Walk East on Beacon

CinemaSerf

Were it not for the oppressive and seriously condescending narrative this might have been quite a decent little fifth-columnist drama. Karel Stepanek is "Laschenko", the communist mastermind behind a plot to force renowned scientist "Prof. Kafer" (a very unlikely Finlay Currie) to reveal some top secret data about a project he is working on. The remainder of the plot is presented almost like a Q and A. The characters pose the questions and the infallible GI men have all the answers, they have all the state of the art kit (some on which looked like it had been drawn at kindergarten) and they also appear to have more manpower than the entire population of Boston, where this is based. Sadly, there is not the slightest jeopardy with this FBI propaganda piece - they even refer to John Edgar Hoover at the end, is if to humanise the man. Stepanek was also reliable as the baddie but the rest of the cast - and the film - are entirely forgettable.