AHC Exhibit Adrian Scott The Trial Timeline

The following timeline of the Hollywood Ten is from "Inquisition: The Case of the Hollywood Ten," published by the Committee for the Hollywood Ten (1).

May, 1947 The Thomas-Rankin Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives holds a "secret" preliminary investigation in Hollywood of alleged "Communism in motion pictures." These "secret" hearings result in screaming headlines with charges as wild as they are vague. Sample of "evidence" produced: Mrs. Lela Rogers asserts that the line of dialogue, "Share and share alike - that's democracy," is a clear instance of subversive Communist propaganda. Committee promises to hold "open hearings" in the near future.

Sept 1947 Subpoenas to appear in Washington before the Un-American Activities Committee are served on scores of members of the motion picture industry.

Oct 20, 1947 Committee hearings open in Washington with full orchestra of lights, cameras, microphones and reporters to guarantee the ne plus ultra in publicity for damaging accusations and character assassination, those accused being denied the right (accorded to common criminals) of confronting or cross-examining their accusers.
Witnesses friendly to the Un-American Activities Committee, and to its avowed purposes (to impose censorship and blacklist on the film industry), are called to the stand. Protected by Congressional immunity from the perils of cross-examination, they pour out gossip, hearsay, innuendo and prejudice under the guise of "evidence" against the Hollywood Ten and others. Sample of "evidence" (against Clifford Odets) by Jack L. Warner of Warner Brothers: "John Garfield played the part of the boy and he was mad at Joan Crawford for romatic reasons and said, 'Your father is a banker.' He was alluding to the fact that she was rich and had all of the money. He said, 'My father lives over a grocery store.' That is very, very subtle but if you see the film with those lines in it you will see the reason for it. But it is not in the film. I eliminated it from the Script."

Oct 22, 1947 Paul V. McNutt, attorney for the Motion Picture Association, composed of top executives and bankers, issues a statement on the first days of the hearings:
"It became apparent...that the purpose was to try to dictate and control, through the device of the hearings, what goes on the screens of America."

Oct 27, 1947 Robert Kenny, one of the attorneys for witnesses opposed to the inquisitional procedures and repressive purposes of the Un-American Activities Committee, offers a motion to quash all subpoenas on the grounds of the unconstitutionality of the Committee, its purposes and procedures, in the light of the Bill of Rights. The motion concludes:
"The entire history of the House Committee on Un-American Activities establishes that it has a non-legislative purpose; that is, that its purpose has not been to obtain information for the purpose of drafting and proposing legislation, but rather that it has been to do such things as interfere in elections, interfere in strikes, attempt directly to control radio, the screen and other media of expression."
The motion is denied, and the first of the opposition witnesses is called, John Howard Lawson, distinguished playwright and screen writer, author of such honored films as Blockade, Sahara, and Action in the North Atlantic. Aside from identifying queries, the witness is asked only two questions -- one regarding his trade-union affiliations: "Are you a member of the Screen Writers' Guild?" -- the other, widely publicized as "the $64 question," regarding his political beliefs and associations: "Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Communist Part of the United States?" The witness protests this invasion of his constitutional rights, tries repeatedly to answer in his own words, is constantly interrupted (14 times in 2 minutes), is finally ejected from the witness stand and threatened with charges of contempt of Congress. Although previous witnesses have been allowed to present a prepared statement to the Committee, he is denied that right.

