 I was a communist for the FBI. Starring Dana Andrews in an exciting tale of danger and espionage. I was a communist for the FBI. You are about to hear a strange story. Names, dates and places are, for obvious reasons, fictional. But many of these incidents are based on the actual experiences of Matt Sevettik. Who, for nine fantastic years, lived as a communist for the FBI. Here is our star, Dana Andrews, as Matt Sevettik. Treachery and betrayal are hard to live with, but for nine years they were my companions as I posed as a communist for the FBI. Freedom is never cheap, however, and I know that no matter what price I had to pay, their eds had to be exposed and stopped. For unless we stamp out the party's subversive activities, freedom in America will die, as surely as tomorrow. In a moment, listen to Dana Andrews as Matt Sevettik, under cover man. Dana Andrews, under cover man. This story from the confidential file is marked, The Red Ladies. The party ordered me to Midwest City. I was to help a club called the Women's Peace League spread the commie doctrine of peace at any price. The club sent a committee to welcome me at my hotel. The committee was made up of three expensively dressed ladies, two middle-aged, one young, and none looking like red sympathizers. I, Mrs. Fisher, Mr. Sevettik. This is Mrs. Vane. Delighted, Mr. Sevettik. My pleasure. And, Miss Keeling. Edith, please. How do you do? I'm really happy to meet you, Edith. Yes, well, you're here to help us, Mr. Sevettik. Obviously, you're sympathetic with our cause. What I know of it? Our plan is to arouse the Women's Clubs of America in a concerted plea for peace at any price. Can you do it, Mrs. Vane? We've done it in the Women's Peace League. It's a large club, but we've gotten control of it. All we have to do is duplicate it in other clubs. Here, in other... And then? And then we get the clubs to unite in peace demonstrations. Wires, telegrams to congressmen, picket lines around the White House. I see. It's a procedure I've been well taught. Is that why I'm here? No, we are well organized already. But they'll need you to give speeches, represent us in certain cases, and handle women that we feel would be more vulnerable to a man's approach. It's amazing how many women will listen to a man where they won't to another woman. Or is it amazing? You will be mailed your first speech tomorrow. Be ready to give it at the Women's Peace League Friday night. I understand. Are you in charge of this movement, Mrs. Fisher? I'm chairman of the Women's Peace League. That's all you need to know for the moment. Mr. Svetic. Yes? You'll have to prove yourself with us. To do that, it's important that you don't make any mistakes. And that you don't become too curious. Am I quite clear? Edith, you couldn't be clearer. The next day was Wednesday, and as promised, my speech arrived in the mail neatly typed and as full of trouble as an atomic bomb. In three hours, I had it memorized. Then I took it to a little music shop just off the main street. Yes, sir? What can I do for you? Do you have Prokofiev's fifth played by the Georgian symphony? No, I'm afraid I haven't heard of that orchestra. We have it by the Boston Symphony with Serge Kusevitsky conducting. I have 18 minutes. May I hear it? Certainly. This way, sir. In this booth. I'll show you how to work the machine. Hi, Matt. How's life with the commies? Lousy, Frank. You're gaining weight? Yeah. Wife's got me on a new diet. Take a look at this speech. This ought to worry a little of that weight off you. You going to give this? Friday night. Women's Peace League. No more fighting? No more army? No military machine to frighten the poor foreigners in the war? Yeah, no more America as soon as they catch us unarmed. Don't get mad at me. I'm on your side. Spouting that commie rot makes me sick to my stomach. This women's peace league? Is it a red front? I don't think so. It's just a women's club that has let itself be taken over. I'm working for three women who seem to be running the club and the movement. Party members? One of them certainly is. Whichever one organizes this movement. Maybe all three. How far has this thing gone? Just as one club so far, but they're planning to branch out. That's why I was called in. We'd better check those three women. Names? Mrs. Paula Fisher. 50 tall bony face. Mrs. Loretta Vane. About 55. Small, white-haired. Edith Keeling. 