How the Hollywood film industry was affected by the Communist scare of the 1940s & 50s.
The McCarthy witch-hunts have become known as one of the most shameful periods in American history. During the beginnings of the Cold War in the 1940s & 50s the search for ‘Reds under the bed’ began. Led by the notorious Senator Joseph McCarthy it was felt most fiercely in Hollywood where the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee were carried out under the full glare of the media. Over 300 people in the entertainment industry including Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Chaplin, Aaron Copland, Carl Foreman and high profile women like Lillian Hellman, and Dorothy Parker were blacklisted because of their beliefs - real or suspected and were denied employment. Jenni is joined by Amanda Foreman, daughter of the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Carl Foreman and biographer of Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire, and Michael Freedland, author of Witch-hunt in Hollywood.Ìýto look back at this period.
Witch-hunt in Hollywood: McCarthyism's War On Tinseltown by Michael Freedland is published by JR Books £14.99Ìý ISBN-10: 1906779090
Disclaimer
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external websites.
