The Hollywood Ten

On this day in 1947,  the House Un-American Activies Committee (HUAC) started investigating actors, directors, writers and producers in Hollywood.  While some in the film industry bent to the HUAC’s search for “Reds”, a select few resisted and were subsequently blacklisted by an entertainment industry that strove to appease Congress. They were also convicted of obstructing justice and served jail time.  While some of these dissidents have been long forgotten, a few of these names may still ring familiar.  Learn more about the Hollywood Ten by revisiting their lives and works:

Dalton Trumbo, screenwriter, author

 

Johnny Got His Gun

Night of the Aurochs

 Roman Holiday  

Edward Dmytryk, director

 

The Caine Mutiny

Back to Bataan

The Young Lions

Ring Lardner, jr., screenwriter

 

I’d Hate Myself in the Morning

MASH

Woman of the Year

John Howard Lawson, screenwriter

The Careless Years

Cry, The Beloved Country

Albert Maltz, screenwriter

 

Two Mules For Sister Sara

The Robe (uncredited)

The Naked City

Samuel Ornitz, screenwriter

 

Circumstantial Evidence

They Live in Fear

Adrian Scott, screenwriter/producer

 

Crossfire

Murder, My Sweet

Alvah Bessie, screenwriter

 

 Ruthless

 Hotel Berlin

Herbert J. Biberman, screenwriter

 

King of Chinatown

Together Again

Lester Cole, screenwriter

 

Blood on the Sun

Born Free

To read more about about HUACs activities and the Hollywood Blacklisting, check out these titles at the Denton Public Library:

Tender Comrades: a backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist

Blacklisted: the Film Lover’s Guide to the Hollywood Blacklist

Inside Out: a Memoir of the Blacklist

McCarthyism: The Red Scare

Heir to an Execution