Evening star., 1951-05-13

i'd itself of Reds, the testimony has
a scene involving expensive stars
large sets or many extras. be-
cause even if it is discovered by
the front Office, the business man
ager of the unit. the very watch
dog of the treasury, the very
servant of capitalism, in order to
keep the budget from going toe
high, will resist the elimination
of that scene"
Even this proved unsatisfactory,
however. according to Collins. who
said:
Inclusion of several progressive
lines per screenplay was pushed.
but they learned it didn't mean
anything unless you had the code
book with you. So the program
was dropped.
Mr.. Collins contended that the
only time Communist propaganda
gets into films to any appreciable
degree is when it jibes with the
attitude or opinions Of a large
segment of the American people.
Wartime Job Easier
AS examples, he cited the anti
Naziism theme of certain wartime
films and pictures concerned with
racial discrimination.
The current hearings also have
shown the solidness of 1947 testi-
mony given by Louis j. Russell,
senior staff investigator, concern
ing the Communist affiliations of
nine of the 10 witnesses heard at
that time. Mr.. Russell introduced
what he said were photostatic
copies of the Communist Party
cards for seven of the 10. Edward
Dmytryk, a movie director and
himself one of the Hollywood 10,''
and other former Reds, identified
nine as one-time Communists.
Twenty-one witnesses have
taken the stand to date. Six have
admitted past Communist Party
membership: Hayden, Collins,
Dmytryk; Larry Parks and Marc
Lawrence, actors, and Mrs. Meta
r. Rosenberg, former story editor
at Paramount Studios.
Fourteen have refused to state
whether they were or are Com
munists, on the grounds of possi-
BILE self determination. They are:
Anne Revere. Gale Sondergaard,
actresses; Howard da Silva, Will
Geer, Morris Carnovsky. Victor
Killian and Fred Graf, actors;
Paul Jarrico, Waldo Salt, Abra-
ham Lincoln Polonsky, Robert
Lees and Harold Buchanan, screen
writers; Sam Moore. radio writer,
and George wilmer, writer's
agent.
One witness has denied ever
having been a Red, although ad-
mitting association with front
organizations. He was John Gar
field, stage and screen star.
The committee assumes that
when a witness refuses to answer
Questions on communism it is be-
cause a truthful answer would be
self discriminating. The Congress
men have developed a technique
which points up the issue sharply.
For example, when Polonsky was
asked whether he was-a member
of the Silver Shirts, a right-wing
subversive group, he answered
angrily:
You know what the Silver
Shirts is-it's dirty Fascist Or
ganization!"
The next question followed
quickly: "Are you a member OF
the Communist Party?"
st decline to answer on the
gound that it might tend to in
criminate me-" Polonsky said
softly.
Then the final challenging
query: "Can you name single
person who has appeared before
this committee and answered
Itruthfully who has been incrimi-
|nated?"
Polonsky. like all other defiant
witnesses, could not do so.
Atmosphere Has Changed
What makes the current hear
|ings so successful, in comparison
with those of 1947, is the temper
of the times" Four years ago,
the committee had documentary
proof of the extensive infiltration
of Hollywood, but 1t had no CO.
operative witnesses.
ST had a dream which became
Ia nightmare that in the event Of
war with Russia ! would be ar
rested as a friend of the Soviet
Union, when. in fact, I was an
enemy" Collins testified.
One major reason the co-opera-
tive witnesses broke with the party
was it's totalitarian discipline, the
Istraitjacket put on independent
thought.
"They felt they had the key to
| all problems" Hayden said.
Everything was predetermined" "
"I began to feel like a trained
zombie," Collins declared.
II objected to thought con-
troll" Dmytryk asserted.
These former Reds testified that
it was idealism that brought them
into the party and idealism that
took them out.
Mrs. Rosenberg put her expert
ence this way:
"I was an anti-Nazi and anti
Franco, and it seemed perfectly
reasonable to join the Communist
Party, which was the most vio-
lently anti-Hitler and pro-Loyal-
ist organization in America"
The committee still has to hear
at least 20 more witnesses, includ-
ing a half dozen or so who have
! l. u