 I was a communist for the FBI. Starring Dana Andrews and an exciting tale of danger and espionage, I was a communist for the FBI. From the actual records and authentic experiences of Matt Sevetik, how many of the incidents in this unusual story? Here is our star, Dana Andrews, as Matt Sevetik, who for nine fantastic years, lived as a communist for the FBI. The Communist Party professes to have a great contempt for money and the money-making habits of capitalist democracies. But the big-talking hypocrites know the party wouldn't last a week without money, and they'll do anything to get it. This is a story of very low finance, as practiced by men who are money-mad. In a moment, listen to Dana Andrews as Matt Sevetik, undercover man. Sevetik, under this story from the confidential file, is marked the Innocence Club. Unquestioning obedience is what the Communist Party demands of its members. Orders spiral down from above and are not questioned. The comrades trust nobody, not even each other. When I'm favored by a personal visit from Walter Skolvik, leader of our cell, I know it isn't a friendly call. Skolvik doesn't waste time on friendly calls. He's a short, swarthy man with a massive head. He looks and acts like a little Napoleon. When he talks to you, you feel that his mind is far away, scheming. But he wants to see me, and I let him in. I'm glad I found you in, Sevetik. Sit down. Well, thanks for the hospitality, comrades Skolvik. Don't be facetious. That's a bourgeois luxury. I have something to tell you. I'm listening. Are we quite alone? Of course. What's on your mind? Sevetik, I've decided to let you help me on a most important assignment. That's kind of you, comrade. What is it? I'll fill you in on such details as you must know later. I want you to be downstairs at the curb at eight o'clock. What's the occasion? You ask too many questions, Sevetik. Just be there. I'll pick you up in my car. Yeah? Where are we going? I'll tell you when I pick you up. Who's calling you? How should I know? All right. Answer it. Hello? Hello? This is the city laundry. No, my laundry hasn't arrived yet, and I'm pretty sore about it. Why isn't the driver here? I'll see what's holding it up. All right. They can call me back later and I'll tell you if he's been here. All right, we'll do that. That laundry is always losing my shirts. I forget mine to take my business to somebody else. Under a communist regime, such inefficiency would not be tolerated. One day we will change all this. Be ready, they're the quacks, Sevetik. We have a lot to do. I'll be there. Hello, city laundry. About those missing shirts... Well, it's okay. My visitor is gone. Good. We've just been called in on a case. A guy named Arnold Johnson is in jail. He works for a government agency. The charge was simple theft until they found some secret government documents at his appointment. That makes the charge espionage. Right. That's why we've been called in. I think I read something about it in one of the papers yesterday. Something about a committee that's been organized to help him claims he's innocent. That's right. Can you find out if any of your commie jumps is involved in it? Well, do my best. Thanks, Matt. Time is important on this one. So long. I don't know what's going to happen yet, but I can feel it means trouble. I can feel myself rushing into it a mile a minute. If there's a connection between Johnson and my comrades, I have to find out what. I didn't realize how quickly I was going to find out. At eight o'clock I'm on the street waiting for Skolvik. He's there on the dot. All right, Sevetik. Hop in. Where are we going? To the jail. Anybody I know? I don't think so. We're going to see a man named Ronald Johnson. One of our comrades? No, not yet, but he's of great assistance to the party, Sevetik. Do you recall the communication from Moscow a few weeks ago stressing the urgent need for more money for our cause? Sure, but I don't see how Johnson ties up with that. You'll see presently. I can tell you now that the man we're about to see is helping us raise the money. That's Skolvik's way, handing out information at grain at a time. I was impatient for the rest of it. I wanted to put the pieces together, but I didn't dare press him. We enter the prison and get to see Johnson and his cell. He's young, about 25, tall, sandy-haired with cool gray eyes. Skolvik introduces us. Mr. Johnson, this is Mr. Sevetik and I'm Walter Skolvik. We want to talk to you. About what? About getting you out of here. Where your friends? I don't think I had any. You'll have, Johnson. Good friends. I certainly need some, except my bail's so high I have to stay here till the trial. Imagine me important enough for 100,000 bail. You can count on us for help in due course. Mr. Sevetik and I represent the Justice for Johnson Committee. We want you to give us a statement that we can use in building your defense. I've heard about your committee. Why are you so interested in me? We're always interested in getting justice for those who are innocent. Suppose you tell us what happened. Now, I should tell the police came to our apartment room with another government clerk called named Martin. They said government property was missing. They found it in my coat, but I didn't take it. You can count on our help, Johnson. We know you've been framed. You do? How? We've been investigating. We always fight for victims of oppression. We know you've been victimized by Gestapo tactics. Gestapo tactics? What kind of double talk is that? What are