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.
