Finger Man (1955)

An ex-con goes undercover for the government to "finger" the crime boss who made his sister a drug addict.

Director:

Harold D. Schuster (as Harold Schuster)

Writers:

Norris Lipsius (story), John Lardner (story)

Stars:

Frank Lovejoy, Forrest Tucker, Peggie Castle

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frank Lovejoy	...	Casey Martin
Forrest Tucker	...	Dutch Becker
Peggie Castle	...	Gladys Baker
Timothy Carey	...	Lou Terpe
John Cliff	...	Johnny Cooper
William F. Leicester	...	Jim Rogers (as William Leicester)
Glen Gordon	...	Carlos Armor (as Glenn Gordon)
John Close	...	'Big' Walters
Hugh Sanders	...	Mr. Burns
Evelyn Eaton	...	Lucille Martin
Charles Maxwell	...	Fred Amory
Dorothy Green	...	Candy

Storyline

Treasury agents, desperate to get evidence on syndicate kingpin Dutch Becker, give ex-con hood Casey Martin a choice...life in prison or courting sudden death as a government 'finger man.' Finding that his sister is now a drug addict thanks to Becker, Martin agrees to go undercover. Becker's chief aide proves to be sadistic Lou Terpe, Martin's former cellmate whom he can't stand the sight of. And the danger hanging over Martin expands to threaten those around him...

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Plot Keywords:

fingerman | addict | undercover | drug addict | treasury agent | 

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Taglines:

"I put the finger on Public Enemy Number One!"

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dark Venture

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lindsley Parsons Picture Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Yellow Taxi that drops off Casey in front of the warehouse is a 1953 Plymouth.

User Reviews

"Is there room in the world for people like us?"

The question is asked by Lucille in her last scene, as she lies in the hospital to be detoxicated, and she is in hell. She is one of many female victims of Dutch Becker (Forest Tucker) who "owns" fallen girls "body and soul" all over the country, according to the police only in nine states. Frank Lovejoy as a frequent jailbird gets a chance for a clean slate if he helps the police to frame Dutch Becker to make it stick. That is the plot.

It's a grim film of spartan conciseness, and there are many interesting minor details that are important but risk getting bypassed by the action. All the scenes with Gladys Baker (Peggy Castle) are captivating, especially the last one, the longest shot in the film. In fact, it's all the expressive scenes with the women (and they are not many) that makes the film magic and of lasting interest beyond the limits of its time and age.

Frank Lovejoy reminds in this film very much of Eddie Constantine, the forerunner of James Bond but with a school of hard knocks behind him and a scarred face, that ultimately ruined his career. Frank Lovejoy has no scars, but he does have knuckles and uses them frequently. You simply have to love him, and the more for each trouble he starts.

The music is also outstanding, excellently composed and suited perfectly to every scene. This is a great film on a small level that will outshine most film of the period that were made to be more spectacular. This is a noir down to basics and extremely efficient as such.