Committee for the First Amendment
The Committee for the First Amendment was an action group formed in September 1947 by actors in support of the Hollywood Ten during the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). It was founded by screenwriter Philip Dunne, actress Myrna Loy, and film directors John Huston and William Wyler.
Members of the Committee for the First Amendment on their way to Washington, D.C. (1947)
The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War, in Hollywood and elsewhere. Actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other American entertainment professionals were barred from work by the studios.
The May 7, 1948, issue of the Counterattack newsletter warned readers about a radio talk show that had recently expanded its audience by moving from the Mutual network to ABC: "Communist Party members and fellow-travelers have often been guests on [Arthur] Gaeth's program."
The first Hollywood movie to overtly take on McCarthyism, Storm Center was released in 1956. Bette Davis "plays a small-town librarian who refuses, on principle, to remove a book called The Communist Dream from the shelves when the local council deems it subversive".
