Blacklisted! : Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment

Recounts the 1947 government investigation into the motion picture industry by the House Un-American Activities Committee

1947: 'A Cold War is brewing between communist Soviet Union and the United States. Tensions between the two countries are at an all-time high. In America, people begin to see communist threats everywhere, and the U.S. government forms a committee to investigate those threats. Even Hollywood comes under the microscope. Acclaimed nonfiction writer Larry Dane Brimner follows, in vivid detail, the story of nineteen men from the film industry who are summoned to appear before the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities. All nineteen believe that the committee's investigations into their political views and personal associations are a violation of their First Amendment rights. When the first ten of these men refuse to give the committee the simple answers it wants, they are cited for contempt of Congress and are blacklisted. The story of the Hollywood Ten is one of courage and defiance--a story that shows just how important it is to fight for one's beliefs and rights.'--Jacket

In 1947, as the Cold War was brewing, people begin to see communist threats everywhere. Hollywood was accused of incorporating communist ideals in films. Brimner follows nineteen men from the film industry who are summoned to appear before the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities. All nineteen believed that the committee's investigations into their political views and personal associations are a violation of their First Amendment rights. When the first ten of these men refused to give the committee the simple answers it wanted, they were cited for contempt of Congress and were blacklisted-- denied employment because of their beliefs. -- adapted from jacket