VLVL2 (Chapter 6) - part 8

[Mike Weaver]

p. 80, 81 "Friends of Hub's had sold out friends of Sasha's..."   Extremely 
accurate rendition of left-wing bitterness, with nice joke ("nobody talks") 
to cap it. (BoW)



81.3   "the anti-communist terror in Hollywood"
The House Un-American Activities Committee, was established in 1937 with 
Martin Dies in the chair. It's original brief was to investigate left and 
right wing groups. Since Dies and other members of the committee were Ku 
Klux Klan supporters the focus quickly moved to the left. In 1947 HUAC 
started investigating the Hollywood motion picture industry.
Both Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon promoted their political careers as 
anti-communists of this period, Reagan as a friendly witness in his role as 
head of the Screen Actors Guild and Nixon as a member of HUAC.

"Under J. Parnell Thomas,  HUAC not only sought to identify so-called 
"subversives" in the industry, but also to investigate whether the 
Roosevelt administration had encouraged the production of pro-Soviet films 
during World War II. In the following testimony, three "friendly" 
witnesses-studio heads Jack L. Warner of Warner Bros. and Louis B. Mayer of 
M-G-M, and Russian-born novelist, screenwriter, and ideologue Ayn 
Rand-commented on specific wartime films...
...Following the 1947 hearings, ten screenwriters and directors, who 
refused to cooperate with the Committee, were cited for contempt of 
Congress. After studio heads blacklisted the ten-who later served prison 
terms following the Supreme Court's refusal to hear their appeal-HUAC 
agreed to stop investigating studios and the content of films, and limited 
their inquiries to personnel."
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6442/

"Hearings began again in March 1951, While almost half of those testifying 
from the entertainment industry informed on their colleagues, others like 
playwright and screenwriter Lillian Hellman invoked the Fifth Amendment 
protection against self-incrimination. This route insured that they would 
not be hired for future work in the industry."
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6454/

It is notable that Pynchon's take on the blacklist era involves those whose 
parts in the saga are hidden. The articles and webpages I've looked at 
concentrates entirely on the Hollywood 'aristocracy' and ignores the workers.

81.10-13 "To Sasha the blacklist period...seemed only a continuation of the 
picture business...only now in political form."
For a view of the liberal left in Hollywood which skewers the pretensions 
of many of the participants look for The Radical Soap Opera by David Zane 
Mairowitz (Wildwood House, Penguin, 1973)

Spartacus Educational has a detailed section covering the left in the US 
during the first half of the 20th Century
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAred.htm

81.30 "Bette Davis movies... booming lines like Well! You ahh - 
quitealittlebundle, ahhn't you?"
The film that comes to mind is Old Acquaintance which I also suspect of 
being the source of the "or is it gas " quote from GR - same baby maybe! 
This film is about writers, low and high brow...unfortunately it has never 
been released on vid or DVD so I can't check out my suspicion. Chris K are 
you there? Can you check this? If I'm wrong (likely) which film is it?