18. The blacklist supporters fought back as Spartacus and Exodus were released
“That story was sold to Universal from a book written by a Commie and the screen script was written by a Commie, so don’t go to see it”. Hedda Hopper so described Spartacus in her column, warning her readers of the film’s violence. “It has acres of dead people…” she went on. She was not alone. As the film went into release it received condemnation on the far right, much of it centered on its themes. The American Legion demanded its members boycott the film, and theaters which ran it, even when they showed other films. In multiple cities across the country, the American Legion set up picket lines outside theaters where the film played. One of the cities where the Legion picketed theaters was Washington, DC, in the shadow of the Capitol.
The White House had (and has) its own theater, and the President of the United States can request first-run films for private screenings at his discretion. When Spartacus was released, the President could have avoided the controversy over its creation and content with just such a private screening. In February, 1961, with the far-right screaming over its communist associations, and with the American Legion picketing the theaters, the President went to the movies. On February 4, 1961, President John F. Kennedy left the White House and crossed the American Legion picket lines to view Spartacus, later giving the film a favorable review. Though his endorsement probably had little impact on the film’s box office take, it was a major blow against the Hollywood blacklist.