30. Dark-haired. Beautiful. Would you like icicles? I don't. Say, Frank, you notice something? All three of them are top drawer society ladies. Yet they're running around with commies. They're even good bets to be commies. What do you make of that? That's what we want you to tell us, Matt. Yes, sir? Oh, your key, Mr. Servetic. Please. Thanks. Wait. There's a man been asking for you. No? Yes, he's waiting over there. The one in the chauffeur's uniform standing by the potted pond. Yeah, I see him. Thanks. Careful, sir. That bulge under his arm isn't exactly muscle. Hmm? Well, thanks again. Compliments at the house, Mr. Servetic. We hate to lose a good customer. Looking for me? Oh, you're Servetic? I'm Mr. Servetic. Time you showed up will be late for dinner. Who's dinner? In case I decide to go. Mrs. Vanes, you'll go. I got orders to bring you. You always obey orders? Always. I was afraid so. Well, shall we go? Sweet buggy, huh? 90 inches just sing. If you want to fly, why don't you get an airplane? Gonna have me a car like you someday. Hey, here. Have a cigarette and relax. Thanks. Oh, you dropped something? Huh? I'll get it. Hey, lady's diamond ring. Yeah, give me that. What's your driving? You think I was gonna steal it? Yeah. Never mind what I think. You just forget you ever saw that ring. Oh, good evening, Mr. Servetic. Put the car away, Tommy. Tommy didn't say you'd be here. Would it have made any difference? Not the way he put the invitation. Sit here. Mrs. Vane will be down in a moment. Sure. You mind if I call you Matt? Not at all. When we're more friendly, you can call me Edie. Are we going to become more friendly? Is there any reason why not? Lots of reason. I don't make friends with people who don't trust me. Or who send me invitations backed up by a hoodlum's gun. Tommy is a little impetuous. Want to hear my name for him? Uh, no. No, I'll tell you anyway. He's not a chauffeur. No serve I've ever talked away, he did. I'm betting he's a strong arm man for the MVD. Let's say he's a handyman. He does a lot of things for Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Vane and I that we can't do ourselves. Not and remain ladies, that is. And you are ladies, aren't you Edie? Edie. I'm feeling very friendly. This too? I beg your pardon. Edie that's got whiskers. Girl gets boy alone, girl gets friendly, boy tells all. Only, what is it I'm supposed to tell? Pretty obvious, huh? Obvious enough. Your charms are usually much more effective. Good evening, Mrs. Vane. Good evening, Mrs. Vane, you're just in time. I told you he was a smart young man, Edie. Well now we know he is. So that's the reason for this merry-go-round. It's important that we know we can trust you not to betray us, even accidentally. He's proven himself alert. Now let's reward him with dinner. I think it's ready. It's a wonderful dinner, Mrs. Vane. Thank you. I'll tell Cook you enjoyed it. Me too. But I'm afraid I must go now. Mrs. Fisher is expecting me. Oh, uh, can Tommy drive me? Of course. He'll be back in plenty of time to take you to your hotel, Mrs. Betty. Sorry to run. Good night, Matt. Good night. Tommy, I seem to have mislead the valuable diamond ring. I may have dropped it in the car. Would you look around for it? Sure, Mrs. Vane. What did you say, diamond ring? Why, yes. Anything wrong, Mr. Svetic? No. No, nothing's wrong. Tommy had taken Mrs. Vane's ring. There wasn't much doubt of that. But it was no time to get involved with the exposure of a petty thief. I needed information. And of the three women, Mrs. Vane seemed the least likely to be a red. So I took the chance of pumping her with questions when we were alone. She was charming, agreeable, but after an hour I still had learned nothing. Do you like my house, Mrs. Svetic? It's lovely, Mrs. Vane, like it's mistress. Why, thank you. How soon do we start our campaign? Soon. You know, Mrs. Svetic, it's fortunate for you that I'm not Edith or Mrs. Disher. Questions like that would annoy them madly. Oh, I didn't realize that. Of course, all right. I'm afraid I'll never be like them. No suspicions. I'm not the type. I was sure now that Mrs. Vane was only a pawn in the game. And I wanted to confide in her, but training and habit made me go slow. Then Tommy returned to take me back to my hotel and the opportunity was lost for the moment. You like the old Dane, don't you? Yeah, she's a very sweet woman. Tell her about the ring? No. Thanks. When I owe you. Forget it. Stupid play on my part. But she ought to leave stuff like that laying around loose. Too big a temptation for a guy like me. Just what kind of a guy are you, Tommy? Besides being muscle for the MVD. Who told you that? He just let it drop. That female ice cube, she talks too much. Why not? To me, I'm a party member. I know. But they're playing this one cagey. The women's peace league would throw a fit if they knew who was really behind this movement. Then what about that club? Do we really control it? Yeah. Oh, there's some little housewife named Judson who keeps fighting us, but so far she hadn't gotten any place. If she keeps it up, I'll probably get orders to teach her a lesson. A lesson? Sure, a little accident. A few bruises will help remind Mrs. Judson to keep her mouth shut. I can imagine. You know, you're a nice guy. I like you and I owe you a good turn, so here's a tip. Watch your step around Mrs. Vane. I don't want to have to teach you a lesson. Mrs. Vane? Don't