Who Were The Hollywood 10 And Why Were They Blacklisted?

What Did The Hollywood 10 Do?

The Hollywood 10 were a group of film producers, directors and screenwriters who refused to answer questions regarding their possible communist affiliations. The group was asked questions by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) about their political beliefs and association with the communist party, by exercising the First Amendment. They were held in contempt of Congress by the HUAC in 1947, and convicted in federal court the following year. They appealed to the Supreme Court which refused to hear their case. They accepted the punishment, which was a $1,000 fine and six months to a year in a federal prison beginning in 1950. However, their plight didn’t end as after they got released, most of them were blacklisted from working in Hollywood. Here’s a look at each of the Hollywood 10 and their stories.

1. Herbert J. Biberman

Herbert J. Biberman was a known screenwriter who wrote screenplays for several movies in the 1930s and ’40s like “The Master Race”. After Biberman refused to testify before HUAC in 1947, his wife and actress Gale Sondergaard also refused to cooperate with HUAC, pleading the Fifth Amendment in 1951. He received a $1,000 fine and a six-month sentence, and both of them were blacklisted in Hollywood, per History.com. Unable to work in Hollywood, Biberman signed on to direct the 1954 independent drama “Salt of the Earth”, which was banned in America from exhibition for 11 years. Biberman died from bone cancer in 1971 in New York City.

2. Alvah Bessie

Writer Alvah Bessie had volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War against General Francisco Franco, a fascist ruler in 1938. Following the Civil War, Bessie wrote screenplays for several movies, including the World War II drama “Hotel Berlin”. After Bessie refused to testify before HUAC, he said. “I will never aid or abet such a committee in its patent attempt to foster the sort of intimidation and terror that is the inevitable precursor of a fascist regime,” as per History.com. He was also fined $1,000 but sentenced to one year at the federal prison. He never returned to work in Hollywood and died from a heart attack in 1985.

3. Lester Cole

Screenwriter Lester Cole, who co-founded the Screen Writers Guild in 1933, worked on several screenplays for films such as “The House of the Seven Gables” starring Vincent Price and “Objective, Burma!” for which Alvah Bessie wrote the original story. He was fined $1,000 and sentenced to a year at the Federal Correctional Institution. After being blacklisted, Cole struggled to find work and later turned to teaching screenwriting. He too died in 1985 from a heart attack.

4. Ring Lardner Jr.

Ring Lardner Jr. was a screenwriter and a board member of the Screen Writers Guild. He is best known for co-writing the 1942 movie “Woman of the Year”, before the HUAC trial. Lardner was also fined $1,000 and sentenced to 12 months in Danbury Prison. After his release, he stayed optimistic and kept working in Hollywood writing for TV shows and movies under pseudonyms. In 1965, he received credit for co-writing “The Cincinnati Kid” and in 1971, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film “M*A*S*H”. In 2000, he died at the age of 85.

5. Edward Dmytryk

Edward Dmytryk was an exception among the Hollywood 10 as he later admitted to being a member of the Communist Party, and named other alleged members, which ended his blacklisting. Dmytryk initially fled to Britain for two years. He was arrested on his return to the United States and his subsequent admission of guilt led to the reduction of his sentence. He won an Academy Award in 1948 after he was blacklisted and before that, he won an Oscar as a director for the 1947 film “Crossfire". After getting cleared, he immediately found work, and producer Stanley Krammer hired him to direct three films, “The Sniper”, “The Juggler” (with Kirk Douglas), and “The Caine Mutiny.”

6. Albert Maltz

Writer Albert Maltz is best known for screenwriting films such as “Pride of the Marines” for which he won an Academy Award nomination for best-adapted screenplay. After paying the $1,000 fine and serving his 12-month prison sentence, he continued writing scripts under pseudonyms. By 1970, he received full credit for writing the Clint Eastwood Western, “Two Mules for Sister Sara”, but he continued to use his alias John B. Sherry on other projects. He died in 1985.

7. John Howard Lawson

John Howard Lawson was also one of the co-founders of the Screen Writers Guild and he served as its first president as well. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for “Blockade” (1938). He was also fined the same amount and sentenced to 12 months in the Federal Correctional Institution. After serving his sentence he adapted Alan Paton’s novel “Cry, the Beloved Country” for the screen, without getting any credit. As per History.com, Lawson felt his struggle was more severe than his comrades. Lawson died in 1977, in San Francisco.

8. Samuel Ornitz

Another co-founder of the Screen Writers Guild, Samuel Ornitz wrote screenplays for several films, including “Little Orphan Annie”, which was based on the popular comic strip, and published the novel “Bride of the Sabbath”. He was sentenced to 12 months at Vermont Springfield Prison and fined $1,000 after which he continued writing novels while he was blacklisted. While Ornitz never worked in films again, his son Arthur J. Ornitz became an accomplished cinematographer. Later, Ornitz died of cancer in Los Angeles.

9. Adrian Scott

Adrian Scott was arguably at the peak of his career when he was called before the HUAC. Scott flew to London and kept looking for work before he appeared before the HUAC. However, he returned in 1950 and was handed a $1,000 fine and sentenced to 12 months in the Federal Correctional Institution. After his release, Scott eventually found work writing the British TV show “The Adventures of Robin Home” without getting any credits. In 1973, Scott died of lung cancer.

10. Dalton Trumbo

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was best known for his work “Kitty Foyle (1940)”, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. His other famous work was for “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)”, before his blacklisting. He was sentenced to a year in prison and blacklisted in Hollywood. However, Trumbo continued to write without credit and was behind the 1953 Audrey Hepburn hit “Roman Holiday”, which won the Academy Award for best screenplay. His blacklisting came to an end in 1960, and he got the credit for writing the screenplays “Spartacus” and “Exodus”. He died in 1976, in Los Angeles of a heart attack.