Tokyo File 212

This isn't actually as bad as it looks. It is really a Japanese tragedy, the main protagonist being a young idealist soldier being trained to be an infallible kamikadze suicide pilot, and just as he is to be awarded his final approval and to be sent out on his first and final mission, the war ends. He is picked up by interests who don't want the conflict to be over, and so he is involved in the Korean war on the communist side. The main asset of the film is that it is made on location, all the rich environment scenes are genuine, and the film gives a fascinating overview of Tokyo after the war in the shadow of the Korea war. The story isn't bad either, it is a bit muddled and unclear, but if you can follow the dire straits of its windings, you will understand the logic of it. Florence Marly is the asset among the actors, giving a very interesting and entertaining performance, while Lee Frederick is like a worse copy of Fred MacMurray. It's the Tokyo scenes that make the film something you shouldn't miss, if you are at all interested in Asia and especially not if you are a fan of Japanese culture.

There's no doubt about it--"Tokyo File 212" is a terrible movie. The acting is often terrible (by a cast of mostly unknowns), the writing and dialog silly and the plot is also rather silly. Yet, it's still worth seeing because the film is an interesting look into the Cold War.

The film is set in Japan during the Korean War and was made with the cooperation of the Japanese and American governments. What it appears to be is a film that is trying to cement positive relations between the two countries since they were partnered against communism and it was made during the Korean War (and Japan was a staging point for the UN's forces aiding South Korea).

The film concerns an American reporter who works as an undercover agent. His job is to locate an old college friend---one who is Japanese and is working for the commies. Through much of the film, the American is assisted by a woman who looks a lot like Natasha from "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle"! Eventually, they are able to get the old friend to see the goodness of democracy and the find ends on a very explosive note.

The bottom line is that although the film has a few exciting scenes, many of the actors had great difficulty reciting their lines and the film came off as super-duper cheap. You'd think with the US and Japanese government behind it, the film would have been a lot better! Instead, it looks a lot like a film created by some government hacks with little input from film professionals. Laughably bad at times--but an interesting look into the Cold War and the sort of films that were produced during the height of this tense period.

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.

Lee Frederick gets off the plane in Tokyo. He's a newspaperman, there to conduct a survey. In truth, he's an intelligence officer. There's information leaking from someone through the Communists in Tokyo, and his old college room mate, Katsuhiko Haida, in involved. After getting his assignment, he goes to his hotel room to find stateless Florence Marly there. She announces she is going to be his secretary.

It's an ambitious movie in its own way, trying to offer a view of post-war Japan as more than updated Terry & The Pirates Character. Unfortunately, Frederick is not a particularly good actor, and tries to substitute emphatic delivery for emotion.

Where it succeeds is in offering a different view of Tokyo than is usually seen. A lot of footage was shot onsite by uncredited cinematographer Ichirô Hoshijima. He shows a city quite a bit different from the Tokyo seen in the Japanese movies of the time: not from afar, where the grace and symmetry of the great public works are on view, nor the carefully constructed backlots of the studios, but street views, where crowds jostle each other and the dirt, grime and decay sit right next to the proud civic monuments. It's a livelier city than the quiet alleyways of Ozu, or the jumbled offices of Kurosawa. It's not a place where actors perform for audiences, but a place where people live and work.

It's great camerawork. Unfortunately, the story is simplistic and straightforward, and even such distinguished Japanese actors as Tatsuo Saitô and good intentions can't overcome a mediocre story and a poor lead actor.