The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was abolished in 1975. This documentary was made and first released in 1976, as was The Front (1976), a dramatic picture made about the McCarthy-era black-listing.
Early in the film some documentary footage of Harlan County is shown. Ironically, this film lost the 1976 Best Documentary Oscar to Barbara Kopple's Harlan County U.S.A. (1976).
Over 50 people were interviewed for the documentary.
Despite being over 30 years since the McCarthy era, the production team nevertheless still found a lot of people reluctant to talk on camera about such a difficult time in history.
This film used behind-the-scene footage from The Front (1976), including an extended version of Zero Mostel's performance of "Anything For A Laugh" that was edited down in the theatrical release.