Walter Bernstein

Walter Bernstein (August 20, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.

Related Topics:
August 20 - 1919 - Brooklyn, New York - American - Screenwriter - Film producer - Blacklisted - Hollywood - Movie studio

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He graduated from Dartmouth College. It was while attending this school in 1937 that he joined the Young Communist League.

Related Topics:
Dartmouth College - 1937 - Young Communist League

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Bernstein wrote for The New Yorker magazine. During World War II, he was a war correspondent for the U.S. Army newspaper Yank and because of his communist affiliations was given the chance to interview Josip Tito the leader of the Yugoslav communist partisans in 1944.

Related Topics:
The New Yorker - World War II - War correspondent - U.S. Army - Yank - Josip Tito - 1944

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He wrote his first script for Hollywood in 1948 when he adapted a Gerald Butler novel to the screen. Bernstein has stated in his autobiography that while working at Columbia Pictures he would deliberately insert the Communist Party's viewpoint into his scripts in hope that these views would get by studio head Harry Cohn.

Related Topics:
1948 - Gerald Butler - Columbia Pictures - Harry Cohn

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In 1951, because of his communist ties, Bernstein was called to testify before HUAC. His uncooperative performance before the committee did little to stay the fears of the Hollywood producers and they subsequently blacklisted him along with several others.

Related Topics:
1951 - HUAC

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This Hollywood blacklisting meant it would be difficult for him to find work in the motion picture industry. He did manage to get work with the help of sympathetic colleges who hired him under a pseudonym. During this period he was able to earn some income writing scripts for television shows including 1953 television segements, "You Are There", featuring Walter Cronkite.

Related Topics:
Hollywood blacklist - Pseudonym - 1953 - Walter Cronkite

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The studio enforced ban was lifted in 1959 when director Sidney Lumet hired him to write the screenplay for the Sophia Loren movie That Kind of Woman. From then on Bernstein was able to work openly. In 1964 the stand-out film Fail Safe was released which bore his name.

Related Topics:
1959 - Sidney Lumet - Sophia Loren - 1964 - Fail Safe

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In 1977 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and the WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen for the motion picture The Front, about a man (played by Woody Allen) who acts as a front for blacklisted screenwriters. He also makes a cameo appearance as an actor in Allen's film Annie Hall that same year.

Related Topics:
1977 - Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen - The Front - Woody Allen

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The following year he was nominated for the WGA for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium for Semi-Tough and again in 1979 he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay for Yanks. Amongst Bernstein's other popular works is the highly successful 1960 film, The Magnificent Seven for which he was not credited at the time. Bernstein also has The Molly Maguires to his credit.

Related Topics:
WGA for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium - Semi-Tough - 1979 - BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay - Yanks - 1960 - The Magnificent Seven - The Molly Maguires

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It was in 1980 that the film he directed, Little Miss Marker, was released. Later, in recognition of his contribution to the film and television industry, the Writers Guild of America East honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Related Topics:
1980 - Writers Guild of America East

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In 1996, Bernstein published a book about the blacklisting period titled Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist. In his memoirs, he tells about joining the Young Communist League while he was at Dartmouth College in 1937.

Related Topics:
1996 - Young Communist League - Dartmouth College - 1937

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