''The Undercover Man'' is a 1949 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

and Nina Foch, and directed by Joseph H. Lewis.

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

made his film debut in support.

Plot

Frank Warren is a United States Treasury agent assigned to put an end to the activities of a powerful mob crime boss. The agent struggles to put together a case, but is frustrated when all he finds are terrified witnesses and corrupt police officers. Although most informants end up dead, Agent Warren gets critical information about the mob from an unlikely source.

Cast

as Frank Warren * Nina Foch as Judith Warren *

as George Pappas * Barry Kelley as Edward O'Rourke * David Bauer as Stanley Weinburg (as David Wolfe) * Frank Tweddell as Insp. Herzog * Howard St. John as Joseph S. Horan *

John F. Hamilton John F. Hamilton (November 7, 1893 – July 11, 1967) was an American-born actor who worked for many years in the theater but only occasionally on film. He is probably best-remembered as Pops, father of Eva Marie Saint's character, in Elia Kaz ...

as Police Sergeant Shannon * Leo Penn as Sydney Gordon * Joan Lazer as Rosa Rocco *

Esther Minciotti Esther Cunico Minciotti (born March 18, 1888, in Turin, Italy – died April 15, 1962, in New York, United States) was an Italian actress.Angela Clarke as Theresa Rocco * Anthony Caruso as Salvatore Rocco *

Robert Osterloh Robert Osterloh (May 31, 1918 – April 16, 2001) was an American actor. In a career spanning 20 years, he appeared in films such as '' The Dark Past'' (1948), '' The Wild One'' (1953), ''I Bury the Living'' (1958) and '' Young Dillinger'' (1965 ...

as Manny Zanger *

Kay Medford Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1919 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical ''Funny Girl (musical), Funny Girl'' and the Funny Girl (film), film adaptati ...

as Gladys LaVerne *

Patricia Barry Patricia Barry (born Patricia Allen White, November 16, 1922 – October 11, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Although Barry has numerous credits performing in stage productions and in films, the majority of her work w ...

as Muriel Gordon (as Patricia White)

Background

The film was based on an article titled "He Trapped Capone," the first part of the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

''Undercover Man'' by Federal Agent Frank J. Wilson, which was serialized in ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'' in 1947. Many details were fictionalized. The timeframe was changed from the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

era to the post-World War II war era.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

became an unnamed, unidentified big city.

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

was referred to only as the shadowy "Big Fellow", never shown by face, who had diversified into gambling, numbers, and protection rackets (as bootlegging was no longer a top enterprise following the repeal of Prohibition, a shift in business orientation reflecting the broad change in US

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

in repeal's wake).

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

Criminal Investigator Frank Wilson became IRS Criminal Investigator Frank Warren. In spite of the changes, the film still reasonably authentically portrayed the efforts of Wilson's team to put together a tax evasion case against Capone. In many respects, despite the name changes and undistinguished settings, it is a more accurate depiction of the investigation than such later films on the same subject as '' The Untouchables''.

Critical response

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

panned the film in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': "Furthermore—and this is fatal—it is a drearily static film, for all its explosive flurries of gun-play and passing of violent threats. The big crisis in the picture comes when the Treasury man, played by Glenn Ford, is uncertain whether to stick with the case or retire to a farm. And the basis of his decision to go on sleuthing for Uncle Sam is a long-winded lecture on justice which a sad-eyed Italian woman gives. Mr. Ford, in a battered gray hat and a baggy suit, makes a pretty case for higher salaries to civil servants but a not very impressive sleuth. And James Whitmore, who played the sergeant in ''Command Decision'' on the stage, seems much more inclined to low clowning than to accounting as an assistant on the case. Barry Kelley is robustly arrogant as 'the big fellow's' lawyer and front-man, with several other performers doing standard character roles." The staff at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine gave the film a positive review, writing: "Narrated in a straightforward, hardhitting documentary style, ''The Undercover Man'' is a good crime-busting saga. Standout features are the pic's sustained pace and its realistic quality. Fresh, natural dialog help to cover up the formula yarn, while topnotch performances down the line carry conviction. Joseph H. Lewis's direction also mutes the melodramatic elements but manages to keep the tension mounting through a series of violent episodes." '' Time Out'' film guide lauded the film in 2006 and wrote, "A superior crime thriller in the semi-documentary style beloved by Hollywood in the late 1940s... he filmachieves an authenticity rare in the genre. Perhaps even more impressive is the acknowledgment that mob crime affects not only cops and criminals, but innocents too: witnesses are silenced, bystanders injured. And Lewis - one of the B movie greats - directs in admirably forthright, muscular fashion, making superb use of

Burnett Guffey Burnett Guffey, A.S.C. (May 26, 1905 – May 30, 1983) was an American cinematographer. He won two Academy Awards: '' From Here to Eternity'' (1953) and '' Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967). Burnett Guffey, who was born on May 26, 1905 in Del Rio, ...

's gritty monochrome camerawork."''Time Out''
Film review, 2006. Last accessed: January 20, 2008.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Undercover Man, The 1949 films 1949 crime drama films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films 1940s English-language films Films scored by George Duning Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis American crime drama films Film noir 1940s crime thriller films 1940s American films English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films