Difference between revisions of "Dalton Trumbo"
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His most famous work is perhaps ''Johnny Got His Gun'', a bitterly anti-war novel that won him the National Book Sellers Award in 1939. The book follows the thoughts of a young [[World War I]] American infantryman who becomes a quadruple [[amputee]], as well as deaf, mute, and blind. Having no way to communicate with the outside world, the main character spends most of the book reminiscing about his life and meditating on the futility of [[war]] and medical ethics. The book was released shortly before the [[World_War_II#Polish_Partition|Polish partitian]] in 1939. In 1941, during the Second World War, the publishers allowed the book to go out of print. When fans wrote to Trumbo requesting copies of the book, he turned their names over to the FBI, questioning their commitment to the allied war effort.<ref>Trumbo, Dalton. ''Johnny Got his Gun.'' 1939, introduction.</ref> | His most famous work is perhaps ''Johnny Got His Gun'', a bitterly anti-war novel that won him the National Book Sellers Award in 1939. The book follows the thoughts of a young [[World War I]] American infantryman who becomes a quadruple [[amputee]], as well as deaf, mute, and blind. Having no way to communicate with the outside world, the main character spends most of the book reminiscing about his life and meditating on the futility of [[war]] and medical ethics. The book was released shortly before the [[World_War_II#Polish_Partition|Polish partitian]] in 1939. In 1941, during the Second World War, the publishers allowed the book to go out of print. When fans wrote to Trumbo requesting copies of the book, he turned their names over to the FBI, questioning their commitment to the allied war effort.<ref>Trumbo, Dalton. ''Johnny Got his Gun.'' 1939, introduction.</ref> | ||
| − | Trumbo was a member of the [[Communist Party of the USA]] (CPUSA) from 1943 to 1948. He claimed to have ghost-written Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.'s Report to the Nation on the 1945 founding conference of the [[United Nations]], where [[Alger Hiss]] presided as Secretary General.<ref>Dalton Trumbo (Helen Manfull, Ed.), ''Additional | + | Trumbo was a member of the [[Communist Party of the USA]] (CPUSA) from 1943 to 1948. He claimed to have ghost-written Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.'s Report to the Nation on the 1945 founding conference of the [[United Nations]], where [[Alger Hiss]] presided as Secretary General.<ref>Dalton Trumbo (Helen Manfull, Ed.), ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=uJpbAAAAMAAJ&pgis=1 Additional Dialogue; Letters of Dalton Trumbo, 1942-1962]'' (M. Evans/Lippincott, 1970), p. 37</ref>In 1946, he hosted a CPUSA meeting, allegedly to discuss putting Communist propaganda in Hollywood movies.<ref>Naming Names, by Victor S. Navasky, 1980 book, p.78</ref> At that time, the Soviet Union was becoming America's [[Cold War]] enemy, and it controlled the CPUSA. In 1947, the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] called him to testify about Communist influence in Hollywood. Trumbo refused, and spent 11 months in prison for [[contempt of Congress]]. He, along with nine other Communists convicted of contempt of Congress, are known as the [[Hollywood Ten]] for allegedly being blacklisted by the Motion Picture Association of Amreica (MPAA) and had difficulties getting scriptwriting jobs and often worked under a pseudonym. However, after receiving full writing credits on such movies as [[Spartacus (movie)|Spartacus]] and [[Exodus (movie)|Exodus]], he was reinstated into the Writers' Guild of America.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874308/bio The Internet Movie Database]</ref> |
Trumbo's last writing credit was a 1971 screenplay for a movie version of ''Johnny Got His Gun''. Trumbo died of lung cancer in 1976. | Trumbo's last writing credit was a 1971 screenplay for a movie version of ''Johnny Got His Gun''. Trumbo died of lung cancer in 1976. | ||
Revision as of 01:57, April 4, 2009
Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) was an screenwriter, Communist, and member of the Hollywood Ten.
Johnny Got His Gun and HUAC
His most famous work is perhaps Johnny Got His Gun, a bitterly anti-war novel that won him the National Book Sellers Award in 1939. The book follows the thoughts of a young World War I American infantryman who becomes a quadruple amputee, as well as deaf, mute, and blind. Having no way to communicate with the outside world, the main character spends most of the book reminiscing about his life and meditating on the futility of war and medical ethics. The book was released shortly before the Polish partitian in 1939. In 1941, during the Second World War, the publishers allowed the book to go out of print. When fans wrote to Trumbo requesting copies of the book, he turned their names over to the FBI, questioning their commitment to the allied war effort.[1]
Trumbo was a member of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) from 1943 to 1948. He claimed to have ghost-written Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.'s Report to the Nation on the 1945 founding conference of the United Nations, where Alger Hiss presided as Secretary General.[2]In 1946, he hosted a CPUSA meeting, allegedly to discuss putting Communist propaganda in Hollywood movies.[3] At that time, the Soviet Union was becoming America's Cold War enemy, and it controlled the CPUSA. In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee called him to testify about Communist influence in Hollywood. Trumbo refused, and spent 11 months in prison for contempt of Congress. He, along with nine other Communists convicted of contempt of Congress, are known as the Hollywood Ten for allegedly being blacklisted by the Motion Picture Association of Amreica (MPAA) and had difficulties getting scriptwriting jobs and often worked under a pseudonym. However, after receiving full writing credits on such movies as Spartacus and Exodus, he was reinstated into the Writers' Guild of America.[4]
Trumbo's last writing credit was a 1971 screenplay for a movie version of Johnny Got His Gun. Trumbo died of lung cancer in 1976.
Notes
- ↑ Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got his Gun. 1939, introduction.
- ↑ Dalton Trumbo (Helen Manfull, Ed.), Additional Dialogue; Letters of Dalton Trumbo, 1942-1962 (M. Evans/Lippincott, 1970), p. 37
- ↑ Naming Names, by Victor S. Navasky, 1980 book, p.78
- ↑ The Internet Movie Database