CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

evanston_dad I didn't realize that director Anthony Mann and cinematographer John Alton were considered to be a famous film noir team until very recently, and when I did it just happened that I had two of their partnerships in my house at the same time: "T-Men" and "Border Incident." "T-Men" came out in 1947, right about the time a docu-drama sub-genre of film noir emerged. These films were always fictional recreations of true stories and had an element of the newsreel about them -- stentorian voice-over narration giving us little history lessons about some social problem or other and prologues featuring montages of real locations that gave the films the patina of a social service. But once this obligatory beginning to "T-Men" is disposed with, the film settles into a tight and suspenseful story about two treasury department agents who infiltrate a counterfeit money operation. It's obvious why Mann and Alton were such a great combination -- the compositions and chiaroscuro cinematography in this film are its greatest assets. There are some real surprises (like the death of a major character) and some memorable set pieces (like a murder in a Turkish steam bath). I don't know that it joins the ranks of my favorite noirs, but it certainly earns its place as a more than respectable addition to the genre."T-Men" was rather inexplicably nominated for a Best Sound Recording Oscar in 1947, even more notable because there were only three entries in that category that year (the winner was "The Bishop's Wife").Grade: A-

Dalbert Pringle Filmed in a no-nonsense, semi-documentary style, 1947's T-Men vividly tells the tale of 2 undercover agents from the American Treasury Department in Washington, DC, who risk life and limb in order to infiltrate a ruthlessly clever organization of currency counterfeiters who have operations in both Detroit and Los Angeles.Moving from one flea-bag hotel to the next, agents O'Brien and Genaro diligently track down "The Schemer", a valued member of the Van Tucci mob, who eventually leads our heroes to Mr. Big.Filled with plenty of hard-hitting action and deadly double-crosses, T-Men is a gritty, hard-edged Crime/Drama that's sure to please any fan of Film Noir.Filmed in stark b&w, T-Men had a running time of 92 minutes.

Spikeopath T-Men is directed by Anthony Mann and adapted by John C. Higgins from a suggested story written by Virginia Kellogg. It stars Dennis O'Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Mary Meade, Wallace Ford, June Lockhart, Charles McGraw and Art Smith. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by John Alton. Plot finds O'Keefe and Ryder as dedicated Treasury agents assigned to go undercover to break up the counterfeiting ring at the center of The Shanghai Paper Case. Posing as low ranked hoodlums left over from a long thought of disbanded gang, the two men find themselves immersed in a dark underworld of violence and deceit. Getting in was easy, coming out alive is a different matter.The first pairing of director Anthony Mann and master cinematographer John Alton, T-Men is tough semi documentary type film noir that manages to break free of its plot simplicity confines to become a fine movie. Beginning with a foreword delivered by a stoic Treasury official, the film initially feels it's going to be standard gangster/cops fare. But once our two intrepid agents go undercover and we hit the underworld, Mann and Alton shift the tone and the film becomes a different beast. The psychological aspects start to dominate the narrative, as both O'Keefe and Ryder cast aside their humanity to be at one with the grubby world. Under examination is the thin line between the law and the lawless, our two good guys are battling inner conflicts, their natural good instincts, but being bad has come easy. The edges of the frame have become blurred.The psychological tints would mean nothing without Alton's photography, it's the key element and therefore becomes essential viewing for film noir aficionados. His deep focus chiaroscuro compositions are very striking, and tell us more visually than anything being said vocally. How he frames the heroic agents in the same shadowy light as the bad guys helps keep us the audience in deep with the shift from good world to bad world. This mise-en-scène style has taken over, it's a life force all of its own, and as good as O'Keefe, Ryder and McGraw (always great to see him playing the muscle) are, it's the photography that is the main character here. Mann does his bit, also, sweaty close ups and up-tilt camera work adding to the general disquiet hanging heavy in every room. While his construction of the films most shocking scene, involving a steam bath, is so good its been copied numerous times since.Not as gritty as Raw Deal, which Mann, Alton and O'Keefe made the following year, but still as tough as old boots and cloaked deliciously with a shadowy beauty. 8/10

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) If anyone has doubts about the enormous talent of Anthony Mann, see this film. Made with a tiny budget and also to praise the Treasury Department this film grabs you from beginning to end. One of the greatest virtues of Mann is not to succumb to clichés or anything that might seem fake. The plot is about two men from the Treasury who go after a gang which is making false bills. In order to infiltrate the gang they must pass as men with dirty pasts. To keep their fake identity they pass through painful ordeals, like watching one of their own being killed, and not react, or meet his wife and act like he does not know her. There is plenty of suspense in the film keeping you always on the edge.