I Was a Communist for the FBI
- Matt Cvetic
- Pete Martin
- William Lava
- Max Steiner (uncredited)
company
- May 2, 1951 (1951-05-02) (New York City)
- May 5, 1951 (1951-05-05) (United States)
- $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]
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.
Cyetic 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
- Frank Lovejoy as Matt Cvetic
- Dorothy Hart as Eve Merrick
- Philip Carey as Mason
- James Millican as Jim Blandon
- Richard Webb as Ken Crowley
- Konstantin Shayne as Gerhardt Eisler
- Paul Picerni as Joe Cvetic
- Roy Roberts as Father Novac
- Edward Norris as Harmon (as Eddie Norris)
- Ron Hagerthy as Dick Cvetic
- Hugh Sanders as Clyde Garson
- Hope Kramer as Ruth Cvetic
- Lyle Latell as FBI Officer Cahill
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]
References
- ^ a b c 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
- ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952.
- ^ I Was a Communist for the FBI at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ Filreis, Al. Web site at University of Pennsylvania, based on Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
- ^ "RadioEchoes.com".
- ^ Wudarczyk, James Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine. Lawrenceville Historical Society, book review, September 24, 2006. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (1951-05-03). "The Screen: Two Films Have Local Premieres". The New York Times. p. 34.
- ^ Staff, Variety (1951-01-01). "I Was a Communist for the F.B.I." Variety. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
- ^ IMDb, awards section.
External links
- I Was a Communist for the FBI at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- I Was a Communist for the FBI at IMDb
- I Was a Communist for the FBI at AllMovie
- I Was a Communist for the FBI at the TCM Movie Database
Audio streaming
- I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. Archived 2015-06-03 at the Wayback Machine "I Walk Alone" episode, on the Ziv Television Programs: Apr 23, 1952
- v
- t
- e
- General Spanky (1936)
- Zenobia (1939)
- Saps at Sea (1940)
- Broadway Limited (1941)
- The Great Gildersleeve (1942)
- Gildersleeve's Bad Day (1943)
- Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943)
- A Night of Adventure (1944)
- Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
- Girl Rush (1944)
- The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
- Zombies on Broadway (1945)
- First Yank into Tokyo (1945)
- Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
- San Quentin (1946)
- If You Knew Susie (1948)
- Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)
- The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949)
- Mr. Soft Touch (1949)
- The Nevadan (1950)
- Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950)
- Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950)
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
- Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)
- The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
- Only the Valiant (1951)
- I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951)
- Come Fill the Cup (1951)
- Mara Maru (1952)
- The Iron Mistress (1952)
- She's Back on Broadway (1953)
- The Charge at Feather River (1953)
- So This Is Love (1953)
- Them! (1954)
- Young at Heart (1955)
- The McConnell Story (1955)
- Sincerely Yours (1955)
- Santiago (1956)
- The Big Land (1957)
- Bombers B-52 (1957)
- Fort Dobbs (1958)
- The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958)
- Up Periscope (1959)
- Yellowstone Kelly (1959)
- The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961)
- Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)
- Claudelle Inglish (1961)
- Follow That Dream (1962)
- Call Me Bwana (1963)
- Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
- Rio Conchos (1964)
- Sylvia (1965)
- Harlow (1965)
- Stagecoach (1966)
- Way...Way Out (1966)
- In Like Flint (1967)
- Chuka (1967)
- Tony Rome (1967)
- The Detective (1968)
- Lady in Cement (1968)
- Skullduggery (1970)
- They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
- Barquero (1970)
- Skin Game (1971, uncredited)
- Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
- Nevada Smith (1975)
- Viva Knievel! (1977)