Chicago Syndicate

This is a great little crime movie. It has a truly sleazy feel and is very well directed. Fred Sears! That guy knew how to turn out these trashy but effective crime exposes! Dennis O'Keefe, who seems a little down-at-the heels, is the lead. He goes undercover to blow the lid off a syndicate run by mama's boy Paul Stewart. With his eyes sunken and dark, Stewart is a highly effective villain (albeit a suave one.) His current girlfriend sings at a club he runs. We hear her sing, and she is pretty darn good. That's because she's played by Abbe Lane. Lane had a good vocal style and she knew how to be sewn into a glamorous dress. Real-life husband Xaviar Cugat is on-hand, too: He's her band-leader and is pining after her.

Though she gets lower billing, the main female is really Allison Hayes. Yes: The star of the immortal "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman." Hayes does a fine job. She's an interesting presence: She looks like a meaner version of Jane Russell.

The only distracting part of the movie is the O'Keefe character's name: Barry Amsterdam. It kept reminding me of a certain comic on a classic TV show about writers for a TV comedy ...

O'Keefe had the goods, though. He is one of the best of all noir actors.

I saw the show on Turner Classic Movies. The plot was entertaining. It kicks off with a murder of a mob accountant who gave inside info to a newspaper man (the "Syndicate" didn't like that.) The newsman then gets some leading Chicago people plus lawmen together to try to "break the Syndicate wide open." They persuade Barry Amsterdam (Dennis O'Keefe), an aspiring accountant dreaming of starting his own business, to infiltrate the mob and get the lowdown on the crooks. He ends up doing an amazing job, for an accountant! But the use of real street scenes is what made this a very interesting movie for a Chicago history buff like me. You can see many downtown locations (theaters, buildings, bridges, rivers, street signs), era shots (men in hats, big cars, 50s trains & buses) and dialog about real places (Halsted, Ohio, The Palmer House, Maxwell Street). Lot's of fun!

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.

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.

Because this film starred Dennis O'Keefe (who was wonderful in his Film Noir appearances), I was sure to see it. And fortunately, the overall effort was exciting and engaging--making it a decent later example of the genre. While not as bloody and earthy as many Noir films, due to the head of the mob priding himself on being a well-spoken gentleman, nevertheless is a decent film of this type.

The film begins with a contract killing so stop an accountant from spilling his guts about organized crime. A citizen's group decides that they need to try a new way to infiltrate the mob--send in a freelance agent who isn't a cop or part of the Treasury or Justice Departments. So Dennis O'Keefe is recruited and he is able to eventually rise very high in the ranks--and leading to a wonderful showdown.

I think the reason I like O'Keefe in these films is because he's so ugly--or at best ordinary looking. For Noir, this is great, as pretty boys and the like are NOT something you'd expect. So, when Edmund O'Brien isn't available, O'Keefe is a good substitute.

Full of excellent intrigue, an interesting and unusual plot and sure to please fans of the genre, CHICAGO SYNDICATE nearly earns an 8--it's that good.

FYI--It is interesting that in one scene where they are standing outside a movie theater, the picture listed on the marquee is ON THE WATERFRONT--another film about mobsters which came out at about the same time as CHICAGO SYNDICATE.