Sangue Sobre o Sol

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.

Not Cagney's best but still interesting enough to watch. The goof or error is that the Tanaka plan, which the story is about and has the Baron Tanaka in the movie is off historically. Cagney dates the time when he says to Slyvia Sidney, " left the US in 1921, spent 2 years somewhere and 10 years in China" That total would make the current time in the movie 1933! Baron Tanaka, died in 1929! The director should have caught this historical error! Although this is not the best movie and revues are not the best, it was Slyvia Sydney's last leading role and for movie buffs it is worth seeing. Overlook the terrible and obviously staged fight scenes and the political errors of the time based on what we know today and you can enjoy it. For movie buffs I think it is worth viewing.

Entertaining Anti-Japanese drama centering on James Cagney as an American editor in 1930's Japan involved in breaking the Japanese plot to invade China and bomb the United States. This film is interesting in that it fairly represents the anti-Japanese sentiment going on in the US since Pearl Harbor. Cagney, as always, is solid in this character as well as the other principals. As usual, the lead Japanese characters are played by Caucasian actors as was the custom of the times. Good Judo sequence for Cagney fans..

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.

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.