By Richard Harland Smith
The FBI Story
Brief Synopsis
A dedicated FBI agent thinks back on the agency's battles against the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies.
Cast & Crew
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Mervyn Leroy
Director
James Stewart
John Michael "Chip" Hardesty
Vera Miles
Lucy Hardesty
Murray Hamilton
Sam Crandall
Larry Pennell
George Crandall
Nick Adams
Jack Graham
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Adaptation
Classic Hollywood
Drama
Historical
Release Date
Oct
10,
1959
Premiere Information
New York opening: 24 Sep 1959
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
New York City, New York, United States; Quantico, Virginia, United States; Washington, D.C., United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the book The FBI Story: A Report to the People by Don Whitehead (New York, 1956).
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 29m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Film Length
13,398ft
Synopsis
Before an audience of agency recruits, longtime FBI agent John Michael "Chip" Hardesty relates the history of the agency as he has experienced it: In 1924, before the FBI is actually a government bureau, Chip and his colleague, Sam Crandall, learn that their ineffective and highly politicized organization has a new director, J. Edgar Hoover. That afternoon, Chip proposes to his sweetheart, a pretty Tennessee librarian named Lucy. Before she accepts, she exacts a promise from him that, directly after he meets the new director on their post-honeymoon trip to Washington, D.C., he will resign from the Bureau, which she considers too unrewarding for a brilliant young lawyer like Chip. The newlyweds join Sam on the train to Washington, and are surprised when Sam makes an emotional plea for Chip to remain in the FBI, which he believes could be an effective crime-fighting force under its new leader. Chip is so moved by Hoover's first speech to the agents, an address that demonstrates the director's fire and drive, that he decides to remain in the Bureau for several more years. Disappointed but determined to support her husband, Lucy agrees to the plan, and the next day, the couple is sent south to investigate the terrorist activities of the Ku Klux Klan. On the night Lucy gives birth to their first child, Mike, Chip and Sam finally arrest the Klansmen as they attempt to destroy a newspaper and murder its editor. During the next few years, Chip tackles assignments in various parts of the country while Lucy has two more children, Anne and Jennie. The Hardesty family then settles in Ute City, Oklahoma, as Chip tries to discover who is murdering local Osage Indians, a poor band made suddenly wealthy by the discovery of oil deposits on their land. The Indians fall prey to a veritable circus of salesmen, who peddle everything from patent medicines to casket linings in "official Osage colors." On the night Chip finally arrests white banker Dwight McCutcheon and his nephew for murdering rich Indians and then quietly appropriating their estates, Lucy suffers a miscarriage, and Chip promises to take the family away from "this God-forsaken place." His following assignments take them to the Midwest, where the FBI has begun to track down dangerous gangsters such as Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger and Ma Barker. After Congress allows the FBI to arm its agents, Sam is killed in a gun battle, leaving a young son named George behind. As the Bureau intensifies its war on the underworld and more agents lose their lives, Lucy's concern for Chip's safety becomes too much for her to bear, and she begs him to resign. When he refuses, she takes the children to live with her parents in Tennessee. Several months pass, and finally, Lucy realizes what her husband and children already know: the family must be reunited. On the very day on which she brings the children home, however, Chip is reassigned and the family moves to Washington, D.C. Years later, during World War II, thousands of agents are accepted into the FBI and instructed to round up "enemy aliens." One of the recruits is Sam's son George, who, while struggling through the Bureau's rigorous training program, becomes seriously involved with Chip's daughter Anne, now an attractive young woman. Young Mike Hardesty joins the Marines and is sent to the Pacific, and Chip is dispatched to Argentina to aid in the interception of coded submarine messages. George is stationed in the jungle there, and he, Chip and a heroic agent named Mario are forced to flee approaching federales . In 1945, the Hardesty family is grieved to learn that Mike has been killed during the landings at Iwo Jima. Following the war, the FBI faces a new threat: international Communism. Using its extensive lab facilities and research capabilities, the FBI tracks down and arrests spies. Chip directs one such case from his desk in Washington. With the help of telephones and radios, the veteran agent coordinates the extended pursuit and ultimate arrest of two New York-based Communist spies. The story of his adventurous life with the FBI over, Chip concludes the day's lecture and joins his waiting family, which now includes a grandson named Mike. Their drive takes them past several of Washington's most famous monuments to freedom, including the sculpture commemorating the landing at Iwo Jima.
