The Role and Importance of the Anti-communist Movement in Hollywood: what impact did it make on the US domestic sphere of the Cold War?

By providing entertainment, role models, and a thriving commercial industry, Hollywood not only influenced society, but America impacted Hollywood in turn. The growing fears of communism that plagued the nation were reflected in the harsh reaction of the FBI on the industry, who investigated the industry in the hopes of gaining headlines as well as being spurred on by what became known as the “Red Menace”. By encouraging mass fear and strict persecution, groups such as the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and FBI to a great extent changed the shape of the domestic sphere within the U.S, as well as challenged the moral principles that the American system of law and governance. Indeed, many historians, such as John Sbardellati and John Joseph Gludchek go on to argue that their actions eventually led to the emergence of McCarthyism. In analyzing the events that were occurring globally and domestically and aligning them with the evolution of Communism within Hollywood, the development of red hysteria can be connected and mapped throughout the 1930’s Depression era, into the Second World War, and further on until the early 1950’s. Bearing in mind, this is by no means an exhaustive analysis of the subject, but a summary of highlights that I believe left the greatest impact on society.

The perpetuated image of a politically “red” Hollywood that HUAC and the FBI strived to achieve was in fact misleading and unsubstantiated. In truth, the industry was more influenced on a cultural level, and many were more focused on the egalitarian benefits of communism than anything else. As Gludchek has argued, “Marxism, on paper, offered relief from the horror of mass poverty and destitution in the wake of the Great Depression.”[1] After the U.S. stock market crash of October 29th 1929, American society, as well as the world, were left to suffer the repercussions of an unstable economic climate.

During the 1930’s, moderate Communism became a catch all for many agendas such as “supporting and working for racial equality, consumer protection, labor rights, and free speech”.[2] As the U.S. struggled to recover economically, President F. D. Roosevelt instituted the New Deal, a series of domestic programs geared towards the three R’s: Relief, Recovery and Reform. It was within its second wave, from 1935–38, that the focus of creating labor unions became beneficial to American Society. A resurgence of the Communist party began, “the fact of the existence of strong radical faith of the part of a small handful of the early writers and the presence of radicalizing historical factors like the Depression and its issue, The New Deal, an awakening labor movement and the revitalized Communist Party”.[3]

The Popular Front became known as the years when America was openly accepting the ideologies of Communism all over the spectrum, in response to the failure of capitalism in the Great Depression. This was a time in history when the fight against Nazism in Europe led to the long-run impact of Jewish Immigrants to Hollywood. These individuals would influence the labor landscape of the industry to the point where they made us a large portion of the Hollywood Communist Party. “From the middle thirties to the middle fifties,” writes David Caute, “some three hundred film directors, actors, writers, and designers joined the CP. By 1950 fewer than one hundred remain loyal or could stand the heat.”[4] This movement brought many organizations to the front of the U.S. public domain, including the creation of the Screen Writers Guild in 1933, and arguably the most important organization the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936–39. The League continually supported the New Deal policy, as the conservatives began to heavily dispute its merits. The Popular Front ended with the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939, which brought many moderate Communists to the conclusion that Stalin and Communism in turn were not in fact the ideological utopia that they had hoped it would be. This led to the downfall in acceptance of the labor unions and New Deal, as well as gave a negative connotation to the U.S. Communist Party. It wasn’t until Stalin joined the Allies in World War II that communism gained some of its creditability back in the U.S. However, with the end of the war and the tension rising between the U.S. and USSR on an international scale, tensions at home mimicked the atmosphere.

In a brief summary of the origins of the HUAC, Texas Congressman Martin Dies first initiated it in 1939. Known then as the Dies Committee, it was created the same year as the beginning of World War II in large response to the popularity of the Anti-Nazi League. He was the original leader that instigated the “initial investigation of Hollywood, eventually continued by his protégé and successor J. Parnell Thomas…” 51 Although the goals of the HUAC were supposed to be aimed mostly towards the investigation of all un-American propaganda, mostly fascism, Dies possessed an almost irrational hatred of Communism, likely influenced by him being anti-Semitic. The legacy of Dies lived on as J. Parnell, John Rankin, and eventually John A. McCarthy replaced his role chronologically.

