T-Men (1947)

Director: Anthony Mann

Writers: John C. Higgins, Virginia Kellogg

Composer: Paul Sawtell

Starring: Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, June Lockhart, Charles McGraw, Jane Randolph, Art Smith, Herbert Heyes, Jack Overman, John Wengraf, Jim Bannon, William Malten, Reed Hadley

More info: IMDb

Tagline: TERRIFIC... and True!

Plot: Two US Treasury agents hunt a successful counterfeiting ring.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

At first this feels like a straight forward procedural and it is but there are moments where it becomes so much more.  Some of the shot compositions are fantastic and there's one scene that had me mesmerized.  It's where Harrigan (O'Keefe) sees his undercover partner Galvani (Ryder) for the last time.  I don't want to spoil it but it's so expertly shot and utterly chilling that you could tell this movie isn't made by by-the-numbers filmmakers.  I'm very familiar with Anthony Mann's work as director and he's solid.  This flick caught me by surprise and I like it when that happens.  The performances along with everything else are good.  It's great entertainment disguised as a B-picture.  It's narrated by Reed Hadley (uncredited, too.  How does that happen when his narration is all over the picture?) who played Zorro in the wonderful serial ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION (1939).