''Walk East on Beacon'' is a 1952 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

drama film directed by

Alfred L. Werker Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, ''Ridin' the Wind ...

and starring George Murphy,

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...

, and

Virginia Gilmore Virginia Gilmore (born Sherman Virginia Poole, July 26, 1919 – March 28, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Virginia Gilmore was born on July 26, 1919, in El Monte, California. Her father was a retired o ...

. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was inspired by a May 1951 '' Reader's Digest'' article by J. Edgar Hoover entitled "The Crime of the Century: The Case of the A-Bomb Spies." The article covers the meeting of German physicist and atomic spy

Klaus Fuchs Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs (29 December 1911 – 28 January 1988) was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly aft ...

and American chemist Harry Gold as well as details of the Soviet espionage network in the United States. Gold's testimony would later lead to the case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for treason. The film substitutes real atomic spying with vague top secret scientific programs. Extensive location shooting was done in New England, around Washington Union Station and in FBI laboratories.

Plot summary

Federal agent Belden ( George Murphy) is assigned to locate the communist mastermind behind the leak, and to trace all avenues of informational access utilized by the Communists. Professor Albert Kafer (

) is the space-weapons scientist who is being blackmailed by the Reds into cooperating with them, while Alexi Laschenkov ( Karel Stepanek) is the top Eastern-Bloc spy. Using state of the art technology, such as an early miniature video camera, and ingenious methods like a roomful of foreign language lip readers, the G-men crack the case and with the help of the US Coast Guard rescue the professor before he can be spirited away by submarine.

Cast

* George Murphy as Inspector James 'Jim' Belden *

as Professor Albert Kafer *

as Millie / Teresa Zalenko * Karel Stepanek as Alexi Laschenkov / Gregory Anders *

Louisa Horton Louisa Fleetwood Horton (September 20, 1920 – January 25, 2008) was an American film, television and stage actress, who used her given name, Louisa Horton, professionally. She was the former wife of the late ''The Sting'' director, George Ro ...

as Mrs. Elaine Wilben * Peter Capell as Chris Zalenko / Gino * Bruno Wick as Luther Danzig * Jack Manning as Melvin Foss / Vincent * Karl Weber as FBI Agent Charlie Reynolds * Robert A. Dunn as Dr. Wincott (as Rev. Robert Dunn) * Vilma Kurer as Mrs. Rita Foss * Michael Garrettas Michael Dorndoff / Frank Torrance * Lotte Palfi Andor as Mrs. Anna Kafer (as Lotte Palfi) * Ernest Graves as Robert Martin * Robert Carroll as Boldany * George Roy Hill as Nicholas Wilben * Helen Mitchell as one of the lip readers

Comic book adaption

* Fawcett Motion Picture Comics #113 (November 1952)

References

External links

''Walk East on Beacon'' at IMDB
* * * * {{Alfred L. Werker 1952 films 1950s spy drama films American anti-communist propaganda films American spy drama films American black-and-white films Cold War spy films Films critical of communism Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Louis Applebaum Films adapted into comics 1950s English-language films 1950s American films