I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951)

As just a movie, "I Was a Communist for the FBI" is quite good in that it moves quickly and has an element of real suspense, particularly the train track sequence, which is excellent.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.The film purports to be the true story of Matt Cvetic, who infiltrated the Communist organization in Pittsburgh on the part of the FBI and testified before the House on Un-American Activities, naming something like 100 people in the party.In the film, no one except a priest knows that Cvetic is undercover, so his sons loathe him, and he's broken his mother's heart. During his work as a Communist, he meets a beautiful teacher, Eve Merrick (Dorothy Hart) who ultimately becomes disillusioned with the party.In reality, Cvetic thought he was hot stuff and told a lot of people he worked for the FBI. He was also an alcoholic and eventually no longer used as a witness in trials against Communists.As played by Frank Lovejoy, he is a very committed hero, and Lovejoy does an excellent job in portraying this Everyman. He had an interesting career, mostly in television, and rarely as a leading man.This is the kind of movie that has to be taken in the context of the times. Everyone was told of the dangers of Communism, and that it was going to take over the world. Communism is a philosophy just like anything else, and in the '30s, many people were interested in it. They didn't all become Communists. On paper it's fine, but there aren't any people messing it up on paper. The reality is a very repressed, racist society where the top guys share in the wealth brought to them by the laborers.Here they're depicted as people imagined them, powerful rabblerousers infiltrating every level of society. I doubt it got that far. And we see today that it's lost its grip most places.As a baby boomer going to Catholic school, I was told that a Communist would point a gun to my head and ask if I was Catholic. When I said yes, I would be killed. Like that's what I planned to say."I Was a Communist for the FBI" is worth seeing as a '50s artifact with some suspenseful scenes.

This is based on a true story of FBI agent Matt Cvetic who spent nine years undercover infiltrating the American communist party. Unlike so many films based on a true story there is a lot of artistic license involved by unlike so many other films the exaggerations seen here are so exaggerated that they become painfully amusing if not laugh out loud funny The American communist party members are portrayed as being entirely hypocritical . When we're introduced to the party hierarchy at a hotel room a long table filled with champagne and caviar . Hmmm not an entirely long stretch to believe that that reds are hypocrites . What does become shocking is when one of the party chiefs uses the N word quite freely because the party needs African Americans to take part in race riots to overthrow the capitalist state . On top of that it also means party funds will increase . They also want to beat up strikebreakers and a cunning plan to do this by walloping people over the head with Jewish newspapers hence the Jews will get blamed " Wow blaming ethnic minorities for something Theo . That sounds a bit like that Hitler bloke " Oh indeed and on top of that one of the those filthy communist traitors is of a German background and gets told to start up a Nazi organization same as he did ten years previously so the Communists can use agitation to stir up the masses . Don't worry about being classed as a fascist comrade because Hitler and Stalin teamed up in 1939 . There is some truth in this but feeling the need to portray communists of all ilks as being cynical moral degenerates you almost expect them to start up a paedophile ring: " Comrade lets us stand out the high school gates giving out candy to thirteen year olds " - " Comrade are you stupid ? Don't you realise kids are past it at thirteen ? " Nominated for documentary feature because in those days no one was too fussy what qualified as a documentary this is a true life story that has so much artistic license you'd think it was produced by some sort of one party Orwellian state . Americans from this period did indeed have an irony defincey

I caught this movie on the Encore Mystery channel some time ago and thought it was hysterical. I especially love the way they portrayed the party member who was a teacher and she explains how the teachers will subvert America's children. You still see remarks to the affect that the NEA is a commie front.The truth is that Cvetic liked to turn in lists of people who were in no way connected to the CPUSA. He got paid for quantity apparently. I believe this is what eventually caused the FBI to cut him loose.Still, the film is a great example of the hysteria sweeping the country at that time. I wish it was available on DVD so I could add it to my collection of bad cinema.

****SPOILERS**** Living in the shadows despised and hated by his family and friends Matt Cvetic, Frank Lovejoy, made the ultimate sacrifice in the war against the Communist menace that threatened America and the free world back in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Matt became a Communist but a Communist for the FBI. Based on the true story of undercover agent Matt Cvetic the movie is about a Pittsburgh steel worker and union representative and member of the Communist party. Matt risked his life and safety as well as the lives and safety of his friends and family for nine years to get the goods on the Communist party and put them behind bars for a long long time. Yet for all that time Matt was not only a man without a country but a man without a soul as well. Matt working undercover gets the evidence on his commie cohorts but not after he's involved in killing two commies who tried to kill him and his girlfriend Eva; as well as him being charged with the murder of an FBI agent. An FBI man That the commies, that Matt killed in self-defense, really murdered. Matt's also provided in the movie with a fellow traveler love-interest Eve Merrick, Dorothy Heart, who's a teacher, undermining the American youth, in Matt's son's Dick, Ron Hegerthy, high school.You at first think that Eve is an undercover agent like Matt is when he accidentally drops his wallet, when Matt's brother Joe(Paul Picerni) slugs him for having the nerve to attend their mother's funeral. Matt's wallet has a letter to his son telling him the truth about himself that Eve picked up. You later realize that Eve really was a commie but saw the light and got religious after seeing just how low those rotten Reds can go to achieve their wretched aims.Watching the Communists in action in the movie shows how their only really interested in creating chaos hatred and destruction among the working-class people. The Commies have not the least interest at all in getting the people to love and respect each other or to help them economically. This is the usual Commie trick that they always like to pull, in helping the working class, like they kept boasting over and over in the movie but to only use them to farther their goals. The Commies are so cold and unfeeling, even to each other, and were more then willing to rat out and even have fellow members murdered for the slightest infraction against "The Movement". These back-stabbing actions on their part made you wonder why anyone normal would want to join such a sleazy organization in the first place? Even Matt as hard as he tried had trouble convincing people in the movie, as well as the movie audience,that he was really a Communist! Matt acted so forced and phony as a slimly and in your face fanatical Communist that he looked almost embarrassed in his efforts in trying to be one. It was good to see in the end of the movie Matt get a couple of good licks in by belting his commie comrade boss Blandon, James Millican, who attacked him in the courthouse after exposing him and his Commie organization. It was also good to see Matt put the rest of Baldon's rotten Commie crew away with his undercover testimony as well. And most of all it was also very rewarding for Matt to have his friends and family finally realize just what a really great American he was. In Matt letting them on that he was a Commie only to get the Commies that he was involved with, who were trying to undermine and destroy America, their just reward.Obviously " I was a Communist for the FBI" is an over-the-top movie about Communism in America back during the Cold War. 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. It was the Red Chinese who provided the manpower for the North Korean Communists to the point were they were over 80% of the ground forces fighting the US troops there. There was also USSR, the Evil Cummmunist Empire, also providing the North Koreans with experienced jet-pilots, who shot down hundreds of USAF combat planes and helicopters. Knowing all this one can easily forgive the extreme dislike and antipathy shown against the Communist in the film back in those days.