IWCF 058 The Elspeth Club

I was a Communist for the FBI, starring Dana Andrews and an exciting tale of danger and espionage. I was a Communist for the FBI. From the actual records and authentic experiences of Matt Savedic. How many of the incidents in this unusual story. Here is our. Star, Dana Andrews as Matt Savedic foo far nine fantastic years lived as a Communist. For the FBI. The Communist Party professes to have a great contempt for money and the money making habits of capitalist democracies. But the big talking hip Quid snow the party wouldn't last a week without money, and they'll do anything to get it. This is a story of very low finance as practiced by men who are moneymad. In a moment, listen. To Dana Andrews ask Matt Savedic under coverman. Now here is Dana Andrews as Matt Savedic under cover man. This story from the confidential file is marked the Innocence Club. Blind unquestioning obedience is what the Communist Party demands of its members. Orders spiral down from above and are not questioned. The comrades trust nobody, not even each other. But I'm favored by a personal visit from Walter Skolvic, leader of our cell. I know it isn't a friendly call. Skolvic doesn't waste time on friendly calls. He's a short, swarthy man with a massive head. He looks and acts like a little Napoleon. When he talks to you, you feel that his mind is far away, scheming that he wants to see me, and I let him in. I'm glad I find you in sabbetic sit down. Well, thanks for the hospitality, comrades, Colvic. Don't be facetious. That's a bourgeois luxury. I have something to tell you. I'm listening. Are we quite alone? Of course? What's on your mind? Savetk. I've decided to let you help me on a most important assignment. That's kind of your comrade. I'll fill you in on such details as you must know later. I want you to be downstairs at the curb at eight o'clock. What's the occasion? You ask too many questions? Sabetic, Just be there. I'll pick you up in my car. Yeah, where are we going? I'll tell you when i'd pick you up. Who's calling you? How should I know? All right? That's for it. Hello. Hello, this is the city laundry. No, my laundry hasn't arrived yet, and I'm pretty sore about it. Why isn't the driver here. I'll see what's holding it up? All right. They can call me back later and i'll tell you if he's been here. All right, we'll do that. The laundry is always losing my shirts of have a good mind to take my business to somebody else. Under a communist regime, such inefficiency would not be tolerated. One day we will change all this. Be ready to day a clock sabbetic. We have a lot to do. I'll be there. Hello, Hello, City Laundry. It's okay. My visitor is gone. Good. Listen, Matt. We've just been called in on a case. A guy named Arnold Johnson is in jail. He works for a government agency. The charge was simple theft until they found some secret government documents in his appointment. That makes the charge espionazed right. That's why we've been called in. I think I read something about it in one of the papers yesterday, something about a committee that's been organized to help him. Claims he's innocent, that's right. Can you find out if any of your comedy Jumps is involved in it. Do my best, Thanks, Matt. Time is important on this one so long. I don't know what's going to happen yet, but I can feel it means trouble. I can feel myself rushing into it a mile a minute. If there's a connection between Johnson and my comrades, I have to find out what. I didn't realize how quickly I was going to find out. At eight o'clock, I'm on the street waiting for Schoolwik he's there on the dot. All right, Sevetic cop him. Where are we going to the jail? Anybody I know? I don't think so. We're going to see a man named Ronald Johnson, one of our comrades. No, not yet, but he's of great assistance to the pat Savetic. Do you recall the communication from Moscow a few weeks ago stressing the urgent need for more money for our cause. Sure, but I don't see how Johnson ties up with that. You'll see presently. I can tell you now that the man we're about to see is helping us raise the money. That's Skolvic's way handing out information a grain at a time. I was impatient for the rest of it. I wanted to put the pieces together, but I didn't. Dare press him. We enter the prison, get to see Johnson in his cell. He's young, about twenty five, tall, sandy haired, with cool gray eyes. Skulvic introduce mister Johnson. This is mister Savettic, and I'm Walter Skolvic. We want to talk to you, but what about getting you out of here? We're your friends. I think I had any you'll have, Johnson, good friends. I certainly need something. Set my bail so high, had to stay here till the trial. Imagine me important enough for one hundred thousand bail. You can count on us for help and due course, mister Savettic and I represent the Justice for Johnson Committee. Will want you to give us a statement that we can use in building your defense. I've heard about your committee, but why are you so in me. We're always interested in getting justice for those who are innocent. Suppose you tell us what happened? Now? Much to tell? Police came to our apartment room with another government clerk for named Martin. They said government property was missing. I founded my coat, but I didn't take it. You can count on our help, Johnson. We know you've been framed. It you do ow we've been investigating. We always fight for victims of oppression. We know you've been victimized by Gestapo tactics. Just stop a tactics. God, double talk? Is that? What are you anyway? Communists? It's the only real party of the people. Who