Well... This was disappointing. I saw in the cable schedule an opportunity to see a James Stewart film. I decided to go for it, because I had never seen him in a bad picture. Now I have.

The FBI Story is, quite frankly, slightly veiled government propaganda. It chronicles the career of one of the first agents (Stewart) from the 1920's through the 1950's.

The FBI combats everything from murderers to gangsters. It defends the civil rights of Jews being beaten by the Ku Klux Klan. In World War II it battles Nazis in South America, and in the Cold War it fights Communism.

What this movie seems to combat is a balanced look at the FBI. The film is built to glorify the Bureau (and J. Edgar Hoover), and the only criticism it provides is that it wasn't professional in the beginning.

I would have tossed the film after the first twenty minutes except for Stewart who props things up. As the film wanders you wonder where it's going. Well it ain't going anywhere. It's a truly dull film. Think of Dragnet without the charm.

I'm disappointed. Luckily there are many other very good films to see James Stewart in.

Sucks and Blows!

Film Facts

Cast
• James Stewart
• Vera Miles
• Murray Hamilton
• Larry Pennell
• Nick Adams
• Diane Jergens
• Jean Willes
• Joyce Taylor
• Victor Millan
• Parley Baer
• Fay Roope
• Ed Prentiss
• Robert Gist
• Buzz Martin
• Ken Mayer
• Paul Genge
• David Barclay
• Nesdon Booth
• Ann Doran
• Sam Flint
• Michael Garrett
• Burt Mustin
• Scott Peters
• William Phipps
• Vince St. Cyr
• Forrest Taylor
• Guy Wilkerson
• Tom Wilson
• Chief Yowlachie

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Released in 1959

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewed by Mongo