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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3488 COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. Odets. I had quarrels with their points of views, because if someone got up and made a critical evaluation—for instance John Howard Lawson got up and made a critical evaluation of the Broad- way Theater season, and I disagreed with him. I would ask for the floor and get up on the platform and have a fight with him about it in public. As I said, the last time I was there, this kind of made me personna non grata to these circles, and resulted, finally, in a real cooling off of any kind of relationship between myself and most of these people. Actually, seeing these names, many of these people have become since violent anti-Communist, and are totally adamant to the Communist Party of America. Mr. Tavenner. At the present time ? Mr. Odets. Yes, dozens and dozens of them. Mr. Tavenner. Well, how long did you remain connected with the organization, whether in an official capacity or otherwise? Mr. Odets. I could only state approximately and take a rough guess on it. It might be for a year or two, or it might be for 3 years. Mr. Tavenner. I show you a photostatic copy of page 25 of the May 4, 1937, issue of New Masses. This is the manifesto and call to the second congress of the League of American Writers. Will you examine the exhibit and state whether your name appears among those signing the call? Mr. Odets. Yes, I see my name here. Mr. Tavenner. Will you tell the committee the circumstances under which you were solicited to sign the call for the meeting? Mr. Odets. I don't remember, because these sort of things come to you through the mail for the most part. The letter would be a "for- mer," a mimeographed letter, and it would come through the mail, signed in mimeographing by one, two, or three or four persons, and this happened so many times during the week that it is really difficult to remember who contacted anyone about these things. I stated before that right today I get 40 or 50 letters of this sort every week, every week. Mr. Tavenner. You must be on the list of all of them. Mr. Odets. I am on a lot of lists. I don't think I sign things as frequently as I did. I am a little more careful, a little more selective. Mr. Tavenner. Did you sign that? Mr. Odets. If my name is here, I would say I signed it, sure. Mr. Tavenner. I show you a photostatic copy of the letterhead of the fourth congress of the League of American Writers, held in 1941. Will you examine the exhibit and state whether your name appears on this letterhead ? Mr. Odets. My name is here; yes, sir. Mr. Tavenner. That would indicate that you were then active in the organization as late as 1941. Mr. Odets. No ; that would not indicate that I was active. It would indicate that my name was still on some executive list. In fact, I am surprised that this League of American Writers still exists in the year 1941. This is a lot of news to me. Mr. Tavenner. Did you attend or participate in the congress for which that call was issued? Mr. Odets. Not to my memory. This may have been the last one, in which I broke up the meeting. I don't know. Manhattan Center?