The Hoaxters (1952) is a splendid documentary film from MGM, produced by the legendary writer, director and producer, Dore Schary.  It used as narrators, some of the biggest names in Hollywood including, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Taylor, James Whitmore, George Murphy and several more Tinseltown heavyweights.

   The studios and leading royalty of Hollywood actors set out the make The Hoaxters (1952) because of the concerns which they and the overwhelming majority of Americans harbored toward the worldwide rise of Communism. The dictatorial ideology that seemed as bad or worse than the Fascists enemies we had recently fought during WWII.

   The film opens with the warning, “People who are not governed by God, will be ruled by a tyrant.” The film’s introductory scene depicts a typical mid-century American carnival.  The precise territory where an average American carnival goer might encounter the garden variety huckster, hoaxster or snake oil salesman.  How fitting for a film about Communism, the greatest bait-and-switch con ever perpetrated upon the human race.  

  The film accurately points out that there aren’t a lot of differences between Communism and Fascism. The 1952 film also labels U.S. domestic Communists as a subversive fifth column operating inside America. They still are. The problem is that today, most of these disloyal American Communists don’t join the Party or admit that they are Communist because of the overwhelming public scorn for their failed ideology. Yet the film makes the point that for its adherents, Communism is not just a cult-like religion but, a “way of life…an evil and malignant way of life. It is a lie! It is a big lie!”

   The film goes on to say that “the deadly peril that faces Democracy today is the deadly parallel that exists between Communism and similar brands of totalitarianism…”  This, stated in 1952, is still true today.  By far, the greatest threat to American Democracy and its national security is the threat posed by internal Communist subversion within the United States. This threat of today, is far vaster than the threats posed by Islamic terrorist or even external Communism from American adversaries such as China, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

  The film also provides a poignant comparison between Communism and Nazism with respect to those things, these similar ideologies either discouraged or outlawed. For example, Christianity. Hitler and most leading Nazis were Atheist, just like the leaders within the Soviet Union. Quoting from an official Soviet Communique, “The struggle against the Gospel and Christian legend must be conducted ruthlessly and with all the means at the disposal of Communism.”  In Nazi Germany and the USSR and its satellite countries, Christians were persecuted. They are still being persecuted in the Communist world today.

   Both totalitarian ideologies disallow free and fair elections, free public discourse and deny the right of citizens to own firearms. Eerily similar are how perceived political opponents were shipped off to concentration camps where in most instances, the internees who were not immediately executed, died later after being worked to death. The Nazis would gas some prisoners and work the rest until they died of starvation, exhaustion or disease. The Soviets and other Communist societies would execute some prisoners by way of a bullet and work the rest until they died of starvation, exhaustion or disease. At the time this film was made in 1952, there were over 14 million political prisoners in these types of camps within the Soviet Union.  Most would never leave these internment centers.

   The film devotes considerable time to the activities of domestic Communist within the United States. The film aptly identifies these UnAmericans as a “Fifth Column,” seeking the demise of our free society from within and having no less a goal than the violent overthrow of our democratic republic. It’s amazing how little has changed in the past 73 years.

  Should Communists and their progressive, liberal kissing cousins ever succeed in outlawing private ownership of firearms, the American public could be defenseless against such a Leftist takeover.  Should such a Communist revolution ever happen in the United States, many tens of millions of Americans would be shipped off to camps on a scale that would likely dwarf the Nazis and even the USSR.

   This film was and remains a Clarion call to all loyal Americans to guard against the evils of the Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Communist allied front in our current society. Yet, in a society where Communist actively hide behind less hated labels such as “Progressive,” “Social Democrat,” or even “Liberal,” how do you identify a true Communist believer from a mere fool or misguided individual?

   There are no easy ways to identify a Crypto-Communist. However, one method is to, during conversation with a suspected Crypto-Communist, blatantly criticize, either Communism, a Communist Country or a Communist historical figure. If the suspected Communist angrily objects, the chances are, you’re dealing with a true Marxist believer. Another technique is to ask a Communist to name three things he likes about America. If he has difficulty in doing this or answers with a curt “nothing! “then, follow up and ask him to name things he like about a Communist country of your choosing. If he has nothing positive to say about America while singing the praises of Cuba or Venezuela, you have almost certainly identified a Communist.

   The cautionary tale of The Hoaxters (1952) is even more valid today than it was in 1952. Everyone should watch this film and remember a concerned American actor’s warning to us back in 1964 when he cautioned, “we’re always just one generation away from losing our freedom here in America.” That concerned actor’s name was Ronald Reagan.