ollywood was a
natural place to attack Communist infiltration since in pre-television days, movies had the greatest influence on public values than any other medium (Sklar 257). HUAC did not attack individual movies; its interest was to bar Communists from working in the Hollywood industry.
Witnesses testifying before HUAC were either ôfriendlyö (those who stated they were not Communists, had never been, and gave the names of people who they believed were Communists), or ôunfriendlyö (those who refused to testify or name names). The latter group came to be known as The Hollywood Ten, and Dmytryk was one of the ten, serving about six months in jail after appeals failed. During the appeal time period, however, he made films in England. Upon his release, he became a ôfriendlyö witness, naming names and therefore able to make movies once again in Hollywood. Whether Dmytryk changed his mind based on personal values and beliefs, or whether he just wanted to work again in Hollywood is a matter of debate. According to Dmytryk and those close to him, he did experience a sincere change of mind regarding his beliefs. ôCorneredö was the film that changed DmytrykÆs view of the Communist Party, and ôirrevocably changed his life.ö It was his experience as director of the film ôthat convinced him to break with the Communist Partyö (Dick 144).
Dmytryk joined the Communist Party in 1944 and left it in 1945. The political ideology that the Party insisted be inserted into ôCornered,ö was something that
...