The Undercover Man (1949)
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86% of users liked it
(30 ratings)
Eliot Ness may have gotten lots of publicity (especially long after the fact) for breaking the Capone mob, but as Joseph H. Lewis' The Undercover Man reminds us, it was the accountants and the numbers-crunchers that brought down Capone and his mob. Frank Warren (Glenn Ford) started out as an… More Eliot Ness may have gotten lots of publicity (especially long after the fact) for breaking the Capone mob, but as Joseph H. Lewis' The Undercover Man reminds us, it was the accountants and the numbers-crunchers that brought down Capone and his mob. Frank Warren (Glenn Ford) started out as an accountant, but now serves as an investigator for the Treasury Department. His job has frequently required him to go undercover, masquerading as a criminal to get the goods on the top-level tax-law violators that his unit targets. But now his assignment is to gather evidence on the operations of the nation's number-one crime boss and get proof of the income that he and his lieutenants are not declaring, and this proves not only frustrating but dangerous. Potential stoolies are murdered and witnesses intimidated, and when one otherwise "respectable" lawyer (Barry Kelley) starts mentioning Warren's wife (Nina Foch) in casual conversation, he takes the hint. He's ready to quit until the mother (Esther Minciotti) of a witness-turned-victim tells him about what life was like in Italy under the Black Hand, and why she came to America to raise her sons. Warren and his men (James Whitmore, David Wolfe) make one last attempt to get the proof they need, tracing signatures and handwriting to get evidence implicating a small man in the operation, using it to turn him and going for bigger fish. Finally, even the shyster lawyer who has been dogging Warren every step of the way ends up in the sights of the feds, and the mob turns its attention to getting rid of this new "liability" and taking care of Warren as well. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Joseph H. Lewis
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
- In Theaters
- Apr 20, 1949 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Highly creative crime film, with visually inventive direction.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A very solid crime thriller shot in semi-documentary style.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Glenn Ford
as Frank Warren
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Nina Foch
as Judith Warren
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James Whitmore
as George Pappas
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Barry Kelley
as Edward O'Rourke
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David Wolfe
as Stanley Weinburg
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Frank Tweddell
as Inspector Herzog
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Howard St. John
as Joseph S. Horan
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John F. Hamilton
as Sgt. Shannon
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Joan Lazer
as Rosa Rocco
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Esther Minciotti
as Maria Rocco
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Angela Clarke
as Theresa Rocco
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Anthony Caruso
as Salvatore Rocco
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Robert Osterloh
as Manny Zanger
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Kay Medford
as Gladys LaVerne
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Peter Brocco
as Johnny
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John K. Butler
as Grocer
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Wheaton Chambers
as Secretary
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George Douglas
as District Attorney
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Sidney Dubin
as Harris
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Ben Erway
as Court Clerk
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Franklin Farnum
as Federal Judge
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Everett Glass
as Judge Parker
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Sol (Saul) Gorss
as Hoodlum
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Tom Hanlon
as Newsreel Announcer
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Ken Harvey
as Big Fellow
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Ted Jordan
as Hoodlum
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Robert Malcolm Young
as Policeman
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Joe Mantell
as Newsboy
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Paul Marion
as Hoodlum
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Edwin Max
as Manager
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Frank Mayo
as Jury Foreman
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Silvio Minciotti
as Vendor
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Al Murphy
as Man
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Billy Nelson
as Bouncer
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Franklin Parker
as Man
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Leonard Penn
as Sidney Gordon
- Bernie Sell
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William Vedder
as Druggist
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Peter Virgo
as Cigar Store Owner
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Ralph Volkie
as Big Fellow/Man in White
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Helen Wallace
as Mrs. O'Rourke
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Harlan Warde
as Hoodlum
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Patricia White
as Muriel Gordon
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Esther Zeitlin
as Woman
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John Ireland
as Narrator
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Brian O'Hara
as Policeman
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Marcella Cisney
as Alice Ferguson
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Wally Rose
as Hoodlum
- Glenn Thompson
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Richard Bartell
as Court Attendant
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Roy Darmour
as Hoodlum
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Jim Drum
as Policeman
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Cy Malis
as Hoodlum
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Irene Martin
as Woman
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Allen Mathews
as Policeman
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Joe Palma
as Policeman
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Rose Plummer
as Woman
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Ed Randolph
as Men
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Michael Cisney
as Fred Ferguson
- Jack Gordon
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Stella LeSaint
as Woman
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William Rhinehart
as Gunman