The film begins with the following prologue: “In 1947 the House Committee on Un-American Activities began an investigation into Communism in Hollywood. Ten men who refused to ‘cooperate’ with the committee were tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison terms after the Supreme Court refused to hear their case. Thereafter, no one called to testify, either in public or in secret, could work unless he satisfied the committee by naming names of others thought to be Communist.”
       The film ends with the following epilogue: “Thousands of lives were shattered and hundreds of careers destroyed by what came to be known as the Hollywood blacklist. People like David and Ruth Merrill faced terms in prison, suffered the loss of friends and possessions, and were denied the right to earn a living. They were forced to live this way for almost 20 years. It was not until 1970 that these men and women were vindicated for standing up—at the greatest personal cost—for their beliefs.”
       The film went into production under its working title, Fear No Evil, but, according to an 18 Apr 1990 DV news item, that title was registered by the Walt Disney Company and could not be cleared. Subsequently, the film was renamed Dark Shadow. However, contemporary sources continued to refer to the picture by the earlier title. On 23 Jul 1990, HR indicated that Fear No Evil had been dropped in favor of Guilt By Association. Six months later, a 28 Jan 1991 Var news item clarified that the picture’s release title would be Guilty By Suspicion, as chosen from the Warner Bros. catalog of “previously announced but never used” titles.
       Various contemporary sources, including the 10 Mar 1991 LAT and the 21 Mar 1991 Chicago Reader, recounted the project’s origins. Sometime in 1985, producer Irwin Winkler met with directors Bertrand Tavernier and John Berry to discuss making a film about a blacklisted Hollywood director. Berry, an American director who had moved to France when he was blacklisted in the early 1950s, became the inspiration for the character of “David Merrill.” Intending to act as producer, Winkler asked Abraham Polonsky, who had also been blacklisted by Hollywood in the 1950s, to write a script, with Tavernier slated to direct. However, as the screenplay developed, Tavernier bowed out of the project, and on 13 Oct 1989, LAHExam announced that Winkler would direct Fear No Evil for Warner Bros. According to LAT, Winkler was not entirely satisfied with Polonsky’s script and rewrote it, apparently intending to share screenwriting credit. When Polonsky learned of the changes, he was “furious” and asked not to be credited as writer. Winkler thus assumed sole credit for the screenplay. The picture marked his debut as a director.
       First to be cast was Robert DeNiro, whose participation was announced by LAHExam in fall 1989. Four months later, a 10 Feb 1990 Screen International news item reported that Annette Bening would co-star, and that actors John Lithgow and Sissy Spacek were “discussing major roles” with filmmakers. However, they are not listed among the cast in subsequent news briefs or production charts. An 18 Apr 1990 DV news brief reported that formerly blacklisted actor Jack Gilford had joined the cast. However, Gilford died of stomach cancer prior to the completion of production. The 16 May 1990 Var indicated that music industry executive Frank DiLeo had been cast in Winkler’s film, but he is not listed in credits.
       Principal photography began on 30 Mar 1990 at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA. According to production notes in AMPAS library files, filmmakers used the following locations to create their 1950s Hollywood: the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard; the interior of the Windsor Restaurant (which doubled for the celebrated Hollywood Brown Derby); Greystone Mansion; the Henry Fonda Theatre; the St. James Club on the Sunset Strip; Los Angeles City Hall; and the Pasadena Elks Club. “David Merrill’s” house, fictitiously located on Mulholland Drive, had once been Frank Sinatra’s “bachelor pad.” DV noted that the Paul Kohner Agency building served as the setting for a scene between “David Merrill” and his agent “Bert Alan.” Because so much of the film involves individuals who work at Twentieth Century-Fox, filmmakers asked to shoot in the Fox commissary and on the back lot, but according to LAT, Fox lawyers refused the request. Irwin Winkler appealed to Fox’s chief executive officer, Barry Diller, who read the script and agreed to let the director shoot the necessary scenes. Warner Bros. Ranch (the former Columbia Pictures ranch), located in Burbank, CA, served as the setting for the in-production “Western” that “David Merrill” is brought in to direct. Principal photography on the $13 million picture concluded on 8 Jun 1990 in Los Angeles. The following day, a second-unit car crash was filmed in San Pedro, CA, as noted by an 11 Jun 1990 DV article.
       A 23 Jul 1990 HR news brief indicated that composer Bill Conti had “just been signed” to score the picture. However, James Newton Howard is credited with composing the film's music.
       Although the three lead characters—“David Merrill,” “Ruth Merrill,” and “Bunny Baxter”—are composites of people who were blacklisted, or affected by blacklisting, in 1950s Hollywood, a 21 Mar 1991 Chicago Reader article claimed that other characters in the movie are direct references to specific individuals, even though their names are not used. “Martin Scorsese plays a character clearly meant to suggest [director] Joseph Losey.” Additionally, “a Broadway stage director named Abe Barron is clearly based on Abe Burrows; the character of Dorothy Nolan, played by Patricia Wettig, is derived from Dorothy Comingore, [who played “Susan Alexander” in Citizen Kane (1941, see entry)]; [and] Nolan’s husband Larry, played by Chris Cooper, [is a composite] of Comingore’s husband, [screenwriter] Richard Collins, and actor Larry Parks.” LAT noted that Congressional investigator Ray Karlin “is based on Senator Joseph McCarthy’s counsel, Roy Cohn.”
       Guilty By Suspicion premiered 12 Mar 1991 at the Bruin Theatre in Westwood, three days prior to its theatrical release. Although reviewers generally admired the film for its subject matter, some faulted the picture’s lumbering narrative and “workmanlike” execution. The 15 Mar 1991 LAT review summarized what other critics noted: “In the ethics department, it’s commendable. In the drama department, it’s bland.”
       End credits include the following acknowledgements: “Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation name and logo are registered trademarks and service marks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and are protected under the laws of the United States and other countries and are used with permission; Daily Variety and Variety used by permission of Variety, Inc.; The New York Times, copyright © 1989 by the New York Times Company, reprinted by permission; film footage from ‘Gentleman Prefer Blondes’ courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; clip from ‘The Boy with Green Hair’ provided by Turner Entertainment Co.; Texaco Star Theater footage courtesy of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc.; NBC News footage provided by NBC News Video Archives, a division of National Broadcasting Company, Inc.; completion guaranty provided by The Completion Bond Company, Inc.”