Genre:
Crime
Release Date: 04/30/2002
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 92 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Vci Video
The moodily evocative docudrama
T-Men stars
Dennis O'Keefe as Dennis O'Brien, a treasury agent determined to bring a counterfeiting ring to justice. O'Brien and his partner Tony Genaro (
Alfred Ryder) go undercover to gain the confidence of the ruthless Detroit mob responsible for the phony money. The plot, compelling though it is, takes second place to the film's stylish set pieces, superbly directed by
Anthony Mann and brilliantly photographed by
John Alton. Among the film's most famous moments is the scene in which two-bit hood
Wallace Ford is bumped off in a steam bath by sadistic hood
Charles McGraw, not to mention the harrowing vignette wherein
O'Keefe, posing as a crook, must stand by silently as his partner
Ryder is murdered. One of the finest examples of the
film noir form,
T-Men proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a film didn't need to have a lush budget, brilliant Technicolor and
Clark Gable to score a hit with postwar moviegoers.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide