Title: Robert W. Kenny and Robert S. Morris Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1940-1957

Creators:

• Kenny, Robert Walker, 1901-
• Morris, Robert S., 1915-

Call Number: U.S. Mss 29AN; Disc 31A; Tape 455A; Tape 701A

Quantity: 5.6 c.f. (14 archives boxes), 1 tape recording, and 6 disc recordings.

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Legal papers of two Los Angeles attorneys who served as counsel for the Hollywood Ten during appearances before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and during subsequent civil suits against the studios to recover losses from the blacklist. Included are correspondence with numerous attorneys and others involved in the cases including Leonard B. Boudin, Charles Katz, Carey McWilliams, Benjamin Margolis, and Alexander Meiklejohn, as well as with Lester Cole, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Adrian Scott, Dalton Trumbo, and other Hollywood Ten clients; transcripts of court proceedings and HUAC testimony; briefs and memoranda concerning points of law; exhibits; depositions from E. J. Mannix, Louis B. Mayer, Dore Schary, Jack Warner, and Darryl F. Zanuck; handwritten notes; and material (some in recorded form) pertaining to the national public relations effort in behalf of the Ten. Also included are legal papers for Michael Wilson, a blacklisted writer who was not a member of the Ten, and miscellaneous research materials concerning the Association of Motion Picture Producers, John E. Rankin, and other topics.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0029an

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Robert Walker Kenny, a lawyer, was born in Los Angeles, California, August 21, 1901. He was educated at Harvard Military Academy, the University of Southern California Prep School, and at Stanford University where he received his A.B. in 1921. Prior to his being admitted to the California bar in 1926, he was a correspondent for the United Press Association in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, England; he was also on the Paris staff of the Chicago Tribune and on the staff of the Los Angeles Evening Herald. In 1931 he was appointed to fill a vacant judgeship in Los Angeles. From 1932 to 1938 he was a Superior judge. The next three years he was a member of the California State Senate. He was Attorney General of California from 1943 to 1947, and president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1940 to 1948. He was also national co-chairman of the Progressive Citizens of America for a time.

A Democrat, in 1946 he was defeated for the California governorship by Republican Governor Earl Warren. It was also in 1946 that he observed the Nörnburg trials.

Kenny organized a Wallace-for-President movement in July 1947. However, he was opposed to the formation of a third party by Wallace.

Kenny was counsel for the nineteen Hollywood men who were called to tostify before the House Committee on un-American Activities in 1947. He continued as counsel for the “Hollywood Ten.”

In his book, Inside U.S.A., John Gunther says of Kenny: “... one of the most engaging men in America. His effervescent courage and liberalism are both incontestable.... one of the most unconventional men I ever met.... He is serious. But also he is an imp.... Kenny's humor, vivacity, sense of phrase, bright brains, and outrageousnesses are a joy.... he has always been on the side of the underpossessed.”

Robert S. Morris, an associate of Robert W. Kenny, was born in 1915 and admitted to the California bar in 1941. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law.

The papers consist primarily of legal materials documenting the association of Kenny and Morris with the Hollywood Ten, both during the investigation by HUAC, their imprisonment, and subsequent civil suits brought against the studios. Although the documentation concerning the beginning of this relationship is missing, there is extensive information on the development of the strategy used in the various legal actions and in the public relations campaign waged in support of the Ten. The correspondence primarily deals with legal matters, although there are handwritten letters from several members of the Ten during the period of their imprisonment that are of a more personal nature.

Also donated by Kenny and Morris are briefs filed for Wilson et al. v. Loew's, the suit of a blacklisted writer who was not one of the original Hollywood Ten.

In 1991 the Kenny-Morris legal files were compared against the “Other Cases” series in the Herbert Biberman Papers (which had been contributed by attorneys Arthur Galligan and Ben Margolis) because Ben Margolis was also extensively involved in the defense of the Ten. For those cases where Kenny was the chief attorney, the relevant documentation was removed from the Biberman Papers, duplicates eliminated, and the most complete file possible was placed in the Kenny-Morris Papers. In those cases in which Kenny was not the chief counsel (primarily cases involving Maltz, Trumbo, and Nedrick Young) the file remains part of the Biberman Papers.

