The Red Scare & The Hollywood Blacklist
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Transcript of The Red Scare & The Hollywood Blacklist
The Red Scare &The Hollywood Blacklist
Modern details behind The Crucible
1st Red Scare – 1917-1920WWI & The Bolshevik
Revolution (Russia/USSR)Xenophobia – fear of foreigners
or strangersApril 1919: bomb plot
uncoveredJune 2, 1919: 8 bombs deploy in
8 cities within one hourUS Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer a target
“Palmer Raids”10,000 immigrants
arrested in 2 yearsJ. Edgar Hoover in
chargeMay 1, 1920 –
government overthrowNothing happened –
Palmer lost credibility
2nd Red Scare – 1947-1957After WWII – Communist
activitySoviet Union (USSR)
controlled most of Eastern Europe
Korea, China, ItalySoviets had nuclear bombAmericans feared nuclear
attack
Josef Stalin & Mao Tse Tung (Zedong)Dictators of USSR
(Stalin) & China (Tse Tung)
Murdered millions of countrymen
Stalin arrested political dissidents and put them in gulags (forced labor camps).
Communist organizations in the USFear of communist
sympathizers (pinks) & spies Julius & Ethel Rosenberg
Smith Act: passed by Congress in 1940Illegal to be a part of a
“subversive” organizationCommunist or Marxist
organizations considered subversive
Suspicion turns to Investigation1946: birth of HUAC (House
Un-American Activities Committee)
1947: Pres. Truman creates Federal Employees Loyalty Program
Wisc. Senator Joseph McCarthy led many investigations
Other Red Scare EffectsFallout shelters“Duck-and-cover” drillsCincinnati Reds became
the “Redlegs” to avoid association to communism
The Hollywood BlacklistCPUSA attracted many young
people in show bizOctober 1947: 43 people
called as witnesses in an investigation to see if Communist messages were in movies
19 refused to testify; 11 were called before HUAC
Bertolt Brecht – YES, I’m a communist!
The Hollywood 10The other 10 refused to
speak; citing 1st Amendment rights
Arrested for contempt of court
Ronald Reagan & Walt Disney testified that there were communists in Hollywood
Hollywood 10 were fired & denied any more work
The BlacklistEdward Dmytryk – admits & gets
job backAmerican Legion & Red Channels
Together, name ≈ 225 “communists” in show biz
All denied employment (blacklisted); many called before HUAC
Defendants pleaded the 5th – immediately blacklisted
WitnessesEither “friendly” or
“unfriendly”Elia Kazan (director of two
of Arthur Miller’s plays on Broadway)
Budd Schulberg (screenwriter)
Lee J. CobbOn the WaterfrontUnfriendly: Arthur Miller
Ruined results of the BlacklistBlacklisted workers had to
leave the US to get workSalt of the EarthRichard Collins (friendly)
divorced wife Dorothy Comingore (unfriendly)Died at age 58 of alcoholism
suicidesPremature strokes &
heartattacks
Things die down…Edward R. Murrow works to
censure Sen. McCarthy1957: John Henry Faulk,
radio personality, sues CBS for firing (wins)
1958: Blacklisted names fade, but some don’t work until 1960s or later
HUAC loses power; is disbanded in 1968