In regards to greater domestic impact, American journalist and radio broadcaster Dorothy Thompson analyzed the influence of Communism on religion, specifically Christianity. In her 1948 article, “Does Communism Threaten Christianity,” she described Communism as being a demonic influence due to its principle of atheism. Theorizing “a society without religion would mean “a society without class”” [5], Thompson going on to hyperbolize what she believed that the greatest threat to Christianity in the U.S. On a larger note, media such as Newspapers, Magazines, including Reader’s Digest, Life, Look, and The Saturady Evening Post played a strong role in the FBI’s and Dies’s initial method of stirring the “red fear”. Possessing contacts within the press, they were able to influence domestic American on a large scale. This even resulted in a polling of 70% agreement to outlaw membership to the Communist Party by the American public in 1941.[6] The FBI even went one step further, and infiltrated the media’s film critics sphere, inserting G-Men into journalist positions so they would write bad reviews to movies they deemed inappropriate and send them to the major production companies. While it was also the FBI’s goal to secretly gather intelligence on the Communist Party, they would become integral to the HUAC’s case against the Hollywood Ten.[7]

The Maltz Affair is arguably one of the most interesting incidents of miscommunication during the Cold War years in Hollywood. Communist author, screenwriter, and soon to be member of the Hollywood Ten, Albert Maltz successfully challenged the status quo of the U.S. Communist Party and their control over the cultural sphere. A strong supporter of Marxist idealism, as the years progressed Maltz became increasingly aware of the repressive nature of the Communist Party and how it inherently affected his artistic voice. After being openly criticized for his 1935 play Blackpit for not being commercially relevant enough, Maltz responded by eventually writing his New Masses article in 1946.[8] While Maltz’s work reflected themes of social issues, striving to reach a spectrum of people who supported the ideals of Communism. John Sbardellati writes that Maltz’s article, “served as a plea for the continuation and furthering of this “democratic modernism” or “cultural front” approach to the arts.” [9] Maltz refused to condone the Party’s actions in perpetuating an escapist culture, that art not be used as a weapon for political gain, for this creates shallow work and ignores the role that it should possess, in providing different viewpoints of humanity.[10] It is unfortunate that the timing of this article was so bad, as it was published within the same month as the expulsion of Communist Party leader Earl Browder and the replacement William Z. Foster. Foster strongly supported the theme of class conflict and using art as a weapon, and furthermore influenced the Party’s rejection of freedom within cultural expression. [11] In response to this event, the FBI misinterpreted the outcome as a show of strength within the party in their ability to control their members. However, there is irony in the fact that while the FBI feared the Party was growing in strength and influence, when in fact they were turning their backs on the cultural industry that had defined their success in previous years.[12]

In March 1947, a Congressional Inquisition took place, in the words of Representative John Rankin of HUAC, with the hopes of “cleansing the film industry.”[13] As building hysteria overtook the U.S. due to FBI involvement in the media and anti-communist propaganda, vents occurring worldwide such as Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech in March 1946, as well as the Greek Crisis and Iran, the conservatives within Congress became more and more angered by “Hollywood’s unabashed love affair with Russia during the [second world] war.”[14] At this time, these so-called communist symbols were ideologically harmless, for the most part. However, for example the film Mission to Moscow was blatantly supportive of the far left wing, and “even J. Edgar Hoover spoke the truth when he described the film as “a prostitution of historical fact.”[15] Those who became known as the Hollywood Ten, were various representatives of the industry including writers, directors, and designers who all possessed war film credits, and were known affiliates with the Communist Party.

In regards to domestic influence, that same month American President Truman made his Doctrine Speech; the first televised presidential address, which marked the significant shift of foreign policy with the USSR from one of friendship, to containment. In summary, Truman announced U.S. support for Greece and Turkey in response to USSR aggression. This event, as well as the former previous mentioned, all metaphorically stoked the fire that was the “Red Menace”. The result was HUAC subpoenaing forty-one witnesses, with nineteen being declared “unfriendly” as in Communists. Of those nineteen, thirteen were Jewish.[16] With HUAC and the FBI working together, the anti-communist witness all shared a mutual strategy, providing testimony “that reds and fellow travelers habitually purchased the film rights of books written by other reds, then hired their fellow reds as scriptwriters, actors and directors.”[17] These were blatant fabrications of facts, and were one of the many instances of injustice that took place during this trail.

Defendants such as American screenwriter Dalton Trumbo refused to answer questions, specifically one’s that called into question their involvement as members in the Communist Party. Indeed, they were hard-pressed to the point of comparisons being made of their technique with Hitler’s tactics in show-trials. Many refused to answer the question of the political affiliations, due to the response for lack of better words, like being between a rock and a hard place. Either they deny that they were Communists and in turn contributing to the degradation and isolation of other Communists, or confess and spur on the hysteria, inevitably ruining their careers.[18] While the anti-communist witnesses were given ample time to make their statements, the “unfriendly” witnesses were frequently cut off, and put on the spot. “Albert Maltz,” observes Caute, “who by some quirk of fate allowed to read his prepared statement, drew attention to the fact that both Thomas and Rankin, whom he likened to Goebbels and Hitler, had opposed an anti-lynching bill.”[19] Many defendants testified that the proceedings were racially biased and inherently anti-Semitic in nature. However, while there were many that attempted to deny their involvement in the Communist community, others were strongly supportive of their party and in turn called into question American fascism.

