries, formed the Screen Writers' Guild for the purpose of
collective bargaining.
From the very start there were attempts to create
strife within the industry by groups who used the same tech
nique employed by this Committee.
After years of failure by James Kevin McGuinness,
Rupert Hughes and other of your friendly witnesses to dis
rupt the Screen Writers' Guild, and with it the industry, a
desperate appeal was made to Martin Dies, former Chairman of
this Committee. Or maybe Martin Dies made the appeal; at
any rate the investigation began.
When the Dies investigation proved unsuccessful
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562
because of the united resistance of the men and women of the
industry, a new tactic was employed. Willie Bioff and
George S. Browne were called into the fray.
These two men, Browne and Bioff who ran the lATSE,
the union which was represented here the other day by Mr.
Roy Brewer, took on the job of creating chaos in the indus
try. They bought full page advertisements in the Hollywood
trade papers, the Reporter and the Daily Variety, announcing
their intentions of taking over all independent Hollywood
Guilds and Unions, but only, of course, for one purpose; the
eradication of Communism. You will recall that A1 Capone,
just before going to jail, called upon the American people
to "eradicate" all subversive un-American influences in
American life, including Communism. By a strange coinci
dence, the warning of Browne and Bioff also was issued but
a short time before they too went to jail for the extortion
of huge sums of money; a shakedown of the motion picture
industry.
For fifteen years these men have engaged in slander,
malicious gossip, near libel; in fact, in every method known
to man but one— traditional American democratic procedure.
As in years gone by they accommodated Martin Dies,
and later extortionists Browne and Bioff, today McGuinness,
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563
Incorporated is playing footsie with the House Committee on
Un-American Activities. They think the Committee is stoog
ing for the Motion Picture Alliance; the reverse is true.
From what I have seen and heard at this hearing, the
House Committee on Un-American Activities is out to accom
plish one thing, and one thing only, as far as the American
Motion Picture Industry is concerned; they are going either
to rule it, or ruin it.
This Committee is determined to sow fear of black
lists; to intimidate management, to destroy democratic
guilds and unions by interference in their internal affairs
and through their destruction bring chaos and strife to an
industry which seeks only democratic methods with which to
solve its own problems. This Committee is waging a cold
war on democracy.
I know the people in the motion picture industry
will not let them get away with it.
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APPENDIX D
COVER LETTER AND QUESTIONNAIRE USED
IN SECURING NEW PRIMARY DATA
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APPENDIX D
COVER LETTER AND QUESTIONNAIRE USED
IN SECURING NEW PRIMARY DATA
One hundred requests for new information were sent
to seventy unfriendly witnesses, twenty friendly witnesses,
and ten non-witnesses. Appendix D contains a copy of the
cover letter and questionnaire used by this researcher in
seeking the new primary data.
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January 15, 1970
Mr. Elia Kazan
c/o Directors Guild of America, Inc.
7950 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, California 90046
Dear Mr. Kazan:
I would like to introduce myself. I am Robert Vaughn, known
to most of the people in the entertainment field as a Tele
vision or Cinema actor. However, there is another side to
my life and that is the reason for this correspondence. I
am currently completing my doctoral dissertation at the Uni
versity of Southern California with a major in Communica
tion. My area of study is: A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE IN
FLUENCE OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES ON
THE AMERICAN THEATRE, 1938-1958.
need your assistance to complete this work. I am sending
the enclosed questionnaire to a relatively small group in
the entertainment field who may have been affected by the
activities of the Committee. Since I am contacting only a
small number of people, the importance of each individual's
response is magnified. The success of this study depends on
virtually 100 percent cooperation and your response is valu
able.
The University of Southern California is extremely conscious
of the individual's dignity and right to privacy. All re
sponses will be kept confidential and well within the bounds
of good taste and discretion.
I want to thank you in advance for your cooperation. Upon
completion of this study, I will share with you the results
of my findings. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then,
I remain.
Sincerely,
Robert Vaughn
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Last Name
SURVEY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN
ACTIVITIES ON THE AMERICAN THEATRE 1938-1958
First Name
This study is primarily concerned with the Committee's in
fluence on the American theatre as distinguished from cin
ema, television, radio and allied entertainment fields. As
one whose name was directly involved in the Committee's
hearings or printed records, please give your candid recol
lections of the probable, possible, and actual effects of
the Committee's activities on your own professional career
and on the American Theatre.
(PLEASE USE REVERSE SIDES OF ANY PAGES WHERE MORE ROOM IS
NEEDED)
PROBABLE EFFECTS :
A. On May 26, 1938, the United States House of Repre
sentatives authorized the formation of the Special
House Committee on Un-American Activities. The pur
poses of this committee were stated as follows:
"Resolved, that the Speaker of the House of
Representatives be, and he is hereby, authorized
to appoint a special committee to be composed of
seven members for the purpose of conducting an
investigation of (1) the extent, character, and
object of un-American propaganda activities in
the United States, (2) the diffusion within the
