Die große Masche

The best part of "Chicago Syndicate" for me was seeing Abbe Lane and Xavier Cugat! I remember them from television and their chihuahuas. In fact, I think they fought over them in the divorce.

Dennis O'Keefe is Barry Amsterdam who goes undercover to get dirt on organized crime. An accountant has just been murdered as he was about to tell what he knew. A citizen's group sends in O'Keefe, with the promise of a $60,000 fee.

Amsterdam wins the trust of the main man (Paul Stewart), and he sets out to find his secret ledger and anything else that will serve as evidence. He meets lovely Sue Morton, who turns out to be the sister of the accountant who was killed. She joins Barry in bringing down the criminals.

In the late '40s and '50s, many films were made with a narration, as this one was. Usually they are pretty dry. This one wasn't, with some good scenes and a nice performance by O'Keefe. Abbe Lane plays the mobster's girlfriend, and she sings with. Benny Chico's (Cugat's) band. She was a knockout.

Has anyone else noticed that Charles Lane appears with his back to the camera in the scene where Paul Stewart warns his syndicate partners about not cheating him? The voice also seems to be his. He doesn't show up anywhere else in the film. I have not been able to find him associated with it on any credit listings, including the abbreviated IMDb cast list. I thought this was a pretty good genre film. It's always nice to see Paul Stewart in a bigger role. Don't recall ever seeing Abbe Lane in a film before. I really thought she was better than the other female lead, despite having less to do. Although her acting ability cannot really be assessed from this single role, I am surprised she did not have a lengthier career.

Nothing happens in this rather bleak and sordid noir about Chicago gangsters, until Alison Hayes pulls the gun in the middle of the film, and then the action starts, amounting to rather interesting proportions. Dennis O'Keefe is no William Holden, who would have been the right actor for this role - Dennis is too fidgety. Paul Stewart on the other hand is perfect for his character, and the other ladies are good as well, Abbe Lane as the night club primadonna in decline with a catch on the boss, and his mother. The best scenes are with these women, while it is Alison Hayes who runs the show from half way on. The finale approaches the depths of "The Third Man".

So although you yawn and look for something else to do meanwhile during the first half of the film, the second half must have all your attention. The dialog is riveting and splendid all the way, even Xavier Cugat gets a role to play and not only instruments, so it's after all a film well worth seeing.

A Good Production and a Decent Cast Can't Raise this Functionary, Pedestrian Picture from the Prolific 1950's Police Procedurals.

Film-Noir had All but Given Up the Ghost with the Eisenhower Era Emphasis on Big-Brother Watchdog Law Enforcement Forever "Looking Out For You".

Noir's Grit was Increasingly Being Scrubbed by the Booming Decade's Affluence.

The Odd Thing in this one is that Female Firebrands Abbe Lane and Allison Hayes are at the Core of Anything that Makes it Special.

Both Broads are in Fine Form with Clinging Dresses and Firecracker Personalities.

Some Scenes Stand Out, like the Climax Chase, and Abbe Lane Taking a Beating.

Of Minor Interest is Bandleader Xavier Cugat in a Speaking Part.

But the Film Struggles to have an Edge and Succumbs to Sedentary Situations Concerning Book-Keeping and other Mundane Aspects, like Paul Stewart and His Ma.

Slightly Above Average because of Lane, Hayes, and Stewart.

But Dennis O' Keefe seems Worn-Out and Past His Prime.

Good Street Scenes with Bigger than Big Cars and Chicago Locations also Help

Worth a Watch.

Dennis O'Keefe plays Barry Amersterdam, an accountant hired by authorities to infiltrate the syndicate in order the get the goods on the top man Arnie Valent. He works his way in and soon rises to become the mobs top accountant. Along the way he is distracted by Joyce Kern (Allison Hayes) a women out to avenge the mob murder of her father. CHICAGO SYNDICATE is a standard "B" crime thriller of the period. It is one of many films made in the fifties purporting to expose the sin, crime, corruption and vice of some major American city. Dennis O'Keefe gives his usual breezy performance. Allison Hayes is sexy. The best performance is Paul Stewart as mob boss Arnie Valent. Stewart was always at his best when he played slimy crooks, and he is quite convincing here as the nasty mob boss who loves his mother and likes to beat women.