Acusado de alta traición

There was certainly no shortage of anti-Soviet films coming out of Hollywood in the 1950's and this one, directed by extremely capable 'B' director Felix E. Feist, has a sense of immediacy, partly based as it is upon the personal papers of Hungarian Cardinal József Mindszenty whose torture, show trial and imprisonment in 1949 were still fresh in the memory.

Alec Guinness played a character based upon Mindszenty in 'The Prisoner' from 1955 and apparently the Cardinal was none too keen on that actor's 'fictional' portrayal. We do not know what he thought of Charles Bickford's performance in this earlier film, the very nature of which requires a far less complex and far more one-dimensional interpretation. Mr. Pickford never disappoints of course but although his Cardinal symbolises strength of character and determination he somehow lacks spirituality. His is muscular Catholicism to be sure.

The film is co-produced by a Catholic and features his wife Bonita Granville as an idealistic schoolteacher who suffers a terrible price for her hopeless love for a Russian Colonel whose beliefs are diametrically opposed to hers. Leonard Maltin considers her miscast but the sincerity of her performance is beyond question. Perfectly cast is Paul Kelly as a no-nonsense investigative reporter. In the understandable absence of any Russian actors we have Americans Roland Winters as a glib and oily Commissar and Richard Derr as Colonel Melnikov is suitably expressionless as a Soviet automaton. There is a chilling turn by Morgan Farley as a 'doctor' entrusted with the task of breaking Mindszenty down and a pragmatic, mediocre Hungarian playwright is played by John Banner, a refugee from Hitler's Anschluss who is probably best known as Schultz in 'Hogan's Heroes'.

The film has the advantage of editing by Walter Thompson and owes its darkly atmospheric look to the superlative lighting cameraman John L. Russell, most renowned for his work on 'Psycho'.

Although low on budget it does not stint on the truth and makes no distinction between the twin evils of Communism and Nazism. As Paul Kelly's character observes, 'Liberty is everybody's business'.

The Story of Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty (Charles Bickford), A Roman Catholic Cardinal from Hungary.

He Stood-Up Against the Oppression of Russian Communist.

Arrested and a Private Mock-Trial Ensued, He was Tortured and Forced to "Confess" that He was an "Enemy of the State".

One of the Most Gripping, Realistic Anti-Communist Films of the Era.

It Strikes a Balance of the Famous Plight of the Cardinal with a Personal Story of a Journalist (Paul Kelly), a Music Teacher (Bonita Granville), and a Russian Col. (Richard Derr).

The Film is Stylized in a Film-Noir Pastiche with Surreal Scenes of Interrogation and Torture that can Disturb, even Today.

Gut-Wrenching at Times, Punctuated with Tender Scenes that makes the Totalitarian Regime even More Brutal.

Visually Stunning, Well Acted "Propaganda" Piece that is Mostly True and the Facts Speak for Themselves.

What could be Considered "Embellishments" for Political Purposes is Not Because these Things Actually Did Occur.

Although Paul Kelly's Journalist Breaks the Fourth-Wall in the Final Shot, Looks Straight Into the Camera and "Calls to Arms" the Fight for Liberty...

It is the Only Time the Movie Separates Itself from the Gruesome Reality.

I had never heard of this one before coming across it (via the Alpha DVD) at a local rental outlet; though I had expressed interest in watching it at the time, I did not get hold of the film until acquiring the more renowned later version of the same events – THE PRISONER (1955) – but, then, am only checking out either in time for the pious Easter season. The film deals with the famous trial in which Josef Mindszenty, a Hungarian Cardinal played here by Charles Bickford, is victimized for daring to stand up against Communism. The narrative, however, also takes in the experiences of a number of people who become involved in his plight – chiefly a local girl (Bonita Granville who, in spite of her clandestine relationship with Soviet officer Richard Derr, ends up tortured and killed for her troubles) and a middle-aged American reporter (Paul Kelly, who suffers himself at the hands of a neo-Nazi group!). Ironically, given the obvious anti-Red stance being promoted, GUILTY OF TREASON is most comparable in its preachiness to Hollywood efforts with Marxist leanings such as THE MASTER RACE (1944). As was the case with that one, too, the film under review manages to balance heavy-going (albeit clearly impassioned) politics with a variety of Noir trappings: for instance, the trial sequence is depicted in a stylized fashion – with Bickford standing in a beam of light at the center of the room while his accusers remain in the shadows. Compelling, modestly impressive and extremely well-acted, this proved a very nice surprise indeed which, in retrospect, has been unjustly neglected over the years.