you, anyway, communists? It's the only real party of the people. Who else would come to help you? Sure, it'd be sensible, Johnson. I don't want your kind of help. Don't be a fool. All I need is your support, and they'll be sure I'm a spy. No, I'm not buying it, Mr. For all I know, you might have framed this whole setup to get me working for you. Take it easy, Johnson. That isn't a nice thing to say. Just stay out of my life, that's all, and I want your help. You're a very foolish young man, but you're getting our help whether you like it or not. My spine feels like ice when we leave the jail. The Communist Party has a big interest in a man who's in jail, but they don't care if he rots there. They have a gimmick, an idea for making money out of the deal. And if I don't stick my neck out, they're bound to do it. And if I do stick my neck out, I might get my head chopped off. Skolvik beefs me on all the details of the scheme as we ride back in his car. A very suspicious fellow, this Johnson. But it doesn't matter. He has no friends and no money. Yeah, a classless white collar worker. Exactly. He'll be afraid to open his mouth about us. And what could he say if he did? The Justice for Johnson Committee is above suspicion. Its president is a great champion of civil liberties. The crusading publisher Lexington Lyman. Pretty big fish. In our net synthetic. Then you organize the Justice for Johnson Committee. Who else? It's our booby trap. Our Innocence Club. The finest way of raising money on a large scale. Gullible American liberals will always contribute generously to see justice done. Especially if an important man like Lyman is president of the committee. If I can keep Johnson in jail long enough, I can raise a fortune for us. It's a great idea, Cameron. How do I fit into the picture? I have two assignments for you. First, I want you on the board of directors of the committee. What do I do on this board? All of the contributions are being deposited in the bank. In order to make everything look very legal, we have it arranged that funds can be withdrawn from the bank only on presentation of four signatures. The president, financial secretary and two directors. Who's the financial secretary? Comrade Cahill. And I'm on the board of directors, understand? Yes, Cameron. That's very clever. The only outside signature we need is Lyman's. And he's such a busy publisher. He won't have time to inquire about the disbursements. You said you had two assignments for me. What's the other one? I'll tell you about that after this meeting. We have another visit to make. Here we are at the hall. There's a telephone in the lobby of the hall. I'm dying to get on it, but Scovic is at my elbow. Steering me up to the president of the committee, Lexington Lyman. He's a big man with white hair and a young face. He's taken the committee very seriously and doesn't realize he's being played for a second. Mr. Lyman, I'd like to present Mr. Sevetik, the man I mentioned for the vacancy on the board. Happy to meet you, Mr. Sevetik. It's a pleasure to be associated with you, Mr. Lyman. Thank you. The fight for civil rights needs everyone who can help Mr. Sevetik. And when injustice has been done, all of us must pitch in to see that it's corrected. You're absolutely right. Somebody's got a route for the underdog. Right. But I'd better get this meeting started. Ladies and gentlemen, I won't take up much of your time. We are gathered here in the cause of justice. Justice for a man named Arnold Johnson. He's a little man who thought he was friendless. And we are here to prove that he has friends. My newspaper, always at the disposal of those who fight for righteous causes, will continue to campaign for the release of this innocent man. We solicit the aid of every one of you. And whatever you can contribute, we'll help in obtaining competent legal aid for the defense of Arnold Johnson. I give a thousand dollars for a hundred dollars. The contributions poured in. I wanted to do something to stop them. I wanted to get up and say, you people are chumps. You're not giving your dough to help a man in jail. You're tossing it down a communist rat hole. But I don't want to commit suicide, so I keep my mouth shut. Skulvik is still at my elbow as we leave. Still no chance to use that telephone. We get in the car and make another visit to an apartment across town where I meet the second part of my assignment. A man named Nick Martin. Look, Mr. Skulvik, I did the job for you. Johnson's in jail, isn't he? That's true, Martin. But Savannah and I are here to see about the rest of the deal. You agreed to deliver certain papers from the files at your office. Sure, but the job's tougher now. What do you mean, tougher? Aren't you going through with your assignment? Well, you know I'm in a hot spot. Johnson and I room together. We both work in the same office. Suppose they get the idea that I took the papers and put them in its coat. Now, where could they get an idea like that? The only way they'll get that information, Martin, is if you don't deliver what you promised. If you don't come through, you'll be thrown to the FBI wolves. Now, wait a minute. If I go to jail, so would you. Indeed. Remember, my young friend, that it would be your unsupported word. You'd better come across, Martin. I can't do it right away. I need time. Why? We're all being watched in the office. The heat's on. It'll cool off. I'll give you one week. No more. Sabetik will get in touch with you. All right. I'll see what I can do. That's better. So