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

3536 COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD MOTION-PICTURE INDUSTRY I fought against the Butler resolution and then, in a very stupid piece of party discipline, voted for it on the floor of the guild. It was resoundingly defeated. This was not going to stop the party from pursuing the fight further. I had an argument with Mr. Polonsky about this point and said that the continuation of these tactics could only wreck the Screen Writers' Guild. It was then that Polonsky came out openly with the statement that if we wrecked the Screen Writers' Guild we will build another one. "If need be, we will wreck 20 to achieve what we want." It was then I shook his hand and said: "This is not for me." Mr. Tavenner. In other words, it adopted a policy of rule or ruin? Mr. Roberts. That is right, and rule on their own terms, and so on. I joined the party because I felt this was the only way to function inside the guild itself, only to discover that all they were interested in doing was to destroy the guild if it didn't happen to suit their pur- poses. That would conclude my status with the party as of the very begin- ning of 1948. I served on the Screen Writers' Guild bargaining committee during this year, and about 4 or 5 months later Hugo Butler came to me and said, where was I and why hadn't I attended meet- ings, and so forth, and I explained that I was through, flatly, and this much he should have known before. There is only one other piece of applicable activity in all this period which I think is an interesting sideline. In 1948, through some friends of mine who were not Communists in any way, I was again asked to work with an organization called Field Theater. They were going to put on a group of shows for Henry Wallace. I helped write material for these shows, and it wasn't long before I saw the same faces turn up all over again. Karen Morley came there to run things, and I became very angry with that. The Wallace campaign was being run by Communists. I threatened to pull out, and what is more, agreed to finance the show myself. The next thing I knew is that ASP turned out to be the parent organization of Field Theater, showed up and became highly supplicating and said we would run this whole thing without any interference. Mr. Wallace played several appearances in Los Angeles, made the mistake of speaking off the record, and I voted for Truman. The Field Theater is only one of any number of front organizations that are like Topsy. They spring up every 2 minutes under new names, and you will suddenly see new faces. This is the entire political picture, and from that point on there has been nothing. Mr. Tavenner. Did you have any contact with the officials of the ASPC? Mr. Roberts. The only official of ASPC I ever met was a woman named Mrs. George Pepper, who I believe at this time was Mrs. George Pepper. I don't believe I know who the officials were. Mr. Tavenner. Was there any particular importance of that dis- cussion to the matter under investigation here? Mr. Roberts. In terms of the investigation here? No, nothing re- lated to the investigation at all. It was merely Mr. Tavenner. I mean anything relating to the subject of com- munism or having any bearing on it, which we would be interested in in the course of this investigation ?