T-Men (1947)
There are two reasons to see this movie: director Anthony Mann and cinematorgrapher John Alton. I don't know who is more imporatant, but the truly vigorous visuals are astonishing. They make the movie. In a way, you might think a noir depends on exactly this to survive. Maybe so. But there is a lack of character development that brings the plot down to earth. It's all about getting the bad guys, not about the drama faced by the leads. The documentary style is only interesting as an historical oddity. The serious voice-over basically drains the movie of more serious layers. Which is too bad, because I can easily picture the movie as a more straight up film noir drama, and succeeding really well. But we have what we have, a stiff and not unexciting crime drama. With photographic visuals that will blow you away. The progress of the plot has force even with the FBI inspired voiceover so this still operates as a narrative drama. And the intereference of this outsice intention diminishes as it goes, so it resembles a more usual movie over time. So give it a go, despite the drawbacks. The solid acting and intense situation almost make for the contrived style. In fact, some viewers might like the narration for its almost campy drama. But the photography, scene by scene, will surely with the day.
There are two reasons to see this movie: director Anthony Mann and cinematorgrapher John Alton. I don't know who is more imporatant, but the truly vigorous visuals are astonishing. They make the movie. In a way, you might think a noir depends on exactly this to survive. Maybe so. But there is a lack of character development that brings the plot down to earth. It's all about getting the bad guys, not about the drama faced by the leads. The documentary style is only interesting as an historical oddity. The serious voice-over basically drains the movie of more serious layers. Which is too bad, because I can easily picture the movie as a more straight up film noir drama, and succeeding really well. But we have what we have, a stiff and not unexciting crime drama. With photographic visuals that will blow you away. The progress of the plot has force even with the FBI inspired voiceover so this still operates as a narrative drama. And the intereference of this outsice intention diminishes as it goes, so it resembles a more usual movie over time. So give it a go, despite the drawbacks. The solid acting and intense situation almost make for the contrived style. In fact, some viewers might like the narration for its almost campy drama. But the photography, scene by scene, will surely with the day.