Variety (Oct 1947)

20 PICTURES Wedtt<*dar, October 29, 1947 Johnston Says 'Hands-Off To M Who Threaten Gov't Control of Film hoi Washington, Oct. 28. It was Eric Johnston Day yester- day afternoon (27) in Washington, as the Motion Picture Association prexy dressed down the House un- American Activities Committee for smearing the fllm industry without giving it a chance to defend itself and slugged toe-to-toe with a com- mittee which was obviously out to rough him up. For more than an" hour, 'Johnston hit out in all directions, both punch- ing and counter-punching in the shrewdest exhibition staged thus far on behalf of the producers. He claimed-the committee was hurting the box office at home and abroad and declared he would fight off ef- forts by the Committee or any other Governmental body to tell the in- dustry the kind of films it should make. He'demanded that the com- mittee make public its secret list of Communist-tinged pictures so that the industry could answer the loose charges, and challenged the com- mittee to fight Communism by demo- cratic methods. The House Committee was spoiling to get at Johnston. MPA, in its opinion, had welched on its early promise to cooperate so the legis- lators figured that mussing its prexy's hair would be nice retalia- tion. One bit-of retaliation could be chalked up as the picayune spite of the-week, •, . "■■ - " • \. Among the highlights, of the ses- sion:-, , ' • ' ' ■ 1. Questioning of Johnston brought out that he went to Hollywood a few months ago with a three-point pro- gram in connection with the probe. The industry toppers approved two of the points—rcall for. a fair investi- gation jind for ihe employment of former' Secretary of State James F. Byrnes as special counsel to aid in preparing the case. But they vetoed the point under which proven Com sia and withdrew from the party in 1939. Stripling asserted that CheyBtz followed this party line in February, 1941, in denouncing lend-lease and the war powers- bill, and that the Dally Worker reported favorably in May, 1941, that Cheyfitz was op- posing a Presidential speech on pre- paredness. "Pm not here to defend Cheyfitz," declared Johnston. "He's in towa Why don't you call;hitt>?" Johnston also produced a shea! of letters en- dorsing Cheyfitz and declaring that he was completely clear of Com- munism. These came from clergy- men and business leaders. They were one to two weeks old. "You sort of had a suspicion this was coming up," commented Rep. Thomas in some surprise. "Knowing Mr. Stripling,. I was prepared for anything," was the re- tort. Stripling asked whether John- ston would employ John Howard Lawson on the basis of the morning information. ■ "If all the evidence in your state- ment this morning was /rue," said Johnston, "I would not employ Mr. Lawson. Communists are a disrup- tive influence. I have never ob- jected to investigating Hollywood. "I have objected to some of the committee's methods." • " "..'••'•.• •■Pa* For the Industry - ' At this point the industry got one of its few pats on the back of the day from Rep. John McDowell (R., Pa.). -■ "There was evidence last week"," he said, "that your producers were disturbed by Communist influe/ice, What disturbs me is your charge that the industry is being smeared "here. I am disturbed that you feel the testimony of these producers hurt them. ; I feel the motion picture industry has come out of this hear- ing in good shape. The movie, in- any position-where, they , might affect the.'coirtent of-pictures. .,="'•" 2. Disclosure that Edward T. Chey- fitz, assistant to Johnston, is a former Communist party member. . y . 3. A ; claim by Hep.' JV ParneU Thomas; committee chairman, that some industry figures sought to in- fluence the committee in advance of. the heatings; ; - ■;;> '.. The roughing of Johnston started as" soon as he. reached the witness stand and even before 'he had an opportunity to read his prepared statement.. Robert Stripling, clerk and chief inquisitor of the committee, wanted to know if Johnston felt he needed a lawyer; Thomas chimed in with, "Well/it's alfrigbt if it makes him feel any better." ■„* . . . immediately after^Johnston had read his prepared statement, Strip- ling went to work with questions about whether the MPA prexy had found any Commies in Hollywood. At one place he snapped at John- ston, "I wouldn't be surprised from statements you have made during the past, few days that, you have been .trying to Tun this committee." This was the cue for Thomas to charge that MPA had promised a lot of cooperation -and was hot giv- ing any; Thomas also claimed the producers had tried to . pressure the hearings before they began. "We _had prominent people come to us to postpone our hearings," he said. "We had persons, some of dubious character, ask us not to put on certain witnesses. We had others get in touch with our investigators to try and learn what we were going to do. I don't know if any bribes were actually offered but one man - gave all the