The CASE FILES are arranged alphabetically by individual or case name, except for general material which is filed under the heading Hollywood Ten. Thereunder the order varies, with the most extensive files generally arranged alphabetically by court. The correspondence filed under the Hollywood Ten heading generally consists of letters from the general public. The most important legal file concerning the early defense of the group can be found in the files about John Howard Lawson (U.S.A. v. Lawson) because his defense set the pattern for the others.

A small quantity of alphabetically-arranged MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS document research related in some unspecified way to the Hollywood Ten defense. Here are files on Eric Johnson and the Association of Motion Picture Producers; John E. Rankin; information concerning self-incrimination and the Freedom From Fear Committee, which raised money for the legal expenses of the Ten; and correspondence and miscellaneous material collected by Kenny.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert W. Kenny and Robert S. Morris, Los Angeles, California, 1962. Accession Number: MCHC62-053

Use Restrictions

No information on copyright is available in SHSW files.

Processing Information

Processed by FEFH, 1963; reappraised and reprocessed by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1991.

U.S. Mss 29AN	Series: Case Files
	Bessie, Alvah (U.S.A. v. Bessie)
Box   1 Folder   1	General, 1947-1955
Box   1 Folder   2	District Court transcript, 1947
Box   1 Folder   3	Biberman, Herbert (U.S.A. v. Biberman), 1947-1950
	Cole, Lester
	General
Box   1 Folder   4-6	Correspondence, 1947-1955
Box   1 Folder   7	Kenny “special file,” 1947-1950, n.d.
	Memoranda and notes re points of law
Box   1 Folder   8-9	1947-1951
Box   2 Folder   1	n.d.
Box   2 Folder   2	Parole, 1950
	Cole v. Loew's
	Appeals Court
Box   2 Folder   3	Printed briefs, 1949-1950
Box   2 Folder   4	Miscellaneous material, 1949-1950
Box   2 Folder   5	Transcript, Vols 1-2, 1949
	District Court
Box   2 Folder   6	Briefs, 1948-1949
Box   2 Folder   7	Depositions, 1948
Box   2 Folder   8	Exhibits, 1945-1947
Box   2 Folder   9	Miscellaneous documents, 1947-1948
Box   2 Folder   10	Transcript, 1948
	Superior Court, 1948
Box   3 Folder   1-3	Briefs
	Depositions
Box   3 Folder   4-6	General
Box   4 Folder   1	Cole, Lester
Box   4 Folder   2	McGuinness, James K.
Box   4 Folder   3	Mannix, E.J.-Mayer, Louis B.
Box   4 Folder   4	Rathvon, N. Peter
Box   4 Folder   5	Schary, Dore
Box   4 Folder   6	Warner, J.L.
Box   4 Folder   7	Supreme Court, Printed briefs, 1950
	Dymtryk, Edward
Box   4 Folder   8	U.S.A. v. Dymtryk, 1947-1950
	Dymtryk v. RKO
Box   4 Folder   9	Memoranda, 1948-1951
Box   4 Folder   10	Correspondence (and agreement), 1947-1951
Box   4 Folder   11	District Court briefs, 1948
Box   4 Folder   12	Superior Court briefs, 1948
	Hollywood Ten
Box   5 Folder   1	Attorney General memorandum, n.d.
Box   5 Folder   2	Clipping lists, n.d.
Box   5 Folder   3-4	Correspondence, 1947
Box   5 Folder   5	District Court briefs, 1948, n.d.
	HUAC
Box   5 Folder   6	Miscellany, n.d.
Box   5 Folder   7	Statements by others about HUAC, n.d.
	Transcripts of hearings
Box   5 Folder   8-10	October 27-29, 1947
Box   6 Folder   1	October 30, 1947
