Thursday, August 19, 2021

I Was A Communist For The FBI - A Riot Made to Order (06-01-52)

A Riot Made to Order (Aired June 1, 1952)

Throughout most of the 1940's, Matt Cvetic worked as a volunteer undercover agent for the FBI, infiltrating the Communist Party in Pittsburgh. In 1949, his testimony helped to convict several top Party members of conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. Cvetic sold his account to "The Saturday Evening Post" and it was serialized under the title "I Posed as a Communist for the FBI". It later became a best-selling book. In 1951, Warner Brothers released a film based on these accounts entitled "I Was A Communist For The FBI", starring with Frank Lovejoy as Cvetic. In 1952, in the midst of the Red scare of the 1950's, the Frederick W. Ziv Company produced the syndicated radio series with the same title as the movie. It was produced without assistance from the FBI, which refused to cooperate.

THIS EPISODE:

June 1, 1952. Program #10. ZIV Syndication. "A Riot Made To Order". Commercials added locally. Cvetic uses a sprinkler system to foil the plans of the Party to cause a riot and create sympathy for the Communists. Dana Andrews, Truman Bradley (announcer), Henry Hayward (director), David Rose (music). 26:45. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.



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