T-Men (1947)

Two US Treasury agents hunt a successful counterfeiting ring.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

John C. Higgins, Virginia Kellogg (story)

Stars:

Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Dennis O'Brien aka Vannie Harrigan
Mary Meade	...	Evangeline
Alfred Ryder	...	Tony Genaro aka Tony Galvani
Wallace Ford	...	The Schemer (as Wally Ford)
June Lockhart	...	Mary Genaro
Charles McGraw	...	Moxie

Storyline

United States Treasury agents O'Brien and Genaro infiltrate a counterfeiting ring which has some dangerously good paper. This is supposedly based on several actual Treasury cases.

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Plot Keywords:

counterfeiting | treasury agent | police | con artist | voice over narration | 

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Taglines:

The raw, savage, sceen-searing story of the treasury's tough guys!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

15 December 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

T-Man

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward Small Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 23, 1948 with Dennis O'Keefe reprising his film role.

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Goofs

Although the ship in the final sequence is described in dialog as the Higgins, the name visible on the ship's bow is the San Anselmo.

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Quotes

The Schemer: Yeah. They been giving me the cold shoulder lately. Giving me the fish-eye, kicking me around. What's behind all this?

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Connections

Featured in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

User Reviews

The narration holds it back

Shot and structured in a quasi-documentary style, this low budget noir from Eagle Lion pictures succeeds more than it fails, but still manages to fall just short. It takes awhile for it to heat up but when it does it shouldn't disappoint fans of hard-boiled and tough talking crime pictures. Much credit must go to Charles McGraw, who elevates the film to a higher level the minute he appears. Everything about this man bespeaks of film noir, and here as the head torpedo he's as nasty as they come.

What shoots this picture in the foot is the jumpy plot structure which is constantly filled in with unneeded voice over. The psychological inner workings and tension fail to ebb and flow every time the narrator fills in the blanks. With a bigger studio throwing more money at it this film might have been one of the A list classics, but made on the cheap as it was it remains just a better than average B movie.