Oct 27-30, 1947 Nine other opposition witnesses testify (sandwiched between various "friendly" witnesses):

Alvah Bessie, novelist of Men in Battle, screenwriter of Northern Pursuit, Hotel Berlin, etc.
Herbert Biberman, stage director of Valley Forge, Green Grow the Lilacs, etc., writer and director of The Master Race, writer and producer of New Orleans, etc.
Lester Cole, author of some 40 screenplays including None Shall Escape, Blood on the Sun, The Romance of Rosy Ridge, etc.
Edward Dmytryk, director of some 25 films including Crossfire, Cornered, Back to Batann, Murder My Sweet, Hitler's Children, etc.
Ring Lardner, Jr., screenwriter of Woman of the Year (Academy Award Winner), The Cross of Larraine, Tomorrow the World.
Albert Maltz, novelist of The Cross and the Arrow, playwright of Black Pit, screenwriter of Destination Tokyo, Pride of the Marines, Naked City, etc.
Samuel Ornitz, novelist of Haunch Paunch and Jowl and Yankee Passional, screenwriter of China's Little Devils, etc.
Adrian Scott, screenwriter of Miss Suzie Slagle, producer of Crossfire, Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Murder My Sweet, etc.
Dalton Trumbo, novelist of Johnny Got His Gun, The Remarkable Andrew, screenwriter of A Man to Remember, Kitty Foyle, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, A Guy Named Joe, etc.
All nine duplicate Lawson's experience, except that two of them, Albert Maltz and Alvah Bessie, are permitted to present prepared statements. All (the Ten, including Lawson) are recommended for citations of "contempt of Congress."

Oct 28, 1947 26 film stars, producers, writers and directors, members of the film colony's Committee for the First Amendment, fly to Washington to observe the hearings at first hand. From the moment of their arrival the Un-American Activities Committee ceases to enjoy its previous monopoly in publicity.

Oct 29, 1947 Members of the Committee for the First Amendment present to Congress a Petition for the Redress of Grievances, accusing the Un-American Activities Committee of "unfair, partial and prejudiced methods" and "abuses of civil rights," by which "reputations and characters" have been "smeared" and "besmirched." The inquisitors betray increasing unhappiness at this addition to the deluge of world-wide adverse public opinion aroused by the Hollywood hearings.
Film Producer Samuel Goldwyn (under subpoena but never called to witness) issues a statement:
"The entire hearing is a flop, and I think the whole thing is a disgraceful performance...What do they want us to do, make anti-Communist pictures? Is that the way to bring about peace?"

Oct 30, 1947 Increasingly conscious of public disgust with its burlesque show, the Un-American Activities Committee -- after a final effort of produce a thriller-diller spy scare that falls flat -- suddenly suspends the hearings without warning and without having called many of its witnesses. No explanation is made, but resumption is promised "as soon as possible." (It has not been possible a full year later.)
Samuel Goldwyn speaks again:
"The most un-American activity which I have observed in connection with the hearings has been the activity of the Committee itself."

Oct 31-Nov 20, 1947 A period of fast-flying rumor and gossip, of pronunciamentos by film personalities and members of the Un-American Activities Committee, of "secret" backstairs conferences among bankers, top executives, officials of talent guilds in the industry, etc., and of devious pressures and manoevres for achieving by indirection the objectives of censorship and blacklist which the hearings had failed to bring about directly.

Nov 1, 1947 The Christian Science Monitor reports one film executive as saying at a meeting of producers:
"We're very vigilant in keeping Communism out of our scripts. I caught one today. A white mistress of a household addresses her maid as 'Mrs.' That was an example of a subversive attempt to slip Communistic propaganda into a picture."

Nov 12, 1947 The Hearst papers all over the country publish editorials flatfootedly advocating, in capital letters, "FEDERAL CENSORSHIP OF MOTION PICTURES."

Nov 20, 1947 Increasing rumors of imminent blacklist in the motion picture industry culminate in announcement of the following Directors' resolution by Spyros Skouras, President of 20th-Century Fox:
"Resolved that the officers of this corporation be, and they are hereby directed, to the extent that the same is lawful, to dispense with the services of any acknowledged Communist, or of any employee who refuses to answer a question with respect thereto by any committee of the Congress of the United States and is cited for contempt by reason." (emphasis supplied in original)
The only member of the Ten then employed by Fox is Ring Lardner, Jr., and although he is not named, the blacklist resolution is obviously aimed at him.

