Why were Casablanca's makers later targeted by HUAC, according to the In Our Time panel?

The panel says people behind the film were later attacked under the ironic charge of 'premature anti-fascism', for having believed Hollywood was too slow to warn against the Nazis. Humphrey Bogart, they note, helped found the Committee for the First Amendment and led a delegation to Washington defending free speech, but was then forced to publicly walk back his stand.

• The panel contrasts the screen Rick who finally sticks his neck out with the real Bogart backing down in a paranoid climate.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-29). Read the whole episode summary →

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