The Undercover Man (1949) - film review

Federal treasury investigator Frank Warren is assigned to a case which, if successful, will smash one of America’s biggest crime syndicates and put its boss behind bars for many years.  The FBI knows that the only way to bring the Big Fellow (as he is called) and his henchmen to book is to bring a charge of tax evasion against them.  Unfortunately, Warren is up against a wily and dangerous adversary.  He not only has to contend with trigger-happy thugs but corrupt men in his own ranks...

The Undercover Man is a fine example of the kind of procedural film noir thriller which was popular in the late 1940s and which is fascinating to watch today.  It was directed with great flair by Joseph H Lewis who is better known for his subsequent noir masterpieces Deadly Is the Female (1950) (a.k.a. Gun Crazy) and The Big Combo (1955).  Although the pace is slow, the film tells a compelling story, in which the tension gradually mounts to an almost unbearably suspenseful denouement.  At no point is the outcome a foregone conclusion.
 
Glenn Ford is suitably cast as the angst-ridden solitary investigator charged with bringing one of America’s most notorious hoodlums to book.  In one of his best, most intense performances, Ford convincingly conveys the trauma of a man who is torn between his civic and professional duties and his desire to lead a quiet life with the woman he loves.  Burnett Guffey’s stunning noir photography, which gives the film its hard semi-documentary feel, is more than just texture; it is essential to the fabric of the film and gives it its resounding authenticity, whilst heightening the tension.     

The film is closely based on the part of the book Undercover Man (an autobiography by Federal Agent Frank Wilson) which relates the process by which Chicago gangster boss Al Capone was indicted for tax evasion.   The Hollywood Production Code which was in force at the time prevented the film from referring to the case directly but, in spite of this, the film gives an accurate depiction of how Capone was brought to justice.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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