House Un-American Activities Committee

The House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC (or, rarely, HCUA) (1945-1975) was an investigating committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to the Committee on Internal Security. The House abolished the committee in 1975 and its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Hollywood Blacklist

Later the committee held nine days of hearings into alleged Communist propaganda by Hollywood. After conviction on contempt of Congress charges for refusal to cooperate with the committee, the "Hollywood Ten" were "blacklisted" by the motion picture industry. Eventually, more than 300 artists—including directors, actors and screenwriters—were boycotted by the studios. Some, like Charlie Chaplin, left the country to find work. Others resumed their careers in the 1960s.

Related Topics:
Hollywood - Contempt of Congress - Hollywood Ten - Blacklisted - Charlie Chaplin

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In 1947 studio executives admitted to the Committee that war-time films such as Mission to Moscow and Song of Russia were pro-Soviet propaganda but they suggested that the films be considered in the context of the allied war effort. In the 1950s the studios produced a number of anti-communist and anti-Soviet propaganda films like The Red Menace, The Red Danube, I Married a Communist, I Was a Communist for the FBI and Red Planet Mars. Most were box-office failures, but placated Hollywood's critics and protected the industry against a threatened boycott campaign.

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