Nov 23, 1947 The film trade press reports that MGM, in a hasty attempt to truckle to the Un-American Activities Committee's demand that more anti-Communist pictures be released by Hollywood, is rushing to reissue its pre-war anti-Soviet film, Ninotchka.

Nov 24, 1947 The Board of Directors of the Screen Writers' Guild, alarmed by persistent rumors, votes measures to resist the impending blacklist, and to support the Sabath bill in Congress abolishing the Un-American Activities Committee.
On the same day, Chairman Thomas of the Un-American Activities Committee jams through the House of Representatives (a total of one hour is allowed for debate on this basic constitutional issue) citations for contempt of Congress against the Hollywood Ten.
On the same day, a formal meeting of the Motion Picture Association -- organization of the top brass in the film industry -- begins in New York. The meeting is generally reported as being the most important ever held and attended by more big financial names than ever in the history of the industry. Outstanding point on the agenda is said to be whether or not to yield to the demands of the Un-American Activities Committee by establishing a policy of blacklist against the Ten.
The concurrent actions by the Un-American Activities Committee and the motion picture industry are, of course, pure coincidence.

Nov 25, 1947 The Day of Infamy. The industry conference ends. Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Picture Association and so-called Czar of the films, issues a statement on behalf of the motion picture monopoly and the Hollywood studios. This is the pith of it:
"We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation...and we will not re-employ, any of the ten until such time as he is acquitted, or has purged himself of contempt, and declared under oath that he is not a Communist."
The full impact of this declaration cannot be felt without reference to three (of many) earlier statements:

1. By Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Pictures Association, before several witnesses including attorneys for the Ten, on the eve of the hearings, Oct. 19, 1947:
"As long as I live I will never be a party to anything as Un-American as a blacklist, and any statement purporting to quote me as agreeing to a blacklist is a libel upon me as a good American...There'll never be a blacklist. We're not going to go totalitarian to please this Committee."
Mr. Johnston is said today to deny having made that statement. However, the following is a matter of record:
On Oct. 27, 1947, as a sworn witness before the Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, Mr. Johnston testified that on a date between May 1 and Sept. 30, 1947, he offered to the Motion Picture Producers Association a three-point program, point 2 of which was, in Mr. Johnston's words:
2. "The agreement not to emply proven Communists on jobs where they would be in a position to influece the screen. They (the producers) did not adopt that for several, what they thought, were very good reasons...The first reason assigned was that for us to join together to refuse to hire someone or some people would be a potential conspiracy, and our legal counsel advised against it...I must confess they convinced me they were right...I urged the adoption of No. 2, but the questioning from our legal consel present, and from the membership present, convinced me I was wrong."
Thus Mr. Johnston has taken three (possibly four) positions with respect to advocating a blacklist policy. Some time between May and September, he urged it on his employers. Then he was convinced he was wrong. On Oct. 19, he allegedly promised never to agree to it as long as he lived (a promise he denies today). Finally, on Nov. 25, 1947, he announced blacklist as the policy of the organization of which he is President.
The third statement, by contrast, is crystal clear. It is:
3. By Paul V. McNutt, attorney for the Motion Picture Association, on the second day of the hearings, Oct. 21, 1947:
"There has been a suggestion that the Motion Picture Association adopt a policy of blacklisting. That would be a conspiracy without warrant of law."
Therefore, though it may be questioned whether or not Mr. Johnston libelled himself on Nov. 25, 1947, there can be no question but that Mr. McNutt, by failing to dissociate himself from the blacklist policy of his paymasters, has entered into what he himself called "a conspiracy without warrant of law."
Henceforth the Hollywood Ten, already facing trial and perhaps imprisonment for "contempt" for trying to preserve the constitutional rights of freedom of belief and freedom of association, are prohibited from earning their livelihoods in their chosen profession. This cutting off of their earning power is a serious handicap to their necessarily expensive legal defense.
Of the industry's capitulation to the Un-American Activities Committee's demands for a blacklist, Bosley Crowther, motion picture critic of the New York Times, has this to say (Dec. 7):
"It should be fully realized that this action was engineered by the major New York executives, the industry's overlords, and not by the 'Hollywood producers,' who form a different and subordinate group."
Representative J. Parnell Thomas, Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, when informed of the imposition of the blacklist, declares: "This is indeed most gratifying."

