I Was a Communist for the FBI#Production

{{Infobox film

| name = I Was a Communist for the FBI

| image = I Was a Communist for the FBI Poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Gordon Douglas

| producer = Bryan Foy

| screenplay = Crane Wilbur

| based_on = {{based on|the SEP articles "I Posed as a Communist for the F.B.I."|Matt Cvetic|Pete Martin}}

| narrator = Frank Lovejoy

| starring = Frank Lovejoy

| music = {{plainlist|

William Lava
Max Steiner (uncredited)}}

| cinematography = Edwin B. DuPar

| editing = Folmar Blangsted

| color_process = Black and white

| studio = Warner Bros.

| distributor = Warner Bros.

| released = {{Film date|1951|5|2|New York City|1951|5|5|United States}}

| runtime = 83 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $684,000Warner 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}}

| gross = {{plainlist|

$1,759,000 (total)
$1.3 million (US rentals)'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952.}}

}}

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.{{AFI film|id=50150|title=I Was a Communist for the FBI}}.

The film is based on a series of stories written by Matt Cvetic that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post.[http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/iwasacommunistforthefbi.htm Filreis, Al]. Web site at University of Pennsylvania, based on Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act. Accessed: July 17, 2013. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=OTR-Thriller&series=I%20Was%20A%20Communist%20For%20The%20FBI |title = RadioEchoes.com}}

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

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 succeeded 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.[http://www.lhs15201.org/review1.asp?rID=12 Wudarczyk, James] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810101606/http://www.lhs15201.org/review1.asp?rID=12 |date=2007-08-10 }}. Lawrenceville Historical Society, book review, September 24, 2006. Accessed: July 17, 2013.

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."{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=1951-05-03 |title=The Screen: Two Films Have Local Premieres |url= |access-date= |work=The New York Times |page=34 |language= |issn=}}

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."{{Cite web |author=Variety Staff |date=1951-01-01 |title=I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. |url=https://variety.com/1950/film/reviews/i-was-a-communist-for-the-f-b-i-1200416951/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

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

Awards

The film was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Documentary Feature of the year.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043665/awards IMDb], awards section.

References

External links

{{AFI film|id=50150|title=I Was a Communist for the FBI}}
{{IMDb title|id=0043665|title=I Was a Communist for the FBI}}
{{TCMDb title|id=78894|title=I Was a Communist for the FBI}}

=Audio streaming=

[http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/I%20Series/I%20Was%20A%20Communist/IWCF%2052-04-23%20%2801%29%20I%20Walk%20Alone.mp3 I Was a Communist for the F.B.I.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603081618/http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/I%20Series/I%20Was%20A%20Communist/IWCF%2052-04-23%20%2801%29%20I%20Walk%20Alone.mp3 |date=2015-06-03 }} "I Walk Alone" episode, on the Ziv Television Programs: Apr 23, 1952

Category:1951 films

Category:1950s American radio programs

Category:American anti-communist propaganda films

Category:American crime drama films

Category:American radio dramas

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:Films about McCarthyism

Category:Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Category:Film noir

Category:Films directed by Gordon Douglas

Category:Films set in Pittsburgh

Category:Warner Bros. films