[Music] at home Americans feared red subversion Congress revived the house committee on unamerican activities in 1947 the committee investigated Hollywood Factory of America's imagination observed any communistic information in any scripts well I have turned down quite a few scripts because I thought they were tinged with communistic ideas they haven't attempted to use me I don't think because apparently um they know that I'm not very sympathetic to Communism there has been a small group within the Screen Actor Guild which has consistently opposed the policy of the guild board and officers or the guild itself as evidenced by the vote on various issues that uh small click uh has been referred to has been discussed as more or less following the tactics that we uh associate with the Communist party if I had my way about it they'd all be sent back to Russia or some other unpleasant place 10 Witnesses the Hollywood 10 defied the committee's right to ask about their beliefs are you a member of the Communist party or have you ever been a member of the Communist party it's unfortunate and tragic that I have to teach this this committee the basic principles of American question that's not the question the question is have you ever been a member of the Communist party I am framing my answer in the only way in which any American citizen can frame his question invades his absolutely invad then you deny to you you refuse to answer that question is that correct I have told you that I Willer my beliefs my affiliations and to the American public and they will know where I stand as they do from what I have written stand away from for americanism for many years and I stand away from the stand fight for the Bill of Rights which are trying to desty this man away from the stand others from the film industry demonstrated their support for the constitutional rights of the 10 are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist party I believe I have the right to be confronted with any evidence which supports this question I should like to see what you have oh well you would yeah well you will pretty soon the witness is excuse either you completely cooperated with the committee which meant saying yes or no to the question about whether you were a communist or ever had been and um if if the answer was yes as it was in my case um the we knew the next question was who else was and we certainly didn't want to go into that the 10 were imprisoned with hundreds more they were blacklisted their livelihoods taken away people generally in Hollywood were pretty scared to have anything to do with us whereas before we went to prison they had um not been nearly as scared and plenty of undercover Arrangements that were made to uh write scripts under pseudonyms for a good deal less money than you were accustomed being paid there were uh a couple possible suicides as a result of it there were um uh a good deal of U misery