cult film freak: DIRECTOR ANTHONY MANN'S CONTERFEIT MONEY FILM NOIR 'T-MEN'

Written by James M. Tate / 3/08/2024 / No comments / alfred ryder , anthony mann , art smith , charles mcgraw , dennis o'keefe , docudrama , forties , jack overman , jane randolph , june lockhart , wallace ford

DIRECTOR ANTHONY MANN'S CONTERFEIT MONEY FILM NOIR 'T-MEN'

3/08/2024 | No comment

Title: T-MEN Director: Anthony Mann Year: 1947 Rating: ****1/2

Backed by offbeat, surreal music from a dream sequence... only here used for otherwise normal dialogue in a film noir governmental expose that begins as a documentary before escalating into the story of undercover agents Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder, thrust into a formidably dark underworld of pitiful motel rooms, seedy steam-baths and smoky taverns where a criminal gang deal in counterfeit money...

And they're so paranoid about the duo possibly being T-MEN, the agents are put through the ringer that includes getting beaten up within tense-filled moments where — on the edge of almost being revealed (especially by muggy hit-men Charles McGraw and Jack Overman) — the suspense level reaches a cascade of revolving peaks...

Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN

Directed by Anthony Mann before epic westerns and dramas, T-MEN is a genuine b-movie filled with so many creative camera angles, there's not a single setup involving two or three actors (while dames are sparse) that's not inventively, strategically shot... while always being perfectly darkly lit..

Visually epitomizing the film noir aesthetic: including exterior shadow-filled alleyways and dilapidated city streets where the characters, whether good or bad, are caught desperately (and hopelessly) in-between.

Dennis O'Keefe and Charles McGraw in T-MEN

Dennis O'Keefe and Charles McGraw in T-MEN with Jack Overman

Alfred Ryder and Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN

Mary Meade and Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN

Mary Meade in T-MEN

June Lockhart in T-MEN

Cat People good girl Jane Randolph a bad dame in T-MEN

From Anthony Mann's T-MEN

Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN with Alfred Ryder

Alfred Ryder and Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN

Dennis O'Keefe with Alfred Ryder and Wallace Ford in T-MEN

Charles McGraw in T-MEN

Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN

Dennis O'Keefe in T-MEN with Wallace Ford

Share This Post :

Tags : alfred ryder , anthony mann , art smith , charles mcgraw , dennis o'keefe , docudrama , forties , jack overman , jane randolph , june lockhart , wallace ford

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER