The year is 1955 and we are still in the heart of the Red Scare in the United States. McCarthyism and HUAC were still in full force and Hollywood was struggling with some of their best writers and performers being black-listed for their connections, alleged or otherwise, to the Communist Party. Actor Edward G. Robinson was among those investigated by HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) and testified before the committee in both 1950 and 1952. As part of his determination to clear his name and proclaim his allegiance to the United States, he appeared in a number of films that portrayed him against the Party, including 1955’s A Bullet for Joey. As many times as he was cast as the villain in a film, he never once would play a Communist. That was by design.
In this film, he is playing Inspector Leduc, an officer investigating a string of murders that, on the surface, seem to have nothing in common. But, upon digging deeper, they do have something in common after all. This leads to a criminal conspiracy by Communist agents in Canada to kidnap Dr. Carl Macklin (George Dolenz), an atomic physicist who has knowledge the Party wants to steal. To do so, they offer $100,000 to deported American criminal Joe Victor (George Raft) in exchange for his services and those of his associates, including Joe’s former flame Joyce Geary (Audrey Totter), who is blackmailed into assisting Joe by seducing Carl and getting him to trust her. But Joyce wasn’t counting on falling for Carl and having second thoughts on her part in the operation.
There is a lot of fun and excitement in this picture, but it also reeks of being a propaganda film, meant to promote good will towards the movie business which was under fire by Joseph McCarthy at the time. This is meant to show audiences in 1955 that Hollywood was against Communism and promoting their biggest stars as being likewise. George Raft, who was investigated but cleared by HUAC, plays Joe, who initially works for the Communists in exchange for money and a chance to return to America. When Edward G. Robinson pleads with him to do the right thing in the finale, Joe does, sacrificing his life to stop the Communists. The filmmakers are making a statement here in their casting, especially Edward G. who is shown to be strongly against the Reds.
None of this is subtext. The message here is hit-you-over-the-head obvious. While that message is a bit more muted now that this is more than seventy years in the past, it is still impossible to miss it. Still, this is a far cry from the John Wayne film Big Jim McLain where The Duke spends the whole picture hunting Communists. That picture is much more egregious in its sermonizing and kow-towing to HUAC. A Bullet for Joey at least tells an interesting story with engaging set-pieces on top of all that moralizing. Yes, it is a product of its time, but even after all these years it is entertaining, too. That goes a long way towards getting us over the more dated elements of this production. 1955 - 87 minutes
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