September 19, 2015

T MEN (1947)


Hardly a dull moment as Anthony Mann directs this story about U.S. Treasury men attempting to break up a counterfeiting ring. An excellent film noir with outstanding cinematography by John Alton and an appropriate score by Paul Sawtell. Amazing what could be done with a five-hundred-grand budget. For the same budget, Railroaded was released the year prior but it is nearly forgotten. Mann certainly redeemed himself for that earlier effort. Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films, this production cleaned up at the box office.
After an informer is murdered, the Treasury Department decides to enlist Dennis O’Keefe and Alfred Ryder to go undercover. O’Keefe is first-rate in a standout role, leaving his earlier music or comedy films behind. Both men encounter a myriad of criminals but he and Ryder blend into the crime world without suspicion. In the beginning. Plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments. None more intense than when O’Keefe witnesses his partner’s demise and cannot do anything about it without blowing his own cover. The creepy steam room scenes are a little unsettling as well. Or maybe it is just the thought of Wallace Ford sweating under a towel. Few were as menacing as Charles McGraw, the hitman, during this period. He always appeared on the edge of violence with a voice that could, if he got close enough, leave abrasions on your face.

The era’s details on producing phony bills are dated and the film is not without flaws, such as when a federal agent comes down hard on a shop owner for not noticing when she gets counterfeit bills. This is after already establishing that it takes an expert, under a magnifying glass, to know the difference between real bills.

Note: This is one of ten films for the unknown Mary Meade, four of which being uncredited. She plays the nightclub photographer, Evangeline, during this peak period of her career. More success came to June Lockhart, here in her sixth post World War II film as the wife of Alfred Ryder's character.

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