1st Edition

Hollywood and Anticommunism HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935-1950

By John J. Gladchuk Copyright 2007
    228 Pages
    by Routledge

    228 Pages
    by Routledge

    This work concentrates on tracing the evolution of the so-called "red menace" phenomenon as a means of demonstrating the correlation between growing American paranoia and the success of the anticommunist campaign (1935-1955). The House Committee on Un-American Activities 1947 investigation of Hollywood, the nation's most visible industry, served a critical role in conjuring up anti-red hysteria and fanning the flames of virulent anticommunism. Using conveniently unjust tactics, the Committee "painted" targeted Hollywood personalities red and established the infamous blacklist - certified proof in the minds of many that "subversives" were indeed conspiring from within. A failed attempt on behalf of the "Hollywood Ten" to demonstrate the Committee’s undemocratic nature allowed HUAC to forge ahead with its investigation and establish the anticommunist foundation upon which Joseph McCarthy would construct his campaign. Hollywood and Anticommunism stands as an important contribution to McCarthy-era literature and should appeal to all interested in the early Cold War and the impact that unwarranted hysteria has had and continues to have on the growth and development of the nation.

    1. Introduction: HUAC, Hollywood and the Evolution of the Red Menace  2. Land of the Free, Home of the Hysterical: American Communism and the Cultivation of "Red" Hysteria  3. Painting Them Red: Periodicals and the Proliferation of American Anti-Communism 1935-1950  4. The Communist Conundrum: Moderate Hollywood Communists and Why They Were Subject to the HUAC Inquisition  5. Communism on Camera: Ninotchka and the Cinematic Representation of the Communist Left  6. The Right to Remain Silent: Hollywood, Albert Maltz, and the Post-Hearing Resistance  7. The Red Raid in Retrospect: Reflections on HUAC's Hollywood Investigation on its Impact on the Evolution of McCarthyism

    Biography

    John J. Gladchuk received his PhD from the University of California, Riverside.