Hollywood's Blacklists: A Political and Cultural History (review)

Few topics in Hollywood's history have drawn more attention than the infamous blacklisting of actors, directors, producers and screenwriters in the post-World War II era. Hundreds of books and scholarly articles by those blacklisted, those who testified against them and historians have been published in the last five decades.

Humphries argues that unionization, as much as ideology, was at the heart of the efforts to purge liberals from Hollywood. Were screenwriters artists creating original work or contract workers controlled by the studios? During the 1930s screenwriters on the right and left fought over this issue and for control of the Screewriters Guild. Communist Party members John Howard Lawson, Lester Cole and John Bright and other liberal members eventually won control of the union which the NLRB recognized as the only bargaining representative for writers.

The ideological wars quieted during World War II but were not forgotten by the right and the studio moguls. Movies such as Mission to Moscow (1943), I (1943) and others infuriated the right who considered them little more than communist propaganda. The battle for control of the screen erupted with vengeance in 1947 when HUAC (House of Un-American Activities) began an investigation into communist influence in Hollywood.

The 1947 hearing turned into guerilla-theater with friendly and unfriendly witnesses. The Hollywood Ten, John Howard Lawson and other screenwriters, were sent to prison for contempt of Congress. HUAC expanded with purge in the early 1950s when it summoned hundreds of other Hollywood activists to explain their politics to the committee.

It is a well-known story that Humphries brings to life with an excellent chapter on the actual impact of the blacklist on many of Hollywood's elite. Screenwriters Albert Maltz and Dalton Trumbo fled to Mexico. Director Jules Dassin and writer Michael Wilson settled in France where Wilson wrote Oscar nominated screenplays under various pseudonyms. Others like William Wyler stayed in America, but were forced to beg forgiveness by writing humiliating letters to studio bosses. Canada Lee and John Garfield were unable to work and tragically died early deaths. The chapter helps readers understand the real life issues associated with this sad and tragic episode in Hollywood. It was much more than just politics.

The concluding chapter is a curious evaluation of what Humphries terms the victory of the witch hunters. The purging of the left was not restricted to Hollywood. Humphries casts the broad net of McCarthyism and anti-communist hysteria across the American landscape and the end result, he argues, was the defeat of universal health care, President Nixon's war crimes in Vietnam and Cambodia and the passage of the Patriot Act in 2005.

Despite this rant, or perhaps because of it, the book is an engaging read. Humphries dedicates his rather slim study to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and Cary McWilliams, a liberal lawyer who helped defend blacklisted writers. It is clear from the start that Humphries is solidly with the blacklisted. Reader's may not always agree with the author's opinions and readings of various films, but they will never be confused about how Humphries views the personalities and issues. The book is written with passion and insight, based on solid research and a strong understanding of film. It is all a reader can ask.