AllMovie

Like their American counterparts, Communist leaders fueled Cold War fires though paranoia and terror that was not always reality-based. This documentary offers a provocative, complex portrait of a man whose political idealism blinded him to the fact that he was used as a scapegoat and a pawn in Soviet-sponsered witchhunt for captialist traitors. Noel Field was born in Switzerland, but was a U.S. citizen whose left-leaning tendencies led him to be assigned in various Eastern European diplomatic posts for the State Department. One of his major contributions was helping refugees escape Nazi Germany during the war. In 1949, he was ripped from his family and children by Hungarian and Soviet soldiers and taken to Budapest where he was accused of spying and interrogated. Hailing him an "imperialist master spy," Field was incarcerated for five years while many Party members were executed for having know him. Despite the cruelty and unfair treatment, Field remained a devoted communist until the late '60s. His fascinating story is told from the perspective of historians and those who knew him.