Hide in Plain Sight offers a powerful examination of the effects of Hollywood's blacklist era, taking up the question of how blacklistees fared after they were driven out of the mainstream. A good number entered careers in television, with many finding work in children's and family programs, writing for shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle, Lassie, and Flipper. Many also wrote adult sitcoms such as Hogan's Heroes,The Donna Reed Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, M*A*S*H, Maude, and All in the Family. Ultimately, many returned to Hollywood in the sixties and seventies to work creatively on films that contained a dose of radical politics and influenced the creative outburst of that decade. The list of impressive films from the survivors of HUAC includes Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Midnight Cowboy. Hide in Plain Sight completes Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner's trilogy, which includes Tender Comrades (1998) and Radical Hollywood (2002). Together these books provide a thorough and disturbing portrait of the McCarthy era's impact on an important aspect of American culture and society.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Tracking Down the Aftermath:
No need to repeat details from earlier reviews. The Buhle/Wagner work remains invaluable for filling out the historical record of the notorious Hollywood blacklist. The inquisition itself (1947-circa 1952) has been recounted in a number of worthy volumes; however, this is the only one I know that tracks down careers during the decades that followed. One salient point: the book is not research friendly. The material, though fascinating, is not well organized. The text does read like a collection of... more info
How Hollywood Survived Those Turbulent Years.:
The movie studios RKO, MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Twentieth Century Fox (all familiar to the movie-goers of the Fab Fifties) struggled for survival by focusing on large-budget blockbusters. Later Universal, United Artists, Columbia Pictures and others found life different after the Cold War mania in which writers, producers and directors (some actors) were blacklisted by McCarthy as pro-Communism in this country. McCarthy ruined reputations and stunted careers in Hollywood in a grand style,... more info
Tracking Down the Artistic Contributions of the Blacklisted!:
While many books, essays, television shows and movies have made us all more sensitive to the dangers of McCarthyism, most of us don't quite know what happened to those who were blacklisted after the HUAC meetings in the early 50s. Hide in Plain Sight filled that void for me, and expanded my understanding of both the event's consequences for society and of the artists involved.
The book uses a variety of methods for capturing the subsequent history of those who were blacklisted. Some chapters focus on... more info
Gerald McBoing Boing and the radical movement!:
"Hide in Plain Sight" is the latest book co-authored by Paul Buhle on the Hollywood blacklist and its impact. As is the case with the previous books, this is as much a celebration of what radicals in the entertainment accomplished as it is about the terrible loss when they were purged.
For people who came of age in the 1950s, the book is an exceptional treat. Who knew that many of our favorite television shows drew upon the talents of writers, directors and actors hounded out of the Hollywood film... more info
