Communism On The Air Waves
In the 1950s, radio reflected what was on the minds of many Americans. As World War II came to an end, there was no longer a need to feature shows about Nazi Germany. Instead, the focus of the United States became the growing Cold War of the 1950s that continued well into the 1980s.
Communism On The Air Waves
In the 1950s, radio reflected what was on the minds of many Americans. As World War II came to an end, there was no longer a need to feature shows about Nazi Germany. Instead, the focus of the United States became the growing Cold War of the 1950s that continued well into the 1980s.
It’s only natural that the theme of communism could be found in several shows. Many of these shows featured American operatives who were fighting the battle of the Cold War in the shadows.
One of the most famous of these shows was Cloak and Dagger. The radio series Cloak and Dagger was based on an adventure book of the same name. Each week listeners tuned in to hear stories of romance, espionage, and even tragic death.
The show centered on characters that worked as undercover spies all over the world behind enemy lines. They were tasked each week with destroying strategic operations of the enemy.
During its run, Cloak and Dagger wasn’t a major hit. It was, however, very well written and today’s listeners will be pleasantly surprised at the originality and unpredictability of the stories. For example, not every episode has a happy ending.
Another show sometimes featuring communism was Stand By For Crime. This was a show also airing in the 1950s featuring news anchor Chuck Morgan who got leads from his police officer friend. The very first episode that aired featured the theme of communism and as it begins Chuck says, "Most any day you can turn the dial on your radio or pick up a newspaper and read that the Committee of Un-American Activities is investigating some well-known Hollywood celebrity. It gives you a queer feeling when you see those familiar names. You wonder who’s going to be next.."
And this was true. One of the most famous stars at the time to be labeled a Communist sympathizer and forced to come to Washington to deny it by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was Frank Sinatra. He was fired from his radio show and cut loose by MGM studios.
Perhaps the most well known show with this theme was I Was a Communist for the F.B.I., which aired in syndication from 1952-54 for 30 minutes each week. It featured Matt Cvetic, an agent for the F.B.I. who worked undercover for the Communist Party in the US. It was actually taken from true stories of the real Matt Cvetic.
Cvetic wrote a book about his experiences as an F.B.I. operative that later became a film as well. However, the F.B.I. was none too happy about the expose and refused to cooperate. Still, the show was carried on 600 stations – a testament to the focus of Americans on the Cold War.
Thankfully the threat of communism and the Cold War is no longer on the minds of Americans in modern day life.
If you would like to read more on the subject then Wikipedia has a very in depth article on the Hollywood Blacklist and throughout the week I will be adding to RUSC radio shows that focused on the Communist threat and the Cold War of the 1950s.
Happy listening my friends,