long, Martin. You'll be hearing from me. I finally get away from Skulvik and walk down the street looking for a telephone. But I can't get to it. Somebody is shadowing me. He's a big hulk with a cobblestone face and small and expressionless eyes. I've got the information for the FBI, but I can't get to them. Me, I don't feel so brave. Not when I look at what's following me. I don't care to be a dead hero. Calling as Matt Sabetik. And I was a communist for the FBI and the second act of our story. Tons of telephones, but I couldn't get to one. I had to rejoin Skulvik at the meeting in half an hour. During this half hour, I'm going crazy trying to get to a phone to let my FBI contact know what I've learned. But everywhere I go, I'm shattered by a big goon who won't let me out of his sight. No time for me to go home. If I don't get to Skulvik on time, he's bound to get suspicious. It's like running down a blind alley, trying to find a doorway and seeing nothing but stone walls all around you and a dead end ahead of you. I get to the meeting. It's just winding up when I walk into the hall. Oh, hello, Sabetik. Mr. Lyman and Mr. Cahill have just been going over the final contribution figures for tonight. Right, sir. Have you done pretty well, Mr. Lyman? Wonderfully well, Mr. Sabetik. What does that bring the total to, Mr. Cahill? A little over 100,000 accounting pledges that haven't been made good yet. There, gentlemen, is proof that Americans are not selfish and indifferent to the fight of their fellow men. I'm proud of the part my paper and I are playing in this fight. I don't think it could be one without you, Mr. Lyman. Oh, that's kind of you, Mr. Skulvik. Well, I must be going now. By weekend, I expect we should have close to a quarter of a million in our fund. Enough to carry the fight through to the Supreme Court if necessary. Good night, gentlemen. Good night, Mr. Lyman. We're doing a wonderful work for us. What a pigeon. A stupid pigeon, Cahill. We need his signature to get the money out of the bank. How are we going to get it? Cahill and I have it all figured out. Sure, I'll go down to his office and have him sign a couple of the committee checks. I'll tell him there for petty disbursements that I'll have to make later. You mean you'll leave the amount blank? Sure, he trusts me. After all, I'm the financial secretary. It's a very clever system if it works. If it doesn't, we can always invent enough expenditures to get the money out in smaller amounts. We misuse our brains faster and better than our enemies if we're to change the system. Well, I think we've done a good day's work. We can all use some rest. Sevetik meet me at the office at nine tomorrow morning. I want to talk to you about getting in touch with Martin. It's late when we leave the hall. I'm still looking for a telephone. But one look behind me convinces me that I'd better go straight home. I finally get to it and I'm inside the door watching Stoneface walking past like he's out for a late stroll. Now I can make that call. Just a minute. Oh, good evening, Mr. Sevetik. Martin, what are you doing here at this hour? I know it's late, but I wanted to talk with you. Sure, come in. I thought maybe I could have an understanding with you before we had our business transaction. Okay. Sit down. Tell me what's on your mind. I, uh, well, as you probably know, I agreed to get my roommate caught with the goods and also to deliver certain other documents from the files for a flat sum of $3,000. They got paid, didn't you? Well, yes, I did, but I'm hard up. Now Mr. Skolvik gave me a week to get those documents for you. Look, suppose I were ready to make delivery in less than, well, in less time than that. Do you suppose it might be worth saying another $2,000 to him? It might. How soon can you make delivery? Whenever I get a call. What about that heat you said was on at the office? I'll risk it. Okay, Martin, I'll talk it over with Skolvik and see what he says. Thanks a lot. I'll be waiting to hear from you. Good night. Good night. Hello? Hello, this is the city laundry. Okay, I've got the dope you wanted and how I've got it. Your chums are in on it, huh? Up to their ears. Matt, you know where the penny arcade is? Sure, about two blocks from here. Right, it stays open pretty late. Take me there in ten minutes. Give me a dollar's worth of time. Thank you. Anything good on this machine, bud? Great, great. A day in the life of a hula dancing. That sounds very educational. I've always liked artistic pictures. What have you learned? The comrades are mixed up in it all right. A guy named Skolvik paid Johnson's roommate three grand to frame Johnson and deliver some important papers from the files. Delivery hasn't been made yet. What about this Justice for Johnson committee? It's a club for a bunch of innocent members. Skolvik organized it until Lexington Lyman into taking the presidency. They've raised over a hundred thousand already. By the end of the week, it might be over a quarter of a minute. Who controls the funds? It takes four signatures. Lyman's the financial secretary and two members of the board of directors. Skolvik and I are on the board. Our board key hails the financial secretary. Patterns for manager. Four signatures gives it a legal aspect. How do they get through Lyman? They're planning to shove a few blank checks at him for petty disbursements. They'll tell him he's a pretty busy man. He trusts people. Sometimes it's a bad habit. The only way to stop them from grabbing all this dough is to turn