As World War II wound down in 1945 and the Cold War heated up, the
skilled trades that made up the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU)
began a tumultuous strike at the major Hollywood studios. This
turmoil escalated further when the studios retaliated by locking
out CSU in 1946. This labor unrest unleashed a fury of Red-baiting
that allowed studio moguls to crush the union and seize control of
the production process, with far-reaching consequences.
This engrossing book probes the motives and actions of all the
players -- union activists, studio heads, mobsters, film stars, and
Communist organizers -- to reveal the full story of the CSU strike
and the resulting lockout of 1946. Gerald Horne draws extensively
on primary materials and oral histories to document how limited a
"threat" the Communist party actually posed in Hollywood, even as
studio moguls successfully used the Red scare to undermine union
clout, prevent film stars from supporting labor, and prove the
moguls' own patriotism. Horne also discloses that, unnoticed amid
the turmoil, organized crime entrenched itself in management and
labor, gaining considerable control over both the "product" and the
profits of Hollywood.
This research demonstrates that the CSU strike and lockout were
a pivotal moment in Hollywood history, with vital consequences for
everything from production values, to the kinds of stories told in
films, to permanent shifts in the centers of power. Because this
story has never been completely told before, this book will be
important and fascinating reading for everyone interested in
Hollywood filmmaking, labor and Cold War history, American cultural
studies, southern California history, and Jewish studies.
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