Communism in Hollywood

The Moral Paradoxes of Testimony, Silence, and Betrayal

By: Alan Casty

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Hardcover | 3 August 2009

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Hardcover
376 Pages

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23.95 x 16.31 x 3.1

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Much has been written about the history of Communism in America, including the Party's appeal to many in the Hollywood community of the 1930s and 40s. While several books have offered standard accounts of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings and the blacklist in the entertainment industry, Alan Casty provides a fresh and provocative perspective. In Communism in Hollywood: The Moral Paradoxes of Testimony, Silence, and Betrayal, Casty challenges the absolute dualisms of the period: cowardly informers and heroic martyrs.

Drawing on newly available material, Casty illustrates the control by the international Communist movement and the role of the Hollywood Communists themselves in fomenting the intense hostilities of the period. Casty juxtaposes the actions and statements of those who testified and "named names" before HUAC with Communists who refused to testify and remained silent about the atrocities of the Soviet Union. By providing a scrupulous account of the full scope of the Communist Party in Hollywood, this book presents a more accurate picture of the moral quandaries faced during this dark period in American history.

Industry Reviews

The Hollywood blacklist continues to be a fascinating topic for scholars, and this book is likely to generate heated debate among those familiar with the period. The book reminds one that the truth of the period lies somewhere between Casty's view and the more Left-leaning view. Excellent research and endnotes. Recommended. * CHOICE, February 2010 *
Challenges the absolute (and largely accepted) dual take on the period: cowardly informers who "named names" and heroic martyrs who refused to do so. Drawing on new material, Casty, a long time film historian, focuses on the control by the international Communist movement and the role of the Hollywood communists themselves in fomenting the intense hostilities of the period. * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *
Drawing upon the Yale Annals and related findings, Alan Casty proposes what might be called a counter-revisionist history of the blacklist. He is no fan of HUAC nor of the blacklist. Nevertheless, his book sizzles with hatred of Communism. * Jump Cut:A Review Of Contemporary Media *

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