Johnson loose. Once he's released, there's no excuse they can give for spending the money. No, we can't do that, Matt. We're guilty once. Sure, sure. But we have to get him with the goods. That's your job. You've got to set him up for us. See what you can do. I walk home, but I can't go to sleep. I'm awake half a night, trying to figure out an angle. I beat my brain trying to get the answer and when I finally fall asleep, I dream about a little stony face chasing me around a little box of a room. He's just digging his fingers into my throat when I wake up in a cold sweat. It's morning. Time to stop in and see Skolvik. Good morning, Sevetik. You look terrible. Thanks, Comrade Skolvik. I didn't sleep too well. How's the money raising going? The committee bank fund, as of this morning, totals $164,000. Cahill has the figures. Sounds good. And we'll get more. Yes, but I've decided not to wait too long. It's risky. That's why I've decided to withdraw the money from the bank tomorrow. Just before lunch, Cahill will see Lyman and get his signature on two checks. Five after twelve, you and I will meet Cahill at the bank and add our signatures so the money can be taken out. This happens tomorrow. Right. Well, that gives me a free day today. No. I have worked for you, Sevetik. I've decided there's no good reason why Martin can't deliver those papers today. Delay is dangerous. Too many things can happen. I'd like somebody to go along with me when I meet him in case he gives me any trouble. Oh, you'll worry too much, Sevetik. I say there won't be any trouble. I'd like Cahill with me, just to make sure. Very well. Cahill will be here in 15 minutes. Suppose you get on the phone and tell Martin to meet you at 11.30. His lunch hour begins at 11. It'll be natural for him to be away from the office at that time. Okay. I think I know a good spot to meet. Mr. Martin? Yes, speaking. This is Matsevetik. Do you think you might be walking south on Marine Street near 6th at 11.30 this morning? Yes, I think I might. I might be walking north on Marine Street at the same time. If you happen to drop something while you're tying your shoelace, it might be picked up. Well, we'll settle that later. You just be there. A good arrangement, Sevetik. Simple enough to be effective. Coming from you, Comrade Skovik, that's very high praise. Jack Cahill came in a few minutes later and I explained the assignment to him. I had a plan worked out finally, and I hoped it would do the trick. It wouldn't do anything except help the communists get their hands on secret information unless I could let the FBI know what was going on. This is the time Cahill picks to be a bosom buddy. He sticks to me like a poor relation. Two hours I've got. 120 minutes to call the FBI, and this joker is with me every minute. And now it's time for our appointment with Martin, and all I can do is go through with it. That's Martin down the streets, Betty. Yeah, he doesn't see us yet. Now, remember Cahill, as soon as he spots us, he's going to bend over to tie his shoelace. When he does, he'll drop an envelope on the ground. And we'll pick it up, right? Right. There. He's seen me. He's bending over to tie that shoelace. I see the envelope. Will you pick it up, Cahill? Sure. Why not? I'll walk on so we won't look conspicuous. Fine. I'll get it. That envelope your property, bud? Well, it was lying on the sidewalk, and I just sort of picked it up. Yeah, yeah, I know. Like Mr. Martin just sort of dropped it. My partner has him. You better come along, too. I never had a happier surprise than when I looked back and saw two FBI men picking up Martin and Cahill. That's what I wanted to happen, but I didn't think it would because I hadn't been able to phone my contact. I go home and look at the late editions of the paper. There's a lot of news about the Communist plot to take money out of a guy they'd framed. There's a story that they've picked up Walter Skulvik as the mastermind and are holding him without bail. There's mention of Cahill and Martin, too. But there's nothing about Sevetik, and that's good. I'm still in business. It's late evening, and I get a visitor. Well, I see you're reading about it, Matt. We've rounded them all up. Well, that's fine. But I had a bad time about whether you would be there. I couldn't reach you. Yeah, I figured that. But we had Martin covered. Johnson agreed to stay in jail and help us. And I certainly swear to this one out. We had a big goon with a stony face on my tail. Stony? He's one of our boys, Matt. He was assigned to protect you. Now you tell me. Yeah, now he tells me. And that's usually the way I'm told when it's all over. Plans? Who can make plans in this crazy quilt world where I live in the half-light of deceit, intrigue, and dishonesty? Another day of this dawn-dust existence. But this day turned out all right. Yeah, this day. But how many more of them can I take? So I'll take them. Keep them to myself. I'm a communist for the FBI. I walk alone. Andrews will return in just a moment. Andrews reminding you that what we love and cherish in our land is made possible by a life called liberty. But we can't take it for granted. We have to guard it and keep it burning bright, so no enemy within or without can snuff out that light. In the story you've just heard, names, dates, and places were fictitious to protect innocent persons. Many of these stories are based on incidents in the life of Matt Saabedic, who worked undercover for the FBI. Next week, another fantastic adventure. Join us, won't you?