Du sang dans le soleil

Jimmy Cagney is like a firecracker in this movie, set in pre-WWII Japan. In some ways it's a cross between Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon and sometimes it's silly (e.g., white actors in Japanese makeup), but it's one of the most entertaining movies of its era. It reminds you how much of a talent James Cagney was - he carries the picture. There are also excellent character performances by Wallace Ford and Porter Hall. Even Sylvia Sidney as an unconvincing half-Chinese vixen has some good moments.

Beware of the DVD, however - the audio is mixed so badly that at times you'll have to put your ear up against the TV to hear the dialogue.

While the entire world watched the early success of the German book ¨Mein Kampf¨ by Adolph Hitler , few were aware of the existence of an Oriental Hitler...Baron Giichi Tanaka , he was a true life a bad guy who united with rich proprietaries and war lords to further his own ends . His plan of world conquest and dominance depended upon secrecy for success. This story deals with its first exposure by an American newspaperman (James Cagney) in Tokyo . Thus , Cagney publishes in a newspaper called ¨Tokyo Chronicle¨ that Tanaka plans attack on United States and China is the first victim of Premier Tanaka's plan for military conquest , revealing the existence of a document blueprint . Besides , marriage Mr. and Mrs. Miller (Wallace Ford and Rosemary DeCamp) have been murdered and Cagney will investigate it . Meanwhile , he falls in love with a charming double spy (Sylvia Sidney) .

This interesting picture combines intrigue , action , violence , noir cinema , historical background and arts martial fights , being the first American film in which there are arts martial (Judo) struggles . The movie is based on the history behind Japan's alleged Tanaka Plan , aka the Tanaka Memorial document , it was made public after his death in 1929 . This allegedly was Prime Minister Baron Giichi Tanaka's militarist strategic plan for world domination prepared for Emperor Hirohito . It was first printed in China by the Chinese communists and in the US by a communist periodical , leading some to think that it was a forgery , no Japanese version has ever been found . Plus , it appears notorious historical characters who will intervene in Second War World , as colonel Tojo (Robert Amstrong) , emperor Hiro Hito , Yamada (Martin Milner) and Tanaka (John Emery) . And film debut of judo/martial arts expert John Halloran . Magnificent Music Score with oriental sounds by the classic composer Miklos Rozsa . The film won Oscars for the best Art Direction and Interior decoration and was produced by Cagney Production . The motion picture was well directed by Frank Lloyd who realized excellent movies (Mutiny of the Bounty, If I were King , Under two flags) . Rating : Good and entertaining .

One point is made repeatedly in this film--the fascist government which ruled Japan was extreme in both concept and execution. James Cagney, as reporter Nick Condon, fights against fascism in this movie and he fought against injustice in so many other films. In a way, this film is another gangster movie, somewhat like the gangster movies of the 1930s, but, too, the story has to do with much more that simple violations of law for the gangsters are in the Japanese Imperial Government. Cagney seems willing to take on the whole Imperial concept of Japanese rule which began prior to World War Two. His efforts are not anti-Japanese but anti-Facist. In fact, the movie could have been made about Hitler's Nazism and the story would have been about the same. One finds Cagney as the tough guy confronting bumbling police and meeting with mysterious women. He even maintains the newspaper tradition relative to the constant drinking of alcohol. Yet, the film transcends the mundane because of the importance of the struggle during the war years, years which follow the movie's time frame. It's vintage Cagney, well worthwhile.

The only reason this film gets as high as a five from me is because of James Cagney who made everything he was in a little bit better or appear to be so.

Blood on the Sun, coming out as it did in 1945 as World War II was ending focused on an incident from 1929. A document called the Tanaka Memorial which was purportedly a memorandum by the then Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi to Emperor Showa was leaked to U.S. media. It laid forth Japanese intentions to dominate the Pacific, Asia, and even the USA.

Problem was that when the Americans did occupy Japan, General MacArthur sent Army intelligence into sifting through Japanese files. Guess what? No Tanaka Memorial. A lot of people now consider the thing to have been a big old hoax perpetrated by the Chinese who were looking for friends back in 1929 because they rightly suspected Japanese intentions towards them.

So Blood in the Sun came out just in time as the belief in the Tanaka Memorial was still credible.

The brothers Cagney, William and James, produced this. But without the production values of the brothers Warner, this film looks like it was shot on the cheap. Jimmy Cagney played Nick Condon, a reporter who got a copy of the Tanaka Memorial and smuggled it out of Japan.

A lot of the cast played Eurasian roles and looked pretty silly too. Sylvia Sidney, John Emery and especially Robert Armstrong who may have conquered King Kong, but couldn't sound Oriental to save his life.

I must admit at the outset that Jimmy Cagney is not my favourite Hollywood personality, though I did enjoy this movie. (I just can't help thinking that he's going to break out into "Yankee Doodle" any minute). I thought this to be an interesting drama, with a bit of action (thought the martial arts scenes left a lot to be desired) and good performances by the leads. The story was great and that alone was enough to keep me interested all the way through. It seemed to be trying to be "noir" by having most of the elements of a true noir there, but as a whole I wouldn't classify it as such. Worth a look. The DVD copy I bought is excellent, a really clear copy with great sound.