The last piece of evidence after the testimonies from anti-communist and “unfriendly” witnesses was the Communist Party’s registration card. HUAC possessed concrete documentation of party membership from many of the ten “unfriendly” witnesses were still party members, including Trumbo, Ladner and Lawson.[20] Furthermore, the FBI provided “extensive memoranda that had been secretly disseminated to the committee.”[21] By using the First Amendment, which supported their defense with the fundamental liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights such as freedom of speech, the Nineteen strove to bring HUAC down a few pegs.[22]

Yet, this only resulted in the hearing grinding to a sudden halt, ending swiftly with no conclusion made by HUAC’s part. As such, only eleven out of the nineteen “unfriendly” witnesses had been allowed to speak. Of those nine, “the House cited them for contempt; in December, they were indicated by a grand jury. Eight were charged with refusing to answer about membership of the CP and the Screen Writers Guild; two about the CP alone.”[23] In response, many of the “unfriendly” witnesses toured the country and made a film to publicize their defense. This led to negative backlash from the public towards popular actors and actresses who openly supported the cause, such as Katherine Hepburn who was put on the preverbal top shelf by MGM executive Louis B. Mayer until she was once against accepted by greater society. [24] “Within a month of the HUAC hearings, five of the Ten who were at that time still under contract were summarily fired” by some of the largest names in Hollywood; MGM, RKO and Twentieth Century-Fox. 498 As more time passed, eventually all ten were dismissed from their jobs, and so the boycott began. There were a number of repercussions that the heads of industry had to face if they had kept the Ten employed, including; newspaper editorials turning against Hollywood, The American Legion was threatening a boycott, the stoning of a movie theatre showing a Katherine Hepburn film in North Carolina, boycotts in Glendale, California, and Independence Kansas of films associated with the Ten, and Spain Chile, and Argentina threatened to boycott films that were produced in studios that employed the Ten.[25] There was a type of lull within the industry or the next four years, until in 1951 the case was opened and reinvestigated, resulting in the creation of the blacklist. Three hundred and twenty-five film people were named, as past or present Communists. Within the industry, profiteers used the blacklist and in turn perpetuated it, lawyers and psychoanalysts as well as the media.[26] The Writers Film Guild, alongside Ronald Reagan, attempted to help the named victims of this movement, but failed in saving the careers and reputations of many individuals. Not so much as for their efforts, but due to the passing of time, the black list slowly disappeared in the late fifties.

In conclusion, the events surrounding the rise and fall of communism within America are heavily influenced by the foreign and domestic policies were implemented at the time. With the fall of the Popular Front, and the impending violations of social justice that occurred hence forth, the years of 1939–1952 can be considered the precursor to what would become the era of McCarthyism. Although the Ten were essentially victims of “McCarthyism”, without ever actually interacting with the Senator himself, this shows evidence that the principles of McCarthyism were present even before there was a label for them. As claimed by Gludchek, “Hollywood would eventually provide the Committee [HUAC] with the boost that ultimately propelled it into its banner year of 1948, a year arguably paved the way for Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy and his coat to coat un-American purge.” [27] In other words, HUAC and the FBI set the stage for McCarthy to bring said injustices and persecutions to new heights of immorality. Upon further reflection, although Hollywood is a presence within the lives of many citizens, it seems that their opinions and the cultural norms they perpetuated at that time produced a further impact on the history of the Hollywood Industry.

Bibliography

Caute, David. The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978.

Ceplair, Larry, and Steven Englund. The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930–1960. Los Angeles: University of California Press, Ltd., 1983.

Gladchuk, John Joseph. Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950. New York: Routledge, 2007.

Sbardellati, John. J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood’s Cold War. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012.

[1] John Joseph Gladchuk, Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950 (New York: Routledge, 2007), 2.

[2] Ibid., 2.

[3] Ceplair, Larry, and Steven Englund, The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930–1960 (Los Angeles: University of California Press, Ltd., 1983), 86.

[4] David, Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 487.

[5] John Joseph Gladchuk, Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950 (New York: Routledge, 2007), 82.

[6] Ibid., 61.

[7] John Sbardellati, J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood’s Cold War (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012), 147.

[8] Ibid., 83.

[9] Ibid., 86.

[10] Ibid., 87.

[11] Ibid., 90.

[12] Ibid., 91.

[13] David, Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 491.

[14] Ibid., 490.

[15] Ibid., 490.

[16] Ibid., 492.

[17] Ibid., 493.

[18] Ibid., 494.

[19] Ibid., 495.

[20] Ibid., 495.

[21] John Sbardellati, J. Edgar Hoover Goes to the movies: The FBI and the Origins of Hollywood’s Cold War (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012), 133.

[22] David, Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 493.

[23] Ibid., 497.

[24] Ibid., 497.

[25]Larry Ceplair, and Steven Englund, The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930–1960, (Los Angeles: University of California Press, Ltd., 1983), 329.

[26] Ibid., 508.

[27] John Joseph Gladchuk, Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950 (New York: Routledge, 2007), 3.