Tag: 1940s

DVD Review, Golden Age Article

Streaming Review: T-Men

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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.

Book Review, Golden Age Article

Book Review: Corpses are Where You Find Them

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In Corpses are Where You Find Them, Michael Shayne is preparing to go out of town with his young wife Phyllis despite pleas from the Mayoral candidate he’s supporting. However, his plans change when a beautiful young woman shows up high. He deposits her in his apartment and drives his wife to the train station, but he returns to find her dead and is then accused of kidnapping by the political opponent of the candidate he’s supporting. Shayne has to solve the murder to not only save his candidate’s campaign but also to avoid going to prison.

Corpses Are Where You Find Them is a fast-paced, fun read with the body of the murdered woman disappearing and re-appearing, political intrigue, and hidden agendas.

The writing of Brett Halliday (aka Davis Dresser) is improved from the first book, where Shayne’s antics could be insufferable. Here Shayne doesn’t do anything too off the wall until late in the book where he steals the clothes of an insane asylum patient, but that turns out to have a good reason.

Overall, this is a solid 1940s mystery with hard-boiled overtones. For lovers of these sort of books, this makes for a fun, diverting read.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

This post contains affiliate links, which means that items purchased from these links may result in a commission being paid to the author of this post at no extra cost to the purchaser.