Origins

• The blacklist began in 1947, when people in the film industry were subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The committee claimed that the witnesses held communist sympathies, which was reflected in their films.
  
  

The Hollywood 10

• Ten of the figures called before the Committee refused to testify, citing their rights under the Constitution. They were ultimately referred to as the Hollywood 10.
  
  

Witch Hunt

• Evidence against the Hollywood 10 and others affected by the blacklist was extremely scant. Indeed, it was not a crime to belong to the Communist party in the United States.
  
  

Fallout

• Despite the rickety case against them, the Hollywood 10 and others found it nearly impossible to find work after the hearings. Films on which they worked appeared without their names in the credits and many were forced to work under pseudonyms.
  
  

The Blacklist Crumbles

• The blacklist started to crumble in 1957, when the blacklisted John Henry Faulk sued CBS Radio after being fired. Brave entertainment figures like Kirk Douglas and Alfred Hitchcock fought hard for blacklistees' rights behind the scenes, and by 1962, the names of blacklisted figures began appearing on credit lists once again.