''Treasury Men in Action'' (also known as ''Federal Men'') is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

series broadcast live and which aired from September 11, 1950, through April 1951 on ABC and then on NBC through 1955. The series stars Walter Greaza, Ross Martin, and Tom McKee.

Overview

The series was an anthology drama dramatizing cases from one of the various law enforcement agencies that operated under the US Treasury Department. The host was Walter Greaza, who introduced each episode as "The Chief" of whichever agency was featured in a given episode.

Counterfeiter To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

s, tax evaders, smugglers,

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiate ...

traffickers, and other federal offenders whose crimes fell within the jurisdiction of Treasury were pursued. Cases from the files of the

US Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

, the Customs Bureau. the Alcohol Tax Unit, the Intelligence Division of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...

, and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics were dramatized. Other actors who appeared in this series include

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series '' B.J. and the Bear'', and ...

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

, Jesse White,

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, '' Rebel Without a Caus ...

Vivi Janiss Vivi may refer to: People * Vivi Bach (1939–2013), Danish actress and singer * Vivi Fernandez (born 1977), Brazilian model * Vivi Flindt (born 1943), Danish ballerina * Vivi Friedman (1967–2012), Finnish film director * Vivi Gioi (1917–1975 ...

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

, and Harry Lauter. ''Treasury Men in Action'' finished at #27 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the 1952–1953 season and #15 for 1953–1954. It appeared in reruns under the title of ''Federal Men.''

Production

In an interview with

Kliph Nesteroff Kliph Nesteroff is a best-selling author regarded for his vast knowledge of show business. '' Vice Magazine'' called him "The Human Encyclopedia of Comedy," and ''Los Angeles Magazine'' profiled him as "The King of Comedy Lore." ''The New York T ...

, assistant director Arthur Marks stated the show was shot at the same time and on the same sets as ''

The Man Behind the Badge ''The Man Behind the Badge '' is a half-hour American television police drama series which aired on CBS from October 11, 1953, to October 3, 1954. originally hosted by Norman Rose. In its second syndicated season, the host became character ...

''. Everett Rosenthal was the producer. It was directed by, among others, David Pressman,

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

, Leigh Jason, and Will Jason among others. Chrysler Motors and Borden's Instant Coffee sponsored the program.

References

External links

* 1950 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings 1950s American crime drama television series 1950s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows American live television series United States Department of the Treasury {{US-tv-prog-stub