recommended

not as good as all the hype

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

A true story of an FBI agent Matt Cevetic, excellently portrayed by actor Frank Lovejoy who spent 9 years undercover as a member of the Communist Party. He endured the many hardships and dangers that went with the territory. The tactics of the Communist Party were to disrupt the U.S. government by infiltrating the Unions and even the school systems, by spreading the fear, hatred, racism, and even commiting murder in some cases. Some may choose to believe that this is just a simple propaganda piece, but it is far more than that. This is just my take on this, believe what you choose, but If you look at the Democrat Party today, you will see distinct similarities between their tactics and those of the Communist Party of old. This movie will keep you the edge of your seat, but have some tissue ready, your going to need it!

Frank Lovejoy is an undercover FBI agent posing as a committed communist. He's invited to a small party being given to honor a visiting Grand Poobah from the Old Country. The table is set with candles and there is caviar, blini, pelmeni, kapusta, champagne and other delights on the buffet."Quite a spread you have here," remarks Lovejoy. "Better get used to it, Comrade. This is how we'll live when we take over the world." The smiling reply is entirely without sarcasm or irony.The movie is ludicrous. The good guys are all good and the bad guys are just terrible. If you're a commie and you look cross-eyed, your comrades eliminate you, just as in the Nazi espionage movies of ten years earlier.But some of the anti-Nazi movies weren't that bad. "The House on 92nd Street" has equally evil enemies but is full of suspense. And if you want an enjoyable movie about Commie rats, watch John Wayne tangle with them in "Big Jim McLain." This is a poorly done example of the propaganda genre. I've always liked Frank Lovejoy and Philip Carey. Dorothy Hart, a naive commie who wises up, is utterly beautiful in an entirely conventional way. But nobody brings anything to this particular party. I don't know what Frank Lovejoy's problem was but he seems made of wood, even when informed that his mother has just died.The politics of the movie are hardly worth going on about. There were any number of Soviet spies working in Western countries -- the Rosenbergs, Klaus Fuchs, Kim Philby, and others. But if their intention was to disrupt the lives of all Americans, they couldn't have done a better job than the House Unamerican Activities Committee, idolized here.Scenes of communist speakers stirring up a black audience and prompting the FBI to keep an eye on black responders bring to mind J. Edgar Hoover -- president-for-life of the FBI -- with his tape recordings from Martin Luther King's bedroom, later sent to King's wife, perhaps the nadir of federal law enforcement.

In 1921, only 4 years after their revolution, Hoover warned that Russian Communist spy cells were being set up in America with the purpose of violently overthrowing America. They would start with infiltration, strikes, riots, tied into labor disputes and whatever mayhem they could create. When this movie was made, there were many sympathizers in Hollywood, the elites who didn't understand that they would be among the first murdered if Russian Communism succeeded. Warner was brave to do this movie. McCarthy was villainized by daring to ask if their allegiance was to America or to Russia. Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist party? A simple question, which any patriot would be proud to answer a resounding "No". They tortured him into an early grave by ridiculing him, with the help of the Liberal Press. To this day, Liberal professors poison our youth against the lofty principles that made America great. Along with "entitlement" and 15 million illegals and their "rights", we are in deep trouble.

Well, that's the message this film tries to deliver. It's not very subtle at all, but I don't think that's what they tried to accomplish with it at that time. I heard the film was also nominated for best documentary (but didn't win) at the Academy Awards, so that proves that this was taken very serious in the early 50's. Nowadays, it all seems very simplistic and one-sided and the ending is very moralizing. The story isn't very thrilling too, but the acting is quite good and it's been all put together in a rather decent way too. Just don't believe too much in what they are saying. 5/10