Nov 26, 1947 RKO studio loses no time in implementing the blacklist policy by firing the two members of the Ten, Adrian Scott, producer and Edward Dmytryk, director, currently under contract. The action is concurred in by Dore Schary, executive producer at RKO, the same Dore Schary who had declared on Oct. 29, as a sworn witness at the Washington hearings:
"Up until the time it is proved that a Communist is a man dedicated to the overthrow of the government by force or violence, or by any illegal methods, I cannot make a determination of his employment on any other basis except whether he is qualified best to do the job I want him to do...At no time in discussion -- or films -- have I heard these men (Scott and Dmytryk) make any remark or attempt to get anything subversive into the films I have worked on with them. I must say that in honesty."

Nov 28, 1947 Third of the Ten to be fired is Ring Lardner, Jr., by 20th-Century Fox.

Dec 1, 1947 Lester Cole and Dalton Trumbo are fired (the word used is "suspended" -- but without pay) by MGM. The other five members of the Ten are not under contract, hence the blacklist applies to them in the sense of preventing them from obtaining employment.
The entire motion picture industry experiences a paralysis of fear. Producers hesitate to (and for the most part do not) hire any of the opposition witnesses, even those who were never called to the stand. And by extension, their friends, and their friends' friends, are suddenly suspect. Thus there comes into being a vague and vast "Gray List" of suspects, composed of no one knows whom. The confidence and mutual respect indispensable to any business enterprise, but particularly necessary to collective creation of art and entertainment, vanishes. As a result, the quality of Hollywood motion pictures takes a nose-dive, the box office shrinks, the producers retrench, which tends further to lower the quality of pictures, which...The vicious downward spiral has been set in motion.

Dec 4, 1947 In Philadelpia, a Humanitarian Award is conferred on Dore Schary as the executive producer supposedly responsible for the making of Crossfire. (Actually, Crossfire was produced by Adrian Scott and directed by Edward Dmytryk, the two men in whose blacklisting and discharge Dore Schary acquiesced). For reasons that can be imagined, Mr. Schary is unable to be present to receive the award. It is accepted for him by Eric Johnston, the man who issued the blacklist announcement resulting in the dis-employment of Scott and Dmytryk. In his speech, Mr. Johnston, after noting that "job boycott is a cancer in the economic body of the nation" which "drags down the whole economic level," nevertheless maintains that the motion picture industry "knows no such thing as discrimination...In Hollywood it's ability that counts."

Dec 5, 1947 A Grand Jury in Washington, D.C. indicts the Ten for contempt of Congress, on the basis of the citations by the House of Representatives on Nov 24.

Dec 10, 1947 The Ten surrender voluntarily to the U.S. Marshal in Los Angeles, are released on $1000 bail each.

Dec 23, 1947 Dalton Trumbo files suit against MGM for reinstatement or damages. Later, similar suits are filed by Ring Lardner, Jr., Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk and Adrian Scott, against their respective employers.

Jan 6, 1948 The plea of the Hollywood Ten to the federal district court in Washington, that the Court allow them to be arraigned and to plead on the dates of their trial rather than to make a special trip to Washington now for this formality, is denied. Therefore all Ten are obliged, at their own expense, to make round trips of nearly 6000 miles each -- a total of some 50,000 miles, to the profit of railroads, airlines, hotels and restaurants -- for only a few minutes in court.

Jan 9, 1948 In Washington, the Ten are arraigned, plead not guilty.

