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 Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...

'' (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 is a ...

'' (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 ancho ...

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 Ca ...

to a Jewish family. He was the screenwriter or co-writer of more than 20 films, from ''

You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith ''You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr Smith'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Allan Jones, Evelyn Ankers and Billie Burke. Plot A woman marries a man to fulfill the conditions of a will. Cast * Allan Jones as Tony ...

'' (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 The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

. His wife,

Norma Barzman Norma Levor Barzman (born September 15, 1920) is an American screenwriter and actress and writer since the Golden Age of Hollywood. Life and career Norma was born on September 15, 1920 in New York City, New York. She started her career in 1946 ...

, was a

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

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 Un ...

'', "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 films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

, 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 strong ...

, 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 emplo ...

. 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 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Mougins Mougins (; oc, Mogins ; la, Muginum ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 19,982. It is located on the heights of Cannes, in the a ...

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 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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

Paolo Barzman Paolo Barzman (born April 9, 1957) is a Canadian film, television director, and television writer. Career Directing His television directing credits include ''The Adventures of the Black Stallion'', '' Highlander: The Series'', '' Counterstrike' ...

, 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: ''

'' * 1945: ''Back to Bataan'' * 1946: ''

Never Say Goodbye Never Say Goodbye may refer to: Films * ''Never Say Goodbye'' (1946 film), a romantic comedy directed by James V. Kern, and starring Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker * ''Never Say Goodbye'' (1956 film), US drama film directed by Jerry Hopper and ...

'' * 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 myste ...

'' * 1949: '' Give Us This Day'' * 1952: ''

Stranger on the Prowl ''Imbarco a mezzanotte'' (internationally released as ''Stranger on the Prowl'', also known as ''Giacomo'' and ''Encounter'') is a 1952 Italian drama film directed by Joseph Losey and featuring Paul Muni.. Muni traveled to Italy to star in the f ...

'' (it: ''Imbarco a mezzanotte'') * 1952: ''

The Faithful City ''The Faithful City'' is a 1952 American drama film directed by Józef Lejtes and written by Józef Lejtes and Ben Barzman. The film stars Jamie Smith, Ben Josef, John Slater, Rahel Marcus, Dina Doron and Didi Ramati. The film was released on Apr ...

'' * 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 Montan ...

'' * 1955: ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

'' * 1957: ''

Time Without Pity ''Time Without Pity'' is a 1957 British film noir thriller film about a father trying to save his son from execution for murder. The film was directed by expatriate American Joseph Losey after he was blacklisted in the U.S. during the ( McCar ...

'' * 1957: ''

He Who Must Die ''He Who Must Die'' (french: Celui qui doit mourir) is a 1957 French-Italian film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the novel ''Christ Recrucified'' (also published as ''The Greek Passion'') by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was entered into the ...

'' (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: ''

'' * 1963: ''

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, which took place in China from 1899 to 1901. It was produc ...

'' * 1963: '' The Ceremony'' * 1964: ''

The Fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

'' * 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 soldier ...

'' * 1966: ''

'' * 1969: '' Z''—uncredited * 1972: ''

Plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''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 unive ...

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 opposin ...

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