signs of an offer. "And your counsel has been giv- ing out statements on the hour and off the hour critical of the commit- tefe. Is that the kind of cooperation you promised." "I'told you we'd give cooperation and we did," snapped Johnston. "I never sought to get any witness off. When one witness did try to get ex- cused I hrd him write .you a letter askii^ to be called." Stripling then shifted his attack to demand why McNutt was "sub- stituting for Byrnes." Johnston said the deal with Byrnes provided that he would not appear before a Con- gressional committee. Tonight Byrnes issued a statement corrobo- rating this point. Tlien Stripling swung about to ask Johnston if Edward Cheyfitz had ever been a member of the Com- munist party. Johnston said Chey- fitz had been, but had become "dis- illusionized" when he went to Rus- Kansas City Operator Bows in Union Suit Kansas City, Kans., Oct. 281 Joe D. Gicante, operator. at the Kansas theatre here, lost his court battle to prevent Local No. 498, In- ternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and Motion Pic- ture Operators, AFL, from replacing him on the job, but for the time be- ing has retained his job. Judge Rus- sell G. Hardy, Wyandotte County District Court, last week sustained a demurrer by the defending union wherein it was contended that Gicante had failed to establish -a cause of action against the union. ' Gicante has been, in the booth at the Kansas- theatre; for several years but has operated under a special agreement whereby the union has listed him as a registered ap- prentice. He went to court when a recent ruling of the union sought to eliminate the rating under which he worked. Attorney for the union said that the contract with the theatre for only union operators e:lpired last June. Union testimony also showed that Gicante never had been initiated into the organization an3 that his membership had been rejected sev- eral months ago. Theatre officials testified they were satisfied with Gicante's work, and he is continuing on the job for the time being. A new contract be- tween the theatre and the union is under consideration, however. Red Brand Goads MPA Continued from page 5 > MPA Stand Continued from page S ; munists: would not W employed industry, with a few exceptions, has come out of here in a splendid po- sition. "We are' not concerned with tell- ing the industry what pictures to make.. It has been suggested that Hollywood make anti-Soviet pic- tures. ; I abhor the-word. I am not anti or pro anything. The action of ihis committee will be only by a vote of its members and we have not taken any action."' ' "I might say that just as there are good " and bad writers," replied Johnston, "there are different kinds of congressmen. You're the kind we like." " NovehVs 'Perchance' To Tour S. Afr.; Rank to Film J. Arthur Rank has acquired the film rights to Ivor Novello's recent London legit musical, "Perchance to Dream," the British writer-actor dis- closed upon arriving in New York last -week aboard the Queen Mary. Deal for, the- show, which ran two and a half years, did not involve a fiat sum but calls for Novello to re- ceive a percentage of the gross. Picture is scheduled to be made .at the end of next year. . Meanwhile Novello plans a three- week stay in New York then goes to Jamaica, B. W. I., prior to trek- ing to South Africa... London com- pany' of "Perchance" is now en route to • Johannesburg where the play jg slated to open Dec. 23. No- vello will join it there. Following South African bookings, the company will return to England where a provincial tour, has been lined up. After that there's a possibility that the show may be brought to the U. S. Small Skeds Another For Italian Leasing Hollywood, Oct. 28. Edward Small is readying - a sec- ond picture, "Clementine," for pro- duction in Italy to utilize some of his coin, impounded in that country. Currently the Small production, "Cagliostro," is ih work at Scalero Studios, Rome. Colman-Cukor Indie Hollywood, Oct 28. Ronald Colman is going fn for indie production, with George Cukor as a partner. They have acquired a story property for filming next spring. Colman recently starred in "A Double Life," produced by Cukor for Univer-sal-International release. to the Russians would be bad form in 1947. Names ami reputations of valuable motion picture properties had- been kicked sky-high. That committee was serving notiee~'that it intended to put nearly -the whole industry in the same can of red paint.- r ,' ■> ';• Out For These Headlines The idea, according to some news- papermen, was obvious. The com- mittee would get a much better play; by claiming that Hollywood was 99% Communist - controlled, with only a. 