I Was a Communist for the FBI
| I Was a Communist for the FBI | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Produced by | Bryan Foy |
| Screenplay by | Crane Wilbur |
| Based on | the SEP articles "I Posed as a Communist for the F.B.I." by Matt Cvetic Pete Martin |
| Starring |
Frank Lovejoy Dorothy Hart Philip Carey James Millican |
| Narrated by | Frank Lovejoy |
| Music by |
William Lava Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Edwin B. DuPar |
| Edited by | Folmar Blangsted |
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Production
company |
Warner Bros.
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.3 million (US rentals) |
I Was a Communist for the FBI is a 1951 American film noir crime film directed by Gordon Douglas starring Frank Lovejoy, Dorothy Hart, Philip Carey and James Millican.
It was also a radio show starring Dana Andrews with 78 episodes that ran from Apr 23, 1952 until Oct 14, 1953.
The film was based on a series of stories written by Matt Cvetic that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. The stories were later turned into a best-selling book and radio series.
The story follows Cvetic, who infiltrated a local Communist Party cell for nine years and reported back to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on their activities.
The film and radio show are, in part, artifacts of the McCarthy era, as well as a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare. The purpose of both is partly to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is ultra-patriotic, with Communists portrayed as racist, vindictive, and tools of a totalitarian foreign power, the Soviet Union.
Matt Cvetic (Frank Lovejoy), 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 believe he is a Communist and despise him.
He becomes emotionally involved with a Communist school teacher (Dorothy Hart), who is becoming disenchanted with the party. She breaks with the party when it foments a violent strike. Cvetic helps her escape the Communists in violent sequences in which two Communists and an FBI agent are killed.
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Wikipedia