Blacklisted screenwriters, agents of stalin. Guest it is true. Stalin, the soviet union was five and 1939 and so have all the people in the United States. Each and every one of them im talking about where numbers in the United States in the communist party who had to be loyal. That was the only way to get in. If you want the soviet union. When hitler decided to make the alliance with the soviet union not only did stalin switch but so did all the communist Party Members in the United States in hollywood as well. Theyre going to be making an goofy picture by the way. They are going to glorify it this year. There was one of this time period. I went into some detail about how they became for adolf hitler. Host that is absolutely remarkable. Guest the fourth American Writers conference which was held in new york but the point is they had these American Writer conferences. I go into detail on the fourth American Writers conference and all of these in hollywood for undecided adolf hitler. They didnt say with a view to adolf hitler. They all of hitlers enemies and particularly england. England was considered a pariah country so far as the hollywood left was concerned i got the fourth American Writers congress in august people at dumping on englands saint england. Host this is after the nonaggression pact of 1939. By that point its pretty clear. Crystal boxes have been. He started showing aggression towards neighbors and these are people if they read the newspaper every day know that and they are in fact taking hitlers side. Guess how many of these people are jewish. John howard walsh was jewish. Stalinism comes the 10 commandments. That was the way i view it. The point is they thought when hits are actually made the deal the communists gained a lot. First of all they could get the eastern half. You could absorb the baltic states. This is all part of the pack. And so the fact is they thought well okay, thats a fairly good deal so far as many people were concerned. But what i did as everyone understands this august 23rd 1989. Eight days later she knew stalin is going to support it. That is why he actually made the deal with stalin. He invades poland and takes the western half and england and france said over and over again he would declare war if he invaded because i8 taken over austria and the rest of czechoslovakia. So you as foreign minister at the time. If you go into poland now, that is exactly what happened. Two days later they did declare war on the next year hitler goes into invades western europe and molotov congratulates him. Says this is terrific. Host baathist is going on among the soviet entrance and are clearly taken over europe what are their allies . Guest thats what im saying. There congresses though ive mentioned the second American Writers conference, where they had also as a who are from hollywood. It became what i would call a super isolationist type of you. The appointments we cant do anything in order to go after hitler. That might involve us in a war and now it is fascism to the United States. Prior to this their antihitler. This is all prior to the pack. Host would have been to the hollywood antitranscended the . Guest changed his name. It existed and it is no longer everything that the american Mobilization Committee the league of American Writers and all of these groups now have the super isolation point of view and that you cant do anything to irritate hitler. Hes not the problem. Trumbull basically says in the remark of andrew. The only reason they switched was because hitler doublecrossed stalin. As soon as hitler doublecrossed stalin and all these hollywood communists and say by the way we now have to even in thing now. Host said the invasion of russia takes place. Its a total shock of course. Guest over and over again again host so that happens. How long before they print it and become prowar . Guest a week. The league of American Writers has this hold the against invasion or the United States helping out and would even notice this lifeanddeath struggle against it there at the time. June 8th 1941 when the league of American Writers folded its tent after three days of bashing glenn. Two weeks later Something Like that forget about what we just said about england. England should get support and aid. Its no longer the imperialists we sat them on. Of course russia needs to be held to of course. The way to fight hitler was not a go to war, even though it would have been saved at that point. The reason was hitler went against the soviet union because he basically lost hitlers air force and try to dominate him. The point is they lost all these lands and therefore he said im going to invade russia in that. In other words, forget about england. At that point, england is out of danger, but these people say we now have to decide. If you dont give us your age, you are prohitler. Host these are people taking their Foreign Policy cues. Guest first of all to be a member of the communist party a lot of people dont understand and the radio talk shows dont understand the communist party. You have to have your allegiance to a Foreign Government. Facing the United States. Host wholly controlled by a foreign power. Guest actually i go into this about howard agent came to the United States and talk to the people in hollywood and new york. In fact hollywood was on the side of what turned out to be eric heisler any escapes united dates and was then controlled by the communist party. Host at this point there were many on the american left who has an affinity for communism in 1933. But this is much later than not. Since after the trials for example. Americans understood stalin was a dictator at this point. One of the communists come ahead of the communist party said that the worst mistake the