Congressional Theatre

Congressional Theatre is the first book to identify and examine the significant body of plays, films, and teleplays that responded to the actions of the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the ‘show business hearings’ it held between 1947 and 1960. Brenda Murphy discusses the dramatization in the works of HUAC’s effects on American life and the political, social, and moral issues that its actions raised for American citizens. Among the writers discussed are Arthur Miller, Bertolt Brecht, Lillian Hellman, Maxwell Anderson, Elia Kazan, Barrie Stavis, Herman Wouk, Eric Bentley, Saul Levitt, Budd Schulberg, Carl Foreman, Abraham Polonsky, and Walter Bernstein.

• First book to analyze plays, films, and teleplays responding to HUAC • Analyzes the technique of historical analogy such as the Salem witch trials • Includes illustrations

Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. The Committee and the Culture: 1. The stage is set; 2. The social drama; 3. Dramatizing directly; Part II. Making Analogies: 4. Witch hunt; 5. Inquisition; 6. Informers; 7. Forensics; Conclusion; Notes; Screen credits; Television and radio credits; Index.