I was struck by one of West’s observations early on, regarding the dearth of American motion pictures exposing the evils of communism:
“Stateside, what about the flatfoots, the G-men, who shadowed honest-to-goodness Communist conspirators? We have The House on 92nd Street, an interesting 1945 movie with FBI heroes trailing a Nazi spy ring operating on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, but no movie features FBI heroes trailing myriad Communist spy rings operating out of New York and Washington.”
Actually…
Although it sounds like a gag to our post-modern ears, there really is a 1951 film called I Was a Communist for the FBI.
It’s a noir-ish melodrama, very much of its time, and one of those “based on a true story” endeavors, so viewer beware.
However, do note that commentators tend to dismiss the man who inspired the film, Matt Cvetic, as an emotionally unstable alcoholic — the very same libelous accusations thrown at Whittaker Chambers and Joe McCarthy himself, often by the same “educated” liberals who still spread the corny slander that J. Edgar Hoover wore women’s clothes.
(Speaking of Hoover: The Bureau was eager to distance itself from the film — until it was a hit.)
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