State Department: File 649

Bill Lundgren is forced to be the "army, navy, and marines" all rolled into one as he infiltrates the underground in communist China.

After learning how to be a good spy, Lundy literally bumps into pretty Virginia Bruce, whom also is a trainee in Washington. Our heroes part, but re-emerge in one another's company when serving in Peking. Frank Ferguson tags along as Lundy's boss. Fine veteran actor Joe Crehan plays a U.S. government official.

Fun at the start with some interesting narrative background concerning the Department of State, though things slow down a bit as the film progresses to the eastern hemisphere.

Worth a look as a period piece from the prime of the Cold War.

"State Department" is a strange film because it's about politics in China but never mentions the communists--who assumed power the same year this film debuted! It's also a rather cheap and insignificant film.

The movie begins with a prologue about various workers in the foreign service who have given their lives for their country. One of these people is the subject of this film. Ken (William Lundigan) is the new vice-consul of a remote consulate in northern China. However, he just arrives at his new posting when a local warlord arrives and begins menacing everyone. This sort of stuff did happen in the 1920s and 30--and I assume that this is the time period in which the movie is based.

The film is decent but a bit dull. While it's not a bad film, it never rises to anything more than just barely average. Lundigan and the rest are pretty good--it's just that the story never seems too interesting.

Ultra-cheap so-called thriller directed by the prolific (but not particularly talented) Sam Newfield under the pseudonym of Peter Stewart. A lot of talk and very little action makes for a dull experience.

Slow-moving Cold War cheapo without the courage of its convictions. In '48 the Chinese Civil War was in full swing-- red Mao vs. nationalist Chiang, with an outcome still in doubt. The Soviets half-heartedly supported the rebel Mao while the US supplied the nationalists. With the Cold War heating up across Europe and Asia, Hollywood began celebrating government agencies in what many saw as a first line of defense against communist penetration. Here, it's the State Department getting the cosmetic treatment. Note, for example, the celebratory prologue.

The impressively handsome Lundigan plays a Foreign Service officer sent to China to assist a besieged legation. There, while romancing colleague Bruce, he experiences the brutal machinations of a warlord (Loo) who's playing both warring sides against the middle. In short, the material implies a larger scale drama than what it receives from this indie production. At the same time, the script plays it safe, never once mentioning communists or Mao. Instead, they're referred to as rebels in the North, while the US maintains diplomatic ties with the government in the South. In short, the screenplay tries to clumsily finesse a critical issue of the day, while we read between the lines.

As other reviewers point out, there's much too much talk dominating the latter half, most of it within the cheap confines of warlord Loo's trailer! The gab adds up to a downer despite the fiery upshot. On a similar note, Lundigan's spiffy gray suit remains unblemished no matter the grimy surroundings-- no doubt a concession to the Service's image. Too bad director Newfield adds nothing to the pedestrian script. Some atmosphere would have helped

On the other hand, crowded scenes of the Chinese town are well done and fairly persuasive, even though the production never leaves greater LA (Iverson Ranch, and the studio). And what a neat burst of inspiration to couple the Chinese fire-eater with the American bubble-gum chewer. In my book, it may be the movie's highlight, an amusing pairing of East and West. At the same time, chubby little Michel just about steals the show from the stiffed-up adults.

All in all, the 87-minutes unfortunately adds up to a bigger bite than the meagre budget could chew.

"State Department: File 649" is a film that is supposedly set in China. The film bebuted in February, 1949...and by October of the same year, the country had fallen to Mao and the Chinese Communists. This means that only a few months after the film was released, it was already obsolete.

As far as the film goes, it was produced by Sam Neufeld. This means that even with Cinecolor, the movie is a cheap affair--with none of the polish you'd find in a film from a major studio. Neufeld was known for cheap B-movies...and this one is as cheap as they come!

Something is up in China. The local American Consul knows something isn't right...but isn't exactly sure what. So, agent 649, Ken Seely (William Lundigan), is sent to Peking (before it was renamed Beijing) to investigate. Like Batman, Ken's parents were murdered long ago--though this was in Mongolia, not Gotham City.

So is this any good? No especially. Lundigan has little charisma and the quality of the production isn't great--with some sloppy edits and little to make it stand out in a positive way. Now I am not saying it's bad....just that it isn't very good. At best, an odd time-passer.

By the way, the copy I saw of this film was posted on one of the Roku channels. The copy they have is very poor--often extremely dark and grainy. This combined with the general shabbiness of the story make it a tough film for most viewers to watch and enjoy.