Special Agent

Saw 'Special Agent' for two main reasons. One is my high appreciation for Bette Davis, considered an acting legend, well more like a legend in any field, for good reason. Her performances in the likes of 'All About Eve' (iconic), 'Now Voyager' and 'The Letter' are evidence of that. Also love the genre it fits under, many good to classic films in the genre, and when it is done right (many cases of that being the case, but others have fallen into the potential traps) melodrama can be great.

Found 'Special Agent' to be a well done film on the whole. It may not fit my definition of a "special" film and may not be in the extraordinary category. Not everything works, the story could have been better or at least consistently executed. A vast majority of elements do work though, and generally wonderfully. A lot of good things here in 'Special Agent', namely the lighting and the acting, and it is just good fun. As long as not too much is expected, many should enjoy it.

Will start with what doesn't quite work, and actually it isn't a lot and is more mixed feelings than anything disastrously done. While always compelling and well paced, the story can be far-fetched and at times a touch over-complicated. The final third is not always easy to swallow.

Davis does very well in her role and admired that she tried to break away from her relative type-casting at the time, but can see where another commentator is coming from in their feelings of her sophisticated image not always fitting with the film's atmosphere.

The cast do a great job, with George Brent a charming male lead and Robert Strange and J. Carroll Naish imposing enough but the best performance comes from Ricardo Cortez on absolutely chilling form. 'Special Agent' is always confidently directed, while the story is generally fun and atmospheric without being overwrought and it is never dull.

It is a very well made film, with the visual standout being the lighting which is genuinely eerie. It has been said that the lighting makes Cortez scarier than he already is and personally cannot disagree. The dialogue is taut and sophisticated with the odd amusing part too, never feeling over-melodramatic or talky. Nicely scored too.

Overall, good fun. 7/10

This crime melodrama is never dull and has some very exciting moments, although the action is improbable. It's well-paced with fine acting: young and beautiful Bette Davis is enjoyable to watch, but her sophistication seems a bit out of place while working for a hood; George Brent is as suave as ever; and Ricardo Cortez makes a good heavy, with lighting effects making him look more sinister. I also liked the acting of many of the supporting characters such as Robert Strange (who is a standout), J. Carroll Naish and Joseph Sawyer, as three of Cortez's murdering henchmen. Anyone who likes the genre should like this film.

Martin Mooney, who provided the story on which this film is based, was a newspaper man and well aware that the government was sending noted racketeers up the river for income tax evasion. Al 'Scarface' Capone was indicted by a federal grand jury for that offense and spent eight years behind bars starting in 1931.

In the 1930s, Warner Brothers was the place for gangster films, as they churned out a huge number of high-quality films in this genre. While this one did NOT star the usual gangster stars of the day (Cagney or Edward G. Robinson), it star the ever-capable George Brent as a federal agent and Ricardo Cortez as an Al Capone-like thug. I particularly liked Cortez's little speech to Brent that men like him are above the law and can never be convicted--it was a very exciting scene. In addition to these two, the film also stars Bette Davis in a pretty decent role as Cortez's bookkeeper. The film features good writing, dialog and acting and while not the greatest gangster film, it is very good and watchable. Oh, and by the way, the ending is pretty exciting (and violent), so it won't disappoint.

By the way, if you see the film and it seems familiar, this appears to be a reworking of the plot from the MGM film THE SECRET SIX. There are just too many similarities to be coincidental, as both heroes are government agents whose cover is newspaper reporter.

George Brent is a reporter and pretty chummy with racketeer Ricardo Cortez. Bette Davis is Cortez' personal secretary and keeps his books for him in code. Everyone knows what Cortez is, and Miss Davis fears him -- he's ruthless with 'associates' whom he doesn't find useful and she might be at risk. The local DA can't jail him, but the Feds look to get him on income tax evasion, like they got Capone.

Miss Davis wears hideous-looking costumes, with lots of lace, that make her look even skinnier than usual. Brent is competent, and it's Cortez who owns this movie. His veiled threats are terrifying. Still, despite the occasional flares of machine-gun fire, it's a well-financed programmer.

This was Bette Davis' reward for fighting the Warner Brothers for better roles and losing. Her next movie would win her an Academy Award.

George Brent is a "Special Agent" in this 1935 crime drama also starring Bette Davis and Ricardo Cortez. The original story was written by a newspaperman and is most likely based on the Al Capone case. Brent plays a reporter, Bill Bradford, but his job is a cover -he's an undercover Federal agent after a crook, Alexander Carston (Cortez) for tax evasion. His entrée into the books of Carston's organization is the bookkeeper, Julie Gardner, with whom he's also in love. After the case is built, Carston is arrested and Julie is taken into protective custody. But can she really be protected against Carston?

This is a fairly routine drama with good acting and some solid action. Davis is very young and blonde here, and not as glamorized as she is in other early films - "The Man Who Played God," "Fashions of 1934" or "Ex-Lady" but nevertheless quite pretty. She's a little too classy to be a mob bookkeeper; as the character, however, she exhibits intelligence, which certainly Julie would have. Brent is his usual pleasant self as Bill, and Cortez is a sinister gangster.

The only part of the film that gave me a giggle was the riddling of men with machine guns as they continued to stand until their bodies must have had more holes than Swiss cheese before dramatically falling. Certainly they would have been dead long before the 100th bullet.

Interesting for early Davis and the always good Cortez.