communists made was to ally themselves. Host that happens when you allow yourself. The point is i dont know if hitler but the communists have not aligned themselves with hitler. But it then much better. They would have thought he originally were with united press with over 1929, seven years in the soviet union and he went over there any came back and read a book called utopia and outlined all of the soviet crimes. The point is that people know about it. The alliance is very credible because he was a kurd journalist and all of that. When he said all of these things, people have been listening. He was someone important in changing American Opinion on it. So far as they like the soviet idea, they select communism. The American People did my kid. In terms of hollywood i dont know. They probably a number of people, no question about it. And that was the major reason. First of all as i said theres a moving coming out. Absolutely talented. But he was a hardcore communists. Editor of the screenwriters publication. By 1944, they felt we havent even gone into this. A prominent screenwriter. All the information coming out now and the communist party really wasnt a threat in hollywood and the people were innocent blacklisted in all of this. The people im talking about for hardcore communists and im not saying everybody. The people im talking about. You start out as a leftwinger. He was born in new york. If you are born in new york. Of course in the latter part of his life all conservatives. When he was in a dork when he was growing up in new york host what year was the born . Guest 1895. Anyway my dad also had a number of marks or other plays at the time. He won a Pulitzer Prize for nine my dad did a couple of them in a caveman of hollywood he was a leftwinger. That is when he came out permanently. It is all in favor of the Screenwriters Guild. It is basically a product of the left. But he likes the idea in the dying days that it was a good idea. He found that he was never a communists. It is socialist friend, people like that but he goes into the Screenwriters Guild and they are minority, but they are all communists. And then he talks about this in the little biography. But theyre all communists. The fact is he didnt like the way they operate at all. They were all in lockstep. They would try to intimidate the noncommunist members of the governing board and they would use these delaying tactics when [speaking in native tongue] inverter basically and then they have some revolution and these people were just supporting outside the guild running for office and wherever they were for the criminal enterprise in the soviet union did he didnt like that at all. Lester cole went and bought him a lot in a couple places time. By 1944 my dad walt disney and sam would it was the famous direct direct the time and also a number of labor Union Officials felt hollywood was actually controlled. The reason they felt it is a book is that there was dominated. Bill trumbull, who i mentioned was writing the screenwriter. That was the flagship publication of the Screenwriters Guild. He turned it basically into a communist rag. I had a chapter in my book about the screenwriter and all of that. The communist writers in hollywood and all of that. They damage the reputations of people. You can hear someone talk about how you can have John Howard Ross head of the communist party of hollywood. That was the kind of stuff that was fair. And then, gordon cons, demand chain editor was our nextdoor neighbor in beverly hills. My dad would come home from the studios and they would beat to the other love. My dad had some sort of funny comments when he actually testified in 1947. He said the dogs get along fine. But this will not help neighborly relations. That is what he says and it didnt help neighborly relations. I remember his talking to me about it and that sort of thing. I remember i saw all of that. But my dad had found out about how applies. But anyway they go right next door. Host so your father after the war in 47 was called back to washington to testify quite guest would have been in 47, the House Committee on america back to the days and there is a first major hearing in hollywood and people think of them is joe mccarthy, head of the committee. Nothing to do with it. He didnt even begin his anticommunist crusade in some 1950. I hate to say it. But even bill oreilly gets it wrong. But the leftists dont manage to misconstrue was happening all the time. This has nothing to do with joe mccarthy. Whether or not im asking peoples opinion, but he said he viewed his anticommunist goalie. Therefore it is they wish. The fact is that what happened in 47 is that the House Committee subpoenaed basically 19 people from hollywood. Only 11 testified and 10 became the test. Mostly screenwriters. John howard lawson. And those at the top days and asked the question politely. They are free and Fair Elections in eastern and central europe. The soviet union was our enemy. They declared that these people asked whether they were members of the communist party. I remember said the party that is loyal to the soviet union in the country wishes to actually destroy the United States. Are you a member of that particular group . They said are you a member of the communist party . Im putting in mind the subtext of that. Host to be clear, it is not are you a communist. It is a member of the communist party . Suis not about belief. Its about membership. To be a member, you had to be loyal to the soviet union. They actually have a construction if you did for stalin wanted coming right at the party. Postcode was administered from abroad . Guest well, administer, i dont know control. Basically controlled by the communist party and he would get coded messages. I have some