- Country: USA
- Genres: Drama, War
- Release: 1949-07-01
- Director: Frank R. Strayer
- Writers: Jesse Lasky Jr.
- Language: English
- Stars: Kent Taylor , Gloria Holden (1903–1991) , Gene Lockhart (1891–1957) , David Bruce , Emmett Vogan , Kathleen Lockhart , Margaret Kerry , Arthur Stone , Dudley Dickerson , Adeline De Walt Reynolds
- Runtime: 85 min
- Awards: N/A
- AKA: The Sickle or the Cross , The Sickle or the Cross (United States of America) , Seeds of Destruction (United States of America)
- Plot: Reverend John Burnside, American missionary in the Far East, prepares to return home after twenty years to take up the fight against Communism. The Reds imprison him and send in his place a spy who is his double, but who is instructed to come out for Communism. The spy is accepted in Burnside's home town, and he reports to local Communist headquarters, where James John, prominent local businessman but in reality a Red agent, has instructions to assist him in all details of his mission. He does a series of personal appearances and radio interviews and talk shows, using an anti-Communist approach. Meanwhile, he is getting the chance to see how Americans live, and the part that religion plays in their lives, and there is also a slight romance between him and Burnside's former sweetheart, Louise Cannon, who thinks he is the man she knew twenty-years previously. Then comes the night when he is scheduled to go on the air on an international hook-up, at which time he is do an about-face and speak on the virtues of Communism. Instead, he tears up his pro-Communist speech and denounces Communism. Red agents kill him and they are rounded up by the FBI. The real Burnside, in a North Korean prison, hears the broadcast.
- IMDB:tt0044032
The Sickle or the Cross Cast · · · ALL
Frank R. Strayer
Director
Kent Taylor
Rev. John Burnside
Gloria Holden
(1903–1991)
Louise Cannon
Gene Lockhart
(1891–1957)
James John
Emmett Vogan
Walter Deems
David Bruce
George Hart
Kathleen Lockhart
Martha Deems
Margaret Kerry
Betty Deems
Arthur Stone
Tommy Deems
Dudley Dickerson
Horatio
Adeline De Walt Reynolds
Mrs. Burnside
Robert Emmett Keane
Dr. Soams
John Eldredge
Rev. Dodge
Charles Halton
Dr. Short
Ivan Triesault
I.V. Morse
Gene Roth
Pakin
Gayne Whitman
Tim Matthews
Philip Ahn
Chinese Official
Anne O’Neal
Mrs. Borum
Jack Rice
Radio Engineer
Victor Sen Yung
Major
Nan Boardman
Mrs. Willoughby
Stephen Chase
Detective