WITHIN DAYS AFTER THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II IN 1939, RONALD REAGAN began working on new motion picture tentatively called Enemy Within. In the following weeks, its working title would change Uncle Sam Awakens and finally the more sensational Murder in the Air. The film favorably portrayed the young House Committee on Un-American Activities, warned of internal subversion from spies and saboteurs, and contained veiled criticism of those who would hinder American preparedness. Reagan played Secret Service agent, Brass Bancroft, whose mission included the defense of new super weapon, a death ray projector, that could stop enemy aircraft and make the United States invincible in war, thus promising to become the greatest force for world peace ever discovered. Murder in the Air is one of four Brass Bancroft films Reagan completed in 1938 and 1939. In addition publicizing the Brown Scare, these pictures formed part of campaign enhance the image of government agents in their battles against counterfeiters, illegal aliens, and international spies and saboteurs. In the films youthful, heroic Reagan, then under contract Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., dramatically set forth concerns about law and order and national security an international audience. What do these films, historical documents unique in the annals of American presidents, tell us? Viewed in isolation, they say little. They do not necessarily give us direct insight into Reagan's pre-World War II social or political beliefs. We should treat the evidence from them with care if for no other reason than the fact Reagan had little say in choosing the films he appeared in or the roles he played. Having made this qualification, however, these motion pictures can tell us great deal if they are studied within the context of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and alongside the substantial archival records that pertain Warner Bros. and the Hays Office. ' We can learn much about Reagan the actor and the public image that was created for him by studio publicity. Together, the movies and the records can improve our understanding of the internal workings of film censorship, major Hollywood studio, and more generally, the motion picture industry which helped revolutionize communication in this century. Moreover, they clearly reveal something of the political