tell me she's a party member. He's more than that, comrade. She's in charge of this operation. Now back to Dana Andrews, starring as Matt Severick. And I was a communist for the FBI and the second act of our story. The groundwork had been well laid for the Redd plan to infiltrate the women's clubs of America. In Midwest City, the Reds had taken over the women's peace league as a start. The key Redd organizes with three women, backed up by Tommy, a greedy and none too bright muscle man for the commie secret police. My job began with a speech. Ladies, ladies, please. As chairman of the women's peace league, I have a special honor today. That of introducing your speaker, Matthew Severick. Thank you. Thank you, ladies. My message to you is one of primary importance for every American who wants to be free to live without the dread of war. No matter what the cost, we must stamp out this reckless slaughtering of our young men. It was sickening propaganda and lies all mixed up neatly with half truths and emotionalism. I hated it, but I had to keep playing the red game. After the meeting, I reported to my FBI contact. The FBI report came in on those three women, Matt. And nothing on any of them. Well, yeah. They're still Reds, all right. But this is one of the party's secret cells. Mrs. Vane hid it. Can you prove this? Not a word. But I'm right, Frank. And if we can expose Mrs. Vane as a commie, this whole plan will fall apart like a house of cards. You said there's no proof. There's proof. In one place, the communist MVD files in New York. Oh, swell. That's a big help. I think there's a way to get that proof. This job is getting you, Matt. The MVD wouldn't let you get near those files. No, of course not. But they would permit another MVD man to look at them. And Tommy, that's Mrs. Vane's so-called chauffeur, is an MVD goon boy. So? Tommy's not very long on brains, and he's the greedy type. He even swiped a ring of Mrs. Vane's. What? I'm pretty sure that the temptation of big money would be stronger than his party loyalty. Like a lot of Reds, Tommy's in the party only for what he can get out of it. Go on. Well, despite the fact that she's a communist, Mrs. Vane is wealthy, Frank. Very wealthy. With proof of her being a commie, Tommy and I got blackmailed Mrs. Vane for plenty. Now look, Matt, we can't okay anything like that. Hey, Frank, stop it. I'm not going to actually blackmail her. All I want to do is make a deal with Tommy so he thinks we are. Long enough for him to steal her record from the MVD file. And then when you get your hands on her record... I give it to you and send copies to a smart little housewife named Mrs. Judson. Who? One of the members of the Women's Peace League who won't give in to the commie propaganda. She's dying to get her claws into the Reds that have taken over that club. And I want to give her that chance. Yeah. Yeah, sounds good, Matt. Go ahead. Me, blackmail Mrs. Vane? You sound like you're a few bricks short of a load, comrade. It would be simple for you to get that file, Tommy. And with it, you could live in luxury the rest of your life. Both of us could. Yeah. Yeah, I always dreamed... Ah, no, it's crazy. Just like I said, why, the party'd have both our hearts. With that kind of money, you could buy a lot of protection, Tommy. I guess we could find a place where there isn't any party. Sure we could. We'll live there like kings. Sure never would have figured you as a crook. You got one of them honest faces. Maybe I'm an honest crook. There's too much money in this for anyone to pass up. Yeah. Okay, Svetic, I don't mind telling you the whole idea scares me, but... you got a deal. Tuesday was Tommy's day off. At 8.15 in the morning, he caught the New York plane. If all went well, he was due back that night, so I stayed in my hotel room and waited. Then at 10 o'clock, I had a caller, but it wasn't Tommy. Good evening. May I come in? Why, certainly, Mrs. Vane. We are calling a special meeting of the Women's Peace League tomorrow night to vote on starting our campaign on a national basis. Well, that's good news, Mrs. Vane. In private, you may call me Comrade. Comrade? You? The party member? For much longer than you, and I'm the head of this operation. But I thought Mrs. Fisher or Edith... Comrades, yes. But only my assistant. Well, to say the least, I'm surprised. Well, don't feel badly. The party has gone to great lengths to keep our connection with it a secret. Of course. After the meeting tomorrow night, come to my house. We'll blueprint our immediate action. Good night, Comrade. Good night. What a time. Yes? Spatic, you alone? Yeah, did you get it? I couldn't get the whole file too risky, but I got enough to prove she's a party member. Good work. Where are you? Right down the lobby. I'll come right on. Lobby? Hey, get out of that quick, Mrs. Vane's on her way down. Oh, no. Look, I ain't keeping this stuff on me. It's too