Hide in Plain Sight - by Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Hide in Plain Sight offers a powerful examination of the effects of Hollywood's blacklist era, taking up the question of how blacklistees fared after they were driven out of the mainstream. A good number entered careers in television, with many finding work in children's and family programs, writing for shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle, Lassie, and Flipper. Many also wrote adult sitcoms such as Hogan's Heroes, The Donna Reed Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, M*A*S*H, Maude, and All in the Family. Ultimately, many returned to Hollywood in the sixties and seventies to work creatively on films that contained a dose of radical politics and influenced the creative outburst of that decade. The list of impressive films from the survivors of HUAC includes Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Midnight Cowboy. Hide in Plain Sight completes Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner's trilogy, which includes Tender Comrades (1998) and Radical Hollywood (2002). Together these books provide a thorough and disturbing portrait of the McCarthy era's impact on an important aspect of American culture and society.

Review Quotes

"...an illuminating and timely reminder of a dark chapter in Hollywood history." --Stephen Rees, Library Journal

"...the authors shed important new light on this infamous period in our country's cultural heritage." --Carol Haggas, Booklist

"This encyclopedic, riveting study of the Hollywood blacklist's impact follows the careers of targeted individuals to explore the blacklist's effects..." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Paul Buhle founded the Oral History of the American Left archive at NYU. Dave Wagner has co-authored a number of books with Paul Buhle, including the recent Radical Hollywood.