Which should come first, your friend or your country? Honest people find they can take first one side and then the other - depending somewhat on which friend, and which country. But for the people in "Guilty by Suspicion" who were caught in the Hollywood witch-hunt, beginning in the late 1940s, the decision meant, in many cases, betraying your ideals, or losing your job.
The House Un-American Activities Committee, convinced that Hollywood was full of subversion, held hearings into the alleged communist connections of many directors, writers and actors. Many of them had been members of the Communist Party or its front groups, especially in the late 1930s, when Stalin's Russia was seen as an ally against fascism. Most of those who testified before HUAC admitted their own political activities. Membership in any political party was perfectly legal, then as now, protected by the Bill of Rights.
But HUAC wanted more than personal confessions. They wanted their witnesses to "name names," to list people they had seen at party meetings, or had heard were party members. Since this was hearsay evidence and the committee usually knew the names anyway, this process did not really further the campaign against subversion. It was a brutal process by which one group was offered public shame and humiliation at the hands of another.
The HUAC members, drunk with the power they had over the rich and famous, gloried in the publicity they got by quizzing big stars John Garfield, playwrights Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman and screenwriters Dalton Trumbo. The Hollywood studios fell right in line, blacklisting those people who would not "cooperate." So the classic debating question had become a nightmare reality: "Choose your friends, or your country.".
Few government agencies have been more "un-American" than HUAC, more opposed to what the nation stands for. But red-hunting gave it such publicity that before long a senator named McCarthy saw the possibilities, and moved from Hollywood to the really big targets, waving a sheet of paper in the air and claiming it held the names of 500 highly placed communists in the federal government.
Guilty By Suspicion Guilty by suspicion opens somewhere in the 1940's-1950's, in the height of controversy in the entertainment world. David Merrill, the protagonist in the film, had recently separated from his wife and is living in Hollywood as a film director. He travels to France to make a mov...
Macbeth is to blame "Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind" (William Shakespeare). ... But whose guilty mind is suspicion haunting? One could argue that many own the guilty mind, but this play clearly shows that Macbeth is the owner. ... Like all guilty parties, he eventually couldn't cover up his tracks anymore. ... But he was a guilty murderer, by the way suspicion haunted Macbeth the whole play. ...
The Weeks decision only affected federal courts, and two-thirds of the state courts rejected the exclusionary rule, claiming the rule placed unnecessary burdens on the police and the rule favored the guilty. ... Mapp was guilty of possessing pornographic materials and her conviction should stand. ... If a prosecutor has enough other evidence to prove the defendant guilty, the case can continue. ... Reasonable suspicion requires less certainty than probable cause but more than a general hunch by the officer. ... The officer did not worry about violating my rights, nor did I dare question him...
In order to confront Father Flynn about their suspicion they call him for a meeting to discuss the Christmas Pageant. ... Sister Aloysius is unable to ignore her suspicions and decides to meet with Mrs. ... In both Doubt and Trifles both characters can be looked at as guilty in innocent. ... Minnie Foster can be seen as guilty because of all of the evidence against her but especially the dead bird. ... It is ultimately up to the reader to decide whether of not he or she finds Father Flynn or Minnie Foster guilty....
The Salem witch trials and the Red Scare were both the product of fear, hysteria, suspicion and false accusations. ... As in the Salem witch trial's, if anyone was even remotely mentioned in partaking in evil things then they were assumed guilty without any proof. ... Arthur Miller's, The Crucible , can help us understand that no one is safe from false accusations, suspicion and their own witch hunts. ...
And even if he did feel guilty for doing something wrong, why would he kill himself ten years after the fact? ... His suicide was a suspicion of Dr. ... As for me, I agree with the author's suspicion that Deane did not commit suicide but died from a deadly poison given to him by Dr. ...
Scott was beginning to look guilty. ... Adding to the suspicion by investigators Scott sold his missing wife's vehicle, he traded in for a new truck and was spotted out a bars enjoying himself. ... All of these events cause suspicion and many people began to wonder if he had a connection to Lacy's disappearance. ... This certainly did not look well for Scott at this point, it made him look even more guilty. ... Though Scott Peterson has not been convicted of this crime, I believe that he is in fact guilty of the double homicide of his wife and son. ...
Had I been an actual juror in the Terry Martin case, I would have definitely found the accused not guilty of all charges, for several reasons. Firstly, I would have found the defendant not guilty because of my bias. ... Another factor in my decision of not guilty was the presentation of the case by the defense. ... Terry Martin was not identified as present at the time of the transaction; therefore I don't believe the assistant principal had reasonable suspicion to search his locker. ... Ranging from my own personal beliefs to evidence presented by both sides, my decision of not guilty...
While blacks no longer were legally excluded from living in any area of the city, they were often looked at with suspicion by the police when they entered predominately white middle or upper class communities. ... They justified the degree of suspicion directed against blacks by arresting them at a rate disproportionate to their 30.2 percent of the city's total population. ... A study conducted by Morris A Forslund* documented that not only were blacks arrested at a higher percentage rate than whites, but that they also were charged with a greater number of separate offenses per arrest, f...