else would come to help you? Sure, be sensible, Johnson. I don't want your kind of help. Don't be a fool. All I need is your support and they'll be sure I'm a spy. No, I'm not buying a mystic For all I know you might have framed this whole setup to get me working for you. Take it easy, Johnson. That isn't a nice thing to say. Stay out of my life. That's all. I don't want your help. You're a very foolish young man. But you're getting our help, whether you like it or not. My spine feels like ice when we leave the jail. The Communist Party has a big interest in a man who's in jail, but they don't care if her rot's there. They have a gimmick, an idea for making money out of the deal. If I don't stick my neck out, they're bound to do it. And if I do stick my neck out, I might get my head chopped off. Skoolvic beefs me on all the details of the scheme as we ride back in his car. A very suspicious fellow, this Johnson. But it doesn't matter. He has no friends and no money. Yeh, A classless white collar worker exactly. He'll be afraid to open his mouth about us. And what could he say if he did. The Justice for Johnson Committee is above suspicion. It's president is a great champion of civil liberties, the crusading publisher Lexington Lyman. Pretty big fish. In our net, sivetic. Then you organize the Justice for Johnson Committee? Who else? It's our booby trap, our innocence club, the finest way of raising money on a large scale. Gullible American liberals will always contribute generously to see justice done, especially if an important man like Lyman is president of the committee. If I can keep Johnson in jail long enough, I can raise a fortune for us. It's a great idea, Karen, How do I fit into the picture? I have two assignments for you. First, I want you on the board of directors of the Committee. What do I do on this board. All of the contributions are being deposited in the bank. In order to make everything look very legal, we have it arranged that funds can be withdrawn from the bank only on presentation of four signatures, the President, financial secretary, and two directors. Who's the financial secretary. Comrade Cahill, and I'm on the board of directors. I understand, yes, Comraon, that's very clever. The only outside signature we need is Lineman's. And he's such a busy publisher he won't have time to inquire about the dispersements here. Since you had two assignments for me, what's the other one? I'll tell you about that after this meeting. We have another visit to make. Here we are at the hall. There's a telephone in the lobby of the hall. I'm dying to get on it, but's covic is at my elbow, steering me up to the President of the committee, Lexington Lyman. He's a big man with white hair and a young face. He's taking the committee very seriously and doesn't realize he's being played for a sucker. Oh, mister Lyman, I'd like to present mister Sevettik, the man I mentioned for the vacancy on the board. Happy to meet you, mister Spetik. It's a pleasure to be associated with you, mister Lyman. Thank you. The fightful civil rights needs everyone who can help mister sthetic, and when injustice has been done, all of us must pitch him to see that it's corrected. Absolutely right, somebody's got a root for the underdog, right. But I'd better get this meeting stocking. Ladies and gentlemen, I won't take up much of your time. We are gathered here in the cause of justice, justice for a man named Arnold Johnson. He's a little man who thought he was friendless, and we are here to prove that he has friends. My newspaper, always at the disposal of those who fight for righteous causes, will continue to campaign for the release of this innocent man. We solicit the aid of every one of you, and whatever you can contrivot we'll help in obtaining confident legal aid for the defense of Arnold Johnson. The contributions poured in, I wanted to do something to stop them. I wanted to get up and say your people are chumps. You're not giving your dough to help a man in jail. You're tossing it down a communist rat hole. But I don't want to commit suicide, so I keep my mouth shut. Skulvic is still at my elbow as we leave, still no chance to use that telephone. We get in the car and make another visit to an apartment across town, where I meet the second part of my assignment, a man named Nick Martin. Look, mister Skulvick, I did the job for you, Johnson said, jail. Isn't he That's true, Martin, but Sabbetica and I are here to see about the rest of the deal. You agree to deliver certain papers from the files at your office. Sure, but the job's tougher. Now what do I mean tougher? Are you going through with your assignment? There? You know I'm in a hotspot. Johnson and I roomed together. We both work in the same office. Suppose they get the idea that I took the papers and put them in his coat. Now where could they get an idea like that. The only way they'll get that information, Martin, is if you don't deliver what you promised. If you don't come through, you'll be thrown to the FBI. Wolves. Now wait, a minute if I go to jail, So will. You indeed, remember my young friend that it would be your unsupported word. You'd better come across, Martin. I can't do it right away. I need time. Why we're all being watched in the office, the heats on, It'll cool off. I'll give you one week, no more. Sabbtic will get in touch with you. All right. I'll see what I can do. That's better song, Martin, you'll be hearing from me. I finally get away from school. They walk down the street looking for a telephone, but I can't get to it. Somebody is shadowing me. He's a big hulk with a