United States of subversive and un-American
propaganda that is instigated from foreign
countries or of a domestic origin and attacks
the principle of the form of government as guar
anteed by the constitution, and (3) all other
questions in relations thereto that would aid
_________ Congress in any necessary remedial leg
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Please describe how, in your opinion, the Committee
did or did not achieve its purposes as stated above:
The possibility to either answer the committee's
questions or to refuse to do so was an alternative
faced by all of the witnesses subpoenaed. If you
were a witness and therefore were confronted by this
alternative, please describe your resolution. If
you were not a witness, yet were aware you might be,
how were you prepared to resolve this choice?
WITNESS:________________ NON-WITNESS:_______________
II. POSSIBLE EFFECTS:
A. Describe any constructive effects you feel the Com
mittee's activities may have had on the American
theatre. Please be specific.
Describe any destructive effects you feel the Com
mittee's activities may have had on the American
theatre. Please be specific.
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C. In your opinion, are there any effects of the Com
mittee's activities that cannot yet be evaluated?
If yes, please specify
D. There has been much debate on the issue of a "black
list" on Broadway.
1. Do you know whether there was a "blacklist" on
Broadway against alleged Communists?
If yes, please state the nature of your knowl
edge :
Do you know whether there was a "blacklist" or
Broadway against witnesses who gave the names of
alleged Communists?
Yes No
If yes, please state the nature of your knowl
edge:
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III. ACTUAL EFFECTS:
A. As a result of the Committee's activities, the
Federal Theatre was closed on June 30, 1939.
1. Were you working in the Federal Theatre on
June 30, 1939?
Too young to be working :___________________
2. Can you recall any other theatres or produc
tions that were closed because of the Commit
tee's activities?
If yes, please fill out the following to the
best of your recollection:
B. Specifically, did the Committee Hearings affect
your life in the following areas since 1947 :
1. Income loss or gain: Yes:_______ No:______
If yes, please describe in what manner :
2. Career change : Yes:_
If yes, please describe in what manner:
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3. Theatre activity: Yes:___________ No:_
If yes, please describe in what manner:
4. Personal relationships: Yes:_____ No:
If yes, please describe in what manner:
C. Did the publicity surrounding the hearings affect
you?
If yes, in what manner:_
D. Generally, would you please briefly state in what
way the Committee Hearings affected your life, if
at all: (Please add any effects not covered by
B and C)
"Vigilante" type organizations and publications
such as Counterattack, Red Channels, AWARE, Inc.,
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and persons like Laurence Johnson sprung up during
and after the hearings in 1947.
1. Please list other groupsj publications and
persons you were aware of as well as the date,
location and nature of their activities.
Group, Organization or Person
(Circle One)
Nature of their activities
Group, Organization or Person Date
(Circle One)
Nature of their activities
2. Did any of the above directly affect you?
Yes:__________ No:___________
If yes, please describe the circumstances:
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584
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585
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_____ . Report of the Joint Fact-Finding Committee on
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_____ . Annual Report, 1952, 82nd Cong., 2d sess. [Wash
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_____ . Annual Report, 1953, 83rd Cong., 1st sess.
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_____ . Annual Report, 1955, 84th Cong., 2d sess. [Wash
ington, D. C. : N. p., n. d.].
_____ . Annual Report, 1956, 85th Cong., 1st sess.
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_____ . Annual Report, 1957, 85th Cong., 2d sess. [Wash
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586
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Antonius (pseud.). The Hollvwood "Trial." With an intro
duction by Arthur Calder-Marshall. London: Notable
Press, Ltd., n. d.
Blake, Ben. The Awakening of the American Theatre. New
York : Tomorrow Publishers, 1935.
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588
Braden, Anne. House Un-American Activities Committee : Bul
wark of Segregation. Los Angeles, Calif.: National
Committee to Abolish the House Un-American Activi
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d! (Also contains The Censors See Red! by Richard
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Is Contagious ; the Bill of Rights versus the Un-
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Faganj Myron C. Hollywood's Reds Are "on the Run." Dublin;
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'Fellow Citizens: Our Husbands Are in Prison! ..."
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Asset Metadata

Creator Vaughn, Robert Francis (author)

Core Title A historical study of the influence of the house committee on un-American activities on the American theatre, 1938-1958

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Mass Communication

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag mass communications,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor [illegible] (committee chair), Butler, James H. (committee chair), Knight, Arthur (committee member), Miller, Howard S. (committee member), Stahl, M. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c17-226206

Unique identifier UC11351296

Identifier 7211965.pdf (filename),usctheses-c17-226206 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 7211965.pdf

Dmrecord 226206

Document Type Dissertation

Rights VAUGHN, ROBERT FRANCIS

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA