Communist infiltration of Hollywood motion-picture industry : hearing before the Committee on Un-American activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, first session (1951)

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1514 COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Tavenner. Will you identify him further, please. Mr. Townsend. He is a film director. Mr. Tavenner. A film direcor ? Mr. Townsend. Yes; and his wife Louise Losey. She may well be out of the party at this time. He may be, too; I don't know. I hope they have a chance to state their position if they are. There was a writer named Ben Bengal, B-e-n-g-a-1, and an actress named Karen Morley. These are the names that I remember as members of those various branches. Mr. Tavenner. Do you know where Karen Morley is now ? Mr. Townsend. No, sir; I do not. (At this point Representative Donald L. Jackson returned to the room.) Mr. Tavenner. Now will you proceed with the naming of others that you can recall. Mr. Townsend. Those are the names that I recall as members of these particular branches. Mr. Tavenner. You mentioned a little earlier in your testimony the name of Nicholas Bela, who was one of those members of the first group to which you were assigned upon joining the Communist Party. Will you identify that individual more fully. Mr. Townsend. I don't know what his occupation was. He was not, to my knowledge, a screen writer. I did attend a large meet- ing at his home in Beverly Hills, at which there were some 40 to 50 people present. I was told that this comprised most of the Com- munist screen writers within the Screen Writers' Guild. This was shortly after I had joined the party, possibly in the summer or spring of 1943. Mr. Tavenner. Were you acquainted with Ring Larclner, Jr. ? Mr. Townsend. Yes. I don't believe I was ever in a party branch with Mr. Lardner. Mr. Tavenner. The first meeting which you described as having oc- curred when you received the telephone message from Marjorie MacGregor was held at what place, if you recall ? Mr. Townsend. At the home of Harold Buchman. Mr. Tavenner. Harold Buchman ? Mr. Townsend. Yes. Mr. Tavenner. What position did Harold Buchman have in the industry ? Mr. Townsend. Harold Buchman was a screen writer. Mr. Tavenner. Were you assigned to any other branches of the Communist Party other than those you have already described? Mr. Townsend. As I mentioned before, I was in this branch of the Communist Political Association from July of 1944 until the summer of 1945, when the Duclos letter arrived and the political association very shortly became once more the Communist Party. You have un- doubtedly heard a lot about the Duclos letter here? Mr. Tavenner. Yes; the committee has heard a lot about it but will you just state in a general way what was involved with the Duclos letter? Mr. Townsend. Well, the war now was over. Evidently, as far as the Soviet Union was concerned, it and the United States were no longer allies. I don't believe we knew that here at the time.