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)

COMMUNISM IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTHY 45 the overthrow of our capitalistic system, as we call it. I never got into it until the last 4 or 5 years when it became apparent to me because naturally, as I said before, you heard flu words "conununism" and "fascism." You could see Mussolini's Fascists or Hitler's Xazis or Stalin's liord(>s, or whatever they are. Y(m saw how they came in, by revolution in Russia, or however these things happen. P.ut in reading: these hundreds of scripts which I do read and I buy p'ays and books and novels — it all started to come to me and tliat is tl)e thins I watcli for most earnestly. That is iiow tliey jiet in. If you will watch the films you will find that is what happens. Now. take the pictures made durinii' the war, the pictures to aid the victory of the Allies or the United Nations. We have no apologies to make for any of those films that we made. They were made by us and we thought it was tlio riglit thing to do to aid the war effort, and we never had any rebuffs from anyone. In fact, we were asked to make pictures from time to time by different departments. Mr. Stripling. Were you asked to make Mission to Moscow? Mr. Warner. I would say we were to a degree. Vou can put it in that way in one form or another. Mr. Thomas. Wlio asked you to nuike ^Mission to AIoscow'/ Mr. Wau.xf.r. I would say tlie former Ambassador Davies. Mr. Tiio.MAS. He asked you to make Mission to Moscow? Mr. WAijNKR. At tlie time and lie recites why. I brouglit a small resume of it .when we entered into the agi'eement. and so forth, with the events of the war in the early part of 1942. They are all put in chronological order here. Mr. Stripling. Did Mr. Davies come to Hollywood to see you relative to the making of Mission to Moscow or did you confer with him at any time about it in person 'y Mr. Warner. I conferred with liim in W^•lshington and we made tlie deal in the East, in New Yoi'k or Washington, I have forgotten which. But he did come here when the tilm was being produced and he also acted in an advisory capacity throughout the makirg of the film. As a matter of fact, he appeared in a slight prologue of the picture. Mr. Stripling. Don't you consider very frankly that the film Mission to Moscow was in some vs-ays a misinterpretation of the facts of the existing conditions? Mr. Warner. Of the time, you mean? Mr. Stripling. Yes. Mr. Warner. In 1942? Mr. Stripling. In other words, certain historical incidents which were portrayed in the film were not true to fact? Mr. Warnir. Well, all I could go b.v — I read the novel and spoke to Mr. Davies on m;iny, many occasions. I had to take his word that they were the facts. He had pulilished tlie novel and we were criticized severely b.v the press in, New York and elsewhere. As I remember, it was started up by this Profes.sor Dewey from Columbia University. P'rom what I read and heard, he was a Trotskyite and they were the ones who ol'jected mostly to this tilm because of Lenin versus Trotsk.v Mr. Stripling. That is Dr. John Dewey? Mr. Warner. Yes. That is what I read. He made statements in the New York Times which were as long as the paper was, but as to the actual facts, if they weren't portr.-i.ved Muthentically — I never was in Russia myself and I don't know what they were doing in T.M2. other than seeing the events of the battles for S'talingr.-id and .Moscow, which we all saw in the films and read about. But I talked to .Mr. Davies about that after we were criticized, and there is only one Ihi-ig that happiiis which is a license, what we call condensation in the making of films. We put the two trials in one and the two trials were condensed because if yon ran the two trials it wcmld go on for 20 reels. I persoiuilly did not consider that fihu i)ro-Communist at the time. .Mr. Thomas, .\ow. it is 1947. Do you think it is pro-Communist now? Mr. Warner. That I would have to think over. L "t me pause for a minute and ask you a question or two, if you don't mind. You mean by saying rliat the type of scenes shown in that film today would that make tln^ picture pro-Ci>nunuiMst, is that if Mr. Thomas. You said in 1942. ..Mr. Warner. It was made in J942. Mr. Thomas. You did not believe it was pro-Communist. Mr. W.ABNEB. No; we were at war at That time. 67683—47 4