Leofwine_draca T-MEN is a slice of film noir that benefits immensely from the direction of Anthony Mann, who crafts what can ably be described as a visual masterpiece. It's a film of shadowy corridors, striking and imposing industrial sets, and grimy streets; foggy and exaggerated, with the look of the characters almost as important as the characters themselves.The story is nothing special, about a couple of treasury agents going undercover in a counterfeiting ring in order to break it up. But this film has style to spare, style that overcomes the shortcomings of the script to offer up something that feels fresh and engaging. The portentous Raymond Chandler-style narration helps a lot, putting this film very much in its era.The first half of the film is a little slow, but things pick up in the second with a series of gripping set-pieces. A sauna is used for incredible atmospheric effect, and a simple street scene where a guy is forced to ignore his own wife is highly suspenseful. Inevitably the best scenes are saved for the shocks and sudden violence of the climax. The cast members give assured turns and in many ways this reminded me of a Japanese Yakuza film; it has that level of appealing toughness to it.

MisterWhiplash T-Men might be one of the great film-noirs of the period- certainly a high point for Anthony Mann who already has Raw Deal as one of the masterpieces of the period- if only for one fatal flaw: the narration. While it would probably work well enough in a pulp magazine or wherever a story like this would turn up in print (it seems just about made for it, though despite the presence of the "real" treasury department officials it's fictional), the narrator, who comes off like an even more dead-pan version (and of course less subtly satirical) of the VO in the Killing, disrupts the flow of the story where it could be just excellent without it. Little things pop up that could be filmed just was well, finding out the clues and the details and not overrun with the ham-fisted voice of authority. If it was even done in shorter bits interspersed, fine. But as it is, it's the only big letdown of the movie, making it dated (at least more than usual).And yet, this doesn't detract from what should be a must-see for those who want to immerse themselves in a creative visual style. The team-up of Mann and his DP John Alcott was a match made in shadow-heaven, and their collaboration brings out such a strong style that it's hard to look away. This, plus the performances from Dennis O'Keefe, Wallace Ford, Charles McGrayw, make it a firecracker of a thriller, involving a story of two federal treasury agents out for a big sting with a nest of counterfeiters in Los Angeles and Detroit. When Man directs certain scenes, they pop like you want one of these 'old-school' hard boiled flicks to go. The violence actually isn't very cheap either, at least for the period, and it's a big bang where another director might've gone for the limp whimper. The villains are tough, but like any good soldier undercover the hand is always a little slicker, one step ahead. When it's at its best, T-Men is like the super-cool grandfather to the likes of the Departed.If only for the preachiness, and that stupid voice (who, apparently for good reason, is uncredited), I'd recommend it as whole-heartedly as Raw Deal. As it stands, it's still very good, with the kinds of double-crosses and moments of tension (i.e. the lead-up to the Schemer's demise) that rank with the finest the genre has. Bottom line, you're bound to find one or two of the compositions in T-Men right smack-dab in the examples of textbook film-noir lighting and design: maximum impact of B-movie reaching art. 8.5/10

RanchoTuVu Get by the introductory speech and T-Men picks up steam (literally) going from a Detroit mob to a San Francisco counterfeiting ring. Two treasury agents go undercover and find out all that they need to know, but also find it difficult to stay alive. Tailing one suspect into Chinese herb shops and steam rooms, and then into a restaurant with a South Pacific motif, which is the locale for one of the great scenes in the film, trading samples of counterfeit cash that are folded like airplanes, reaching an agreement about paper and plates (one side has one, the other side has the other), all the little details that could have been a bore aren't because the viewer is constantly drawn in by the quality of the pacing, stellar cinematography, the characters ,and the locations.

MartinHafer This film is rather reminiscent of the excellent Alan Ladd Noir film, APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER (about a postal inspector infiltrating a murderous gang). In this case, the undercover work is done by two Treasury agents--Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder. I really liked these two as leads because despite being far from household names, the acting was excellent and believable. Also, true to Noir, they weren't exactly handsome guys--more like a tough average man instead of the usual non-Noir heroes.O'Keefe and Ryder play undercover agents who are trying to infiltrate a gang of counterfeiters. It's dangerous work and they can't just arrest people because they have no idea who is in charge. Throughout the film, tough bad guys (such as Charles McGraw) and unflinching but realistic violence is present--as well as an excellent level of suspense. Unlike some Noir films, this one pulls no punches nor does it give way to sentimentality. This is a seldom-seen but exceptional film for lovers of the genre.By the way, I had one minor complain and that was the terrible narration. My score for the film, because of this, is knocked from an 8 to 7. When the film began, a Treasury official gave an introduction that was VERY stilted and he simply couldn't read his lines well. Then, throughout the film, a different narrator spoke on occasion and just wasn't necessary to the film--it was a minor distraction.