20. The Hollywood Blacklist began to collapse after Spartacus and Exodus appeared
With the release of Spartacus, Exodus, and the revelation both were written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, the Hollywood blacklist began to collapse. Trumbo admitted he had written Roman Holiday and The Brave One, both of which had been awarded Academy Awards for Best Story. Both credited the story to fictitious writers at the time. Trumbo returned to screenwriting using his own name and was reinstated to the Writer’s Guild of America, to the outrage of Hedda Hopper. Others returned to the good graces of filmmakers and producers. Edward G. Robinson, who had wallowed in low-budget productions while on the gray list, returned to stardom, including with The Cincinnati Kid in 1965.
Many of the actors, writers, directors, and film production experts blacklisted during the period were in fact communists, some proudly so. Not all claimed to have been used or duped. Lionel Stander, whose career stalled for many years after being blacklisted, served as an example of such. Stander (and others) argued that membership in the Communist Party or holding communist political ideals did not break American law. His position was that the techniques of the HUAC and the actions of the studio heads in Hollywood did. “My estimation of this committee is that this committee arrogates judicial and punitive powers which it does not possess”, he told the HUAC. He remained on the blacklist for nearly 25 years, before returning to a major role on television, in the series Hart to Hart.