_____
1. Adrian and Joan Scott Papers, 1940-1972, Accession Number 3238, Box 2, Folder 11, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming [back to top].

*May, 1947*	The Thomas-Rankin Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives holds a "secret" preliminary investigation in Hollywood of alleged "Communism in motion pictures." These "secret" hearings result in screaming headlines with charges as wild as they are vague. Sample of "evidence" produced: Mrs. Lela Rogers asserts that the line of dialogue, "Share and share alike - that's democracy," is a clear instance of subversive Communist propaganda. Committee promises to hold "open hearings" in the near future.
*Sept 1947*	Subpoenas to appear in Washington before the Un-American Activities Committee are served on scores of members of the motion picture industry.
*Oct 20, 1947*	Committee hearings open in Washington with full orchestra of lights, cameras, microphones and reporters to guarantee the ne plus ultra in publicity for damaging accusations and character assassination, those accused being denied the right (accorded to common criminals) of confronting or cross-examining their accusers. Witnesses friendly to the Un-American Activities Committee, and to its avowed purposes (to impose censorship and blacklist on the film industry), are called to the stand. Protected by Congressional immunity from the perils of cross-examination, they pour out gossip, hearsay, innuendo and prejudice under the guise of "evidence" against the Hollywood Ten and others. Sample of "evidence" (against Clifford Odets) by Jack L. Warner of Warner Brothers: "John Garfield played the part of the boy and he was mad at Joan Crawford for romatic reasons and said, 'Your father is a banker.' He was alluding to the fact that she was rich and had all of the money. He said, 'My father lives over a grocery store.' That is very, very subtle but if you see the film with those lines in it you will see the reason for it. But it is not in the film. I eliminated it from the Script."
*Oct 22, 1947*	Paul V. McNutt, attorney for the Motion Picture Association, composed of top executives and bankers, issues a statement on the first days of the hearings: "It became apparent...that the purpose was to try to dictate and control, through the device of the hearings, what goes on the screens of America."
*Oct 27, 1947*	Robert Kenny, one of the attorneys for witnesses opposed to the inquisitional procedures and repressive purposes of the Un-American Activities Committee, offers a motion to quash all subpoenas on the grounds of the unconstitutionality of the Committee, its purposes and procedures, in the light of the Bill of Rights. The motion concludes: "The entire history of the House Committee on Un-American Activities establishes that it has a non-legislative purpose; that is, that its purpose has not been to obtain information for the purpose of drafting and proposing legislation, but rather that it has been to do such things as interfere in elections, interfere in strikes, attempt directly to control radio, the screen and other media of expression." The motion is denied, and the first of the opposition witnesses is called, John Howard Lawson, distinguished playwright and screen writer, author of such honored films as Blockade, Sahara, and Action in the North Atlantic. Aside from identifying queries, the witness is asked only two questions -- one regarding his trade-union affiliations: "Are you a member of the Screen Writers' Guild?" -- the other, widely publicized as "the $64 question," regarding his political beliefs and associations: "Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Communist Part of the United States?" The witness protests this invasion of his constitutional rights, tries repeatedly to answer in his own words, is constantly interrupted (14 times in 2 minutes), is finally ejected from the witness stand and threatened with charges of contempt of Congress. Although previous witnesses have been allowed to present a prepared statement to the Committee, he is denied that right.
