Iron Curtain

This excellent film is an entirely factual account of the extraordinary extent of Communist espionage in North America during World War Two. It depicts the true story of a Soviet code clerk at the USSR's embassy in Canada who, through his work, becomes aware of a massive Communist spy apparatus that has penetrated the highest levels of the American and Canadian governments. Recognizing both how life is free in the West and horrifyingly oppressive under Communism, he and his family defect and bring shocking documentary evidence of Communist spying to the Canadian and U.S. governments. The movie also points out the irony that being sent back to the Soviet Union was viewed as a death sentence. All of this is true. Hollywood has created countless fictional tales of McCarthyite "witchhunts" in the recent era, yet the authentic history depicted by "Iron Curtain" remains almost unknown. How tragic. The United States in 1995 released the ultra-secret VENONA decryptions of less than two percent of Soviet code traffic between NKVD stations in the United States and "Moscow Center" - code traffic that had been cracked by the U.S. Army Signal Corp. and its successor, the National Security Agency, without the knowledge even of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. Hundreds of high-level employees in the OSS, the White House, the Departments of State, War, and Treasury, the atomic-bomb Manhattan Project, and many other agencies - all were Communist spies. The penetration went up to the assistant secretary level in the cabinet and may have included members of Roosevelt's immediate staff. It certainly included top-security Manhattan Project scientists who gave the Soviets all they needed to make atomic weapons that would ultimately be aimed at America. These shocking facts are ignored by the contemporary media, Hollywood, and academia and are, quite literally, almost completely unknown today. Watch this movie and look up VENONA. Their revelations about Communist espionage are genuine and breathtaking.

This is a revelation for one who read "Enigma" and other code-breaking stories to realize that one significant contribution to the genre like "The Iron Curtain" has been overlooked to date, a story totally fact-based and yet so understated in the way it exposes the falsity in authoritarian regimes like Soviet Russia with grave significance for any person who voted in the presidential election of 2016 swearing to the sterling character of their leaders. At first, I thought this would be simply be another re-teaming of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. However, the way the two leads are playing the accidental heroes of this story as Soviet cypher clerk Igor Gouzencko and his wife (with child) makes the story gripping to the end, that 2 foreign adults could admire democracy and risk their lives and future on those beliefs makes the story incredible. This film should have been seen by most Americans before the 21st Century because so many fools disbelieve Russia's possible interference in American politics as mere contrivance.You were warned in this 1949 re-creation of actual events. Pay attention or pay the price.In other words, know your country's history so you will not repeat a blunder underestimating an allies lies.

Strange to realize but, there was a time when Hollywood actually made movies about Communism, showing it in a realistic light. This is the true story of a Soviet cypher clerk, working in the Russian embassy in Ottawa, Canada, who defected and was finally placed into a witness protection program by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is full of suspense and interesting details, such as the insight into the carefully constructed web or network of Soviet agents inside Canadian government, military and scientific agencies, at the time. It is particularly interesting against the backdrop of our strangely obsequious ethos of political correctness, in which we are currently suspended, like larks in aspic.

this is based on a true story, which added to the intrigue. gene tierney matched with dana andrews always makes a movie more compelling to watch. think "laura," and "where the sidewalk ends." they give their usual fine performances in making this spy film one to watch with eyes open to the reality of post WWII politics in action. excellent performances by the supporting cast also.

The story helps to remind me of how horrible the socialist paradise really was.

This ia about the discovery of Russian spying in Canada and the States. It doesn't give the whole story.

DVD in fine condition. Have always enjoyed this because it's one of the rare films to show the truth about the Soviet Union's spying on a Western nation, in this case, Canada.

good movie

well done from my point of view. To the point about a facinating part of our cold war history.

A great movie based on factual events that occured in Canada