1951

This week in 1951, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into Communism, subversives and the movie business. It was HUAC’s second investigation, and the industry establishment was congratulating itself on its patriotic achievements since the first. “Even the fellow traveler has disappeared from the Hollywood scene. . . . We’ve gotten rid of the communist conspirators,” wrote Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan in an article for Citizen News titled “Reds Beaten in Hollywood.” The earlier HUAC hearings, in 1947, had played out in a different way, producing the Hollywood Ten and the blacklist. Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr. was among those convicted of contempt of Congress, and after spending 10 months in the federal prison in Danbury, Conn., he returned to what he described in his memoir as a “panic-stricken Hollywood.” Among Lardner’s fellow inmates was John Parnell Thomas, a former congressman who had been found guilty of salary fraud. Thomas had been HUAC’s chairman when Lardner refused to answer a famous question.

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Mr. Lardner: I could answer the question exactly the way you want, Mr. Chairman--

The Chairman: No--

Mr. Lardner:--but I think that is a--

The Chairman: It is not a question of our wanting you to answer that. It is a very simple question. Anybody would be proud to answer it--any real American would be proud to answer the question, “Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”--any real American.

Mr. Lardner: It depends on the circumstances. I could answer it, but if I did, I would hate myself in the morning.

The Chairman: Leave the witness chair.

Mr. Lardner: It was a question that would--

The Chairman: Leave the witness chair.

Mr. Lardner: Because it is a question--

The Chairman (pounding gavel): Leave the witness chair.

Mr. Lardner: I think I am leaving by force.

The Chairman: Sergeant, take the witness away.

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(SOURCE OF REAGAN QUOTES AND TRANSCRIPT: “THIRTY YEARS OF TREASON,” EDITED BY ERIC BENTLEY, THUNDER’S MOUTH PRESS/NATION BOOKS, COPYRIGHT 1971, 2002 BY ERIC BENTLEY.)