*Oct 27-30, 1947*	Nine other opposition witnesses testify (sandwiched between various "friendly" witnesses): Alvah Bessie, novelist of Men in Battle, screenwriter of Northern Pursuit, Hotel Berlin, etc. Herbert Biberman, stage director of Valley Forge, Green Grow the Lilacs, etc., writer and director of The Master Race, writer and producer of New Orleans, etc. Lester Cole, author of some 40 screenplays including None Shall Escape, Blood on the Sun, The Romance of Rosy Ridge, etc. Edward Dmytryk, director of some 25 films including Crossfire, Cornered, Back to Batann, Murder My Sweet, Hitler's Children, etc. Ring Lardner, Jr., screenwriter of Woman of the Year (Academy Award Winner), The Cross of Larraine, Tomorrow the World. Albert Maltz, novelist of The Cross and the Arrow, playwright of Black Pit, screenwriter of Destination Tokyo, Pride of the Marines, Naked City, etc. Samuel Ornitz, novelist of Haunch Paunch and Jowl and Yankee Passional, screenwriter of China's Little Devils, etc. Adrian Scott, screenwriter of Miss Suzie Slagle, producer of Crossfire, Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Murder My Sweet, etc. Dalton Trumbo, novelist of Johnny Got His Gun, The Remarkable Andrew, screenwriter of A Man to Remember, Kitty Foyle, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, A Guy Named Joe, etc. All nine duplicate Lawson's experience, except that two of them, Albert Maltz and Alvah Bessie, are permitted to present prepared statements. All (the Ten, including Lawson) are recommended for citations of "contempt of Congress."
*Oct 28, 1947*	26 film stars, producers, writers and directors, members of the film colony's Committee for the First Amendment, fly to Washington to observe the hearings at first hand. From the moment of their arrival the Un-American Activities Committee ceases to enjoy its previous monopoly in publicity.
*Oct 29, 1947*	Members of the Committee for the First Amendment present to Congress a Petition for the Redress of Grievances, accusing the Un-American Activities Committee of "unfair, partial and prejudiced methods" and "abuses of civil rights," by which "reputations and characters" have been "smeared" and "besmirched." The inquisitors betray increasing unhappiness at this addition to the deluge of world-wide adverse public opinion aroused by the Hollywood hearings. Film Producer Samuel Goldwyn (under subpoena but never called to witness) issues a statement: "The entire hearing is a flop, and I think the whole thing is a disgraceful performance...What do they want us to do, make anti-Communist pictures? Is that the way to bring about peace?"
*Oct 30, 1947*	Increasingly conscious of public disgust with its burlesque show, the Un-American Activities Committee -- after a final effort of produce a thriller-diller spy scare that falls flat -- suddenly suspends the hearings without warning and without having called many of its witnesses. No explanation is made, but resumption is promised "as soon as possible." (It has not been possible a full year later.) Samuel Goldwyn speaks again: "The most un-American activity which I have observed in connection with the hearings has been the activity of the Committee itself."
*Oct 31-Nov 20, 1947*	A period of fast-flying rumor and gossip, of pronunciamentos by film personalities and members of the Un-American Activities Committee, of "secret" backstairs conferences among bankers, top executives, officials of talent guilds in the industry, etc., and of devious pressures and manoevres for achieving by indirection the objectives of censorship and blacklist which the hearings had failed to bring about directly.
*Nov 1, 1947*	The Christian Science Monitor reports one film executive as saying at a meeting of producers: "We're very vigilant in keeping Communism out of our scripts. I caught one today. A white mistress of a household addresses her maid as 'Mrs.' That was an example of a subversive attempt to slip Communistic propaganda into a picture."
*Nov 12, 1947*	The Hearst papers all over the country publish editorials flatfootedly advocating, in capital letters, "FEDERAL CENSORSHIP OF MOTION PICTURES."
*Nov 20, 1947*	Increasing rumors of imminent blacklist in the motion picture industry culminate in announcement of the following Directors' resolution by Spyros Skouras, President of 20th-Century Fox: "Resolved that the officers of this corporation be, and they are hereby directed, to the extent that the same is lawful, to dispense with the services of any acknowledged Communist, or of any employee who refuses to answer a question with respect thereto by any committee of the Congress of the United States and is cited for contempt by reason." (emphasis supplied in original) The only member of the Ten then employed by Fox is Ring Lardner, Jr., and although he is not named, the blacklist resolution is obviously aimed at him.
*Nov 23, 1947*	The film trade press reports that MGM, in a hasty attempt to truckle to the Un-American Activities Committee's demand that more anti-Communist pictures be released by Hollywood, is rushing to reissue its pre-war anti-Soviet film, Ninotchka.
