Question 1

What real-life McCarthy hearing speech inspired David Merrill's courtroom moment?

Accepted Answer

David Merrill's climactic courtroom speech is almost verbatim from lawyer Joseph N. Welch's speech during a McCarthy hearing in the 1950s.

Question 2

Why did original screenwriter Abraham Polonsky have his name removed from the credits?

Accepted Answer

Polonsky removed his name when Irwin Winkler rewrote the script, changing David Merrill from a Communist to a generic liberal. Polonsky wanted it to be about Communists as it really happened.

Question 3

Which real director inspired Martin Scorsese's character Joe Lesser?

Accepted Answer

Martin Scorsese's character Joe Lesser is based on director Joseph Losey, who left Hollywood in the 1950s rather than face HUAC examinations.

Question 4

What makes this film historically significant regarding Hollywood's blacklist era?

Accepted Answer

According to Jonathan Rosenbaum, this was the first Hollywood feature devoted entirely to the film industry blacklist. Earlier films like The Front dealt with television.

Question 5

Which major film festival premiered Guilty by Suspicion?

Accepted Answer

Guilty by Suspicion was part of the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.

Question 6

What real-life McCarthy hearing speech was used in the film's courtroom scene?

Accepted Answer

David Merrill's climactic courtroom speech is an almost verbatim lift of a speech made by lawyer Joseph N. Welch in a McCarthy hearing in the 1950s.

Question 7

Why did original screenwriter Abraham Polonsky have his name removed from the credits?

Accepted Answer

Polonsky wrote the original screenplay about a Communist, but when Irwin Winkler rewrote it to make David Merrill a more generic liberal, Polonsky removed his name, saying he wanted it to be about Communists as it really happened.

Question 8

Which real director inspired Martin Scorsese's character Joe Lesser?

Accepted Answer

Martin Scorsese portrays a fictional director called 'Joe Lesser', a character based on director Joseph Losey, who left Hollywood in the 1950s rather than face HUAC examinations.

Question 9

What makes this film historically significant regarding Hollywood's treatment of the blacklist?

Accepted Answer

According to Jonathan Rosenbaum's article, this was 'the first Hollywood feature devoted in its entirety to the film industry blacklist,' while earlier films like The Front dealt with television.

Question 10

Which major film festival screened Guilty by Suspicion in 1991?

Accepted Answer

The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.

Guilty by Suspicion

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