of those. Postcode but the thought came to light after 91 . Guest much of this came before it all. That is the thing people dont understand. They all had these wonderful hearing in which they demonstrate all of that. Anyways we are back to the fact these people were asked a question. And that is just politely saying well, we are or we are not only dont think that is constitutional. You have no right to ask us. Instead, they heard all sorts of vile words i guess you could say against the people who ask the questions. Robert anyway. They went right back up members of congress. When he was the chief investigator, they called him quickly that is the kind of thing. And they answered the question but they never answered the question. What happened, even though hollywood. They totally different, Parnell Thomas and ruthlessly banged his gavel and removing people arbitrarily from the witness chair. He kept asking. Please, leave answer the question . He said you have to remove the witness stand. Thats how this came about. So that is actually host were they taking a position on orders from sapir ayers . Guest they had communists not only communists, but he says in his memoir he says that he and trumbull actually chose this idea that they would have the First Amendment and they also would not answer the question. He has says that in his memoir. Both communists at the time both fullblooded communists at the time. They acted in such a provocative way and people heard them on the radio. We are not tv so much. The fact is the studio, which thought it would actually hurt the box office. My dad was flooded before he went and said we dont want you going there because we dont want you hurting the industry is saying its communists infiltrated and things of this sort. But they act in such a provocative manner and not the various numbers for asking, as i said, very calm and judicious manner. The American People were all in the communism. The democratic action at the time. They actually you couldnt be long if youre a communist. They said we think, but not these people in hollywood. They were still on stalins side. When the act did provocatively, the producers said this is terrible for us. It is going to look as if we are coddling communists. We dont want the American People to think that a madison instituted the blacklist. The studio said if youre a member of the communist party and operate but this committee you cant work in hollywood. That is how the black list began. Host when you say hollywood, who made that decision . Guest they were at the waldorf astoria and that is that they came out with. Even those who didnt want anything, they said look, we have to do this because otherwise the sales will just jump. Host meanwhile, the socalled hollywood tend to refuse to cooperate, they went to jail . Guest they went to jeff for contempt of congress. They used the First Amendment. But the point is host how long did they go quite guest it depends. 11 months, 10 months, Something Like that. But the point is they keep talking about the First Amendment. The fact is the courts have never held you can somehow refuse to answer whether youre part of the party or the clan anything else and you cant say i wont answer the question because im pleading the First Amendment. The courts have never held that. There is always in some check. Host the fifth amendment . Guest no. The fifth amendment and because they went to jail for contempt of congress, the courts are the lawyers will use the fifth amendment and then we dont have to testify. Yes, you can. But i refuse demands are on the ground that anything i say may tend to incriminate. That is like testify yourself. That is exactly what happened between the First Amendment and fifth amendment. Major hearing from hollywood with all sorts of ruckus you had Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall led the way with actors and celebrities and came washington that one ticket the activities and they also wanted to support the people and the hostile witnesses that were being questioned. Thats when that became a big brouhaha who is not a communist, but somehow had a sauce pot for the communists. I dont know why, but he did. He wasnt a communist himself and he created the First Amendment. They were sponsors of the hollywood celebrity. But the fact is as a result of those hollywood hearings the House Committee, the communists lost out. In 1944 left is that congress had controlled in terms of the studio unions and they were cheering out these procommunists stalinists russia and the way home and with the northstar talking about how wonderful it wants agriculture was. Well, thats exactly what those movies did. Theyre major movies. We were at war with the soviet union but these people went beyond that. Mission to moscow that is howard koch, and he did casablanca, but made sure he put in a little soviet propaganda into the bogart character. Your far was favorable witness oh, absolutely, lot of favorable with asks they were part of the Motion Picture world. Robert taylor my dad ayn rand and she was the famous host what i. S. I was interested to read the hollywood ten, went to jail for a time, some of them moved to mexico. A lot of them wrote hollywood movies after those hearings. For decade. Your father by contrast never worked in hollywood again, did he . Guest no, he didnt. Its a complicated story. I do believe his he has done 50 films and movies but i believe its more complicate than just he couldnt work in hollywood again, even though that is a certain truth to that. But the fact is the reason i say this dish believe his career was hurt by the fact he went before them because at least for a while. I think he could have gotten back in. I know people who were anticommunist, and dont thi