Director
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Cast
James Stewart
John Michael "Chip" Hardesty
Vera Miles
Lucy Hardesty
Murray Hamilton
Sam Crandall
Larry Pennell
George Crandall
Nick Adams
Jack Graham
Diane Jergens
Jennie Hardesty
Jean Willes
Anna Sage
Joyce Taylor
Anne Hardesty
Victor Millan
Mario
Parley Baer
Harry Dakins
Fay Roope
Dwight McCutcheon
Ed Prentiss
U.S. marshal
Robert Gist
Medicine salesman
Buzz Martin
Mike Hardesty
Kenneth Mayer
Casket salesman
Paul Genge
Suspect
Michael Garrett
Insurance salesman
Les Hellman
Kirby
John Truax
Boyd
Will J. White
Silvano/J. Edgar Hoover
Sid Kane
Metzger
Gil Smith
Mike Hardesty, age 6
Rickey Kelman
Mike Hardesty, age 10
Robin Eccles
Anne Hardesty, age 4
Dawn Menzer
Anne Hardesty, age 8
Kimberly Beck
Jennie Hardesty, age 2
Jennie Lynn
Jennie Hardesty, age 4
Michael Switlick
Anne's 3-year-old son
Al Paige
Checker
Richard Boyer
Ticket agent
Eleanor Audley
Mrs. King
John Damler
Denver S.A.C.
George Pembroke
Chief of C.A.B.
Al Tonkle
Druggist
Rand Harper
Assistant Denver S.A.C.
Luana Anders
Mrs. Graham
Mary Ann Edwards
Marge
Elizabeth Harrower
Clerk
William J. Thomas
Janitor
Forrest Taylor
Minister
George Selk
Organist-janitor
Ann Doran
Mrs. Ballard
Al Mcgranary
Mr. Ballard
Audley Anderson
Farmer
Elmore Vincent
Farmer
Britt Wood
Farmer
Vera Denham
Farmer's wife
Fern Barry
Farmer's wife
Ella Ethridge
Farmer's wife
David Mcmahon
Klansman
John Pickard
Klansman
Tom Monroe
Klansman
Terry Frost
Craig
Harold Mcnulty
Lum Fong
Roy Gordon
Emmet Reese
Rocky Ybarra
Indian killed
Jim Porcupine
Indian at switchboard
Vince St. Cyr
Dan Savage Horse
Eddie Little Sky
Henry Roanhorse
Chief Yowlachie
Harry Willowtree
Charles Bruner
Bill Smith
Dorothy Sky Eagle
Rita Smith
Emily All Runner
Servant girl
Charles Soldani
Indian on train
Mary Lou Clifford
Indian switchboard girl
Guy Teague
Deputy marshal
Paul Smith
Albert Shaw
Kay Kuter
Barber
Trippy Elam
Shoeshine boy
Sam Flint
Doctor
Bob Petersen
Pretty Boy Floyd
Maurice Wells
Speaker
Mike Smith
George Crandall, age 12
Burt Mustin
Schneider, storekeeper
Guy Wilkerson
Eberhardt
William Phipps
Baby Face Nelson
Grandon Rhodes
Minister
Theona Bryant
Edith Crandall
Bob Peoples
Sam Cowley
Scott Peters
John Dillinger
Herbert Armstrong
Frank Nash
Jack E. Henderson
Hardware store owner
Jane Crowley
Ma Barker
Alan Craig
Fred Barker
George Khoury
Alvin Karpis
Angelo Demeo
Fred Hunter
Stacy Keach
Machine Gun Kelly
John Quijada
Argentine policeman
Gabriel Del Valle
Argentine policeman
James Porta
Argentine policeman
Paul Denton
FBI agent
Charles Bateman
FBI agent
Arthur Gilmour
Major
Patrick Whyte
Major
Robert Clarke
Bartender
Ray Montgomery
Driver
Nesdon Booth
Driver
Jack Tesler
Operator
Dorothy Neumann
Landlady
Ben Erway
Justice Department. lawyer
Charles Postal
Justice Department. lawyer
Jerry Brent
Western Union boy
William Lovett
Guest at party
Roy Thinnes
Guest at party
Judd Holdren
Guest at party
Morgan Lane
Guest at party
Lowell Brown
Guest at party
Grant Scott
Guest at party
Jeanne Dante
Guest at party
Shirley Bonne
Guest at party
Joan Dupuis
Guest at party
Susan Davis
Guest at party
Barbara Beall
Guest at party
Herman Rudin
Hoodlum
Selene Walters
Polly
Carroll House
Dover
James Vickery
Schaeffer
Ed Wagner
Sawyer
John Varnum
Breckenridge
Crew
Philip W. Anderson
Film Editor
Gordon Bau
Makeup Supervisor
John Beckman
Art Director
Joseph Biroc
Director of Photography
Jack Boland
Assistant Director
Richard L. Breen
Screenwriter
Florence Crewell
Wardrobe
Murray Cutter
Orchestration
Robert Farmer
Gaffer
Ralph Hurst
Set Decoration
Irvin Jay
Sound Editing
Walter Glen Jones
Transportation
Gil Kissel
Assistant Director
Mervyn Leroy
Company
M. A. Merrick
Sound
George Nogle
Camera Operator
Adele Palmer
Costume Design
Weldon Patterson
Props
Sergei Petschnikoff
Unit Manager
Harlan W. Phillips
Makeup
Meta Rebner
Script Supervisor
George Reid
Sound Editing