This movie was a perfect example of good propaganda. With a blunt instrument, it assaults the viewer with the stark facts of the Soviet domination of Hungary. This is a movie that shows an appreciation of what was happening behind the "iron curtain", before it was known by that name . The most amazing truth revealed is that over 50 years later, the Catholic Church still preaches the same principles. It is eerie to put today's characters into the roles cast in the movie, but that is what the movie is about: that the Russians replaced the Nazis as the world's greatest oppressors. I also noted that the character who was accused of plagiarism considered it an honor, as long as the words he stole were worth stealing. This character had the most resemblance to a real person, and I suspect that the screenwriter put a little more of himself into that character. He may have felt that he was "plagiarizing" a lot of the popular sentiment behind this movie, using cliche phrases and such. Still, viewed as a historical piece of American culture, this movie tells the story of good vs. evil in the most realistic and straightforward way that I've ever seen in a Hollywood film. This is when Hollywood CARED about freedom and human rights, and knew that we were on the right side in that fight. Nowadays, Hollywood portrays Catholics as evil more often than not, and the USA as the tyrannical occupying oppressor, either directly or peripherally. There are so many levels to this movie, even if the acting wasn't the greatest. This is a classic cultural movie in that it expresses true political activism of it's day, even dabbling in feminism. I highly recommend this movie as an antidote for today's culture of Anti-Americanism, and Anti-Catholicism. If this movie were remade today, I would imagine that the Russian commander would find religion, and marry the Hungarian girl, while the Soviet Empire crumbled around them. That would be a romantic story with a happy ending, and be faithful to history, as this movie was. Too bad that today's Hollywood wouldn't touch that story with a 10 foot pole! This movie could have been more subtle, but it is powerful as historical propaganda. The message makes up for the lack in other areas, and there are even spots of greatness in the acting, writing, and shooting of this movie. Overall, it's an average period piece, but after knowing what we know now, it carries much more weight than it did originally.

Chris Leavitt, Lynbrook, NY

When this was released students attending Roman Catholic grammar schools were encouraged to see it, since it was an account of the Hungarian prelate, Joszef Cardinal Mindzenty's courageous stand against the Communist regime that had his native land within its ruthlessly cruel clutches. Charles Bickford, an actor of considerable gravitas, was a good choice to play the Cardinal, and, among the cast, Bonita Granville, the wife of this film's producer, Jack Wrather, was another of those arrested, interrogated and tortured by the Hungarian Communist regime, then still firmly in place at the time of this film's release.

I can still recall some rather graphic scenes of torture, including victims chained and forced to endure alternately scalding hot and freezing cold showers, and being strapped to chairs that spun dizzyingly for what was made to seem many agonizing minutes at a time. Nightmares precipitated by a viewing of this film haunted my dreams for quite a few months thereafter. It has always been a source of bewilderment to me that political and religious regimes use torture to break down the resistance of those opposed to their cruel and manifest untruth. What have they proved when they drag forth their victims to attest to their supposed "crimes"? Those who know the truth but have somehow escaped the terrible fate of their compatriots know that the "confessions" elicited by their hated oppressors are a sham. What they also know is that, at the Final Judgment, something which the concept of justice assures all honest hearts and minds will someday occur, the Lord's vengeance will be swift and eternal, and Satan himself will be assigned the task of meting out tortures more horrible than anything inflicted on this plane.