*Nov 24, 1947*	The Board of Directors of the Screen Writers' Guild, alarmed by persistent rumors, votes measures to resist the impending blacklist, and to support the Sabath bill in Congress abolishing the Un-American Activities Committee. On the same day, Chairman Thomas of the Un-American Activities Committee jams through the House of Representatives (a total of one hour is allowed for debate on this basic constitutional issue) citations for contempt of Congress against the Hollywood Ten. On the same day, a formal meeting of the Motion Picture Association -- organization of the top brass in the film industry -- begins in New York. The meeting is generally reported as being the most important ever held and attended by more big financial names than ever in the history of the industry. Outstanding point on the agenda is said to be whether or not to yield to the demands of the Un-American Activities Committee by establishing a policy of blacklist against the Ten. The concurrent actions by the Un-American Activities Committee and the motion picture industry are, of course, pure coincidence.
*Nov 25, 1947*	The Day of Infamy. The industry conference ends. Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Picture Association and so-called Czar of the films, issues a statement on behalf of the motion picture monopoly and the Hollywood studios. This is the pith of it: "We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation...and we will not re-employ, any of the ten until such time as he is acquitted, or has purged himself of contempt, and declared under oath that he is not a Communist." The full impact of this declaration cannot be felt without reference to three (of many) earlier statements: 1. By Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Pictures Association, before several witnesses including attorneys for the Ten, on the eve of the hearings, Oct. 19, 1947: "As long as I live I will never be a party to anything as Un-American as a blacklist, and any statement purporting to quote me as agreeing to a blacklist is a libel upon me as a good American...There'll never be a blacklist. We're not going to go totalitarian to please this Committee." Mr. Johnston is said today to deny having made that statement. However, the following is a matter of record: On Oct. 27, 1947, as a sworn witness before the Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, Mr. Johnston testified that on a date between May 1 and Sept. 30, 1947, he offered to the Motion Picture Producers Association a three-point program, point 2 of which was, in Mr. Johnston's words: 2. "The agreement not to emply proven Communists on jobs where they would be in a position to influece the screen. They (the producers) did not adopt that for several, what they thought, were very good reasons...The first reason assigned was that for us to join together to refuse to hire someone or some people would be a potential conspiracy, and our legal counsel advised against it...I must confess they convinced me they were right...I urged the adoption of No. 2, but the questioning from our legal consel present, and from the membership present, convinced me I was wrong." Thus Mr. Johnston has taken three (possibly four) positions with respect to advocating a blacklist policy. Some time between May and September, he urged it on his employers. Then he was convinced he was wrong. On Oct. 19, he allegedly promised never to agree to it as long as he lived (a promise he denies today). Finally, on Nov. 25, 1947, he announced blacklist as the policy of the organization of which he is President. The third statement, by contrast, is crystal clear. It is: 3. By Paul V. McNutt, attorney for the Motion Picture Association, on the second day of the hearings, Oct. 21, 1947: "There has been a suggestion that the Motion Picture Association adopt a policy of blacklisting. That would be a conspiracy without warrant of law." Therefore, though it may be questioned whether or not Mr. Johnston libelled himself on Nov. 25, 1947, there can be no question but that Mr. McNutt, by failing to dissociate himself from the blacklist policy of his paymasters, has entered into what he himself called "a conspiracy without warrant of law." Henceforth the Hollywood Ten, already facing trial and perhaps imprisonment for "contempt" for trying to preserve the constitutional rights of freedom of belief and freedom of association, are prohibited from earning their livelihoods in their chosen profession. This cutting off of their earning power is a serious handicap to their necessarily expensive legal defense. Of the industry's capitulation to the Un-American Activities Committee's demands for a blacklist, Bosley Crowther, motion picture critic of the New York Times, has this to say (Dec. 7): "It should be fully realized that this action was engineered by the major New York executives, the industry's overlords, and not by the 'Hollywood producers,' who form a different and subordinate group." Representative J. Parnell Thomas, Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, when informed of the imposition of the blacklist, declares: "This is indeed most gratifying."
