Ben Barzman (October 12, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was a Canadian journalist, screenwriter, and novelist, blacklisted during the

McCarthy Era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

and best known for his screenplays for the films ''

Back to Bataan ''Back to Bataan'' is a 1945 American black-and-white World War II war film drama from RKO Radio Pictures, produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk, that stars John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. The film depicts events (some fictionalize ...

'' (1945), '' El Cid'' (1961), and ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot i ...

'' (1966).

Career

He was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

to a Jewish family. He was the screenwriter or co-writer of more than 20 films, from '' You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith'' (1943) to ''

The Head of Normande St. Onge ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1975).

Blacklisting

Like many of his colleagues in the movie business, Barzman was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. His wife, Norma Barzman, was a Communist Party USA member from 1943 to 1949. In 2014, she told the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', "one should be proud to have been a member of the American Communist Party during those years. Hitler was invading the Soviet Union, so there was no reason to be anti-Russian, they were our allies." The couple moved to England so Barzman could work on the film '' Give Us This Day'' (aka, ''Christ in Concrete'', 1949). Following his return to the United States after directing ''Give Us This Day'',

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywoo ...

, one of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

, testified about the Barzmans to HUAC in 1951. "To get out of prison he named us and a lot of other people," said Norma Barzman in 2014. In the 1950s, the family moved to Paris, where friends included

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...

, and

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...

, and later southern France). Barzman did not receive credit for some films because of the

Hollywood Blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

. His U.S. citizenship was revoked from 1954 to 1963. His wife Norma had her passport revoked from 1951 for seven years. The family remained abroad in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and Mougins until 1976, during which time he wrote his novels and screenplays for French and Italian films.Folkart, Burt A. (December 10, 1989)
Ben Barzman; Screenwriter Blacklisted in McCarthy Era.
Los Angeles Times.

Death

Barzman died in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. Surviving him was his wife, Norma Barzman, and seven children (including director Paolo Barzman, screenwriter

Aaron Barzman According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, visual artist

Luli Barzman {{About, , the Central Asian ethnic group, Lyuli, the Chilean model, Nicole Moreno Luli or Elulaios was king of the Phoenician city of Tyre (729–694 BC). During his reign, Tyre lost what remained of its power to Assyria. The reign of Luli is cha ...

, and French university professor

John Barzman John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

) and five grandchildren.

Work

Filmography

* 1943: '' You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith'' * 1945: ''Back to Bataan'' * 1946: '' Never Say Goodbye'' * 1948: ''

The Boy with Green Hair ''The Boy with Green Hair'' is a 1948 American fantasy-drama film in Technicolor directed by Joseph Losey in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Dean Stockwell as Peter, a young war orphan who is subject to ridicule after his hair myst ...

'' * 1949: '' Give Us This Day'' * 1952: '' Stranger on the Prowl'' (it: ''Imbarco a mezzanotte'') * 1952: '' The Faithful City'' * 1952: ''

Young Man with Ideas ''Young Man with Ideas'' is a 1952 romantic comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Ruth Roman and Glenn Ford. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay concern a young small-town lawyer, who moves his family from Monta ...

'' * 1955: '' Oasis'' * 1957: '' Time Without Pity'' * 1957: '' He Who Must Die'' (fr: ''Celui qui doit mourir'') * 1959: ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'' (US: ''Chance Meeting'') * 1961: '' El Cid'' * 1963: '' 55 Days at Peking'' * 1963: '' The Ceremony'' * 1964: '' The Fall of the Roman Empire'' * 1964: '' The Visit'' * 1965: ''

The Heroes of Telemark ''The Heroes of Telemark'' is a 1965 British war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during the Second World War from ''Skis Against the Atom'', the memoirs of Norwegian resistance soldi ...

'' * 1966: ''

'' * 1969: '' Z''—uncredited * 1972: '' Plot'' (fr: ''L'Attentat'', with Jean-Pierre Bastid) * 1975: ''The Martyr'' (ger: ''Sie sind frei, Doktor Korczak'') * 1975: ''Normande'' (fr; ''La Tête de Normande St-Onge''

Bibliography

In 1960, Barzman emerged as a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

author, with his novel ''Out of This World''. It dealt with the idea of a twin, parallel planet for Earth in the same orbit, hidden from our view by the sun. The two planets have developed almost identically from creation—but

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

never happens on the twin Earth. * ''Out of This World'' (London: Collins, 1960) - published in the U.S. as ''Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'' (G.P. Putnam's Sons) and subsequently in various paperback editions as ''Echo X''; also published in Sweden as ''Från en annan värld'' * ''Rich Dreams'' (Warner Books, 1982) - novel, written with Norma Barzman; published as a paperback original

Awards

* 1985: Order of Arts and Letters

Legacy

In addition to having several children follow him in the Arts, he received a retrospective showing of his films at the

Cinematheque A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typica ...

in 1982.

References

External sources

* Norma Barzman, ''The Red and the Blacklist'' (2003) *
''Tender Comrades: Interviews with Blacklisted Hollywood Reds''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barzman, Ben Canadian science fiction writers Canadian male journalists Canadian male novelists 1910 births 1989 deaths Canadian communists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Journalists from Toronto Canadian male screenwriters Writers from Toronto Jewish Canadian journalists