Crimen, S.A.

One of several late-noirs about Union corruption, for a basic seventy-five-minute programmer, CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL has just about everything, from murderous thugs to their sophisticated bosses to courtroom drama involving a wrong man to all heavies eventually being hunted down, Brian Keith stars as a lawyer fighting to get wrongly-accused union boss Dick Foran off the hook from an ON THE WATERFRONT style rudimentary stool-pigeon murder (care-of usual Noir torpedo Jack Lambert) that happens right off the bat...

Giving CONFIDENTIAL a tight, edgy and at the same time breezily entertaining pulse where the best sequences take place beyond expository offices and into the shadowy streets or else inside a smoky nightclub that harbors sultry and experienced b-girls led by an equally vulnerable Beverly Tyler (along with alcoholic Linda Brent), stealing scenes not only from Keith's picture-pretty housewife and lead ingenue (Foran's secretary) Beverly Garland, but the men as well.

The mob has infiltrated a union and are about to be ratted out to the state's attorney. They rub out the songbird and make a patsy out of the union's leader. Things look bad for the condemned man, but his girlfriend never gives up trying to exonerate him. Good film with lots of old familiar faces.

"Chicago Confidential" is an excellent crime film and much of the reason is the taught script and the acting of Brian Keith, a man who was an excellent movie actor but who is known much more for his light television faire.

Organized crime is trying to take over the unions in Chicago. But instead of just muscling in, this group using some muscle...but brains as well. Instead of just killing the honest leaders of the union, they kill one and frame the other for his murder. It's evil...but also very clever...so clever that the honest District Attorney (Keith) falls into their trap and convicts an innocent man. Later, however, he learns that he might have been used by the mob and the DA springs into action to uncover the truth.

Keith is great and the script is very good. But there is one glaring logical problem...why would the DA put himself into such dangerous situations without a police escort?! Even when the DA is attacked and killed by these crooks, he STILL seems to be on a one-man crusade...which is not logical at all. But, despite this, the film is never dull and is well worth your time.

I'm really glad that crime movies of the B or lower grades are showing up. Hence the six stars. But this movie felt flat. It never drew me in.

It's one of those in which an unseen narrator tells us about the crime that was sweeping big cities and the police/government officials/fill in the blank who were wiping it out.

Brian Keith could be a fine noir hero but his performance feels uninspired. The movie boasts some great actresses of the tough-girl school. They too seem underused.

The narration is almost a self-parody. It is so stern and humorless it presages the announcer on "Laugh-in" and some later intentional funny movies.

I didn't buy this movie. Not sure why. But thanks for bringing it out of the vault, anyway. And keep 'em coming!

A cast of familiar faces appear in Chicago Confidential, a 1957 B movie. The stars are Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, Dick Foran, Elisha Cook Jr., John Hamilton, and Phyllis Coates. The latter two stars were in the TV "Superman" in case you don't recognize their names.

The story is told with a narration, semidocumentary style. This type of film was popular for a time, but to me, it's very dry and too "Dragnet."

A union accountant who has been keeping two sets of books calls DA Jim Fremont (Keith) and announces he is bringing in proof that the mob has infiltrated the union and is stealing from it. As could have been predicted as he starts walking to the DA's house in the dark, briefcase and folders in hand, he doesn't make it.

The bad guys set up one of the good union guys, Artie Blaine (Foran) to take the fall for the murder, and they do a decent job of it, using a drunk (Elisha Cook, Jr.) who finds the murder weapon as a witness to go to the DA once they clean him up. Then they discredit Blaine's fiancée (Garland) on the witness stand. The noose tightens.

Fairly formulaic, with a couple of interesting things - one is an impressionist, and the other is the use of a machine that recognizes speech patterns.

I interviewed Beverly Garland some years ago, so I always try to watch her films. She was a vibrant, funny, wonderful lady with a million stories. It makes me sad that she's no longer with us, but at least we can enjoy her film and TV work. For me she's a bright spot in "Chicago Confidential."