People often never ask me "What film would be a good starting point if I wanted to learn about film noir?", but if they did, I would point them towards 1947's T-MEN. It's a great film that kinda creeps up on you at just how good it is.
The film is presented in a semi-documentary style complete with a narrator. The story is about a counterfeiting gang based in Los Angeles. The Treasury Department has been after them for awhile, but the only clue they have is there's a connection with a gang in Detroit. They send in two undercover T-men to infiltrate the gang.
A lot of noirs have all kinds of crazy twists, double-crosses and sometimes even triple-crosses that are sometime hard to follow. T-MEN has none of that. It's very straightforward and a lot of fun to watch over and over. Strong direction by Anthony Mann, amazing cinematography by John Alton, great acting, fast pace, impressive cast. T-MEN is just a solid movie that should be in every classic movie lovers film collection. Highly recommended.
