This is a bit of a crazy movie, not the type of thing that really holds up on its own after the propaganda value has passed the way "Casablanca" and a few of the other early 40s topical films do (Fritz Lang's "Hangmen Also Die" comes to mind as well). James Cagney is the undoubted star of the film, playing an American news editor in pre-war Tokyo with an unhealthy lack of restraint where issues of Japanese militarism come into play. There is a certain document which proposes a Japanese plan for "world domination" that was supposedly written by a certain Tanaka (John Emery), who the crawl at the beginning of the movie informs us was the "Japanese Hitler." There is also a beautiful part-Chinese woman played by Sylvia Sidney, who is a double agent working for China against Japanese interests.
It's hard to take a movie seriously where James Cagney is supposed to be a Judo expert, and he beats up a guy who is 2 feet taller than he is. It's one of those very predictable movies where just because there is this really tall guy who talks at one point about Cagney's Judo skills, you know with 99.9999% certainty that the movie will not end before they tussle. It's a bit like Edward Dmytryk's "Behind the Rising Sun" where Robert Ryan beats up a karate expert with his boxing skills. This is just sort of silly jingoism/propaganda stuck in the movie to get audiences hootin' and hollerin'. Definitely worked in 1945, but it all feels a bit silly now considering that Cagney's only Judo move is to throw a guy over his shoulder.
It's not a wretched, awful movie; it does take time like most propaganda movies to remind us that there are at least some Japanese who aren't crazed killing maniacs. Well, the one Japanese guy who helps them happens to have a beard and wear very Western-looking clothing, but at least it's something. The entire plot is telegraphed miles in advance. There is very little dramatic resonance. Basically I believe this film will be of interest mostly to hardcore Cagney fans and people who appreciate unintentional humor from seeing old propaganda and mediocre cross-racial performances.
It's hard to take a movie seriously where James Cagney is supposed to be a Judo expert, and he beats up a guy who is 2 feet taller than he is. It's one of those very predictable movies where just because there is this really tall guy who talks at one point about Cagney's Judo skills, you know with 99.9999% certainty that the movie will not end before they tussle. It's a bit like Edward Dmytryk's "Behind the Rising Sun" where Robert Ryan beats up a karate expert with his boxing skills. This is just sort of silly jingoism/propaganda stuck in the movie to get audiences hootin' and hollerin'. Definitely worked in 1945, but it all feels a bit silly now considering that Cagney's only Judo move is to throw a guy over his shoulder.
It's not a wretched, awful movie; it does take time like most propaganda movies to remind us that there are at least some Japanese who aren't crazed killing maniacs. Well, the one Japanese guy who helps them happens to have a beard and wear very Western-looking clothing, but at least it's something. The entire plot is telegraphed miles in advance. There is very little dramatic resonance. Basically I believe this film will be of interest mostly to hardcore Cagney fans and people who appreciate unintentional humor from seeing old propaganda and mediocre cross-racial performances.