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Show trial : Hollywood, HUAC, and the birth of the blacklist

-- Hollywood, HUAC, and the birth of the blacklist

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"In 1947, the Cold War came to Hollywood. Over nine tumultuous days in October, the House Un-American Activities Committee held a notorious round of hearings into alleged Communist subversion in the movie industry. The blowback was profound: the major studios pledged to never again employ a known Communist or unrepentant fellow traveler. The declaration marked the onset of the blacklist era, a time when political allegiances, real or suspected, determined employment opportunities in the entertainment industry. Hundreds of artists were shown the door--or had it shut in their faces. In Show Trial, Thomas Doherty takes us behind the scenes at the first full-on media-political spectacle of the postwar era, a courtroom drama starring glamorous actors, colorful moguls, on-the-make congressmen, high-priced lawyers, single-minded investigators, and recalcitrant screenwriters, all recorded by newsreel cameras and broadcast over radio. Doherty explores the deep background to the hearings and details the theatrical elements of a proceeding that bridged the realms of entertainment and politics. He tells the story of the Hollywood Ten and the other witnesses, friendly and unfriendly, who testified; tracks the flight path of the Committee for the First Amendment, the delegation from Hollywood that descended on Washington to protest the hearings; and chronicles the implementation of the postwar blacklist. Show Trial is a rich, character-driven inquiry into how the HUAC hearings ignited the anti-Communist crackdown in Hollywood, providing a gripping new cultural history of one of the most influential events of the postwar era"--Publisher's description.

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Summary Note

"In 1947, the Cold War came to Hollywood. Over nine tumultuous days in October, the House Un-American Activities Committee held a notorious round of hearings into alleged Communist subversion in the movie industry. The blowback was profound: the major studios pledged to never again employ a known Communist or unrepentant fellow traveler. The declaration marked the onset of the blacklist era, a time when political allegiances, real or suspected, determined employment opportunities in the entertainment industry. Hundreds of artists were shown the door--or had it shut in their faces. In Show Trial, Thomas Doherty takes us behind the scenes at the first full-on media-political spectacle of the postwar era, a courtroom drama starring glamorous actors, colorful moguls, on-the-make congressmen, high-priced lawyers, single-minded investigators, and recalcitrant screenwriters, all recorded by newsreel cameras and broadcast over radio. Doherty explores the deep background to the hearings and details the theatrical elements of a proceeding that bridged the realms of entertainment and politics. He tells the story of the Hollywood Ten and the other witnesses, friendly and unfriendly, who testified; tracks the flight path of the Committee for the First Amendment, the delegation from Hollywood that descended on Washington to protest the hearings; and chronicles the implementation of the postwar blacklist. Show Trial is a rich, character-driven inquiry into how the HUAC hearings ignited the anti-Communist crackdown in Hollywood, providing a gripping new cultural history of one of the most influential events of the postwar era"--Publisher's description.

Content Note

Part I, Backstories.How the popular front became unpopular ; Hollywood's war record ; The preservation of American ideals ; The magic of a Hollywood dateline ; Smearing Hollywood with the brush of communism -- Part II, On location in Washington. Showtime ; Lovefest ; Friendlies, cooperative and uncooperative ; Hollywood's finest ; Doldrums ; Crashing Page 1 ; Contempt ; $64 questions and no answers ; Jewish questions ; The curtain drops -- Part III, Backfire. The Waldorf and other declarations ; Blacklists and casualty lists ; Not only victims.