Die Spionin von Tokio

The noir "cliches come thick and fast," begins both the first review here as well as on the videobox, I was a sucker for the box description but the film never approaches being noir. It is a propaganda spy film for America fighting "Commies" in Korea, with the novelty of being entirely filmed in Japan(not a "re-creation of Japan"). Wouldn't Ike and Hawkeye Pierce be shocked to know the war was masterminded by a couple of Japanese guys in tweed jackets? The plot is basically the same as the political drama "The Ugly American," and though there is some intrigue and a femme fatalistic Marlene Dietrich impersonator, it is mainly filmed without a noir look or moody soundtrack. It has all the subtlety and nuance of the low-budget serials of the 1940's, not so odd a coincidence since the distributor (VCI) specializes in serials. While it might be entertaining given the expectation that it is a mild war-spy drama, it will only disappoint anyone looking for noir.

Although not classic film noir, this is an entertaining little B movie filmed in Tokyo during the Korean war. Robert Peyton ("B" version of Fred McMurray) delivers a generally adequate performance as an undercover army intelligence officer investigating a Japanese spy ring that is sabotaging US operations in Korea.

More interesting is the alluring Florence Marly ("B" version of Marlene Dietrich). The Czechoslovakian-born Marly is portrayed as an Eurasian femme fatale who speaks English with a cute Japanese accent. Of course, she is completely untrustworthy and leads Frederick into the sordid Japanese underworld on a mission to locate a college friend who has been tricked into working for the communists.

The plot twists and turns with some interesting noirish street scenes and good performances by Japanese actors. Not a great movie but worth watching for Marly's intriguing performance and the surprise ending.

A B-Movie must. The lousy dialogue is compensated for by the fact that a lot of key scenes are in Japanese - without subtitles.

Filmed entirely on location, it provides some interesting shots of post WWII Japan and the cast includes real soldiers who were part of the American occupation force. Francis Marly is great as a broadly sketched femme fatale. A trivia buff's footnote: the producer was famous San Francisco attorney Melvin Bell

Strange Film From 1951 that Seems a World Apart from Hollywood.

Entirely Set on the Streets, Back-Alleys, Night-Clubs, and Office Buildings in Tokyo.

It Makes for an Off-Beat Treat for Spy and Cold-War Fans.

Rising Above its Obvious Low-Budget with Actual Scenes Taking Place Within the Bowels of Occupied Japan.

Good Cinematography Captures a City that is Crowded, Defeated just 6 Years Earlier, but Still Animated and Buzzing with Life.

Gritty, Intriguing, Pulpish Exposition and Characters Livens Up the Shortcomings.

Like a Stiff Leading Actor that is Overwhelmed by All Else that is Primitively Stunning.

Highlighted by a Sparkling Performance from Florence Marly.

She is a Combination of a Beautiful, Sexy Subservient Assistant,

and an Intelligent Independent Thinker that Talks About Herself in a Charming 3rd Person.

She Almost Steals the Show from the Cinema Verite Style and Low-Down Locations with Numerous Japanese Actors and Extras.

It's Hard to Imagine, Given the Resources, How this Little Unknown Gem could be Any Better.

A Concurrent-Korean-Conflict, Espionage Film with WWII Echoes that is a Time-Capsule Circa 1951 that is a Hard One to Beat by its Peers.

An Independent, Ultra-Low Budget Look-See at Life Reeling from Global Conflict,

Communist Aggressors, and an American Govt. Trying to Figure it All.

Refreshingly Apart from the Restraints of Studios, Politics, and the Pressure of being Politically Correct.

Although it is Surely an American Perspective.

Definitely Worth a Watch for Something Undeniably Unordinary.

( SPOILERS) The movie "Tokyo File 212" starts off with a suitcase explosion in a park in downtown Tokyo at high noon. As the screams subside and dust clears were brought forward some two weeks before this dastardly deed took place to see what were the events that put it into motion. Top Secret US Government Agent Jimmy Carter, Lee Frederick, is sent on a top secret mission to Tokyo Japan using the cover of a reporter for the media outlet "The National Weekly Indicator". Jimmy is to check out the Communist infiltration of the Japanese labor movement and a top Japanese labor leader Toro Matsuto, Katsuhiko Haida, who was a friend of Jimmy before the war. Jimmy looking up Toro's Father Mr. Matsuto, Tatsuo Saito, is told that Toro became a very disturbed and unstable young man since he came back from the war and never recovered from his experience as a Kamikaze pilot trainee.