'few persons fighting the Reds, rather than that it was American -with a small group of .Commies agitating trouble. By the second ,day, Paul V. Mc- Nutt,. special counsel for the in- dustry, was demanding that the committee look at pictures before it allowed them to be smeared as Communistic. By the third day he was hammering. at Rep. J. Par- neU Thomas's group as a challenge to free speech. MPA prexy Eric Johnston fol- lowed up with an attack oh proce- dures of all Congressional investi- gating committees. He declared, in a statement issued fo'tbe press Sun- day (26) and published in full-page newspaper ads paid for by the MPA Monday: "Too often individuals and" institutions have been condemned without a hearing or a chance to speak in self-defense; slandered and libeled by hostile witnesses not sub- ject to cross-examination and im- mune from subsequent suit and prosecution."- - The MPA topper followed up right away with the strongest in- dustry attack yet made on the com- mittee. .He read it preceding his testimony before the group Monday morning. It was clear evidence of the industry's ire at the general idea given by the. previous week's goings-on that Hollywood was "run- ning over with Communists and Communism."' McNutt, in the meantime, was still pounding at the committee to see pictures before smearing them. In a letter to each member of the committee Sunday, he called upon them to make public their list of alleged Commie-propaganda-loaded films. He pointed out that merely blind talk about a "list" was spread- ing smears over a large number of films. By that time the industry's of- ficial "line" was not sounding very different from what Bartley Crum and Robert W. Kenny, counsel for the so-called "left-wing" group of witnesses, have been stating to newspapermen all along. As the curtain went up on the second week of hearings yesterday (Monday), it appeared the commit- tee had the large majority of the industry united against it, a combi- nation of "strange bedfellows" — execs and writers, for instance — which was a great surprise in most quarters. Only group which re- mained favorable to the probers was Hollywood's ultra-right-wing Al- liance for the Preservation of Amer- ican Ideals. lie," McNutt continued. Pointing out that the film producers were anxious to give the committee every chance to proceed, McNutt said , he wanted "this'investigation to end all investigations of Hollywood by the committee." Thomas, after needling McNutt with questions about whom' exactly he represented, said, "The chair will Teply in a full and detailed state- ment." McNutt had difficulty in re- calling the member companies in the MPA, hesitantly- naming- Warner Bros., 20th-Fox, Universal, then the "Metro Brosi" and winding up with the phrase, "and several others." Like Lawson, Trumbo during the morning session was refused permis- sion to read a prepared statement because.Thomas said it was not per- tinent to the business of the .com- mittee. Trumbo, however,, was calmer and less hostile than Law- son giving, at least, an outward show of respect for the committee. Nevertheless, he imitated Lawson's line of answering committee counsel Robert E. Stripling's questions, with long statements of his own. After the first- tangle, resulting from Trumbo's refusal to answer the question of any Communist Party affiliations, he made numerous at- tempts to introduce into the record the content of 20 films written by him so that, he said, "The committee may see what it proposed to keep from the American public." Thomas refused to admit it into the record because of its length. Trumbo OuUhouU Chair Shouting over objections of the chairman, Trumbo managed to inter- ject into his testimony that he had statements from "responsible people concerning my work." These, he said, included General H. H. Arnold, air force head, judges of juvenile courts, Chief of the Film Section of UNRRA and the Chief Army Chap- plain in Charge of Films. Led from the stand by six uniformed guards amid mingled boos and cheers, Trumbo shouted. "This is the be- ginning of an American concentra- tion camp." ... "• Following Trumbo, a committee investigator, Lewis Russell, read a nine-page list of Communist affilia- tions of Trumbo along the lines set by the -dossier on Lawson. List in- cluded a' photostatic copy of Trumbo's alleged Communist Party card under-the name of "Dalt T.", wliich Russell stated, had been iden- tified by handwriting experts as the signature of Trumbo. Also introduced in the record was an article from Variety of March 14, 1941, stating that Trumbo had au- thored a story, "Remarkable An- drew,"" which was so antUBritish and so anti-war that Paramount re- fused to continue with .the picture after paying him f27,000 for the screenplay. Maltz, Bessie's Statements Without softening its attitude, the coihmittee switched its policy with regard to the unsympathetic witnes- ses and permitted both Albert Maltz and Alvah Bessie to read their pre- pared statements into the record after examination of the scripts by the committee. Both Maltz and Bessie reiterated Trumbo's attack against the objectives and tactics of the hearings which, they claimed, in- fringed on their constitutional rights. However, after both witnesses re- fused to answer the query on