Arthur MillerThe man, his work, the controversy

Marriage to Marilyn

• On June 29, 1956, Arthur Miller married film star Marilyn Monroe

• Many thought this an unlikely match

• Their marriage lasted 5 years and they divorced in 1961

The Years with Marilyn: 1956-1961

The Crucible: Miller’s most Controversial Play

• In 1950, Miller began to consider writing a play about Joseph McCarthy’s hunt for Communists in America.

• “The Red Hunt, led by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and McCarthy, was becoming the dominating fixation in the American Psyche.” (Miller)

• Hollywood was the primary target for McCarthy’s crusade to rid America of all Communists.

Joseph McCarthy: Witch Hunt or Grand Crusade?

It reached Hollywood when the studios agreed to submit artist’s names to the House Committee for clearing prior to employment. Directors, actors, writers and many others were targeted as communists and refused employment by the big studios. Many a career was ruined as a result.

Miller’s Inspiration: Salem Witch Trials

• While in college, Miller studied the Salem Witch Trials and in 1952, visited Salem, Mass.

• While there, he read the transcripts of the trials of 1692

• “The more I read into the Salem panic, the more it touched off corresponding ages of common experiences in the fifties…:

The Crucible“The Crucible took him

a year to write and opened on Broadway Jan. 22, 1953 to poor reviews.

The public was not yet ready to make the connection between one of the black marks in American history and the current events of the 1950’s.

Miller on Trial

• In 1956, Miller was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify as to his affiliation with the Communist Party. He admitted to attending a few meetings and participating in several protests, but denied any party affiliation.

• Refusing to name others associated with leftist groups,he was cited for contempt of Congress.

• This ruling was reversed by the courts in 1958.

The Crucible Today

• The play is studied in schools all over the world

• In 1992, a film version of

the play was released with

an all-star cast including Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis.

• The play is still a favorite stage production.