Fingerman

Times have changed and one of the stranger examples is the poorly named film "Finger Man". While today such a movie would clearly incite giggles (especially since it starred Frank Lovejoy), back in the day it was a taut crime drama...and perhaps one worth your time.

When the story begins, ex-con Casey Martin (Lovejoy) is identified as participating in a robbery. However, instead of locking him up, the authorities offer to give him a walk...if he'll help them catch the mobster, Dutch Becker (Forrest Tucker). Martin is no squealer...but when he learns that his sister is addicted to smack...heroin provided to her by Becker, Casey decides to help bring him to justice. As he puts it, it's a choice between 'life in prison or probably a bullet in the head! However, he goes very slow...very easy in order not to scare Dutch off and so that he'll win his trust.

While the film lacks the dark look and film angles used in classic film noir, it is tough enough to be noir...and the story is well worth seeing. Not among the very best crime films of the era, but still quite good. Lovejoy was a terrific actor--too bad he died so young.

A minor classic of sorts with 'hidden-gem' vibes, this fast-paced undercover informant cops-vs-mob movie, features memorable characters and locales, some excellent noirish shots here and there, plus an almost sociological view on this gang of hoodlums and its vices. Unusually, the musical score caught my attention with some expressive work that is superior to what one might typically expected from this kind of B-movie. Poignantly, a quote at the end from our protagonist (in voice-over, which appears sporadically throughout the movie) brings a frisson when you know that the actor died not very many years afterwards. Recommended.

Fingerman is a good example of a 50's style crime drama. The basic plot line is: a man who has spent a lifetime committing crimes is "back at work" after his latest release from prison. While committing a hold-up by hijacking a truck, he carelessly drops a pack of cigarettes on the road with his fingerprints all over them and is nailed by the feds. Given a choice to go free if he becomes a stool-pigeon, he has to decide if he'll work for the feds to nab a crime kingpin.

Although there are no major stars, the performances are mostly good. Frank Lovejoy specialized in this type of role, a cynical protagonist caught up in circumstances beyond his control. Forrest Tucker (as the crime boss) and Peggie Castle (as Lovejoy's girlfriend) do well also. Timothy Carey (one of the most bizarre actors in screen history) is a standout as a torpedo in Tucker's employ.

The direction is decent but not outstanding, yet there are a few good moments, such as when two of Tucker's henchmen toss an informer in front of an approaching vehicle. Much of the action occurs at night, thus adding to the "noir" feel of the movie.

The film is unquestionably dated, and may bore younger viewers who need explosions or special effects every five minutes, but if you like 50's crime drama, Fingerman is a good way to kill an hour-and-a-half.

Veteran small-time criminal Frank Lovejoy gets busted for hijacking a truck he stole. Because of his prison track record, both in doing time and in refusing to be a stool pigeon, he's given the choice: life in prison or help the feds take down big-time crime boss Forrest Tucker. They also tell him to look up his sister Evelyn Eaton, who's now a drug addict, and Tucker's the supplier. Lovejoy has no choice but to accept. Through his old flame Peggy Castle, who was once employed by Tucker as a call-girl, he gets a position in Tucker's organization where he can try and find something concrete on Tucker.

There are tons of these noir(-ish) crime movies where someone infiltrates a crime ring in order to bust it from the inside out. This one's above-average. Within the confines of the Production Code it does all it can to make Tucker's business as seedy and lowlife as possible, by showing the sister's addiction as well as Tucker disposing of a prostitute he cannot use anymore. There's nothing redeeming about this crime boss, but he's also not some crazed lunatic.

The acting is solid across the board. Both Lovejoy ('The Hitch- hiker') and Castle ('99 River Street') are good, playing hardened- by-life characters but with human emotion under the exterior (in Lovejoy's case pure rage, Castle wants to settle down but knows her past will always come back to haunt her). Tucker (in his sole noir?) plays it straight and understated, giving his character a mean edge, even when he doesn't talk. Tucker's sidekick is none other than Timothy Carey ('The Killing'), who has some very nervous fingers in this movie. But as much as I like seeing Carey being Carey, his hyperactive acting felt kinda misplaced here, it's too big a contrast.

The movie looks pretty good, especially the nighttime scenes are well-done. Lovejoy does some nice voice-over narration with lines that could've been pulled straight from a 40s pulp novel. There are no surprises tho, altho there rarely are in these 'expose'-type noirs. Director Harold Schuster did a similar noir a few years late, 'Portland Expose', but this one's better. DoP William Sickner ('Cry Vengeance') does a solid job, and together they occasionally craft a beautifully-looking scene (the one where Castle walks into the night is tender and doomed at the same time).

Overall, it's not a classic, but it's a good example of this type of crime-busting movies. It's competently made and acted, looks good and does more than enough to keep one's attention. It's not a movie with a lot of re-watch value tho, what you see is what you get. Still recommended. 7/10

"Casey Martin" can take the final fall for a life of crime or cut a deal with T-Men to go undercover. It takes a tough guy, up against the wall, to tackle the assignment. The actors and script follow through to deliver a good tale. It's surprising that major studios were still making Black & White films in 1955, but the format seems to fit this story.