Blacklist

Joe Larch used to be a character actor in the movies but he was blacklisted in the early 1950's and hasn't been able to find a job in the movies since. He now works as a sales clerk in a shoestore. Out of the blue a director decides he is perfect for the role of a youth worker in a film he is making. However, a right-wing group gets wind of Larch's selection for the role and starts a letter writing campaign to the mayor of the city which the film is based on. The city must give its approval for the film to proceed. At the insistence of his son, Larch decides to fight the right-wingers and hires the Prestons. The elder Preston visits the leader of the right-wing group to plead Larch's case but gets nowhere. When the issue of approving the film comes up before the city commission, it is tabled in order to avoid political controversy. Although the director has backed Larch before, he now claims Larch's part has been rewritten for a younger man and Larch is no longer right for the part. Although the right-wing group cannot be sued for libel because they have relied on statements in the Congressional Record, the younger Preston drafts a memorandum of law which convinces his father that Larch may have a case for tortious interference with his contract to act in the film. However, after weighing the pros and cons, Larch and the elder Preston decide that a suit would be too costly and time consuming. As he leaves the Prestons' office building, one of the cleaning staff recognizes Larch from a movie that was on tv the previous night and asks him for his autograph. Larch leaves the building with a smile on his face.