FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and conservative allies like Ayn Rand were convinced that Hollywood was infested with communists. Now they started scouring the movies themselves for evidence of red propaganda fearing moral corruption. Anti-communist figures in the movie business, including John Wayne and Gary Cooper create the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals to counter left leaning groups like the Writers Guild. Even all-American classics like It’s a Wonderful Life came under FBI scrutiny. Studios like Warner Brothers began to feel the pressure – even changing seemingly innocuous scripts to avoid political heat.

Guest Interview:
Norma Barzman, Actor/screenwriter


About Hollywood Exiles: Host Oona Chaplin guides listeners through the period known as the Red Scare - an ideological battle that implicated Hollywood’s biggest stars, including her grandfather, Charlie.

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