Tag: agent

EP3517: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Starlet Matter

John Lund

Johnny is sent to Hollywood because an agent fears his starlet client is going to be murdered. Johnny finds she’s already been strangled to death.

Original Air Date: January 16, 1953

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EP3440: The Silent Men: Souvenirs of War

An ATF agent tries to investigate a ring that’s illegally selling confiscated German guns.

Original Air Date: December 23, 1951

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EP3386: The Silent Men: The Empire of Pip the Blind


A narcotics agent goes undercover to bust a West Coast drug kingpin.
Original Air Date: October 21, 1951
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Streaming Review: T-Men

In the 1947 film T-Men, two Treasury agents (Dennis O’Keefe and Alfred Ryder) travel to Detroit and go undercover in an attempt to infiltrate and ultimately break a counterfeiting ring.

T-men was a very entertaining bit of noir. It has the same cinematographer as He Walked by Night, and if you enjoyed the look of that film, you’ll probably like this one as well.

It’s one of those procedurals like He Walked by Night which really strove to portray the real life work of the investigator. So there’s a lot of detail, a lot of different scenes and minor characters who pop-up as our heroes try to work their way to the top, through a long tangled web of the underworld from creating their criminal identities to solving the case and making the bust. 

The script is smart, well-written and well-thought out. Our heroes are in constant peril and we’re given a reminder of how much they and, by extension, real-life Treasury Agents risk in the course of their work. Throughout most of the time, the film takes a deliberate pace, but it definitely picks up in the last ten minutes as the case comes to a finale.

The acting is solid. Outside of O’Keefe, most of the cast is made up of veteran character actors who manage to play their parts without seeming over-the-top, campy, or too stereotypical. Wallace Ford as the Schemer may have been my favorite performance. The main rising star in this is June Lockheart (Lost in Space) who appears as one of the agents’ wives.

The criticisms I’ve read online have basically come down to complaints about it being a procedural noir made in 1940s. If you want something faster paced or less detailed, this may not be the film for you. However, if you appreciate the realistic procedural films of the 1940s, this is a must-see.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Currently Available for free Streaming with Amazon Prime or on Blu-ray/DVD with two other films.

EP3230: Police Blotter: Murder on the Fourth Floor


Brad Peters investigates the murder of a theatrical agent.
Original Air Date: 1957
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EP3124: It’s a Crime, Mr. Collins: The Yellow Streak

Dan’s called out to Hollywood by an agent to clear a promising young actor of a murder charge.

Original Air Date: December 9, 1957

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