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IMDbPro

Meutres à responsabilité limitée

Original title: Chicago Syndicate
  • 1955
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
737
YOUR RATING
Allison Hayes, Abbe Lane, and Dennis O'Keefe in Meutres à responsabilité limitée (1955)
Film NoirCrimeDramaThriller

A former military accountant is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the mob in Chicago in an attempt to break open the rackets. To complicate his job, two women stand in his way, each with he... Read allA former military accountant is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the mob in Chicago in an attempt to break open the rackets. To complicate his job, two women stand in his way, each with her own agenda.A former military accountant is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate the mob in Chicago in an attempt to break open the rackets. To complicate his job, two women stand in his way, each with her own agenda.

  • Director
    • Fred F. Sears
  • Writers
    • Joseph Hoffman
    • William Sackheim
  • Stars
    • Dennis O'Keefe
    • Abbe Lane
    • Paul Stewart
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    737
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fred F. Sears
    • Writers
      • Joseph Hoffman
      • William Sackheim
    • Stars
      • Dennis O'Keefe
      • Abbe Lane
      • Paul Stewart
    • 22User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos51

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    Top cast48

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    Dennis O'Keefe
    Dennis O'Keefe
    • Barry Amsterdam
    Abbe Lane
    Abbe Lane
    • Connie Peters
    Paul Stewart
    Paul Stewart
    • Arnold 'Arnie' Valent
    Xavier Cugat
    Xavier Cugat
    • Benny Chico
    Allison Hayes
    Allison Hayes
    • Sue Morton
    Richard H. Cutting
    Richard H. Cutting
    • David Healey…
    Chris Alcaide
    Chris Alcaide
    • Nate - a Thug
    William Challee
    William Challee
    • Dolan - a Thug
    John Zaremba
    John Zaremba
    • Det. Lt. Robert Fenton
    George Brand
    • Jack Roper
    Hugh Sanders
    Hugh Sanders
    • Pat Winters
    Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra
    Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra
    • Orchestra
    • (as Xavier Cugat Orchestra)
    Nina Borget
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    John Breen
    • Pedestrian
    • (uncredited)
    Al Cantor
    • Crime Scene Photographer
    • (uncredited)
    Al Capone
    Al Capone
    • Al Capone
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Steve Carruthers
    Steve Carruthers
    • Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Beulah Christian
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Fred F. Sears
    • Writers
      • Joseph Hoffman
      • William Sackheim
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    6.5737
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    Featured reviews

    5youroldpaljim

    Standard crime drama with a good performance by Paul Stewart.

    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.
    7blanche-2

    good late noir

    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.
    6Cowc16

    Is Charles Lane in this film in an uncredited speaking role?

    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.
    7planktonrules

    A pretty good later Film Noir picture

    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.
    8clanciai

    Dennis O'Keefe sorting out the followers after Al Capone with some wounds on the way

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the movie, Connie (Abbe Lane), trusted only in one person, Chico (Xavier Cugat); as a matter of fact, they were married in real life.
    • Goofs
      Because on several occasions during the film, crime boss Arnie Valent brazenly and openly admitted his criminal culpability to undercover accountant Barry Amsterdam, the latter could have obtained the necessary incriminating evidence against Valent and his accomplices if the authorities have had Amsterdam wear a wire (a covert listening device). Such technological innovations were beginning to be incorporated into crime solving during the 1950s.
    • Quotes

      Pat Winters: You were born for this job, Barry.

    • Connections
      Referenced in They Came from Beyond - Sam Katzman at Columbia (2023)
    • Soundtracks
      One at a Time
      (uncredited)

      by Bernie Wayne and Ben Raleigh

      Sung by Abbe Lane

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    FAQ13

    • How long is Chicago Syndicate?Powered by Alexa
    • When and where did the world premiere take place?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 23, 1955 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Chicago Syndicate
    • Filming locations
      • Field Museum of Natural History - 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Near South Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Production company
      • Sam Katzman Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 24m(84 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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