Hollywood Ten

The Hollywood Ten were ten film-industry figures who refused to answer questions about alleged Communist ties before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Their contempt convictions and industry blacklisting became defining episodes of the Hollywood blacklist.

House Un-American Activities Committee: A U.S. House committee that investigated alleged subversion, including Communist influence in government and entertainment. Its 1947 hearings questioned Hollywood figures about alleged Communist affiliations.
Dalton Trumbo: An American screenwriter who was one of the Hollywood Ten and later wrote under pseudonyms during the blacklist. His career illustrates how blacklisted writers continued working through concealed authorship.
Contempt of Congress: An offense involving obstruction of, or refusal to comply with, a congressional inquiry or demand. The Ten’s refusal to answer led to contempt citations and criminal convictions.
Hollywood blacklist era: The period, beginning in the late 1940s, when suspected leftists were excluded from work in Hollywood. The Ten’s case helped establish the era’s pattern of professional punishment.
Second Red Scare: A period of intense American fear of Communist influence, especially from the late 1940s through the 1950s. Anti-Communist pressure created the political setting for the hearings.
John Howard Lawson: An American screenwriter and playwright who was one of the Hollywood Ten and a prominent Communist Party member. He was among the Ten’s most visible political organizers and spokesmen.
Hollywood blacklist: The informal system that barred people suspected of Communist ties from employment in the American film industry. The Ten’s exclusion became the blacklist’s most prominent early case.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution: A constitutional amendment protecting freedoms including speech, press, assembly, and religion. The controversy raised questions about political expression and government investigations.
Cold War: A prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. The emerging rivalry heightened suspicion of Communist activity in American institutions.
Edward Dmytryk: A Canadian-American film director who was one of the Hollywood Ten before cooperating with congressional investigators. His reversal shows that the Ten did not all maintain the same position.

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