Tape 455A	Recorded testimony of Lester Cole, October 30, 1947
U.S. Mss 29AN	Meeting scripts
Box   6 Folder   2	“Keep America Free,” October 15, 1947
Box   6 Folder   3	November 6, 1947
Box   6 Folder   4	November 16, 1947
Box   6 Folder   5	Miscellany, n.d.
Box   6 Folder   6	Motion to quash, 1947
Box   6 Folder   7	Parole, 1950
Box   6 Folder   8	Speeches, 1947, n.d.
Box   6 Folder   9	Summary notes, n.d.
	Support material
Box   6 Folder   10-11	Ads and public statements
	Broadcast scripts
Box   6 Folder   12	General
Box   6 Folder   13	Hollywood Fights Back, 1947
Disc 31A	Recordings (Also available as Tape 701A)
No.   1-3	October 26, 1947
No.   4-6	November 2, 1947
U.S. Mss 29AN	Lardner, Ring, Jr.
	General
Box   6 Folder   14	Clipping list, n.d.
	Correspondence, 1947-1952
Box   6 Folder   15-17	1947-1952
Box   7 Folder   1	1953-1955
Box   7 Folder   2	Exhibits (Possible), n.d.
	Research
Box   7 Folder   3	Admissions tax receipts
Box   7 Folder   4	Morals Code
	, 20th Century-Fox v. Lardner
	Appeals Court
Box   7 Folder   5	Briefs
Box   7 Folder   6-7	Transcripts (Vols 1-3)
	District Court
Box   7 Folder   8-9	Briefs
Box   7 Folder   10	Deposition of Darryl F. Zanuck
Box   8 Folder   1	Exhibits
Box   8 Folder   2	Memoranda
	Superior Court summons
	Lawson v. U.S.A.
	Appeals Court
Box   8 Folder   3	Amicus curiae briefs
Box   8 Folder   4	Appendix
Box   8 Folder   5	Printed briefs
	Correspondence
Box   8 Folder   6-7	1948
Box   9 Folder   1-3	1949-1950
Box   9 Folder   4	District Court briefs
Box   9 Folder   5	“Katz file,” 1950, n.d.
Box   9 Folder   6	Kenny summation file, n.d.
Box   9 Folder   7-8	Memoranda on points of law, 1948, n.d.
	Supreme Court
Box   9 Folder   9	Amicus curiae briefs
Box   9 Folder   10	Briefs
	Maltz, Albert
Box   10 Folder   1	Loew's miscellany, 1950-1952
Box   10 Folder   2	Pardon correspondence, 1947-1951
Box   10 Folder   3	Ornitz, Samuel, 1947-1950
	Scott, Adrian
Box   10 Folder   4-6	Correspondence, 1947-1957, n.d.
Box   10 Folder   7	Memoranda, 1951-1952
	Scott v. RKO
	Appeals Court
Box   10 Folder   8	Briefs
Box   10 Folder   9-10	Transcript
	District Court
Box   10 Folder   11	Briefs
Box   11 Folder   1	Briefs, continued
Box   11 Folder   2-3	Transcripts, 1952
Box   11 Folder   4	Superior Court summons
Box   11 Folder   5	Supreme Court
	Trumbo v. U.S.A.
	Appeals Court
Box   11 Folder   6	Appendix
Box   12 Folder   1	Briefs
Box   12 Folder   2-5	Transcripts, 1948
Box   12 Folder   6	District Court
Box   12 Folder   7	Parole correspondence, 1950-1951
Box   12 Folder   8	Supreme Court, 1949
	Wilson et al. v. Loew's
	Appeals Court
Box   12 Folder   9-11	Briefs
Box   13 Folder   1	California Supreme Court, n.d.
Box   13 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1953-1958
Box   13 Folder   3-5	Superior Court
	Supreme Court
Box   13 Folder   6	Briefs
Box   13 Folder   7	Transcript, 1957
	Series: Miscellaneous Papers	⇧
	Association of Motion Picture Producers
Box   14 Folder   1	Johnson, Eric, 1947
Box   14 Folder   2	Compiled clippings re producers' actions, 1947
Box   14 Folder   3	Freedom From Fear Committee, n.d.
Box   14 Folder   4	Kenny, Miscellaneous correspondence, 1951, n.d.
Box   14 Folder   5	Legion of Decency, n.d.
Box   14 Folder   6	Rankin, John E., Research and brochure drafts, n.d.
Box   14 Folder   7	Self-incrimination, n.d.