The FBI Story

“You are crouched in a basement stairway opposite a theatre in Chicago. Keep your eyes on that FBI man across the street. He has set the trap for deadly public enemy, John Dillinger...”

A string of cases keeps landing on the desk of Chip Hardesty (James Stewart), a dedicated FBI agent who looks back on the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies. Mervyn LeRoy lets the file folders and field reports pile up case by case, so the film moves like an agent's own memory. Between assignments Chip has a wife, Lucy Ann (Vera Miles), and a job that keeps pulling him away from her.