Clifford Odets - HUAC

HUAC

In May 1952, Odets was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA; more commonly, HUAC). He had belonged to the Communist Party for less than a year, between 1934 and 1935 and sponsored many left-wing, progressive groups. He cooperated with the Committee to the extent that he responded to their questions, and reiterated names of Communist Party members who had been previously cited by his friend and former Group colleague, Elia Kazan. Prior to Kazan’s final testimony in April 1952, they agreed to name each other. Odets thereby avoided blacklisting, but reactions to his testimony confused him; he did not consider himself a cooperative witness. A partial transcript of Odets’ testimony can be found in Eric Bentley’s Thirty Years of Treason. Odets was reportedly tormented by public reaction to his testimony until his death in 1963. In his autobiography, Kazan recalls incidents of Odets being accosted in the street and snubbed in Hollywood restaurants after his HUAC appearance. Odets's productivity declined after his 1952 testimony.