Group of
Hollywood artists and
writers
convicted of
contempt of
Congress in
1948 for refusing to list their
political affiliations before the
House Un-American Activities Committee. Immediately after their original testimony they were
blacklisted - the studios suspended them without pay, then issued a statement that declared, “We will not knowingly employ a Communist or a member of any party or group which advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force, or by any illegal or unconstitutional method.”
The Ten were: screenwriters Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, and Dalton Trumbo; producer-director Herbert Biberman; director Edward Dmytryk; and producer-writer Adrian Scott.