Hong Kong Confidential

Those who like hard-boiled cold-war spy films, especially those made on a super-low budget, should love this 1958 classic, which features Gene Barry as a US intelligence agent whose "cover" is that of a mediocre lounge singer! Barry's character is intentionally smarmy and funny, and he contrasts well with the hard-boiled spy action, set is backlot versions of Hong Kong and Macao, with a lot of tight shots of characters standing in front of Asian-looking signs and sections of buildings, often only six or eight feet wide. And of course, an alley is an alley and a warehouse is a warehouse, whether it be in Macao or Atlanta. Put a few Asian details in a dark alley, have a few Asian characters, and voila, you've got a film set in the Orient! Like many 1950s spy/crime films, this features a hard-boiled dragnet-esque narration telling you things you just observed on the screen. Still, they don't make films like this anymore, and clearly the filmmakers (and Mr. Barry, who is brilliant in the part!)were "in on the joke" so HONG KONG CONFIDENTIAL should appeal to fans of films such as RED ZONE CUBA, ROCKET ATTACK USA, INVASION USA, and OPERATION CIA. As always, director Edward Cahn is a master of pacing. I don't think this has ever been released on video, but check it out the next time it plays on TCM.

The Quick Pitch: A secret agent stationed in Hong Kong must locate a kidnapped prince.

If Hong Kong Confidential were an episode of a television program (something like Danger Man for example), I might have rated it higher. But as a "movie", it's really lacking. The direction is flat. There's nothing here to elevate the movie beyond anything you could find on 1958 TV. Everything is so obviously filmed on a soundstage. Nothing looks real or authentic. Cheap doesn't begin to describe it. Throw in poor lighting, a predictable script, and a bombastic, in-your-face narration and the result is a pretty poor movie.

I will, however, give Hong Kong Confidential one big bonus point on the use of Asians in the Asian roles. I don't think I noticed one "white" face playing an Asian. That's not something you usually found in 1958.

I've never been much of a Gene Barry fan and this movie changes none of that. He just seems out of his depth and unbelievable. And his lounge singer schtick is laugh-out-loud funny. I can't imagine an audience anywhere, let alone some bar in Hong Kong, enjoying his brand of bad singing and hysterical dancing. Too funny!

4/10

I just got through watching this. This is a good little spy movie for the time. It seems totally made on sets so it has a "made for TV" feel, but good quality. And I am not sure what to think of Gene Barry's singing for a guy touted as a good singer, and got a scholarship, and won contests, and was in musical shows, etc...he can't seem to sing a lick in this film, OR...that is what he is playing, a BAD LOUNGE SINGER. Which is likely...You can say you have "seen everything" after you see this.

It has many Bond Movie elements, except for looking at his watch while kissing the girl,and 5 years before Dr. No. It has bad girl, good girl. A favorite drink, it seems. An undercover ID. A charming and relaxed manner, especially under pressure. A Lighter type character, a contact agent, but no gadgets, no secretary, just the good girl/bad girl conflict. No cool car...so a low budget prototype, which holds up pretty well. Some pretty good action for what it is.

I liked other movies and shows Mr. Barry was in. Thanks for the entertainment, and R.I.P.

I was entertained.

A crown prince from a small Arab nation is kidnapped by Communists in order to stop the installation of an American missile base within the kingdom. The Commies have sequestered the kidnapped prince in an unknown location. Acting on intelligence information that indicates the prince is being held in the area of Hong Kong, the US calls on their Far East operative Casey Reed (Gene Barry) who works under the guise of a shady nightclub singer. After an informant is killed outside of his club Reed works on a tip to infiltrate a gold smuggling operation by ingratiating himself with a Macao syndicate to to smuggle gold from Hong Kong to mainland China disguised as cheap trinkets in order to locate the prince.

Confused by the plot? Me too and we aren't the only ones because it appears after splicing the scenes together it was decided to do voice over narration with just about every scene to explain what we just watched. Apparently director Edward Cahn, who cut his teeth in the business as a film editor, couldn't fit the pieces together without the grating narration. The entire film is set bound and was shot at KTTV studios sound stage as well some scenes shot in their basement so the overall quality is about like a one hour television program of the time, if that.

Things were going along pretty well for Gene Barry about this time. He had recently worked on a couple of Sam Fuller written and directed productions. Finished up 'Thunder Road' with Robert Mitchum and had signed on to do the 'Bat Masterson' TV series which first aired at the same time Hong Kong Confidential' premiered. So it's hard to figure why Barry would sign on for this 2nd feature cheapie. No matter. It wasn't a career killer for Barry.

The film though not well made is modestly entertaining though sometimes in unintended ways. In two unintentionally hilarious scenes, Cahn decided to have Barry perform a couple of truly awkward lounge tunes. The fact that Cahn left these in the final cut as well as the aforementioned added narration, tells us that the notoriously parsimonious Cahn was going to go kicking and screaming before he spent another nickle on this film.

As a point of interest, co-star, iconic 1950's mainstay Allision Hayes, would go on to work in multiple Bat Masterson episodes with Barry in the recurring role of Ellie Winters.

"Hong Kong Confidential" is a product of the Cold War era. The plot is all about Soviet attempts to destabilize a country by kidnapping a young prince and forcing his father to sign a peace treaty with them...or the kid will die! While this seems like a dopey plot, the Soviets DID involve themselves in many assassinations and arrests in order to force free countries into the communist bloc. Sadly, however, the film itself is very pedestrian and ordinary.

Gene Barry plays a special secret American agent. He's carefully created the persona of a devil-may-care guy who will do practically anything for money...and he's a successful lounge singer. This part is pretty funny, as Barry's singing is god-awful to the point where it must have elicited a few laughs in the theaters! He follows clues which take him to the prince...but this may not matter very much, as the kidnappers welcome him...and plan on killing him and making him appear to have been one of the kidnappers!

Ordinary in every way (at best). Okay acting, okay direction and an okay plot...this film is clearly mediocre and mostly what I could consider a time passer.