Biografia

Blacklisted in 1950s; one of the Hollywood Ten.

His father was an immigrant from Lithuania, and his mother an immigrant from Poland.

In 1938, his story "The Happiest Man on Earth" (published in Harper's Magazine) won 1st place in the O. Henry Awards.

He had no film credits under his own name between 1948 and 1970. He had hoped to make a comeback in 1960, first with a screenplay for Frank Sinatra about the execution of Private Eddie Slovik in World War II, and then with the screenplay for Otto Preminger's "Exodus". Sinatra's announcement of his project led to huge controversy, especially when Maltz was hired; Sinatra dropped the project completely, possibly at the behest of Joseph P. Kennedy, whose son was running for President with Sinatra among his supporters. The 400-page screenplay for "Exodus" that Maltz produced was rejected by Preminger, who hired another blacklist victim, Dalton Trumbo, instead. Maltz sometimes disparaged his former friend Trumbo thereafter.

Albert Matz and many other US entertainment industry figures were subsequently blacklisted, which denied Maltz employment in the industry for many years.

[on Dalton Trumbo] There is no question that [he] had talent for much greater literary work than the film work that he produced. The reason he never did what he could have done was this obsession of his with making money and living in a grand manner. I never knew what made it necessary for him to have both a house on Beverly Drive and a ranch that he had to build a road to get to.

I consider now that my article - by what I have come to agree was a one-sided, non-dialectical treatment of complex issues - could not... contribute to the development of left-wing criticism and creative writing.

I also read the Marxist classics. I still think it to be the noblest set of ideals ever penned by man... Where else in political literature do you find thinkers saying that we were going to end all forms of human exploitation? Wage exploitation, exploitation of women by men, the exploitation of people of color by white peoples, the exploitation of colonial countries by imperialist countries. And Marx spoke of the fact that socialism will be the kingdom of freedom, where man realizes himself in a way that humankind has never seen before. This was an inspiring body of literature to read.

It has been my conclusion for some time that much of the left-wing artistic activity - both creative and critical - has been restricted, narrowed, turned away from life, sometimes made sterile - because the atmosphere and thinking of the literary left-wing had been based upon a shallow approach... I have come to believe that the accepted understanding of art as a weapon is not a useful guide, but a straitjacket. I have felt this in my own works and viewed it in the works or others. In order to write at all, it has long since become necessary for me repudiate it and abandon it.

When I joined the Communist movement in 1935 it was based upon the belief that mankind's future was to be found there. Certainly, millions who joined it the world over, like myself, didn't join it for profit. There was nothing to be gained out of joining it: It could be time-consuming. It could prevent you from reading a number of books that you wanted to read or go to a number of films because you were doing other things. But there was a belief that you were working with others toward making the world a better place to live in.