J. Edgar Hoover Movies
- 1995
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For over forty years J. Edgar Hoover served as director of the F.B.I., his entire career devoted to rooting out anti-American activities and fighting communism in the name of democracy. From the "Red Scare" of the 1920s to Hoover's tireless mission to root out actors, politicians, and protestors suspected of engaging in communist activities, this release puts the master propagandist's paranoid legacy under the microscope to explore how one man's deep-rooted obsession can grip an entire nation in fear. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
About 400 known and unknown American communists were interviewed during this five-year documentary project, and the results culled down to an intriguing 100 minutes of screen time. As secretaries, factory workers, farmers, and intellectuals discuss the past, their insights provide both humor and pathos, but most of all, the interviewees emerge as human beings whose main interest has remained in lowering the gap between the haves and have nots. The documentary notes that as a result of leftist agitation, the United States adopted programs like Social Security and unemployment insurance faster than otherwise -- programs that were once labeled communist by American conservatives. Committed to defending human and civil rights, the 1,000,000-member American Communist Party lost more than half of its members when Stalin's inhuman purges were made public. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these interviews, which also included people like Pete Seeger, is the change in attitudes during the 1960s and '70s and the fact that some members of the Communist Party refused to be interviewed because they were afraid of repercussions if their affiliation were made public. These repercussions had taken many forms in the past, including the loss of jobs as in the McCarthy era. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Bailey, Dorothy Healey, (more)
- 1942
The phrase "Loose Lips Sink Ships" takes on a new and special meaning in the cautionary British war drama Next of Kin. In grade-school-primer fashion, the film shows how careless talk can have a devastating and tragic effect in times of war, sometimes boomeranging on the "talker" in the form of lost loved ones. Extra attention is paid the gossipy "Ma" Webster (Mary Clare), whose casual revelation of troop movements, culled from a recent visit by her son, has long-ranging, fatal consequences. American critics, unmoved by the melodramatic breast-beating of Next of Kin, suggested that the film might cause viewers to swear off moviemaking rather than talking. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Sydney, Frederick Leister, (more)
- 1940
Parole Fixer is another entry in Paramount's unofficial "J. Edgar Hoover" series, purportedly based on an actual case in the files of the FBI. The plot revolves around the activities of crooked attorney Paul McGrath, who secures paroles for big-time criminals by pulling a number of political strings. Feeling particularly expansive, McGrath masterminds the kidnapping of socialite Virginia Dale, using ex-con chauffeur Robert Paige as an "inside man". When another of McGrath's stooges, Anthony Quinn, bumps off FBI agent Jack Carson (established as a happy family man in the early scenes, thereby signing his own death warrant!), Carson's partner William Henry vows to bring the whole rotten bunch of crooks to justice. Directed with split-second timing by Robert Florey, Parole Fixer is a masterpiece of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Virginia Dale, (more)
- 1940
Though the title character is loosely based on that of the notorious killer/robber Ma Barker, she has been sanitized and prettified to meet the perceived conservative values of Hollywood movie audiences. Unlike Barker, who was bad to the bone, Ma Webster is simply a matriarch who would do anything for her three crazy sons, even assisting them with thieving and kidnapping. Their exploits land the nefarious family on the FBI's "most wanted" list and cause the agency to send out their very best man to find them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bellamy, Blanche Yurka, (more)
- 1939
In this crime drama, a young hood and a seductress team up and rob a gas station. As she requires an opulent, exciting existence, more robberies ensue until they get really greedy and attempt a kidnapping. Unfortunately, they chose an unusually perceptive victim who is able to recall the flight paths of the airplanes that flew over the hideout and the crooks are soon captured. The story is based on a nonfiction book from FBI leader J. Edgar Hoover and does not glorify the criminal's actions. The film also includes interesting glimpses into FBI procedures for solving such cases. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Overman, Patricia Morison, (more)
- 1939
Undercover Doctor, like the other entries in Paramount's "FBI" series, could lay claim to being "drawn from today's headlines." The film was loosely based on the career of Dr. Joseph P. Moran, who violated the ethics of his profession by tending to the gunshot wounds of gangster Eddie Krator (Broderick Crawford) and his cronies without reporting those wounds to the police. J. Carrol Naish plays Dr. Bartley Morgan, who covers up his profitable illegalities with the respectable veneer of a posh, highly profitable private practice. FBI agent Robert Anders (Lloyd Nolan) is surprisingly slow on the uptake, never catching on to Morgan's illicit activities until the film is three-quarters over. Heather Angel costars as a socialite who doesn't pick her friends too well, while Janice Logan, future costar of Paramount's Dr. Cyclops, fills the nominal heroine role as Dr. Morgan's nurse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Janice Logan, (more)
