“The blacklist was a time of evil...” The Blacklisting in the McCarthy Era and the Hollywood Ten

Abstract

After World War II, the Second Red Scare planted the seeds of uncertainty and hatred throughout the U.S. Before the fall of McCarthyism, ten screenwriters from Hollywood faced prosecutions due to their past allegiances. They were all members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) and his associates were committed to exposing anyone with even the slightest connection to the CPUSA although the President was himself a liberal. This research sheds light on the Hollywood Ten’s unfortunate fate (henceforth: Ten) while discussing its contemporary politics. The Ten refused to confess and talk during their prosecutions, which led to their careers’ destruction despite their blacklisting being lifted during the sixties by individuals in the industry including Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976) and Kirk Douglas (1916–2020). In the present study, relevant historical evidence, materials, and sources were consulted. It is argued here that the Hollywood Ten story retains an enormous influence on the current U.S. political climate and proposes that the recent #MeToo movement would have failed without the sacrifice of the Hollywood Ten.