Albert Maltz

Distinguished author, short story writer, playwright, and screenwriter Albert Maltz was among the notorious "Hollywood Ten," those artists who were first blackballed by the House Un-American Activities Committee for refusing to testify about communist affiliations. Following education at Columbia University and the Yale School of Drama, Maltz worked as a playwright for the left-leaning Theater Union. During the early '30s, many of his plays were produced in New York. He also published his novels and stories. He moved to Hollywood to write screenplays in 1941 and primarily worked alone and in collaboration for Warner Bros. and Paramount. During WWII, he penned patriotic scripts for such films as Destination Tokyo (1944). In 1942, he wrote the script for the Oscar-winning documentary Moscow Strikes Back. Another documentary he wrote, The House I Live In, won a special Academy Award in 1945. After refusing to cooperate with Congress in 1947, Maltz was sentenced to nearly a year in jail and was blacklisted. Though he continued to anonymously contribute to scripts, Maltz received no credit until his final film, Two Mules for Sister Sara.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide