Red Hollywood Page #12

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Rat?

Boys, get smart.

I know you're getting

pushed around,

but there's one thing

we've got in this country

and that's ways

of fighting back.

Now, getting the facts

to the public, testifying

for what you know is right

against what

you know is wrong.

Now, what's ratting to them

is telling the truth for you.

Now can't you

see that?

Can't you see that? Huh?

I think there were people

who really believed

that what they were

doing was right.

Not many of them, but I think

there were one of two

who really believed that.

I knew several who,

afterward, said to me,

"This is the worst thing

I've ever done,

"I...

"I am filled with guilt,

"I regret it,"

and things of that nature,

have said that to me.

The thing that is hard

to do is how you measure fear

and someone who had

terrible fear,

and there were... There were

people who felt,

not only they would

never work again,

that they might be

in concentration camps.

There actually were

such people.

And I never believed

that I would be in

a concentration camp.

I thought I would

have a lot of trouble working.

You know, if you're going

to be sentenced to death,

that's something else.

NARRATOR:
The American

Communist Party was dealt

a death blow by

the orchestrated hysteria

of the '40s and '50s.

To all intents

and purposes outlawed,

it found itself

increasingly estranged

from ordinary workers.

What's the old lady

and kid do, spend the whole

day in church?

NARRATOR:
One of the last

films to emerge

from Red Hollywood evokes

this historic defeat.

Well, where are they?

Usually they'd be home

by now.

Today, I don't believe

they'll be in such a hurry.

MAN ON RADIO:
At this time,

we present Reverend

Charles Collins...

NARRATOR:
A criminal on

the run takes refuge

with a working class family.

But the solidarity,

once taken for granted

between guys who

get up early,

was dead and buried now.

What's that church stuff

do for you anyway?

What's it get you?

Well, for one thing it makes

a man understand

the nature of love.

Yeah?

Yeah.

The faith that there's someone

else that's more important

to you than yourself.

What's a holy joe like you

get out of life?

What do you want out of life?

To be left alone, to work,

to be left alone.

NARRATOR:
The blacklist

was a literal death for some.

Like the black actor,

Canada Lee,

who played the noble, doomed,

ex-champ Ben in Body and Soul.

I'm telling you,

start running!

You don't tell me

how to live!

No, but I'll tell you

how to die.

You...

Get this crazy punch-drunk

fool out of here!

Take it easy, Charley.

Come on,

I don't scare anymore.

I'm the champ!

(THUDS)

NARRATOR:
By May 1952,

Canada Lee was alone

and penniless.

He died of a heart attack

at age 45.

Still thinking

about Ben, Charley?

Everybody dies.

Ben, Shorty, even you.

What's the point?

No point. That's life.

Everything is addition

or subtraction.

The rest is conversation.

NARRATOR:
John Garfield

was an axiom

of left-wing films

from the late '30s to 1951,

both as an actor

and as a producer.

He Ran All the Way

would serve as his epitaph.

In real life, he was just

as desperate as the character

he played in the film.

No, please.

Give me a break!

(GUN FIRES)

(GRUNTS)

(GLASS SHATTERS)

NARRATOR:
Forced to testify

before the House Committee

on Un-American Activities,

he tried to save his career

without sacrificing his honor.

The inquisitors

didn't believe his testimony

and they demanded

another crack at him.

Some of his friends

said he was ready

to name names.

But his heart

wouldn't let him.

It stopped first.

He died of a heart attack

on May 21st, 1952,

just a few weeks

after the death of Canada Lee.

He was 39.

He was very brave.

Any man who says

to that committee,

"I've never met

a Communist in my life,"

who was a member

of the group theater

and his wife

was a member of the party,

although he wasn't.

I had met at least

one Communist

in his life, right?

And... And so...

But that was very brave

of him.

And I thought it was extremely

courageous that he took

the position he took.

Other than he condemned

Communism, why not?

Uh, and things like that.

But he wasn't a Communist.

So, why shouldn't he

condemn Communism,

uh, which was condemnable

in many respects.

But he... But he took

the street position.

You never snitch

and you don't talk.

And he didn't.

And it caused his ruin.

"I've been to prison

for a little while.

"Indians don't last in prison.

"They weren't born for it

like the whites.

"What did I do that I should

die in a white man's prison?"

Oh, the press hated that.

They thought it was

too philosophical

for an Indian to say.

I'm telling you.

"Are you going to kill them?"

"If I have to."

"What do you mean,

'If I have to?'"

"I mean, if they keep coming."

"But they're white, Willie,

they'll chase you forever!"

"How long is that?

Less than you think."

"It's crazy, Willie.

You can't beat them, never."

"Maybe, but they'll know

I was here."

I've been to prison

for a little while.

I got drunk in San Bernardino.

They put me

in a cell for 30 days.

A little place no bigger

than a coyote cave.

My number was 273

on the picture they took.

I don't want you

to go to jail, Willie.

They fed me out of a pan,

like a house dog.

Day and night,

I thought of these mountains

here, and you.

Indians don't last

in prison.

They weren't born for it

like the whites.

What did I do that I should

die in a white man's prison?

You tell me!

What did any of us do?

What was wrong with us?

Nothing.

Nothing. Just the color.

Willie, are you going

to kill them?

If I have to.

What do you mean,

if you have to?

I mean, if they keep coming.

But they're white, Willie,

they'll chase you forever!

How long is that?

Less than you think.

It's crazy, Willie.

You can't win.

You can't beat them. Never!

Maybe... Maybe...

Oh!

But they'll know

I was here.

After all, politics

is justified only by success.

Although the only battles

worth fighting are the ones

for lost causes.

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