The only thing about Special Agent worth remembering is that for Bette Davis it was the film that she did immediately prior to her first Oscar winner Dangerous. Other than that it was the kind of potboiler programmer that Warner Brothers kept casting her in despite acclaim she got for a few films like Of Human Bondage.

At least she got her favorite leading man in Special Agent and in the title role. George Brent has the perfect cover for being a Special Agent for the Treasury Department. He's a reporter which means he can go places see things and ask questions and no one suspects. Least of all gambler/racketeer Ricardo Cortez who Brent has been working on for years to take down.

Of course this film was done with the successful prosecution of Al Capone in the mind of the movie-going public. Davis keeps Cortez's books and Brent is keeping company with her. Here the story is rather vague. Did he like her before or after he learned she was keeper of the records in her own code so even Cortez can't decipher it. His convincing Bette to turn on Cortez wasn't really convincing to me.

Coming off best in this film is Ricardo Cortez. He is one shrewd article who has his fingers everywhere, it's why no one's caught him till now and Brent nearly doesn't get him this time.

Special Agent did Bette Davis and George Brent no harm and great things were in the offing for Bette Davis.

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.