The FBI Story
| The FBI Story | |
|---|---|
1959 theatrical poster
|
|
| Directed by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Produced by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Written by |
Richard L. Breen John Twist |
| Based on |
The FBI Story by Don Whitehead |
| Starring |
James Stewart Vera Miles |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Edited by | Philip W. Anderson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
|
Release date
|
October 1959 |
|
Running time
|
149 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
The FBI Story is a 1959 American drama film starring James Stewart, and produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead.
John Michael ('Chip') Hardesty (James Stewart) narrates the story of a murder, which the viewer sees in a flashback. Young Jack Graham (Nick Adams), takes out life insurance on his mother and plants a bomb in her luggage for a flight that she was taking from Denver, Colorado, to Portland, Oregon, November 1, 1955.
Next we see Hardesty as he recounts his history as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during a lecture. The lecture becomes the narration of flashbacks as he tells of his life as an agent combating various crimes and criminals, including the Ku Klux Klan, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and spies.
Then he recounts his first involvement as a government clerk in Knoxville, Tennessee in May 1924, and his proposal to a librarian, Lucy Ann Ballard (Vera Miles). Ballard loves Hardesty but wants to change him. They marry with the idea that Hardesty will resign from the FBI and start practicing law. On his way to Washington D.C. his partner, Sam Crandall (Murray Hamilton), tries to talk him out of resigning. Then listening to the new director, J. Edgar Hoover, he becomes inspired to stay. He meets Lucy Ann for a shrimp dinner at Herzog's Seafood Restaurant and tries to evade her questions about his resignation, but she soon tells Chip that she is pregnant, and she, still trying to change him, allows him stay in the bureau, "for a year".
...
Wikipedia