| T-Men |  | Director: Anthony Mann
Actors: Vivian Austin, Louis Bacigalupi, Jim Bannon, Trevor Bardette, Al Bridge
Studio: Vci Video
Category: DVD
Buy Used: CDN$ 57.62
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 45684
Format: Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Italian (Original Language)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 089859830822
EAN: 0089859830822
ASIN: B00005Y70T
Theatrical Release Date: December 15, 1947
Release Date: September 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships from USA. Delivered in 10-15 business days. Satisfaction guaranteed!!
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| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com
Anthony Mann was a poverty-row director with ambition when he transformed this story of undercover Treasury agents (based on a collection of true cases) into a moody, alienated drama about two lawmen living a shadowed life in the underworld where a blown cover means death. Square-jawed Dennis O'Keefe, a former leading man turned beefy B movie tough guy, and Alfred Ryder star as the titular T-men who take over a counterfeiting investigation when their predecessor is killed, posing as street thugs to infiltrate their way into the gang and living the dangerous life of the gangster to the hilt. The documentary-style realism, with its authoritative narrator, location shooting, and stock-shot interludes of shuffling papers and laboratory testing, is given a nightmarish dimension with stark sets lit in claustrophobic shadows, creating an abstract, eerie emptiness. Penned by John C. Higgins (who wrote Mann's previous film, IRailroaded!/I), and shot by the brilliant cinematographer John Alton, IT-Men/I is raw in comparison to the smoother, more handsome studio noirs such as IThe Maltese Falcon/I and IOut of the Past/I. Saddled with often awkward dialogue and hackneyed narration, this low-budget gem derives its power from the brutal violence (often offscreen but no less unsettling for it) and spare style, and the desperation in the hard faces of the unglamorous actors. Mann, Alton, Higgins, and star O'Keefe reteamed for the moody IRaw Deal/I the next year. I--Sean Axmaker/I
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| Customer Reviews:
 Film noir classic October 24, 2003
Kevin Brianton (Melbourne, Victoria Australia)
Anthony Mann with no budget and not much of a script creates a terrific little thriller. There are simply classic sequences thanks to some brilliant cinematography. pThe film is very episodic and does not realy hang together, but some of the shots are superb. The opening murder of an informant has one of the bext scenes where a murderer literally is absorbed by the darkness. The execution in the steam room is filled with horror. Anthony Mann showed all his potential as a director with this little B film. It is throughly recommended.
 UNEXPECTED NOIR GEM ON DVD May 31, 2002
Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States)
VCI Entertainment, a small video company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is releasing DVDs of "RAW DEAL" and "T MEN," two forgotten noir B movie classics directed by Anthony Mann. pAllegedly taken from a closed Treasury Department file (the "Shanghia Paper" case), "T Men" (1947) is a clever crime drama that's shot in a documentary style for added realsim. The meticulously detailed set-up is kind of slow going, but the payoff is gangbusters (literally). Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder are Treasury agents who go undercover, disguised as mobsters, to infiltrate a ring of Detroit based liquor cutters known to be using bogus revenue stamps. The gang's savage leader has already killed a fellow T Man. For the agents, there is almost a perverse emphasis on how they must shut down all normal human feelings to successfully accomplish their missions -- even to the point of standing by while a fellow agent is executed in cold blood. There's no question about the dark noir terrain in this terrific little thriller that is all the more effective thanks to John Alton's brilliant, precise, geometrically composed cinematography. pA surprisingly gripping film with a stunning climax. Definitely worth considering if you're looking for those forgotten noir gems.
An overlooked B-movie crime thriller October 23, 2000
bruce horner (San Francisco, CA USA)
If and when you see this film, ignore the tiresome, moronic narration at the beginning and end that was obviously tacked on by the studio, and enjoy the middle 96% of this tough, well-made, B-movie classic. Before he found fame as a director of westerns, Anthony Mann directed shoestring-budget B-crime thrillers, of which T-Men is the best (better than Raw Deal, much better than Railroaded.) The pseudo-documentary approach combines with John Alton's brilliant underlit noirish cinematography to create a potent brew; engaging, almost mesmerizing. You hate to see the story come to an end. A B-movie masterpiece, one of the great ones of the forties.
Mann/Alton team exceed themselves in this noir gem August 2, 2000
Starting with what must have been a standard postwar script praising the feds (this time, the treasury department), the team of director Anthony Mann and director of photography John Alton turned this into one of the most memorable and seminal films of the noir cycle. The budget was shoestring but their love for their craft must have been extraordinary, because shot after shot triumphs as a little cinematographic wonder -- an object lesson in how to let pictures talk. As T-Men Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder plunge deeper into the counterfeiters' world, the action becomes increasingly edgy and violent, belying the syrupy patriotic music that puts us to sleep every time we flash back to Washington, D.C. As good as Mann's (and Alton's) other films can be, T-Men shows off their talents to exhilarating advantage. This is a must-see -- even a must-buy -- for anybody interested in this unparalleled and unforgettable decade of film history.
An Unknown Gem! November 24, 1999
Doug Roberts (Toronto, Canada)
What starts out as another Hollywood movie promoting the FBI and other government law enforcement agencies quickly becomes a hard-hitting film noir that exposes the underbelly of an undercover government agent. Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder must become as bad as the villians they are after in order to infiltrate a ruthless gang of counterfeiters. Watch for Charles McGraw in one of his most sadistic roles as Moxey - the thug who loves to inflict pain. A little known classic by Anthony Mann (who directed all of those great 1950's Jimmy Stewart westerns).
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