THE UNDERCOVER MAN
US, 1949, 85 minutes, Black and white.
Glenn Ford, Nina Foch, James Whitmore, Barry Kelley.
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis.
The Undercover Man is one of those action films of the late 1940s, showing the work of the government in confronting criminal groups. The groups are involved in the numbers racket, the racing rackets, tax evasion.
Glenn Ford portrays Frank Warren, a very earnest investigator for the government, trying to get documents which will expose the criminal activity of the bigger bosses. It is frustrating work, especially when the lawyers for the bosses intervene (a strong performance from Barry Kelley). And there are several murders as some employees want to talk to the government, and as there is need for cover up of the criminal action.
Nina Foch plays Glenn Ford’s wife, a strong woman, supportive of his work, regretting his frequent absences. James Whitmore is one of his associates.
The film has strong black and white photography, suggesting light and shade in the moral world which it explores. There is friction with an Italian family which gives the grandmother an opportunity to make very strong speeches against the mafia, explicitly so, surprising in a film of the 1940s.
The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, a director of gritty action films his reputation has grown over the decades. His films include My Name is Julia Ross, Gun Crazy, the Big Combo.
1. The development of film noir in the 1940s? The semi-documentary film showing government agents at work? The movie campaign against crime, and organised crime?
2. The black and white photography, light and shade, reflective of the moral world it was being explored? The musical score?
3. Career of the director and his effective brief films? Glenn Ford as the star of this kind of film? Dedicated, relentless, humourless, suffering the hardships, absence from his wife?
4. The title, Frank Warren and his work? The opening at the railway station, with his wife, the press, the arrest, the resumption at the end with Frank and his wife being moved on as not important?
5. Frank, his work, an accountant, the tax office, exposing crime, his team, talking with the informers, waiting at the railway station, the informer coming to the hotel, giving the information, his being killed in the street?
6. The newspaper headlines of the ‘Big Fellow’? A celebrity yet a gangster? Underlings? Going to court, being released? O’Rourke? as his lawyer?
7. Frank and his team, George, discussions, the pressures, the routines, the contacts?
8. Julia, her love for her husband, and separated for so long, yet her supporting him, on the farm, his wanting to protect her from the criminals, thinking about buying the farm, her realising the truth, listening to the speech from the old Italian lady, supporting Frank and his quest?
9. Frank, pounding the streets, questions, connections? Information about the book-keepers? Seeking them out, some seeking him, wanting to give information? The Italian man, the contact, fleeing from the killers, talking with his daughter, her running behind and the chase through the crowds who are ignoring the danger? His death?
10. Going to the man’s home, meeting the daughter, the grandmother, the mother and her sullen attitude, resentful of Frank, at the funeral? The grandmother coming to visit, the little girl translating, her acknowledging the truth, strong speech about the history of the Mafia in Italy, coming to America
instead of fighting it at home, her pleading with Frank not to give up? The book with the accounts?
11. The accountant, his girlfriend, escaping, on the beach, being picked up by the police, interrogated, his fears, the checking of the writing to identify the bookkeeping, his witnessing in the courts?
12. The dangers, the wear and tear of the work, painstaking? Frank and the dangers for his wife? Tempted to give up? His achievement?
13. The earnest American tone of the film, trust in government, the campaign against the Mafia and the syndicates? This story and its success, the bringing down of the ‘Big Fellow’? A morale boosting story of the 1940s?
