Based on the book by the same name by Matt Cvetic, an undercover operative who joined the Communist Party to spy from within.. Quite a conflict, and potentially the stuff of great drama. The film was produced by Bryan Foy who was head of Warners B picture unit until 1942. Film-Noir, Certificate: Passed Real-life undercover agent Matt Cvetic was portrayed by Dana Andrews. Warner Bros. made a film of Cvetic's life entitled I Was A Communist For the FBI. They are shown exploiting ethnic tensions to get their way, such as by wrapping copies of a Jewish newspaper around lead pipes used to beat up people during a strike. Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer - until he finds his next target is a woman. 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. It is somehow too pat. For the first two thirds of the film he stalks the screen imperturbably, the victim of suspicion from his fellow Party members and often open hostility from his very own family - churchgoing, patriotic Slovenian immigrants who are appalled by his connections to the Communist Party. Nobody knows that he is with the FBI, neither his family. The tone of the show is ultra-patriotic, with Communists portrayed as racist, vindictive, and tools of a totalitarian foreign power, the Soviet Union. I walk alone..." While there were many others who did the same, what is unique about Cvetic is the speed with which his story became public knowledge. When he learns that a gangster has taken over his nightclub and murdered his partner, returning WW2 hero Joe Miracle steals the money from the club's safe and hides in a settlement home, while the mob is on his tail. on Amazon.com, Title: Lacking in charm and magnetism, he nevertheless can carry a film. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p. 31, http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=OTR-Thriller&series=I%20Was%20A%20Communist%20For%20The%20FBI, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Was_a_Communist_for_the_FBI&oldid=1011038448, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 8 March 2021, at 18:03. (1951). will be a treat for fans of Radio Detective Drama. I Was a Communist for the FBI (Motion Picture) I Was a Communist for the FBI (Motion Picture) Part 1 of 2 View. The program frequently dealt with the great stress that Cvetic was under, as he covertly infiltrated a local Communist Party cell. Luis Carvacho . Mason: Philip Carey. Watch trailers, read customer and critic reviews, and buy I Was a Communist for the FBI directed by Gordon Douglas for $5.99. Aired 1952 - 1954 I Was a Communist for the FBI rode the coattails of the Red Scare, aired even though the FBI refused to cooperate with its production. The man who loosely provided the inspiration for the B-Grade cult movie I Was a Communist for the FBI. Story of Matt Cvetic (Frank Lovejoy), who joined the Reds to gather information for the FBI. Use the HTML below. According to Warner Bros, records, the film earned $1,319,000 in the U.S. and $440,000 elsewhere. Communists are portrayed in the film as cynical opportunists, racists who are interested only in seizing power on behalf of the Soviets and not in improving social and labor conditions in the U.S. Since the script infers that among the Reds' "subversive" plans was the Civil Rights Movement, I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI is an embarrassing experience when seen today. Yet at the time of it's release, 1951, there was a Hot War going on in Korea not just against the Communist North Koreans but the Communist Chinese. Edit. First, the film was released only 5 or 6 years after World War Two had finished. A New York socialite climbs the ladder of success man by man until a life among rich gangsters gives her what she thought she always wanted. During J. Edgar Hoover’s long tenure as Director, the FBI was very successful at spying on organizations hostile to the interests of the United States, including the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazi and Communist parties. 0:30 I Was A Communist For The Fbi. Cvetic helps her escape the Communists in violent sequences in which two Communists and an FBI agent are killed. I Was a Communist for the FBI stands first in the list of Hollywood studio pictures dedicated to the patriotic fight against communism. The program was made without the cooperation of the FBI. I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. Check out our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're excited about this month, like Mortal Kombat, "Them," and Stowaway. In 1953, Ziv created I Led Three Lives, based on the life of Herbert Philbrick, an advertising executive who also infiltrated the U.S. Communist Party on behalf of the FBI in the 1940s. Nobody knows that he is with the FBI, neither his family. In Pittsburgh, PA, an F.B.I. I Was a Communist for the FBI is a 1951 American film noir crime film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Lovejoy. As a propaganda film, it works even better, giving one the impression that the Communists had infiltrated many aspects of society and were more powerful than they actually were in reality. It raises suspicion of school teachers...[and] that people who embrace liberal causes, such as the Scottsboro trial defense, are Communist dupes...and the film itself glows with patriotism. It was also a radio show starring Dana Andrews that ran for 78 episodes from April 23, 1952 until October 14, 1953.[4]. There was also a radio show. [1], When the film was released, The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther was critical of the message in the film. Written by The Communists in the movie are shown to be violent thugs who kill informers. He is consistently believable, though just at the borderline of wooden. 