John Howard Lawson

John Howard Lawson (born September 25, 1894 - died August 14, 1977, was an American writer.

Related Topics:
September 25 - 1894 - August 14 - 1977 - American

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Born in New York City, New York, after studying at Williams College (1910-1914) he became a successful writer with plays such as Standards (1916) and Servant-Master-Lover (1916).

Related Topics:
New York City - New York

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When United States entered the First World War in 1917, he became an ambulance driver with the American Field Service in Europe. While in France, he became friends with another driver, John Dos Passos.

Related Topics:
United States - First World War - 1917 - American Field Service - France - John Dos Passos

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After the war he edited a newspaper in Rome. Lawson returned to the United States where he began writing and directing plays. Although these often expressed Marxist ideas, some made it to Broadway. Plays performed in New York included "Roger Bloomer" (1923), "Processional" (1925), "Loud Speaker" (1927) and "The International" (1927).

Related Topics:
Rome - Marxist - Broadway

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In 1928, Lawson moved to Hollywood where he wrote scripts for films such as "The Ship for Shanghai," "Bachelor Apartment," and "Goodbye Love." In 1933, Lawson joined with Lester Cole and Samuel Ornitz to establish the Writers' Guild of America and was the organization's first president.

Related Topics:
1928 - 1933 - Lester Cole - Samuel Ornitz - Writers' Guild of America

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Lawson, who joined the American Communist Party in 1934, made several films that were were political, including Blockade (1938), a film on the Spanish Civil War for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Story. Lawson also wrote Counter-Attack (1945), a tribute to the Soviet-USA alliance during the Second World War.

Related Topics:
American Communist Party - 1934 - Blockade - Spanish Civil War - Academy Award for Best Story - Counter-Attack - Second World War

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After the Second World War, the House Un-American Activities Committee began an investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. In September 1947, the HUAC interviewed 41 people who were working in Hollywood. These people attended voluntarily and became known as "friendly witnesses". During their interviews they named several people who they accused of holding left-wing views.

Related Topics:
House Un-American Activities Committee - 1947

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Lawson appeared before the HUAC on October 29, 1947, but like Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Albert Maltz, Adrian Scott, Dalton Trumbo, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Samuel Ornitz and Ring Lardner Jr, he refused to answer any questions. Known as the Hollywood Ten, they claimed that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution gave them the right to do this. The House of Un-American Activities Committee and the courts during appeals disagreed and all were found guilty of contempt of Congress and Lawson was sentenced to twelve months in Ashland Prison and fined $1,000. Edward Dmytryk claimed that Lawson pressured him to put communist propaganda in his films during Dmytryk's 1951 HUAC testimony.

Related Topics:
October 29 - 1947 - Alvah Bessie - Herbert Biberman - Albert Maltz - Adrian Scott - Dalton Trumbo - Lester Cole - Edward Dmytryk - Samuel Ornitz - Ring Lardner Jr - Hollywood Ten - First Amendment - United States Constitution - Communist - Propaganda - 1951

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Blacklisted by the Hollywood studios, Lawson moved to Mexico where he began writing Marxist interpretation of drama and film-making such as The Hidden Heritage (1950), Film in the Battle of Ideas (1953) and Film: The Creative Process (1964). John Howard Lawson died in San Francisco on 14th August, 1977.

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In the movie The Majestic (2001), the town of Lawson is named for John Howard Lawson.

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