the alleged Communist Party member- ship, they were subjected to the con- tempt citation. Bessie, in counter- ing the ' committee's questioning, said: "Gen. Eisenhower has refused to reveal his political affiliations and what's good enough for him is good enough for me." Thomas repri manded the scripter by remarking that Gen. Eisenhower would be ashamed to be a member of a sub- versive organization. Dossiers on Bessie and Maltz were also pro- duced to show that they were al- legedly party card holders. Thomas Reads Own Piece In a statement that concluded the day's session, Thomas said, "We've had four very prominent writers be- fore us. It's evident that they don't want to answer questions. It's" also evident that they have extensive Communist or Communist-front af- filiations. Yet these people are writing motion picture scripts. This is definite proof that there is a real reason for investigating Communist influence in Hollywood." All'this talk of these hearings being a witchhunt is nonsense, I don't think this com- mittee has ever looked into any- thing where it found more Commu- nism than in Hollywood." Meanwhile, the Hollywood con- tingent organized into the Commit- tee for the First Amendment, drew up a petition in Rep. Chet Holli- fleld's office to Speaker bf. s the House, Rep. Joseph Martin, asking him to kill the House Un-American Activi- ties Committee, Brewer's Attack on Sorrel Roy M. Brewer, Coast rep for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees/ took the stand at the outset of today's afternoon ses- sion with a prepared statement which the committee permitted to get into the record. Substance of his testimony was a complete indict- ment of the Conference of Studio Unions as Communist-controlled and instigator of strikes. He named CSU head Herbert K. Sorrel as spearhead of an alleged Communist labor drive in Holly- wood. He also fingered Larry Ad- ler and John Garfield, both present as members of the Committee for the First Amendment, as participat- ing on an alleged red-inspired picket line in the studio labor battle. Lawson and Thomas Clash at Hearing AH the wraps were taken off by the committee yesterday as it went to work on Lawson, first of the group of "unfriendly" witnesses whom the committee hopes to prove are, either, commits or fellow-trav- elers. In a dingdong session, screen writer LawsoH^and Thomas bawled and shouted at each other, Lawson took honors in the battle of words but Thomas got «the final brass ring as the committee disclosed Law- son's, alleged "Communistic" record and wound up by citing him for con- tempt of Congress for his refusal to disclose- whether he was a member of the Communist party. Thomas called for the statement as he "had for all statements. Thomas handed it back after reading one paragraph with a refusal because the statement was "not pertinent." Then the row started. "You spend one week vilifying me before the American public and re- fuse me the right to read a state- ment," Lawson said in a very loud voice. He continued talking while Thomas banged his gavel for silence. Pausing a moment, Lawson took up again, -"I know my rights as an American.citizen and I stand up and protest the refusal to permit me to read a statement." More gaveling With Thomas, _ a red-faced man, growing redder" all the time. Law- son finally agreed to- answer ques- tions about his name, place and date of birth. Asked if he were a mem- ber of the Screen Writers Guild, he immediately, in the same loud voice, challenged the committee's authority "to raise any question of political beliefs." Lawson Refuses Gag Thomas shut him up briefly and Lawson sounded off again, "last week you permitted -witnesses to answer questions in three, four and "500 words. And you want brief answers from me." "You'll be responsive," shouted Thomas, whacking "the gavel some more. "I'm fit on trial here, the com- mittee is on trial," shouted Lawson. "It is outside the purview of this committee to inquire into what or- ganizations I belong to." "You're just making a big scene," declared Thomas, "you're no better than, the rest. .." Lawson interrupted again and Thomas shouted, "if you're trying to force me to put you in contempt of Congress you won't have to try much harder." Lawson answered another question or two and then Stripling asked: "Are you now or have you even been a member of the Com- munist party in the United States?'^ "The question is not pertinent," said Lawson in a very loud tone. "The committee is trying to invade my rights..." The gavel worked overtime and Thomas demanded, "do you care to answer the question?'' "It is unfortunate and tragic' Lawson declared like a pontifical lecturer, "that I have to teach the committee the basic rights of Ameri- canism." Refusing again to answer, Lawson was lecturing away when uniformed police closed in on him and removed him from the witness stand and back to his seat with his fellow witnesses. Mixed hoping and applause went up in the jammed hearing room.