Chicago Syndicate | |
---|---|
Directed by | Fred F. Sears |
Screenplay by | Joseph Hoffman |
Story by | William Sackheim |
Produced by | Sam Katzman |
Starring | Dennis O'Keefe Abbe Lane |
Cinematography | Henry Freulich Fred Jackman Jr. |
Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Sam Katzman Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Chicago Syndicate is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Dennis O'Keefe and Abbe Lane. [1]
Accountant and war hero Barry Amsterdam is asked by Chicago newspaper editor David Healey and civic leaders to go undercover and infiltrate the crime syndicate of Arnold Valent, who runs a corrupt insurance business. Valent is believed responsible for murdering bookkeeper Nelson Kern, who had gone to the newspaper with proof of the criminal activity.
Barry hears how Kern's wife then committed suicide and daughter Joyce was committed to an institution. That and a $60,000 reward convince him to accept the dangerous job. He goes to a nightclub Valent owns, the Maracas, meeting a woman named Sue Morton who helps him gain access. There he meets Valent's girlfriend, singer Connie Peters. He then tells Valent he was a witness to Kern's murder and will go to police unless Valent makes him a better offer.
Valent hires but doesn't trust him, at least until Barry, secretly working with the police, arranges a jewel theft and insurance scam. Turning again to Sue Morton for help, she pulls a gun on Barry and orders him to leave. But she learns from police who he really is, Sue works with Barry, revealing she is actually the murdered man's daughter, Joyce Kern.
Unable to find some incriminating microfilm, Barry runs out of options until he schemes to make Connie jealous by introducing the other woman to Valent, who makes a play for her. Connie threatens to expose Valent, whose thugs give her a brutal beating. She gets the microfilm to Barry, who is shot and wounded before Valent is killed by the police.
The King Brothers sued Columbia and Clover Productions for damages of $1 million due to their using the title Chicago Syndicate, claiming they registered the title The Syndicate in 1950. [2]
Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor and screenwriter.
Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 American biographical courtroom drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, and James Woods. The film is based on the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers.
Allison Hayes was an American film and television actress and model.
T-Men is a 1947 semidocumentary and police procedural style film noir about United States Treasury agents. The film was directed by Anthony Mann and shot by noted noir cameraman John Alton. The production features Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder, Wallace Ford, June Lockhart and Charles McGraw. A year later, director Mann used the film's male lead, Dennis O'Keefe, in Raw Deal.
Lady on a Train is a 1945 American light-hearted comedy crime film noir directed by Charles David and starring Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, and David Bruce.
Kate Morton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jill Halfpenny.
Cover Up is a 1949 American film noir mystery film directed by Alfred E. Green starring Dennis O'Keefe, William Bendix and Barbara Britton. O'Keefe also co-wrote the screenplay, credited as Jonathan Rix. The murder mystery takes place during the Christmas season.
Band of Gold is a British television crime drama series, written and created by Kay Mellor, first broadcast on ITV on 12 March 1995. Produced by Granada Television, the series revolves around the lives of a group of prostitutes who live and work in Bradford's red-light district. Principal actresses in the series include Geraldine James, Cathy Tyson, Barbara Dickson, and Samantha Morton. Three series of Band of Gold were produced, with the final episode broadcast on 1 December 1997.
Smooth Talk is a 1985 film directed by Joyce Chopra, loosely based on Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (1966), which was in turn inspired by the Tucson murders committed by Charles Schmid. The protagonist, Connie Wyatt, is played by Laura Dern. The antagonist, Arnold Friend, is played by Treat Williams.
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a frequently anthologized short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story first appeared in the Fall 1966 edition of Epoch magazine. It was inspired by three Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine in an article written by Don Moser on March 4, 1966. Oates said that she dedicated the story to Bob Dylan because she was inspired to write it after listening to his song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". The story was originally named "Death and the Maiden".
Pretty Poison is a 1968 American black comedy film directed by Noel Black, starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld, about an ex-convict and a high school cheerleader who commit a series of crimes. The film was based on the novel She Let Him Continue by Stephen Geller. It has become a cult film.
The Unearthly is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced and directed by Boris Petroff. It stars John Carradine, Myron Healey, Allison Hayes, Marilyn Buferd, Arthur Batanides, Sally Todd, and Tor Johnson. The film was written by Jane Mann and John D.F. Black.
Blind Faith is a 1990 NBC miniseries based on the 1989 true crime book of the same name by Joe McGinniss. It follows the 1984 case in which American businessman Robert O. Marshall was charged with the contract killing of his wife, Maria. Adapted by John Gay and directed by Paul Wendkos, the miniseries was originally broadcast in two parts with a total runtime of 190 minutes.
New York Confidential is a 1955 film noir crime film directed by Russell Rouse starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft and J. Carrol Naish. Produced by Edward Small for release by Warner Bros., the film was inspired by the 1948 book New York: Confidential! by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer.
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine is a 1942 American comedy crime film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Ruth Terry, and Gloria Dickson.
Abroad with Two Yanks is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Helen Walker, William Bendix and Dennis O'Keefe as the title characters. It was Bendix's third and final role in a film as a US Marine and the first of Dwan's three films about the United States Marine Corps.
Lady of Vengeance is a 1957 British film noir crime film directed by Burt Balaban and starring Dennis O'Keefe.
One Big Affair is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Peter Godfrey and written by Leo Townsend and Francis Swann. The film stars Evelyn Keyes, Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Anderson, Connie Gilchrist, Thurston Hall and Gus Schilling. The film was released on February 22, 1952 by United Artists.
Good Morning, Judge is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Louise Allbritton and Mary Beth Hughes. When a songwriter is sued for plagiarism, he falls in love with the female lawyer acting against him.