Spartacus vs McCarthyism

If historical films are “thought experiments” involving producers and viewers, what are the claims of a movie like Spartacus which was developed and produced during the Cold War America and the resulting Inquisition in Hollywood? Dalton Trumbo as a young director employed after the dismissal of Anthony Mann, Stanley Kubrick matches the rebel slave to the filmmaker who tries to win against the studio and the star systems. When the USA looks like the Roman Empire and Hollywood a school of gladiators, the name of Spartacus can still resonate like a battle cry.