The FBI Story

Starring: James Stewart, Vera Miles, Murray Hamilton, Larry Pennell
Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama
Box Office: $
1959

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows one FBI Agent (James Stewart) as he plays a role in some of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's biggest cases from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Review:

Tim: I really appreciate the effort to tell the story of the early days of the FBI in this movie. It is a story that does need to be told. However, I feel like it was almost too ambitious, as if the producers had bit off too much and had a difficult time dealing with it all. The film feels far too long at 149 minutes. It feels about 30 minutes too long, and this really drags the movie down.

The film has a difficult time balancing the story of the FBI and all the big cases with the personal life of the agent whose eyes we're seeing this through. The end of the film features the most detail on the character played by James Stewart, but it feels disconnected from the action and the crime cases we've seen throughout the rest of the movie. This gives the movie the feeling that it is not completely thought out.

James Stewart does a good job in his role, but this is not one of his best. Part of this comes from the character, but mostly it comes from the writing. He never really connects to the role, and this does hurt the movie. The supporting cast is all decent, but no one, not even Vera Miles is particularly spectacular.

The FBI Story should be given credit for its ambitious approach, even if it ends up dragging the movie down. This is a decent movie, but not great. Still, it tells an interesting story that most people are probably not familiar with. For that reason, it is worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Glenn Miller Story, Anatomy of a Murder, Rope