I Was a Communist for the FBI

Last updated
I Was a Communist for the FBI
I Was a Communist for the FBI Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Screenplay by Crane Wilbur
Based on
the SEP articles "I Posed as a Communist for the F.B.I."
by
Produced by Bryan Foy
Starring Frank Lovejoy
Narrated byFrank Lovejoy
Cinematography Edwin B. DuPar
Edited by Folmar Blangsted
Music by
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Warner Bros.
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • May 2, 1951 (1951-05-02)(New York City)
  • May 5, 1951 (1951-05-05)(United States)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$684,000 [1]
Box office
  • $1,759,000 (total) [1]
  • $1.3 million (US rentals) [2]

I Was a Communist for the FBI is a 1951 American crime film noir produced by Bryan Foy, directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Lovejoy. [3]

Contents

The film is based on a series of stories written by Matt Cvetic that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post . [4] The stories were later adapted into a bestselling book and a radio show starring Dana Andrews that ran for 78 episodes in 1952 and 1953. [5]

The story follows Cvetic, who infiltrated a local Communist Party cell for nine years and reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the group's activities.

Plot

Matt Cvetic, who works in a Pittsburgh steel mill, has been infiltrating the Communist Party for the FBI in Pittsburgh for nine years. During this time, he has been unable to tell his family about his dual role, so they assume that he is a genuine believer in communism and despise him for it.

Cvetic becomes emotionally involved with a communist schoolteacher who is becoming disenchanted with the party. She leaves the party when it foments a violent strike. Cvetic helps her escape the communists in violent episodes in which two communists and an FBI agent are killed.

Cvetic testifies against the communists before the House Un-American Activities Committee and reconciles with his brother and son.

Cast

Production

The film was preceded by a radio series also titled I Was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews, that consisted of 78 episodes and aired on more than 600 stations in the United States from March 30, 1952 to September 20, 1953. The radio program was made without the cooperation of the FBI but it exposed the great danger that communism presented to the country. [6]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "[T]he writing, the acting and the direction of this film are in a taut style of 'thriller' fiction that the perceptive will recognize. .... Frank Lovejoy, who muscularly plays the title role, is a model of tight and efficient resolution, ingenuity and spunk." [7]

Variety wrote: "[S]cripter Crane Wilbur has fashioned an exciting film. Direction of Gordon Douglas plays up suspense and pace strongly, and the cast, headed by Frank Lovejoy in the title role, punches over the expose of the Communist menace." [8]

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $1,319,000 in the U.S. and $440,000 elsewhere. [1]

Awards

The film was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Documentary Feature of the year. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Andrews</span> American actor (1909–1992)

Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts into the 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir Laura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance as World War II veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Lovejoy</span> American actor (1912–1962)

Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir The Hitch-Hiker and for starring in the radio drama Night Beat.

<i>The Sound of Fury</i> (film) 1950 film by Cy Endfield

The Sound of Fury is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Cy Endfield and starring Frank Lovejoy, Kathleen Ryan, Richard Carlson. The film is based on the 1947 novel The Condemned by Jo Pagano, who also wrote the screenplay.

<i>The Unsuspected</i> 1947 film by Michael Curtiz

The Unsuspected is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Ted North, Constance Bennett, Joan Caulfield, and Hurd Hatfield. The film was based on the 1946 novel of the same title by Charlotte Armstrong. The screenplay was co-written by Bess Meredyth, who was married to director Curtiz.

<i>The Sniper</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Edward Dmytryk

The Sniper is a 1952 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk, written by Harry Brown and based on a story by Edna and Edward Anhalt. The film features Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, Gerald Mohr and Marie Windsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Webb (actor)</span> American actor (1915–1993)

John Richard Webb was an American film, television and radio actor.

Matthew Cvetic was a Pittsburgh native who was a spy and informant working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation inside the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) during the 1940s. He told his story in a series in the Saturday Evening Post, and his experiences were then fictionalized in the old time radio show I Was a Communist for the FBI, adapted for a Warner Brothers motion picture in 1951. He testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s.

<i>This Woman Is Dangerous</i> 1952 film by Felix E. Feist

This Woman Is Dangerous is a 1952 American film noir and crime drama by Warner Bros. starring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Dennis Morgan in a story about a gun moll's romances with two different men against the background of her impending blindness. The screenplay by Geoffrey Homes and George Worthing Yates was based on a story by Bernard Girard. The film was directed by Felix E. Feist and produced by Robert Sisk.

