

A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.
Acting
Zero Mostel's devastating performance—he lived this nightmare.
Writing
Walter Bernstein's script, written by an actual blacklist survivor.
Direction
Martin Ritt, also blacklisted, directing from raw experience.

Director
Martin Ritt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Most of the cast and crew were blacklist survivors, including director Ritt and writer Bernstein. Woody Allen was one of the few who wasn't.
The film was made during a brief Hollywood window when blacklist stories became permissible—just before the Reagan era shut that conversation back down.