cobblestone face and small expressionless eyes. I've got the information for the FBI, but I can't get to them. Me. I don't feel so brave, not when I look at what's following me. I don't care to be a dead hero. Now back to Danna Andrews starring as Matt savedk and I was a communist for the FBI and the second act of ours. Millions of telephones, but I couldn't get to one. I had to rejoin Scovic at the meeting in half an hour. During this half hour. I'm going crazy trying to get to a phone to let my FBI contact know what I've learned. But everywhere I go, I'm shattered by a big goon who won't let me out of his sight. No time for me to go home. If I don't get the skulvic on time, he's bound to get suspicious. He's like running down a blind alley trying to find a doorway and seeing nothing but stone walls all around you and a dead end ahead of you. I get to the meeting, it's just winding up when I walk into the hall. Oh hello, mister Lyman and mister k Hill have just been going over the final contribution figures for tonight, right, So. Have you done pretty well, mister Lyman? Wonderfully well, mister Svitik. What does that bring the total to, mister Kher a little over one hundred thousand, not counting pledges that haven't been. Made good yet. There, gentlemen, is proof that Americans are not selfish and indifferent to the pight of their fellow men. I'm proud of the part of my paper and I are playing in this fight. I don't think it could be one without you. Mister lyman Or. That's kind of you, mister Skovic. Well, I must be going now. By weekend, I expect we should have close to a quarter of a million in our fund, enough to carry the fight through to the Supreme Court. It necessary. Good night, gentlemen. We're doing a wonderful work for us. What a pigeon, A stupid pigeon, k Hill. We need his signature to get the money out of the bank. How are going to get it? Kay? Hill and I have it all figured out. Sure, I'll go down to his office and have him sign a couple of the committee checks. I'll tell him there for petty dismersements that I'll have to make later. You mean you'll leave the amount blank? Sure? He trusted me, after all, I'm the financial secretary. It's a very clever system if it works. If it doesn't, we can always invent enough expenditures to get the money out in smaller amounts. You've certainly master them out of this one, comrade. We misuse our brains faster and better than our enemies. If we're to change the system, Well, I think we've done a good day's work. We can all use some rest. Sabbatic meet me at the office at nine tomorrow morning. I want to talk to you about getting in touch with Martin. It's late. When we leave the hall, I'm still looking for a telephone, but one look behind me convinces me that i'd better go straight home. I finally get to it, and I'm inside the door watching Stoneface walking past like he's out for a late stroll. Now I can make that call. Oh great, that's a minute. Oh good evening, mister Sabbatik Martin, What are you doing here this hour? I know it's late, but I wanted to talk with you. Sure, come in. I thought maybe I could have an understanding with you before we had our business transaction. Okay, said down, tell me what's on your mind. I well, as you probably know, I agreed to get my roommate called with the goods, and also to deliver certain of the documents from the files for a flat summer three thousand dollars. They got paid, didn't you, Well yes I did. But I'm hot up now. Mister Skulvick gave me a week to get those documents for you. Look suppose I were. Ready to make delivery in less than well and less time than that. Do you suppose it might be wait, say, another two thousand dollars to them? It might How soon can you make delivery whenever I get a call? What about that heat you said was on at the office. I'll risk it, okay, Martin. I'll talk it over with COVID and see what he says. Thanks a lot. I'll be waiting to hear from him. Good night night. Hello, Hello, this is the city laundry. Okay, I've got the dope you wanted, and how I got it. Your chums are in on it. Up to there is, Matt. You know where the penny arcade is? Sure about two blocks from here, right? It stays open pretty late. I'll meet me there in ten minutes. Get here, try your street, get your fault us whole shee movie. Tw me your dollars worth of dime. He thank you? Anything good on this machine? Bun? Great? Great? A day in the life of all of that. That sounds very educational. I've always liked artistic pictures. All right, Matt, what have you learned? The comments are mixed up in it? All right? A guy named school Vic Pete, Johnson's roommate grand to frame Johnson and deliver some important papers. From the files. Delivery hasn't been made yet. What about this Justice for Johnson Committee? And that's a club for a bunch of innocent members. Skolvic organized it and talk Lexington Lyneman into taking the presidency. They've raised over one hundred thousand already by the end of the week. It might be over quoted Minion who controls the funds. It takes four signatures, Lyman's the financial secretaries, and two members of the board of directors. Skolvic and I are on the board. Our boy key Hill's the financial secretary. Patterns for menor four signatures gives it a legal aspect. How do they get through Lineman? They're planning to shove a few blank checks at him for petty disbursements. They'll tell him he's a pretty busy man. He trusts people. Man, sometimes it's a bad habit. The only way to stop them from grabbing all this dough is to turn Johnson loose once he's released. There's no excuse they can give for spending the money. Now. We