Representative J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey, committee chairman, announced the names of producers, writers, and actors summoned to testify about alleged communist influences in Hollywood. Walt Disney and Gary Cooper were among the “friendly witnesses” sympathetic to the investigation. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was one of ten men cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer certain questions.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
House Committee on Un-American Activities press release for a hearing on communist influences in the motion picture industry, September 19, 1947
Communism in Hollywood
From the 1930s through the 1950s, Congress intensively investigated alleged political radicals. The House Committee on Un-American Activities focused on universities, labor unions, and the film industry. In 1947 the committee called Hollywood actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters to testify regarding communist influence on motion pictures. Ten men who refused to state their political affiliations, claiming First Amendment rights, were imprisoned for contempt of Congress. The “Hollywood Ten” became the first victims of a blacklist by major movie studios that curtailed hundreds of careers before it ended in 1960.
The Chairman. Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party? Mr. Trumbo. I believe I have the right to be confronted with any evidence which supports this question. I should like to see what you have.
House Un-American Activities Committee Hearing, October 28, 1947
Representative J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey, committee chairman, announced the names of producers, writers, and actors summoned to testify about alleged communist influences in Hollywood. Walt Disney and Gary Cooper were among the “friendly witnesses” sympathetic to the investigation. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was one of ten men cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer certain questions.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
