Chapter 4
"You're suspended"
LB Mammoth walked into his studio the morning after his meeting feeling like the most defeated man in Hollywood. For he knew that he had to tell Danny that he could no longer work for him until he cleared his name. Arriving in his office, he ordered his secretary to bring Danny and Sawyer to his office right after their filming scenes. LB sat down throughout the morning and twiddled his fingers nervously as his two prime stars came into his office. As a matter of fact, they were quite surprised to see him so nervous.
"You called for us, LB?" asked Danny, baffled as LB looked at them nervous. "You said it was urgent."
"I did," replied LB as Danny and Sawyer sat down in front of him. "There is something we need to talk about and I need to talk to you both about it now."
LB then took out a cigar and lit it up away from Danny and Sawyer. Both Danny and Sawyer knew that LB would always smoke whenever he was under pressure, but this was something completely different.
"We're all ears, LB," said Sawyer, confused by her boss' actions. "So, can you tell us what is going on here?"
After a moment, LB put out the cigar and faced his two stars. He sighed heavily one more time and then was a lot more calmer and professional.
"Okay," sighed LB, breathing in deeply. "Do the both of you remember the film that Danny helped make with Charlie Chaplin over at United Artists?"
"Yes, we do," replied Danny. "You told me that I had to work under an assumed name because of sensitive material, remember?"
"I did tell you, Danny," said LB, grabbing another cigar. "But I do need to tell you about something that is very important to both of you."
LB lit another cigar and turned away from Danny and Sawyer again. Now, the two cats were beginning to realize that something was not right with their boss and friend.
"Um, LB?" Sawyer asked sheepishly. "Smoking like crazy isn't going to show us what is happening here."
"Sorry," replied LB, putting out the cigar. "I won't smoke anymore, but I really hate to do this to you both. Apparently, I was at a meeting with Walt Disney and three other studio heads and the film that Danny had a part in has caught the attention of the FBI's leader, J. Edgar Hoover."
At that moment, Danny and Sawyer eyes popped wide open. Making a movie that caught the attention of the FBI was a major insult to the careers of anyone who worked in Hollywood and especially with what was happening in Europe, nobody would want to produce sensitive material like The Great Dictator.
"Are you serious?" cried Danny, rising out of his seat. "That movie is under scrutiny because of the nosy Hoover? And everyone knows that I was in it?"
"I'm afraid so Danny," replied LB as Danny buried his face into his hands. Just then, LB reached into his desk and pulled out the paper that he had been forced to sign Danny's name on. He slid it over to Danny and both he and Sawyer read over all the names that were on it, including his own.
"What is this?" asked Danny, dropping the paper back down on the desk.
"My other studio heads have branded you as a communist, Danny," confessed LB. "Believe me, I did not want to do it, but I had no other choice. Had I chose not to put your name down here, then I would have been branded as a traitor among my fellow studio heads. I hate to do this to you, Danny, but until this matter is resolved, you are hereby suspended without pay from Mammoth Studios."
Danny could not believe that he had been exposed for starring in a major Hollywood propaganda film and as a result, he was suspending from doing something he had loved to do his entire life. Sawyer wanted to help her fiancé and co-star and knew that this was going to be a challenge for them, just as it was going to be a challenge for Pudge following the death of his father at Pearl Harbor and his mother by her own hand.
"There must be something we can do," suggested Sawyer, placing her hands on Danny. "Is there a way for Danny to clear his name, LB?"
"There is, Sawyer," he replied. "Danny must travel to Washington, D.C. and testify before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. It is up to them to decide whether or not Danny deserves to stay in this industry after starring in that Chaplin film."
"But, Chaplin is the one who deserves to be on this list, not Danny!" protested Sawyer rising to her feet as Danny continued to have his head buried in his face. "You have to understand, LB. I beg you!"
"Sawyer, I don't have a choice!" replied LB, banging his fist on his desk as he was trying to defend himself a little. "If I didn't put Danny on this list, then the Federal Government would be forcing Danny out of this town! Would you want that to happen to him?"
Sawyer could not fight her boss anymore and slouched down in her seat in defeat. For she knew that Danny had spent his entire life wanting to star in the movies and that he was the one who inspired her to re-follow her dreams as an aspiring actress.
"No, I don't," she replied calming down. "I'm just trying to defend the cat I want to marry, that is all."
"I understand that," said LB. "But there is a big difference between making a film and a quick dollar and offending the government. I'm afraid this one of those situations where we are all caught between a rock and a hard place."
"So, when do we leave for Washington?" she asked.
"You will leave in three days," said LB, handing her a pair of train tickets. "I've already arranged for you, Danny and Pudge to travel to Washington and testify before the Committee. If Danny proves to them that he is not a communist before the committee, then he can start working again. But if they are not convinced, then Danny will be blacklisted and will never be able to make a film for any studio ever again."
Those words of never working in a studio again sent shockwaves down Sawyer's spine. The thought of her and Danny never making a movie together again was horrifying for her to even think about. It was not surprising that Danny still had his face buried in his hands even after what LB had said to them about his future, his dream in the movies.
Either way, they had to testify and persuade the committee that Danny was not a communist or they would watch his career and his dream go down the drain…