The Hollywood Ten - House Un-American Activities Committee.

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The Hollywood 10

The Hollywood Ten

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

The Committee which conducted anti-Communist "witch hunts" and strongly influenced film content in the late 1940's and late 50's. Beginning in 1947, this committee decided to investigate Communist influence in motion pictures. Over 100 witnesses, including many of Hollywood's most talented and popular artists, were called before the committee to answer questions about their own and their associates' alleged Communist affiliations.

The Hollywood Ten

In September 1947, 43 witnesses were subpoenaed to appear for hearings in Washington before the House Committee on un-American Activities (HUAC), which was investigating "communist" subversion in Hollywood. Nineteen of the witnesses, mostly scriptwriters, were expected to be "unfriendly." The hearings opened in October. A group of eight screenwriters and two directors refused to answer questions regarding their possible Communist affiliations. Those ten, known as the "Hollywood Ten," went to jail for their refusal to answer the committee's questions about their personal political beliefs. After their jail terms they were mostly blacklisted by Hollywood studios.

The Unfriendly 19

(Those in bold made up the Hollywood Ten):

John Howard Lawson Dalton Trumbo