<i>Goodbye, My Fancy</i> (film) 1951 film by Vincent Sherman

Goodbye, My Fancy is a 1951 American romantic comedy film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Young, and Frank Lovejoy. The film was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Henry Blanke. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film was based on the 1948 play of same name by Fay Kanin and adapted for the screen by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. Reinforcing social changes brought on by World War II and movies portraying women as successful on their own, such as 1945's Academy Award-winning Mildred Pierce, the plot follows an influential Congresswoman who returns to her former college to receive an honorary degree only to find her old flame as the university president.

<i>The Iron Curtain</i> (film) 1948 film by William Wellman

The Iron Curtain is a 1948 American thriller film starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, directed by William A. Wellman. It was the first film on the Cold War. The film was based on the memoirs of Igor Gouzenko. Principal photography was done on location in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by Charles G. Clarke. The film was later re-released as Behind the Iron Curtain.

<i>South Sea Woman</i> 1953 film by Arthur Lubin

South Sea Woman is a 1953 American black-and-white action-comedy-drama film starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Chuck Connors, and directed by Arthur Lubin. It was based on the play General Court Martial by William M. Rankin with the working title being Sulu Sea. The picture was written by Edwin Blum.

<i>Starlift</i> 1951 film by Roy Del Ruth

Starlift is a 1951 American musical film released by Warner Bros. starring Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Virginia Mayo, Dick Wesson, and Ruth Roman. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by John D. Klorer and Karl Kamb, from a story by Klorer. The film was made during the beginning of the Korean War and centers on a U.S. Air Force flyer's wish to meet a film star, and her fellow stars' efforts to perform for injured men at the air force base.

<i>Night Song</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by John Cromwell

Night Song is a 1948 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Dana Andrews, Merle Oberon and Ethel Barrymore.

<i>I Want You</i> (1951 film) 1951 film by Mark Robson

I Want You is a 1951 American drama film directed by Mark Robson taking place in America during the Korean War. Gordon E. Sawyer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound.

<i>Walk a Crooked Mile</i> 1948 film by Gordon Douglas

Walk a Crooked Mile is a 1948 American anti-communist, Cold War crime film, directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Dennis O'Keefe and Louis Hayward.

<i>Dragnet</i> (1954 film) 1954 American film

Dragnet is a 1954 American crime film directed by Jack Webb and written by Richard L. Breen. The film stars Webb, Ben Alexander, Richard Boone, Ann Robinson, Stacy Harris, Virginia Gregg and Vic Perrin. The film was adapted from the radio series of the same name, and is part of the wider Dragnet media franchise. The film was released by Warner Bros. on September 4, 1954.

Americans Battling Communism Inc.(ABC) was an anti-communist organization created following an October 1947 speech by Pennsylvania Judge Blair Gunther that called for an "ABC movement" to educate America about communism. Chartered in November 1947 by Harry Alan Sherman, a local lawyer active in various anti-communist organizations, the group took part in such activities as blacklisting by disclosing the names of people suspected of being communists. Its members included local judges and lawyers active in the McCarthy-era prosecution of communists.

<i>Breakthrough</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Lewis Seiler

Breakthrough is a 1950 American war film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring John Agar about an American infantry unit in World War II. Approximately one-third of the film was assembled from preexisting footage.

<i>Truck Busters</i> 1943 film by B. Reeves Eason

Truck Busters is a 1943 American drama film directed by B. Reeves Eason, written by Robert E. Kent and Raymond L. Schrock, and starring Richard Travis, Virginia Christine, Charles Lang, Ruth Ford, Richard Fraser, Tod Andrews and Frank Wilcox. It was released by Warner Bros. on February 6, 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Hagerthy</span> American television actor (born 1932)

Ronald F. Hagerthy is an American actor on television and in films.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p. 31 doi:10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952.
  3. I Was a Communist for the FBI at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films .
  4. Filreis, Al. Web site at University of Pennsylvania, based on Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
  5. "RadioEchoes.com".
  6. Wudarczyk, James Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine . Lawrenceville Historical Society, book review, September 24, 2006. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
  7. Crowther, Bosley (1951-05-03). "The Screen: Two Films Have Local Premieres". The New York Times . p. 34.
  8. Variety Staff (1951-01-01). "I Was a Communist for the F.B.I." Variety. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  9. IMDb, awards section.

Audio streaming