I am not Joe the Plumber! To: 3D-Joy; 50mm; AGreatPer; calcowgirl; cindyTrueSupporter; concretebob; Disco Dave; Doctor Raoul; ...
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Posted on 10/20/2008 3:12:30 PM PDT by Rastus
Fighting back against the blacklist
For a dozen years during the Cold War, people accused of belonging (or formerly belonging) to the American Communist Party were barred from working in the movie industry. The blacklist era ended when Kirk Douglas gave screenwriting credit to Dalton Trumbo for his work on Spartacus, which opened 48 years ago this month.
Mr. Douglas, now 91, discussed the legacy of Spartacus and the contemporary political climate in Hollywood.
Why did you hire Dalton Trumbo?
Sen. [Joseph] McCarthy was an awful man who was finding communists all over the country. He blacklisted the writers who wouldn't obey his edict. The heads of the studios were hypocrites who went along with it.
My company produced Spartacus, written by Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted writer, under the name Sam Jackson. Too many people were using false names back then. I was embarrassed. I was young enough to be impulsive, so even though I was warned against it, I used his real name on the screen.
I hear complaints nowadays that, in Hollywood, you can lean as far left as you like but you're chastised for leaning right.
I think that's a lot of [expletive]. Did Ronald Reagan get chastised? Does Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Good grief, man. You lived this and you don't even know what you're talking about.
McCarthy had nothing at all to do with Hollywood. McCarthy was concerned with the Army.
They must think we're ALL stupid.
What’s your theory on the left tying McCarthy to HUAC? Is it ignorance, or is it because what McCarthy was digging into was much more important than a bunch of flakes in Hollywood, so they knew he had to be destroyed? They figured the public would be more worked up over a guy trying to root out a bunch of irrelevant “artists,” so they tied him to all of that? That’s the only thing I can figure.
Also, those people, including Trumbo, were Communists.
Of course, there is no mention of the blacklist of patriotic Americans who testified as friendly witnesses before the committee such as Adolph Menjou and comedy writer Morrie Ryskynd.
Ayn Rand escaped being blacklisted by the Commies because she was under contract to Hal Wallis at the time; e.g., "Love Letters."
I just hate it that Douglas is such a moron. He was in the first movie I ever saw, and was always one of my favorites.
A group of studio executives, acting under the aegis of the Motion Picture Association of America, announced the firing of the artists—the so-called Hollywood Ten—in what has become known as the Waldorf Statement. On June 22, 1950, a pamphlet called Red Channels appeared, naming 151 entertainment industry professionals in the context of "Red Fascists and their sympathizers"; soon most of those named, along with a host of other artists, were barred from employment in much of the entertainment field. (snip)
“If Kirk Douglas uttered a syllable of that tripe, I’ll eat my hat.”
Ditto. A whale of a tale.
On the other hand, the driver of anti-Communism efforts was vital national security. There were traitors. Those who merely abused their free speech and association rights to recruit to the Communist cause were on a borderline. Certainly it was not crazy to be concerned with them.
Exactly.
McCarthy didn’t blacklist anyone. That was an earlier era.
And, secondly, the people being blacklisted were blacklisted by their Hollywood pals.
Stalin was one of the great butchers of history. I could see why you might not hire someone who was an agent or admirer of one of history’s monsters. But, no, McCarthy had nothing to do with it.
I am not Joe the Plumber! If you want off my ping list get over it!
I always heard that much of what McCarthy ‘’claimed’’ actually came out in congressional hearings. So anyone who could read could see the info,,it wasn’t secret.
The only involvement McCarthy may have had in "blacklisting" took place in 1953, when he sent his committee staffers Roy Cohn and G. David Schine around Europe to visit United States Information Agency libraries. Cohn and Schine were to weed out pro-Communist and anti-American books from these libraries--a controversial, yet legitimate assignment, since these facilities are designed to promote a positive image of America abroad, and are not "public libraries." Among USIA librarians, the expression "come rain or shine" was replaced by "come Cohn or Schine."
The Senate Committee on Government Operations and its Subcommittee on Investigations, which McCarthy chaired from 1953 until 1955, never investigated Hollywood.
What a load. Aside from the fact he has his history wrong, there is absolutely no doubt that the communist made a big effort to infiltrate the hollywood unions. They never want to talk about that.
20,000 Leagues!
Yes! I love that era of history. Woody Guthrie and the Atlas Singers went so far as to denounce their own album because they suddenly were on the other side when Hitler violated the pact. Which makes me ask: if you weren’t beholden to the Soviet Union, why couldn’t you have spoken out against their pact with (fellow) monsters like the Nazis?
Yep!
The only involvement McCarthy may have had in "blacklisting" took place in 1953...
I know, correct, the reference to McCarthy was mistaken. I don't think that fact is central to the subject matter. You don't deny existence of Hollywood blacklisting itself, do you?
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