In 1947, during the McCarthy Era, the screenwriter and novelist James Dalton Trumbo, along with nine other writers and directors, refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the committee’s investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.

Because of this he and the others (the so called Hollywood Ten) were blacklisted from working in Hollywood. Trumbo won two Academy Awards while blacklisted; one was originally given to a front writer, and one was awarded to Robert Rich, Trumbo’s pseudonym.

Blacklisting effectively ended in 1960 when it lost credibility. Trumbo was publicly given credit for two blockbuster films: Otto Preminger made public that Trumbo wrote the screenplay for the smash hit, Exodus, and Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of Spartacus.