Walter Bernstein
Writer
About This Interview
Walter Bernstein was interviewed for three-and-a-half hours at his home in New York, NY. Bernstein discussed openly about being listed in "Red Channels" in 1950. Despite being blacklisted and the pressure by the FBI, Bernstein wrote under pseudonyms for shows including Danger, Charlie Wild, Private Eye, You Are There, and David Susskind's The Prince and the Pauper. Once his name was cleared, he wrote many movies including, Fail Safe, The Front, and the Emmy award-winning Miss Evers’ Boy s. The interview was conducted by Sunny Parich on April 20, 1998.
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Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Introduction
- On his early years and influences; on his early political affiliations; on the first time he saw television; on his service during World War II; on writing for Yank Magazine
- Chapter 2
- On writing for Yank Magazine; on his interview with Tito; on being interviewed on CBS television about his wartime journalism experience
- On joining the Communist Party; on being hired to work at Columbia Pictures as a writer; on working with Ben Maddow
- Chapter 3
- On "The Hollywood Ten"; on thinking he would not be blacklisted; on moving back to New York; on working on early live dramatic television series
- On writing for Danger
- On being listed in "Red Channels"; on the Blacklist
- Chapter 4
- On working on Danger while blacklisted; on "fronts"
- On working on You Are There
- Chapter 5
- On working on You Are There; on the show's move to Los Angeles
- On others impacted by the Blacklist; on leaving the Communist Party
- On working on Hannah Weinstein's productions including Colonel March of Scotland Yard starring Boris Karloff
- On working on David Susskind productions (including the teleplay The Bridge of San Luis Rey); on David Susskind's treatment of blacklisted writers; on "fronts"
- On working with Carlo Ponti on The Magnificent Seven; on beginning to sign his own name to his work
- Chapter 6
- On the end of his blacklisting
- On writing the feature film
The Front - On working on
Fail Safe; on directing the 1980 feature film Little Miss Marker; on writing his memoirInside Out ; on beginning to direct; on his work for HBO movies - Chapter 7
- On his final thoughts about the Blacklist
- On then-current television; on the role of government in television; on how he would like to be remembered
- On various people he has known including: Arthur Penn, Irving Lazar, Irving Berlin, Elia Kazan, Irwin Shaw, Budd Schulberg, Charlie Russell, Sidney Lumet, Zero Mostel, Martin Ritt, Abe Polonsky, Arnold Manoff, and his wife Gloria Loomis
Shows
People
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