dangerous. You keep it. I'll leave it at the desk in your name. Here are the photostatic copies, Matt. How are you going to work getting them to the Judson Woman? Simple. I'm going to get Tommy to take them to her. All clear? I'm sure. Come in. Do you get the stuff? It's locked in the hotel safe. Stop worrying. I won't stop worrying until this thing's over with. When do we put the bite on Mrs. Vane? Tomorrow. Why not now? Why wait? Take it easy. Too much is going on. Just play like nothing's up until tomorrow. Yeah, maybe you're right. Tonight's a bad time. It sure is, Tommy. Now, I'll see you at the meeting. A special meeting of the Women's Peace League was scheduled for 8.30. But I was early, and then my pocket was the copy of Mrs. Vane's party record. Neatly folded inside some party literature. 8.20, the room was a hubbub. 8.25, Mrs. Vane arrived with Tommy. Whenever attention was taken by several members, I went to Tommy. Noisy, ain't it? Yeah. Call me tomorrow as soon as you can get away. Are you sure? Only, what do we do if she don't want to pay? She'll pay. Oh, do me a favor, will you, Tommy? Take this stuff and give it to Mrs. Judson. There she is in the back of the room. Judson? What the devil are you giving her? Just some party literature. Mrs. Vane thinks if Mrs. Judson reads it, she might become, uh, converted. Well, I'll give it to her, but it sounds like a waste of time. Well, not Tommy. Oh, Mrs. Vane. See you in this crowd. Where are Mrs. Fisher and Edith? They should be here now. I don't see them yet, but... Well, why on earth is Tommy talking to Mrs. Judson? Oh, he's giving her something. Papers look like. Must be good reading. Look at her face. Oh, there come Edith's Mrs. Fisher now. Good. We can get started right away. Here, sit with me. Mrs. Fisher wasted no time in calling the meeting to order and Tommy and Edith had a meeting. Mrs. Fisher wasted no time in calling the meeting to order and Tommy ducked outside to avoid listening to the talk. He should have stayed. He promised to be a very interesting meeting. Fellow members of the Women's Peace League, in order to get at the business of this special meeting sooner, we'll dispense with the usual formalities of roll calls. Mrs. Chairman? The chair recognizes Mrs. Judson. Before the club votes on this proposed project, I believe it's my privilege to raise a question. Not unless it is pertinent to the... It is very pertinent. Oh, very well. If you insist, Mrs. Judson, you have the floor. Thank you. My question is to you, Mrs. Vane. Me? Well, please go ahead, Mrs. Judson. I'll be happy to answer if I can. I'm sure you can. You, along with Mrs. Keeling and Mrs. Fisher, are the sponsors of this suggested campaign. Is that right? Certainly. I'm quite proud of the fact. Because it represents what you believe in, and what you stand for. Is that correct? Yes. Ladies of this club, something was brought to my attention that I believe you should know. To some of you, obviously, this will come as no surprise. But to most of you, those of you who have only been misguided, it will be more than a surprise. It will be a shock. I have in my possession at this moment the Communist Party record of Mrs. Loreta Vane. No, no, that's not true. She can't do it. Ladies, ladies. Mrs. Vane, we better get out of here in fast. Follow me. I'll get you to your car. I can't understand this. How could you get my record? No one would... Hey, what's the matter? What's going on? You. You did it. That's what you were giving to Mrs. Judson. Huh? On our way. You traitor. Don't play innocent. We both saw you give her Mrs. Vane's record. What? So that's... Svetic, I'm going to kill you for this. Look out, he's got a gun. Nice work, comrade. Hold him. I'll bring up the car. The party's going to want a long talk with Tommy. Yeah. Tommy. You... you slugged me. My pleasure. You're a spy. I'll tell the party. Tommy, I don't think the party's going to pay much attention to what you have to say from now on. You taught me into it. It was your idea. Goes to show you, Tommy, never trust a guy with an honest face. They make lousy crooks. It was over. Mrs. Vane's plan was ruined. And she'd been exposed for what she was, a communist. And scratch one commie goon. The party would see to that. The way I had to work wasn't pleasant. No one brought up on the principles of fair play and decency could enjoy it. But for the sake of freedom for 150 million Americans, it had to be done. And by a man like me, who in the midst of his enemies would always walk alone. Dana Andrews will return in just a moment. This is Dana Andrews. A long time ago, our forefathers fought and died. So that we might be born in a country where everyone has the rights of freedom. To speak, to think, and to pray in his own way. It's a precious heritage. Let's be sure we don't throw it away. Join us next week for another thrilling chapter from the Files of Matt Savetti, won't you?