Q&A: ‘Hollywood Exiles in Europe’ unearths work by blacklisted filmmakers

The UCLA Film and Television Archive welcomes the once-banned voices of blacklisted American filmmakers to the Billy Wilder Theater in its current series, “Hollywood Exiles in Europe.” The series uncovers and showcases the rare works of these filmmakers during the Cold War era and attempts to inform the local community about the diverse American film culture that took place in a dark period of film history.

The Daily Bruin’s Samantha Mannis sat down with co-curator of “Hollywood Exiles in Europe” and UCLA alumnus Paul Malcolm to discuss the significance of the series.

Daily Bruin: What were the Hollywood blacklists, and how did they impact filmmakers at the time?

Paul Malcolm: The blacklists were part of the era of the Cold War, post-World War II paranoia about communism and communist infiltration. What we are talking about with these filmmakers is a very specific congressional committee – the House Un-American Activities Committee – that started up in the 1940s and extended into the 1950s, and was basically pursuing communist influence in the motion picture industry. They focused specifically on communist activity in Hollywood because they could get the most publicity out of investigating Hollywood celebrities and directors. All it took was an accusation to have careers ruined. If you were accused of being a communist … you could have your name put on a blacklist, in which you would never be allowed to work again in Hollywood.

DB: What sorts of societal pressures did Hollywood face at this point in history?

PM: You not only had government institutions pursuing potential communist infiltration in Hollywood, but also there was a wide range of private institutions partaking in the “witch hunt” that would boycott Hollywood films. They were putting pressure on Hollywood through these boycotts and the outright banning of films from distribution in certain regions of states and cities. There was a lot of pressure on the studios and executives to respond to protect themselves and the industry. Unfortunately, they decided to blacklist their own artists and workers in response to that.

DB: How were filmmakers able to survive with the threat of the blacklist?

PM: Generally, if a filmmaker apologized and named names at a hearing, then he would be taken off the blacklist and be able to work again. A lot of people who were called to the committee did that, but others chose not to on principle. Some of those people who refused went on a self-imposed exile. They decided to leave the country and go to Mexico or go to Europe or other places and try to start their careers over. … They did what they had to do within the context of the principles and ideals that they felt that they needed to defend and live up to.

DB: How did you come up with the idea for this film series?

PM: This film series actually originated with the completion of Rebecca Prime’s book, “Hollywood Exiles in Europe: The Blacklist and Cold War Film Culture.” I had known Rebecca Prime from my Ph.D. studies at UCLA back in 2005. I knew early on that this was her line of research for her dissertation and this was an area of interest that she was pursuing. When her book came out earlier this year, I thought that I should definitely do something with this book and I should work with Rebecca.

DB: How has modern film production changed as a result of the works featured in this series?

PM: These filmmakers at that time were kind of caught up in a wave of European and American coproductions. So that concept of coproduction really got its start during this period in a major way. It is that part of the industry that has only continued to accelerate as various producers in different countries have pooled resources in order to succeed in their industry.

Compiled by Mannis, A&E; contributor.