*Nov 26, 1947*	RKO studio loses no time in implementing the blacklist policy by firing the two members of the Ten, Adrian Scott, producer and Edward Dmytryk, director, currently under contract. The action is concurred in by Dore Schary, executive producer at RKO, the same Dore Schary who had declared on Oct. 29, as a sworn witness at the Washington hearings: "Up until the time it is proved that a Communist is a man dedicated to the overthrow of the government by force or violence, or by any illegal methods, I cannot make a determination of his employment on any other basis except whether he is qualified best to do the job I want him to do...At no time in discussion -- or films -- have I heard these men (Scott and Dmytryk) make any remark or attempt to get anything subversive into the films I have worked on with them. I must say that in honesty."
*Nov 28, 1947*	Third of the Ten to be fired is Ring Lardner, Jr., by 20th-Century Fox.
*Dec 1, 1947*	Lester Cole and Dalton Trumbo are fired (the word used is "suspended" -- but without pay) by MGM. The other five members of the Ten are not under contract, hence the blacklist applies to them in the sense of preventing them from obtaining employment. The entire motion picture industry experiences a paralysis of fear. Producers hesitate to (and for the most part do not) hire any of the opposition witnesses, even those who were never called to the stand. And by extension, their friends, and their friends' friends, are suddenly suspect. Thus there comes into being a vague and vast "Gray List" of suspects, composed of no one knows whom. The confidence and mutual respect indispensable to any business enterprise, but particularly necessary to collective creation of art and entertainment, vanishes. As a result, the quality of Hollywood motion pictures takes a nose-dive, the box office shrinks, the producers retrench, which tends further to lower the quality of pictures, which...The vicious downward spiral has been set in motion.
*Dec 4, 1947*	In Philadelpia, a Humanitarian Award is conferred on Dore Schary as the executive producer supposedly responsible for the making of Crossfire. (Actually, Crossfire was produced by Adrian Scott and directed by Edward Dmytryk, the two men in whose blacklisting and discharge Dore Schary acquiesced). For reasons that can be imagined, Mr. Schary is unable to be present to receive the award. It is accepted for him by Eric Johnston, the man who issued the blacklist announcement resulting in the dis-employment of Scott and Dmytryk. In his speech, Mr. Johnston, after noting that "job boycott is a cancer in the economic body of the nation" which "drags down the whole economic level," nevertheless maintains that the motion picture industry "knows no such thing as discrimination...In Hollywood it's ability that counts."
*Dec 5, 1947*	A Grand Jury in Washington, D.C. indicts the Ten for contempt of Congress, on the basis of the citations by the House of Representatives on Nov 24.
*Dec 10, 1947*	The Ten surrender voluntarily to the U.S. Marshal in Los Angeles, are released on $1000 bail each.
*Dec 23, 1947*	Dalton Trumbo files suit against MGM for reinstatement or damages. Later, similar suits are filed by Ring Lardner, Jr., Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk and Adrian Scott, against their respective employers.
*Jan 6, 1948*	The plea of the Hollywood Ten to the federal district court in Washington, that the Court allow them to be arraigned and to plead on the dates of their trial rather than to make a special trip to Washington now for this formality, is denied. Therefore all Ten are obliged, at their own expense, to make round trips of nearly 6000 miles each -- a total of some 50,000 miles, to the profit of railroads, airlines, hotels and restaurants -- for only a few minutes in court.
*Jan 9, 1948*	In Washington, the Ten are arraigned, plead not guilty.