Storm Center was a 1956 film that tackled communism, book banning and censorship. It was the first overtly anti-McCarthyism film to be made in Hollywood in an era when the film industry was under government scrutiny for possible communist leanings.
Bette Davis, the movie’s star, plays librarian Alicia Hull. Here’s Davis discussing the script:
In the film, the town librarian is forced by the city council to choose between censoring a communist book and adding a children’s wing to the library. When she refuses to censor the book, she is accused of being a communist. Hull eventually gives in, but her reputation is ruined. Then, an arsonist burns the library down and the town has a change of heart. They reinstate the librarian, who swears she will never let another book be censored.
The papers of the film’s director, Daniel Taradash, are available at UW’s American Heritage Center.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.