Dalton Trumbo

“Trumbo emerges from this well-rounded biography as a larger-than-life figure, not unlike the characters he scripted for the screen.” —Publishers Weekly

James Dalton Trumbo is widely recognized as a screenwriter, playwright, and author, but he is also remembered as one of the Hollywood Ten who opposed the House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to answer questions about his prior involvement with the Communist Party, Trumbo sacrificed a successful career in Hollywood to stand up for his rights and defend political freedom.

In Dalton Trumbo, Larry Ceplair and Christopher Trumbo present their extensive research on the famed writer, detailing his work; his membership in the Communist Party; his long campaign against censorship during the domestic cold war; his ten-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress; and his thirteen-year struggle to break the blacklist.

The blacklist ended for Trumbo in 1960, when he received screen credits for Exodus and Spartacus. Just before his death, he received a long-delayed Academy Award for The Brave One, and in 1993, he was posthumously given another for Roman Holiday. This comprehensive biography, which includes excerpts of Trumbo’s letters, notes, and other writings, also provides insights into the notable people with whom Trumbo worked, including Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, and Kirk Douglas, and a fascinating look at the life of one of Hollywood’s most prominent screenwriters and his battle against persecution.