5. Billy's list

Explicit content warning

02/19/24 • 30 min

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Rumours of communist infiltration in the movie business had circulated for years. Showbiz insider Billy Wilkerson is the first to publicly name alleged Tinseltown “communists”, including Dalton Trumbo, in his paper, the Hollywood Reporter. William R. Wilkerson III speaks about his father’s friendship with billionaire producer Howard Hughes, a rabid anti-communist. He describes how his mostly apolitical father’s anti-communist stance was shaped by a visit to the Soviet Union. Wilkerson III recalls how his father’s close connections with stars like Jimmy Cagney gave him political influence in Hollywood. Oona Chaplin learns how future president Ronald Reagan operated as an FBI informant. Archive Ronald Reagan’s 'evil empire' speech, 1983, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

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4. Hearts and minds

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and allies like Ayn Rand were convinced that Hollywood was infested with communists. Now they started scouring the movies themselves for evidence of propaganda. Anti-communist figures in the movie business, including John Wayne and Gary Cooper, create the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals to counter groups like the Writers Guild. Even American classics like It’s a Wonderful Life came under FBI scrutiny. Studios began to feel the pressure – even changing seemingly innocuous scripts to avoid political heat.

Archive:

The Locket, directed by John Brahm for RKO Pictures, 1946 Robert F Wagner on National Labour Relations Act, Labor Comes of Age, ABC Television, 1965 Ayn Rand interviewed by Mike Wallace, ABC Television, 1959 Interviews with Dalton Trumbo, UCLA Department of Communication Archive, 1972 Woman of the Year, directed by George Stevens for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1942 Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood Show, 14 January 1951 It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra for RKO Pictures, 1946

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6. Hollywood on trial

The House Unamerican Activities Committee starts calling witnesses. Their hearings with Tinseltown celebrities create a sensation and put Hollywood's alleged communists in the spotlight. Dalton Trumbo is among those summoned to Washington for hearings. Oona Chaplin explains why her grandfather Charlie was not called to appear, despite his reputation as a leftist. Actress Katharine Hepburn takes a public stand against HUAC, mocking its hearings at a Los Angeles rally.

Archive used:

Testimony of J. Edgar Hoover before HUAC, National Archives and Records Administration, 1947 Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood Show, 25 February 1951 Katharine Hepburn for Progressive Citizens of America at Gilmore Stadium, Alco Records, 1947 ‘Monsieur Verdoux’, Charlie Chaplin, United Artists, 1947 Recordings of House Unamerican Activities Committee by Paramount Newsreels