I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. (1951)

In Pittsburgh, PA, an F.B.I. agent works to undermine the Communist party, but his brothers and his teenage boy thinks he's a real Red.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Crane Wilbur (screenplay), Matt Cvetic (article)

Stars:

Frank Lovejoy, Dorothy Hart, Philip Carey

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frank Lovejoy	...	Matt Cvetic
Dorothy Hart	...	Eve Merrick
Philip Carey	...	Mason
James Millican	...	Jim Blandon
Richard Webb	...	Ken Crowley
Konstantin Shayne	...	Gerhardt Eisler
Paul Picerni	...	Joe Cvetic
Edward Norris	...	Harmon (as Eddie Norris)
Ron Hagerthy	...	Dick Cvetic
Hugh Sanders	...	Clyde Garson
Hope Kramer	...	Ruth Cvetic

Storyline

The FBI infiltrates one of their agents in the US Communist Party. This causes big problems in the normal life of the agent. Nobody knows that he is with the FBI, neither his family.

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Plot Keywords:

work injury | fbi agent | factory | teacher | brother versus brother | 

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Taglines:

This was it ..the end of a nine year manhunt-- or the end of a hero!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Was a Communist for the FBI

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh ,Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Communist Party USA was established in 1919. In 1921 it changed its name to The Workers Party of America. It was banned in 1954 by an act of Congress (the Communist Control Act of 1954). At its peak in 1944 the membership rose to 80.000 members but by mid-1950s it dropped to only 5000 members, including 1500 FBI informants.

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Goofs

Early in the film there's a shot at an airport where we see planes moving outside a window. The outside shot is flipped: the "PAN AMERICAN" logo on the side of the plane is backwards.

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Quotes

Gerhardt Eisler: This section produces more steel than all the rest of the country put together. Move Pittsburgh an inch and we can move this country a mile. But, er, Pittsburgh is too quiet, too peaceful. To bring about the victory of Communism in America, we must incite riots, discontent, open warfare among the people. That is the purpose of tonight's meeting.

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Connections

Featured in The Fifties: The Fear & the Dream (1997)

User Reviews

It's over the top, but interesting. BTW, there were Commie Spys..

Yes, it is over the top.

Yes, it is one-sided.

But for people to deny that Communists were infiltrating positions of influence is just wrong headed revisionism.

Cvetic was a real person. He did infiltrate the CPUSA. He did testify against the CP. It is hard to know just what is true and what isn't because BOTH sides, Hoover's FBI and the Liberal revisionists keep spinning their own version.

But after the fall of the USSR, the KGB files affirmed that there were many successful infiltrations and manipulations of the media and govt. It's just straight facts.

Klaus Fuchs, The Rosenbergs, Alger Hiss are just a few examples.

It is terrifying how the younger generations are ignorant or misinformed about the past. What will they say about 9-11 in 50 years?