Toro was looking forward to fly into the sunset and go out in a blaze of glory by slamming his bomb laden suicide aircraft into a US warship and take hundreds of hated Americans out together with him for his country and Emperor. But the war unfortunately ended before he could make his grand and glorious exit and that left him a hurt and broken young man. After the war Toro felt lost and confused and drifted into the evil clutches of the Communist movement. There Toro thought that he finally found a home and cause for living as a top labor leader in Tokyo. At his hotel room Jimmy finds sleeping in his bed beautiful and mysterious Steffi Novak, Florence Marly, who just happened to know everything about him. Steffi tells Jimmy this story about her sister Christina,who's in Communist North Korea, and shows him a number of letters that she received from her. In her letters Christina tells Steffi that as soon as the war in Korea is over she'll be back home, in Tokyo, reunited with her.

Unknown to Steffi is that her sister was murdered by the North Koreans commies,with a bullet through her skull, who dumped her body in the Imjin River. The commies here in Tokyo who she's working for sent her those letters that are forgeries in order to keep her in line. Jimmy together with Steffi track down Toro in a sleazy downtown Tokyo commie bar hangout where Jimmy is attacked and almost killed. He's then told by the commie bar owner to stay away from Toro if he want to live and next time he won't get off this easy. The commie boss-man of the Tokyo labor movement Mr. Oyama,Tetsu Nakamur, starts to feel that Toro is having second thoughts about being involved with his gang of murderous cut-throats. Mr. Oyama then has a bunch of his goons kidnap actress Namiko, Reiko Otani, Toro's girlfriend and beat her up and dump her from a speeding car and make it look like it was the work of the Tokyo police. This is Mr. Oyama attempt to get Toro, like he did with Steffi with the fake letters from her dead sister, into line. Toro still can't give up Namiko for the good of the movement and it's seen by Mr. Oyama that he had outlived his usefulness and plans to have him done in. Toro going to the hospital to see his beloved Namiko to tell her that he's leaving the movement for her finds that she was murdered by those dirty rotten commie swines and runs for his life knowing that he'll be next.

Captured by Mr. Oyama's goons outside the hospital Toro is brought to Oyama's office headquarters in a downtown Tokyo high-rise building and told by Mr. Big that by tomorrow he'll be found floating in Tokyo Bay. But before he's done in Mr. Oyama wants Toro to see his dad Mr. Matsuto Jimmy and Steffie, who finally saw the light and became one of the good guys or better yet good gals, blown to pieces outside his office window in the park across the street. Toro is then told that he'll be framed for all this.

Reading a forged pre written letter that will be attributed to Toro Mr. Oyama puts it in his left breast pocket and smirks with satisfaction as if he achieved a great accomplishment by pulling all this off; And this is the part where we came in at the start of the movie. Toro in a last act of desperation rips the pocket out of Mr. Oyama's jacket and like the brave and fearless Kamikaze pilot that he dreamed of being during the war dives head first out of Mr. Oyama's office window and falls to his death down on the Tokyo streets. Toro's brave and selfless action alerted his dad Jimmy and Steffi to get up and run from the park where the suitcase bomb was planted to kill them and it exploded without hurting or killing anyone.

With the evidence of Mr. Oyama's crime in the dead Toro's hand the Tokyo police and Jimmy run up to his office to arrest him for the murder of Namiko and attempted murder of Jimmy Mr. Matsuto and Steffi. Mr. Oyama like the cowardly rat fink that he is tries to save his dirty rotten commie neck, don't they all, by spilling the beans on the movement in order to make a deal at the expense of those who were willing to serve and die for him. But one of his henchmen at the office just had all he could take from this lowlife commie, now ex-commie, creep and takes him out with a dagger to his gut: END OF STORY.