Ann Saunders
Hairstylist
Ted Schultz
Wardrobe
David Silver
Assistant Director
Max Steiner
Music
Kenneth Taylor
Grip
John Twist
Screenwriter
Bill Walling
Stills
Photo Collections
1 Photo
The FBI Story - Behind-the-Scenes Photo
Here is a photo taken behind-the-scenes during production of Warner Bros' The FBI Story (1959), showing the film crew on location in Washington D.C.
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Hosted Intro
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Adaptation
Classic Hollywood
Drama
Historical
Release Date
Oct
10,
1959
Premiere Information
New York opening: 24 Sep 1959
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
New York City, New York, United States; Quantico, Virginia, United States; Washington, D.C., United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the book The FBI Story: A Report to the People by Don Whitehead (New York, 1956).
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 29m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Film Length
13,398ft
Articles
The FBI Story
This mash note to the Federal Bureau of Investigation might have come via fiat of the notoriously PR-minded (yet irresolutely clandestine) bureau director J. Edgar Hoover himself... but the driving force behind this Hollywood adaptation of the Don Whitehead non-fiction best-seller (issued in both adult and kid-friendly editions in 1956) was its star, James Stewart. At age 51, Stewart was far from the likeliest of candidates to headline a police procedural, especially one spanning nearly forty years, following the formation of the government agency (known then as the Bureau of Investigation, a subsidiary of the United States Department of Justice) after the turn of the 20th Century through to the white hot epicenter of the Cold War. Backed by Warner Brothers (which had produced the similar "G" Men starring James Cagney back in 1935) with veteran director Mervyn LeRoy (a close personal friend of Hoover) at the helm, The FBI Story fictionalizes several high profile bureau cases (involving white supremacists, Dust Bowl thugs, Axis agents, and Red Menace rats) with Stewart cast as lead investigating agent Chip Hardesty (whose devotion to duty places a strain on his marriage to Vera Miles, subbing for Stewart's usual onscreen wife, June Allyson). This hagiographic white-wash was vetted by the Bureau on every level, resulting in a fascinating and/or repugnant recruitment video that failed to impress the critics of the day but spawned the long-running Warners-Quinn Martin television series The FBI (1965-1974).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The FBI Story
This mash note to the Federal Bureau of Investigation might have come via fiat of the notoriously PR-minded (yet irresolutely clandestine) bureau director J. Edgar Hoover himself... but the driving force behind this Hollywood adaptation of the Don Whitehead non-fiction best-seller (issued in both adult and kid-friendly editions in 1956) was its star, James Stewart. At age 51, Stewart was far from the likeliest of candidates to headline a police procedural, especially one spanning nearly forty years, following the formation of the government agency (known then as the Bureau of Investigation, a subsidiary of the United States Department of Justice) after the turn of the 20th Century through to the white hot epicenter of the Cold War. Backed by Warner Brothers (which had produced the similar "G" Men starring James Cagney back in 1935) with veteran director Mervyn LeRoy (a close personal friend of Hoover) at the helm, The FBI Story fictionalizes several high profile bureau cases (involving white supremacists, Dust Bowl thugs, Axis agents, and Red Menace rats) with Stewart cast as lead investigating agent Chip Hardesty (whose devotion to duty places a strain on his marriage to Vera Miles, subbing for Stewart's usual onscreen wife, June Allyson). This hagiographic white-wash was vetted by the Bureau on every level, resulting in a fascinating and/or repugnant recruitment video that failed to impress the critics of the day but spawned the long-running Warners-Quinn Martin television series The FBI (1965-1974).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Two F.B.I. agents were on the set at all times.