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. (1951) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb. After suffering a head injury during the Blitz, an actor comes to believe himself to be the Brighton Strangler, the murderer he was playing onstage. During the "Red Scare" of the 1950s, FBI agent and Slovenian-American Matt Cvetic (Frank Lovejoy) poses as a Communist to infiltrate the U.S. Communist Party. [7], The staff at Variety magazine wrote a positive review: "From the real life experiences of Matt Cvetic [published in the Saturday Evening Post as "I Posed as a Communist for the F.B.I"], scripter Crane Wilbur has fashioned an exciting film. A Location Number of "111" indicates I have the show in my Collection, but they haven't yet been assigned a Location number. When his masquerade begins to unravel he gets emotional, but within limits. During the Cold War, at a California atomic research plant, an FBI agent and a Scotland Yard inspector join forces to eliminate a foreign nuclear spy ring operating in the USA and the UK. He never loses self-control entirely like Paul Lukas in the similarly themed Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), and he is handy with his fists and agile enough to jump out of perilous situations. The series had Dana Andrews as the voice of Cvetic and also had a $12,000 budget which was a significant amount for a radio show. The radio version of I Was a Communist for the FBI consisted of 78 episodes syndicated by the Frederick W. Ziv Company to more than 600 stations, including KNX in Los Angeles, California, with original episodes running from March 30, 1952 to September 20, 1953. Eve: Dorothy Hart. In 1952, the Frederick W. Ziv Company presented I was a Communist for the FBI as a radio serial. The man who loosely provided the inspiration for the B-Grade cult movie I Was a Communist for the FBI had a life that was marred by alcoholism, damaged expectations, and greed.Cvetic, at the request of the FBI, joined a Pittsburgh branch of the CPUSA in 1943. He infiltrated the party and served in his undercover role from 1941-1950. Search for "I Was a Communist for the F.B.I." It ran for 72 episodes between 1952 and 1954. This is the story of an F.B.I. I Was a Communist For the F.B.I. From 1941 to 1950 Matt Cvetic successfully infiltrated and spied on the Communist Party of the United States on behalf of the FBI. The purpose of both is partly to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. We offer 3 different ways for you to listen to our old time radio shows so that no matter what device you are using (PC, laptop, Android phone, iPhone, iPad, Kindle, tablet, etc.) The radio version of I Was a Communist for the FBI consisted of 78 episodes syndicated by the Frederick W. Ziv Company to more than 600 stations, including KNX in Los Angeles, California, with original episodes running from March 30, 1952 to September 20, 1953. He becomes emotionally involved with a Communist school teacher (Dorothy Hart), who is becoming disenchanted with the party. This causes big problems in the normal life of the agent. agent works to undermine the Communist party, but his brothers and his teenage boy thinks he's a real Red. I Was A Communist for the FBI (1951) In 1945 John E. Rankin, the long serving, bombastic, and racist congressman from Mississippi stated “one of the most dangerous plots ever instigated for the overthrow of this government has its headquarters in Hollywood … the greatest hotbed of … They also are shown fomenting discontent among blacks. San Quentin prison inmate Arnie Judlow asks his twin brother Bill and his wife Ruth to assist him in a daring escape plan. I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. 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. Cvetic's memoirs were better dramatized by a 1951 radio series of the same title, … had a life that was marred by alcoholism, damaged expectations, and greed. They are shown as cynical racists, calling blacks "niggers" and Jews "kikes". A Communist For The FBI and Stars Over Hollywood – Relic Radio "Gus" Payne makes the point that Cvetic's personal life and attributes have no bearing on the validity of what he reported to his FBI handlers (Cvetic … The FBI infiltrates one of their agents in the US Communist Party. 10 of 17 people found this review helpful. I Led 3 Lives-Wikipedia. [3] The film was produced by Bryan Foy who was head of Warners B picture unit until 1942. The FBI infiltrates one of their agents in the US Communist Party. citation [9], Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. She breaks with the party when it foments a violent strike. That corner of mid-century movie extremism was dominated by laughably distorted Cold War delights like Republic's The Red Menace and Howard Hughes' The Woman on Pier 13, and some see this Warners production as a righteous alternative. Listen to Radio Show: I Was A Communist For The FBI online using any of the 3 radio players below. I Was a Communist for the Fbi at OTR.Network (Old Time Radio) I Was a Communist for the … Pittsburgh celebrated the film's April premiere with a "Matthew Cvetic Day," complete with parade. This time, the FBI approved all of the show's scripts. ‘MLK/FBI’ Film Review: J Edgar Hoover’s Victimization of Martin Luther King Tells Just Part of the Story, Review: "A Bullet For Joey" (1955) Starring Edward G. Robinson And George Raft; Blu-ray Edition From Kino Lorber. Before the guffaws get out of control, I Was a Communist for the FBI needs to be slammed back into some perspective. I Was a Communist for the FBI (Motion Picture) Part 2 of 2 View This has caused him tremendous conflicts with his high-school son and his many brothers. Certificate: Passed The show had a budget of $12,000 per week, a very high cost to produce a radio show at the time.[6]. What was my Aunt Martha trying to ask me. 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