Walk East on Beacon!

source: Walk East on Beacon!

I have recently reviewed Red Manace, a film similar to this one on the Red Scare of the 1950s. That film is superior to this one because of the writing. This one had the better actors, director, and production values, but the writing was as predictable as the Orioles not getting into the playoffs. In Walk East, the script has everything colored in black and white, with no shades of gray. Real life is not like that in the least. There are always shades of gray. There is no pancake so flat that it does not have two sides. We never get to see the other side of the story. What motivated these people to be becomes communists? When Jews were sent to concentration camps in WW2, only the Socialists fought for their release. Socialism was popular in every country that had overreactive Fascist governments previous to their presence. Classical American democracy was seldom practiced in any of these countries, so Socialism was the only viable alternative. We do not see this in this, or mort other red scare frilms of the fifties.

The story was developed some years after the close of World War II, and as some of the techniques of Soviet agents of the time. The basic story, a "professor" is developing mathematics that can be used for the development of missiles and the like, with Soviet agents trying to find out details -- apparently some exotic math -- from a project code-named Falcon. The story follows the various mechanations of enemy agents, and the details of how the F.B.I. coped with the covert actions of the enemy agents. Since the film is in monochrome, it's a bitironic to point out that the plot is In black and white, as are the characters. This follows the tradition of such films during the World War II period. The covert activities of the F.B.I. are a bit humorous to a modern eye -- for example, the call litters of the local Bureau home radio transmitter are WFBI, which would be anything but a low profile in case of people monitoring frequencies. Bugging a suspect's business with an early TV camera and audio link was more to show off the latest postwar technology than to show any practical means of snooping. To a modern eye, the precomputer "calculating machine" used somehow to develop what in the brief glimpse we see of it looks like a set of differential equations, seems to the modern eye rather amusing, but accepting it for the sake of the story isn't difficult: the developed sheet of equations is what the spy ring is seeking. A rigid analysis of the espionage and counteroffer's makes little more sense than counting the number of shots a six-gun in a Roy Rogers western manages to fire without reloading; some things one can't take too seriously. Entertaining, but not documentary.

WALK EAST ON BEACON! Is a thriller from 1952 that feels like it was made as a propaganda piece for the FBI. Hoover features in archive footage and from what we know about the communist witch hunts of the era it all feels more than a little queasy. The story involves the usual heroic troupe of FBI agents who are hunting for a sleeper cell of Russian agents working out of Boston. The cast are competent but the film sort of plods along at its own speed without ever truly engaging the senses or indeed the imagination. While it's nice to see a film not set in New York or Los Angeles for once, this really doesn't have all that much to offer.

This is a most conventional propaganda picture for the glory of the FBI with careful documentation of how expertly they handle their duties and get their commie villains. It is very similar in character to Henry Hathaway's "House on the 92nd Street", which though is a so much more interesting film for its characters, especially Signe Hssso. Here there are no characters except stereotypes.. The one character for which the film is worth seeing is Finlay Currie as the Russian scientist who gets into trouble, and his way of handling his very tricky path out of an immense abyss of trouble. It's not a bad film, but it is supremely superficial, varnished to 101% artificial perfection, but for Finlay Currie. who makes a great performance.

Director Alfred L Werker stands as an indefatigable worker of B pics and he does not disappoint in WALK EAST ON BEACON! - a rather unusual title for a propaganda and FBI procedural piece. Apart from the professional actor George Murphy and the rather biblical Finlay Currie (who played the part of Peter in QUO VADIS one year earlier) with a Russian or German accent, no known actors, but the action is riveting enough to remove any pressure from generally satisfactory and unassuming acting. Good photography, tight and believable script (though I failed to grasp the repeated interest in the lady who walked with a "lope", nothing comes of it in the end) and pertinent voiceover. No masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but interesting to watch as a capsule of a time when politics interfered with the life of citizens and everyone suspected everyone else of commie sympathies. May the world never have to go through that again... now that Big Brother is watching everyone every minute of every day!

In general I agree with the two previous comments: this is a rather plodding, but competently filmed story within the early 50s parameters of anti-Communist drama. However, I cannot help remarking on the film's weird obsession with "women's shoulder strap bags." Although they have no real impact on the plot, they are repeatedly referred to or shown prominently. Also, I find the Party's tactic of threatening to expose members who wish to quit or are otherwise uncooperative nonsensical. This idea also appears in other films of the period. Even if it were true that such threats were made it would still make little or no sense as a functional threat. The exposed Communist would simply retaliate by exposing other Communists still loyal to the Party, I would imagine.

"Walk East on Beacon!" is a product of the times. Following WWII, the good will between the US and USSR bottomed out quickly and instead of being friends, the Soviets took over Eastern Europe and parts of East Asia. In response, the US became very paranoid about communism and the notion of communists infiltrating the county....so a movie like this isn't the least bit surprising. Some of the movies are fun to watch...some, like this one, are surprisingly ordinary. The film is about an attempt by communist moles to capture a top scientist and force him to work for the USSR. Professor Kafer (Finlay Currie) is worried because his son disappeared. Apparently, the communists have kidnapped him and say they'll return him IF the Professor cooperates. Fortunately, American FBI agents are on the case and hope to not only rescue the son but break up this network of spies. The story was interesting. But it also was surprisingly low energy considering the subject matter. Also, having George Murphy anchor the film didn't help, as he always seemed more passive than most actors....and here he gives a typically bland performance. Overall, not a bad film....but I would have expected more fireworks considering the topic.

I give this a "6" for the location filming and the police procedural format. The use of relatively unknown actors, save for George Murphy, enhance the film. The story itself is far-fetched, only loosely based on the Rosenthal case of the early 50s. WARNING Spoiler AHEAD: It has a spy master from Moscow entering from a Polish ship in Boston Harbor; a cell of agents already in place, a kidnapping of a refugee scientist and a sea "chase" climax. All in all, if you want to see what Boston looked like in 1952 and enjoy the quasi-documentary film, watch this. Don't expect accurate history, or any history for that matter. If you want to see squared-jawed, All-American FBI agents chasing evil communists, watch "Big Jim McCain" with John Wayne or the "FBI Story" with Jimmy Stewart. Both almost as fictional as this, but each has a more interesting and dynamic story and lead actor.

Or the Red Sox.... This is a spy drama which takes the viewer inside the intrigue as seen through the Communist eye, at least through the writings of anti-communists. It's a film noir cold war thriller well acted by a mostly unknown cast, although future politician George Murphy is recognizable as the head FBI agent. The Scottish Finlay Currie is excellent as the scientist the commies (a combination of mostly both American born and Russian, as well as some from a few other countries) want to get their hands on for his complicated formula, and they have held his son as prisoner as leverage for getting him to do what they need him to do. It's not strictly just the desire for the secret formula and everything it can do which makes this tense, but each step they take and every action which occurs, making them sly and calculating as agents who don't even know each other must prove their identities when they first encounter each other (usually through a torn dollar or photo). Don't cast judgment on all of the communist characters involved in the quest for the formula because as this film will reveal, some are communists through youthful error, some blackmailed into participating and some actually double agents. This is a brilliantly written and well made film noir which turns the naked city into the cradle of liberty where that liberty is definitely being threatened. Such innocuous shops such as flower stores, photography labs and even a mortuary are the fronts for commie activity. This isn't one of those cold war era anti-communist propaganda films that is simply out to discredit communism, just the actions of those involved in stealing vital secrets and the danger in the world of espionage where nobody is safe.