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" that it held between 1947 and 1960. Brenda Mur­phy discusses the dramatization in these 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.

List of Illustrations                                                                                                               xi

Acknowledgments                                                                                                               xiii

Introduction                                                                                                                           1

Part I: The Committee and the Culture

•1     The Stage Is Set                                                                                                            9

•2     The Social Drama                                                                                                        35

•3     Dramatizing Directly                                                                                                   75
         Investigation

4   Witch Hunt                                                                                                                  133

     The Crucible, The First Salem Witch Trial, The Witchfinders

5   Inquisition                                                                                                                         162
     Joan of Arc, Unfriendly Witness

     Saint Joan, The Lark, Joan of Lorraine, Joan of Arc, The Execution of Joan of Arc
    Galileo, Cooperative Witness
    Galileo, Lamp at Midnight, The Crisis of Galileo, The Recantation of Galileo Galilei

6   Informers                                                                                                                           206

     The Hook, On the Waterfront, A View from the Bridge, After the Fall

7   Forensics                                                                                                                            226
     The Self and Others

     Darkness at Noon, Montserrat, Incident at Vichy The Individual and The State

     The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The Andersonville Trial

 Conclusion: Further Fields                                                                                                  255

     High Noon, Panic in the Streets