Episode Details

In this episode of pplpod, we explore the turbulent life of Edward Huebsch, a talented Hollywood screenwriter and Communist whose career was cut short by the Hollywood Blacklist. We discuss his early work adapting stories like Mark Twain’s Best Man Wins and writing The Son of Dr. Jekyll before he was named a subversive figure by investigators and colleagues like Frank Tuttle.

Tune in to hear the dramatic stories of how Huebsch dodged federal subpoenas at a Screen Writers Guild meeting and his combative HUAC testimony in 1953, where he famously mocked Committee Chairman Harold Velde as "King Harold" while invoking the First and Fifth Amendments. We also examine the complex internal politics of the Red Scare, including Huebsch’s interrogation of High Noon writer Carl Foreman on behalf of the Party. Finally, we look at his eventual comeback with the 1977 Robert Aldrich film, Twilight's Last Gleaming.

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