Research Catalog

Title

Show trial : Hollywood, HUAC, and the birth of the blacklist / Thomas Doherty.

Author

Doherty, Thomas Patrick

Publication

• New York : Columbia University Press, [2018]
• ©2018

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiv, 406 pages : black and white illustrations, portraits; 24 cm

Summary

"In 1947, the Cold War came to Hollywood. Over nine tumultuous days in October, the House Un-American Activities Committee held a notorious round of hearings into alleged Communist subversion in the movie industry. The blowback was profound: the major studios pledged to never again employ a known Communist or unrepentant fellow traveler. The declaration marked the onset of the blacklist era, a time when political allegiances, real or suspected, determined employment opportunities in the entertainment industry. Hundreds of artists were shown the door--or had it shut in their faces. In Show Trial, Thomas Doherty takes us behind the scenes at the first full-on media-political spectacle of the postwar era, a courtroom drama starring glamorous actors, colorful moguls, on-the-make congressmen, high-priced lawyers, single-minded investigators, and recalcitrant screenwriters, all recorded by newsreel cameras and broadcast over radio. Doherty explores the deep background to the hearings and details the theatrical elements of a proceeding that bridged the realms of entertainment and politics. He tells the story of the Hollywood Ten and the other witnesses, friendly and unfriendly, who testified; tracks the flight path of the Committee for the First Amendment, the delegation from Hollywood that descended on Washington to protest the hearings; and chronicles the implementation of the postwar blacklist. Show Trial is a rich, character-driven inquiry into how the HUAC hearings ignited the anti-Communist crackdown in Hollywood, providing a gripping new cultural history of one of the most influential events of the postwar era"--Publisher's description.

Series Statement

Film and culture

Uniform Title

Film and culture.

Subjects

• Motion picture actors and actresses > Political activity > United States > History > 20th century
• Motion picture industry > Political aspects > United States > History > 20th century
• Motion picture producers and directors > Political activity > United States > History > 20th century
• United States > Congress > House > Committee on Un-American Activities

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-389) and index.

Contents

Part I, Backstories. How the popular front became unpopular ; Hollywood's war record ; The preservation of American ideals ; The magic of a Hollywood dateline ; Smearing Hollywood with the brush of communism -- Part II, On location in Washington. Showtime ; Lovefest ; Friendlies, cooperative and uncooperative ; Hollywood's finest ; Doldrums ; Crashing Page 1 ; Contempt ; $64 questions and no answers ; Jewish questions ; The curtain drops -- Part III, Backfire. The Waldorf and other declarations ; Blacklists and casualty lists ; Not only victims.

Call Number

MFL 18-2766

ISBN

• 0231187785
• 9780231187787

OCLC

1013737468

Author

Doherty, Thomas Patrick, author.

Title

Show trial : Hollywood, HUAC, and the birth of the blacklist / Thomas Doherty.

Publisher

New York : Columbia University Press, [2018]

Copyright Date

©2018

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Film and culture

Film and culture.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-389) and index.

Research Call Number

MFL 18-2766