The extreme right saw the unionization of writers as the first step toward the domination of the screen by communists. HUAC hearings concerning Hollywood were prompted when the Screen Writers Guild (SWG) became the writers’ official bargaining agent in the 1930s. (AP Photo/Beano Rollins, used with permission from the Associated Press) HUAC investigated communism in Hollywood Lawson was the first of the Hollywood Ten to testify as an ‘unfriendly witness.’ Lawson was cited for contempt of court, a citation some say violated his First Amendment rights. He refused to answer questions as to whether he was or had ever been a member of the Communist party. 27, 1947, during a tumultuous exchange which ended in his citation for contempt of Congress. John Howard Lawson, screenwriter presses his face close to the microphone as he lashes out at the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, Oct. HUAC was seeking to purge the country of any communist influences. Blacklists became prominent in Hollywoodĭuring this period, blacklists became particularly prominent in the industries investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for possible links to the Communist Party of the United States, most notably Hollywood film making. In the context of the 1940s and 1950s, a blacklist was a list of persons whose opinions or associations were deemed politically inconvenient or commercially troublesome, thereby subjecting them to either difficulty finding work or termination from employment. (AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) From left to right, Samuel Ornitz, Ring Lardner Jr., Albert Maltz, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Herbert Biberman, and Edward Dmytryk.

Federal Court in Washington June 22, 1950, to face charges of contempt for defiance of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In this photo, seven Hollywood figures of the Hollywood Ten arrive at U.S. During this period, blacklists became particularly prominent in the industries investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) for possible links to the Communist Party of the United States, most notably Hollywood film making.

What does it mean to be blacklisted