J. Edgar Hoover personally chose James Stewart for the role of Chip Hardesty because he felt that Stewart conveyed a positive image.
Hoover forced director Mervyn LeRoy to re-shoot a scene because he didn't approve of one of the extras.
Security checks were performed on all those involved on the film's production.
Notes
Part of the "Jack Graham" sequence preceded the opening credits. After the film, a written acknowledgment thanks the FBI and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover for their guidance and participation in the film, and for "making this world of ours a safer place in which to live." According to a September 26, 1959 Los Angeles Times article, The FBI Story was the first film to be made with the full cooperation of the agency. A June 1958 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that the FBI ran "routine checks" on all personnel involved in the film. According to the news item, the agency wanted "no one involved in the production who might later embarrass the F.B.I. by being subsequently revealed as having a commie or criminal past."
A December 1956 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that Warner Bros. had purchased The FBI Story from Pulitzer Prize winner Don Whitehead for "a reported sum well over $100,000." The same item stated that Martin Rackin would produce the picture. Hoover wrote the foreword to the Whitehead book on which the film was based. According to news items, in 1957, Gramercy Pictures bought the rights to a 1950 novel by Mildred and Gordon Gordon, which was also titled The F.B.I. Story, and planned to adapt it for the screen using the same title. Although Gramercy registered the title with the MPAA one week prior to Warner Bros., in November 1958, the MPAA board announced that it was awarding title rights to Warner Bros., who, according to a Variety news item, had the approval of the FBI to use the title. Later, the Gordons filed a plagiarism suit against Warner Bros., claiming that they submitted a script titled F.B.I. Story to the studio before Warner Bros. purchased Whitehead's book. Warner Bros. argued that their film was a documentary based on the Whitehead book, while the Gordons argued that the film was a work of fiction. The Gordons were awarded $54,000 in damages. According to a March 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, the Gordons later dropped plans to film their novel, became involved with two television productions and bought back their novel from Gramercy.
Portions of the film were shot in Washington, D.C., Quantico, VA and New York City, including the IRT Subway, Yankee Stadium and Central Park. According to a September 1959 Newsweek article, six FBI agents in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. were used as technical advisors in the film.
In the sequence depicting the capture of John Dillinger, a theater marquee advertises the 1934 M-G-M film Manhattan Melodrama (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40). According to a September 1958 Hollywood Reporter news item, studios usually prefer to highlight their own films in scenes showing marquees, but Warner Bros., for historical accuracy, named the actual film that was shown at Chicago's Biograph Theatre the night the real-life Dillinger was killed.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1959
Released in United States on Video Summer 1991
Released in United States 1959
Released in United States on Video Summer 1991
