Hearings regarding the communist infiltration of the motion picture industry. Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, first session. Public law 601 (section 121, subsection Q (1947)

42 COMMUNISM IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY Mr. StbipiJng. How were tliey removed? We will use that word. You don't choose to use the word "pnrse." How were y(»u successful in elimiuating these influences from your studio? Mr. Waknek. By dismissing them, if they were engaged by a picture. There are several methods of hiring writers. I am referring to writers only at this time. Mr. Stkipijno. Is tluit the principal medium, the writers, through which the Communists have sought to inject their Communist propaganda into tilms? Mr. Warnkr. Ye.s; I would say 95 percent. Mr. Stkipi.ing. Ninety-five percent is through the writers? Mr. Wabxkr. This is only my own per.scmal opinion. Mr. Stripling. You say at the present time to your knowledge there are no Communist writers in your studio? Mr. WARNER. That is correct, sir. I did not finish telling you how we reloa.sed them or got rid of them. Mr. STRIPT.ING. Go right ahead. Mr. Warner. I thinlc it is worth finishing. Anyone whom I thought was a Communist, or read in the papers that he was, was dismissed at the expiration of his contract. If it was for an individual picture and we had no ohligations, we could let him go. In one fellow's case I had to hold onto him because we were dropping them too rapidly, and it was too apparent. So we held onto him. I held him until the last 2 weeks, and I could not stand him any longer. Ho was contributing nothing Init holding meetings in the offices. Mr. Stmplixg. What was his name? Mr. Warner. Kahn — Gordon Kahn. Mr. Stripling. Why did you say it was too apparent? Mr. Warner. By letting them all go at once, in 1 day. When I say "all" there were only prabably a half dozen at tops. There weren't so many. Mr. Stripling. But they were definitely entrenched in your studio? Mr. Warner. Yes. Mr. Stripling. You have since gotten them out? Mr. AVarner. Yes. If there is anyone else in there I don't know who he is. There may be some in other places. Mr. Matthews is checking up very rigidly. Mr. Thomas. Do you want to get the names of the other writers? Mr. Stripling. Yes. I would like to have those for the record, either from you or Mr. Matthews. Mr. Warner. When I say these people are Communists, as I said before, it is from hearsay. It was from printed forms I read in the Hollywood Reporter. Mr. Thomas. But you got enough information to let them go? Mr. Warner. I could tell in their writing and method of presentation of screen plays. Mr. Stripling. You mean not calling them Communists? Mr. Warner. They were un-American. Mr. Stripling. For one reason or another you objected to the lines they were attempting to put in your scripts? IMr. Warner. Yes. Mr. Stripling. And you let these six people go. Can you name the six? Mr. Warner. Yes ; I think I can. I wish you would bear with me. Mr. Thomas. That is all right. Mr. Warner. I have heard these people stand around and ridicule and rib the committee, y(mr full committee : "They aren't looking for Fascists ; they are only looking for Communists. They have the same routine — to belittle the other fellow and scheme about it." Mr. Thomas. If you have any names we w<mld like to have them. Mr. Warner. Here are the names of people who in my opinion wrote for the screen and tried to inject these ideas, and 1 personally removed them — according to my best judgment or any of my executives working with me. Wliether or not they" are Communists T don't know, but some of them are, according to what I have read and heard. The first one is Alvah Bessie. Then Gordon Kahn. He is in charge of editing the little journal of the Screen Writers' Guild. He is now down in Mexico trying to write a story about a picture we were producing down there. T gave instructions all along" the line not to have him in there, but he gets in. The day I let him go he was right on the plane for Mexico. He is writing a story for Holiday magazine, one of the Curtis Publishing Co.'s magazines. I tried through the New York office to tell them the fellow was "off the beam" and should not accept his material. I was told, "You are not going to interfere with the right of free speech