Exiled from Hollywood

Tonight, the UCLA Film and Television Archive kicks-off a screening series called “Hollywood Exiles in Europe” with the 1950 film “Christ in Concrete.” Director Edward Dmytryk made “Christ in Concrete” in England because he couldn’t make it in Hollywood. He’d refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. It’s just one of almost 100 European films directed by, written by, and starring blacklisted Americans in exile.

photo: Edward Dmytryk testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee

photo: "Christ in Concrete," made in London by blacklisted director Edward Dmytryk, written by blacklisted screenwriter Ben Barzman and starring blacklisted actor Sam Wanamaker.

Credits

Guests:

  • Norma Barzman - was a blacklisted screenwriter who fled to Paris with her writer husband, Ben.
  • Rebecca Prime - A professor at Hood University and the author of “Hollywood Exiles in Europe: The Blacklist and Cold War Film Culture.”