can't do that night, why not? No Martin the guilty one shoe, sure, but we have to get him with the goods. At your job, you've got to set him up for us. See what you can do. I walk home, but I can't go to sleep. I'm awake half the night trying to figure out an angle and beat my brain trying to get the answer. And when I finally fall asleep, I dream about old stony face chasing me around a little box of a room. He's just digging his fingers unto my throat. When I wake up in a cold sweat, it's morning. Time to stop in and see Scoldvic. Good morning, Savetich. You look terrible, Thanks comrades, Colvick. I didn't sleep too well. How's the money raising going? The committee bank fund as of this morning totals one hundred and sixty four thousand dollars. Cahill has the figures. Sounds good and we'll get more. Yes, but I've decided not to wait too long. It's risky. That's why I've decided to work all the money from the bank Tomorrow, just before lunch, Ky Hill will see Lyman and get his signature on two checks. At five after twelve, you and I will meet kay Hill at the bank and at our signature so the money can be taken out. This happens tomorrow. Right, Well, that gives me a free day today. No, I have worked for you, Sevetic. I've decided there's no good reason why Martin can't deliver those papers today. Delay is dangerous. Too many things can happen. I'd like somebody to go along with me when I meet him, in case he gives me any trouble. Oh, you'll worry too much, Savetic, I say there won't be any trouble. I hope you're right, but I like k Hill with me, just to make sure very well. Ky Hill will be here in fifteen minutes. Suppose you get on the phone and tell Martin to meet you at eleven thirty. A lunch hour begins at eleven. It'll be natural for him to be away from the office at that time. Okay, I think I know a good spot to meet. Hello, Romessa Martin, Yeah speaking, this is Matt Savetic. Do you think you might be walking south on Marine Street near sixth at eleven thirty this morning? Yes, I think I might. I might be walking north on Marine Street at the same time. If you happen to drop something while you're tying your shoelace, it might be picked up. I understand but what about that adjustment. I we'll settle that later. You'll just be there. A good arrangements of etic simple enough to be effective. Coming from you, comrades Coovic, that's very high praise. Jack Cahill came in a few minutes later and I explained the assignment to him. I had a plan worked out finally, and I hope it would do the trick. It wouldn't do anything except help the Communists get their hands on secret information unless I could let the FBI know what was going on. This is the time Ky Hill picks to be a bosom buddy. He sticks to me like a poor relation. Two hours, I've got one hundred and twenty minutes to call the FBI, and this joker is with me every minute. And now it's time for our appointment with Martin, and all I can do is go through with it. That's mark down the streets, Betty. Yeah, he doesn't see us yet. Now, remember Ky Hill. As soon as he spots us, he's going to bend over the tie's shoelace. When he does, he'll drop an envelope on the ground and we'll pick it up right right there. He's seen me. He's bending over to tie that shoe. I see the envelope, Well you pick it up? K Hill? Sure? Why not? I walk on so we won't look conspicuous. Fine, I'll get it. That envelope your property, Bud, huh uh. Well it was lying on the sidewalk and I just sort. Of picked it up. Yeah, yeah, I know, like mister Martin just sort of dropped it. My fighter has him. You better come along too. I never had a happier surprise than when I looked back and saw two FBI men picking up Martin and kay Hill. That's what I wanted to happen, but I didn't think it would because I hadn't been able to phone my contact. I go home and look the late editions of the paper. There's a lot of news about the communist plot to take money out of a guy that'd framed. There's a story that they've picked up Walter Skolvic as the mastermind and are holding him without bail, as mentioned of k Hill and Martin too. But there's nothing about Sevetic, and that's good. I'm still in business. It's late evening and I get a visitor. I see you're reading about it. Matt. We've rounded them all up. That's fine, But I had a bad time about whether you would be there. I couldn't reach you. I figured that, but we had Martin covered. Johnson agreed to stay in jail and help. Us, and I certainly sweated this one out. They had a big goon with a stony face on my tail. Stoney. He's one of our boys, Matt. He was assigned to protect you. Now you tell me, Yeah, now, he tells me. And that's usually the way I'm told when it's all over. Plans Who can make plans in this crazy quilt world where I live in the half light of deceit, intrigue, and dishonesty. Another day of this dawn dusk existence. But this day turned out all right? Yeah, this day? But how many more of them can I take? So I'll take him, keep them to myself. I'm a communist for the FBI. I walk alone. Dana Andrews will return in just a moment. This is Dana Andrews reminding you that what we love and cherish in our land is made possible by a light called liberty. But we can't take it for granted. We have to guard it and keep it burning bright. So no enemy within or without, can snuff out that light in the story you've just heard, names, dates, and places were fictitious to protect innocent persons. Many of these stories are based on incidents in the life of Matt Savedic, who worked under cover for the FBI. Next week, another fantastic adventure. Join us, won't you? The PA PA Pass