Blood on the Sun (1945) User Reviews

Entertaining Espionage

[matukonyc1 · 7/10 · 17 June 2004]

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.

" Sure we forgive others, but first we get even "

[thinker1691 · 6/10 · 31 July 2013]

Garrett Fort wrote this interesting story about an America journalist working in Pre-war Japan. Because he is well known reporter his contrive and fabricated article revealing secret invasion plans is seen as a plot against Americas. Jimmy Cagney plays Nick Condon a fast-talking plain spoken Newspaperman who is soon targeted as a threat to Japanese politicians and is marked to be kidnapped and killed. However, the plotters need to retrieve a secret document in his possession. Sylvia Sidney plays Iris Hilliard a double agent out to confuse both sides. Interestingly enough, viewers get to see Robert Armstrong who once headlined the movie 'King Kong' playing the heavy Col. Hideki Tojo. The movie is in Black and white and despite it's standard formula set in the 1940's, the movie plays out for interesting fare. Pay close attention to the Judo fight scene in which Cagney does his own stunts and his opponent is in real life his Judo instructor. A fine movie for fans of the late Jimmy Cagney. ***

Culturally sensitive war thriller

[jeffchan · 7/10 · 25 June 2003]

Nicely done war thriller with Cagney as a suave but pugnacious newspaper reporter in Japan who comes into possession of secret war plans. The plans are the work of a fascist Baron Tanaka who pushes the war agenda for the right-wing militarists over the objections of those opposed to war. The characters are interesting, and while many are static yet well-played, quite a few others are nicely fleshed out and grow during the plot. Cagney, some of the newspapermen and the female spy have some plot movement to develop their characters with. Even the villains, who could easily be cardboard, are well-played and exhibit human motivation. Obviously this is not a documentary, but it's also not pure melodrama either.

Perhaps the most visually interesting areas of the film are the contrasts between beautiful, high-class modernist settings, a representation of more traditional Japanese architecture, and gritty realistically-dressed street scenes. All the more interesting that the good production and pretty sets were created in Hollywood backlots in 1945 during the war. While this is not a huge film, the production design is as good as anything from the golden age. There is a lot of eye-candy in the set design, tastefully filmed and a treat to view.

The politics and cultural sensitivities of the film are also fascinating and far more balanced and subtle than other reviewers seem to indicate here. Cagney's character is well-immersed in Japanese culture and aware of the social issues of the time. He speaks Japanese, in addition to Chinese, and is a highly-skilled Judo aficionado. The film portrays Japanese opponents of the war as well-meaning but fairly easily countered by ruthless militarists and their secret police which is likely generally accurate. Surely similar struggles played out in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, along with Stalinist Russia, Mao's China and other 20th century totalitarian dictatorships both right and left.

This film is not anti-Japanese; it's anti-Fascist. Those who claim to be unaware of the difference would imply that Japanese are Fascists. That would be unfortunately ignorant.

What was "THE TANAKA MEMORIAL"?

[theowinthrop · 9 November 2004]

No one can deny that Adolf Hitler wrote MEIN KAMPF, and spelled out his anti-Semitism, his plans for German domination of at least Europe and possibly the globe, and his desire for the destructions of Jews, Slavs, and other "undesireables" in his world view. It is there in full print, and one can still read it. Moreover Nazis and their supporters boast of the book's brilliance and clarity. So nobody denies that book and it's authorship.

But other political writings have a less stable provenance. For instance, the Zinovieff letter of 1924. It was supposedly written by Gregory Zinovieff, one of the leading figures of the Soviet Government of that day, and it was supposedly advising Russian communists to support the reelection of the Ramsay MacDonald Labor Government. The letter suggested that support for Labor would lead to a Sovietized Britain. As a result of the publication of the letter, MacDonald's minority government lost reelection and Stanley Baldwin's Tories took control for five years. It is now certain that the letter was not written by Zinovieff, but by anti-Soviet Russians living in exile in France, and that the Tories used it unscrupulously but successfully, to win the election.

Similarly we have the "maguffin" of this film: "The Tanaka Memorial".

Baron Tanaka was a leading Japanese political figure who supposedly wrote this fanatical piece about the need for Japan to expand in Asia, at the expense of the colonial empires of France, Britain, Holland, and Portugal, and the United States. The story went that this paper was meant for the loyal members of the army and navy of Japan, but it got out to non-fanatics who threatened to publish it. And the result was that Tanaka was disgraced, and committed suicide (he did commit suicide, but we don't really know the reason).

Historians are mostly skeptical about the truth regarding this document, though a few still insist it was a blueprint for Japanese expansion and aggression. In actuality, given the paucity of needed natural resources in Japan, aggression against neighbors like China, Korea, Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines makes sense without the need for a formal document stating their need to expand. But the story spread, and given the anti-Japanese mood of the Americans in 1945 a film based on the publication of the document was inevitable.

Because several figures in the film (John Emery as Tanaka, and Marvin Miller as the head of the Tokyo Police Department) are occidentals performing as Japanese there is a feeling that the the film is racist. Actually it isn't - in fact it is rather the reverse. In 1945 it was rare to have a film where Germans (aside from refugees, who were probably Jewish) were good people. An exception is that marvelous Spencer Tracy movie THE SEVENTH CROSS. As the country that had sent the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and caused the Bataan Death March, it was even harder to be friendly to Japan. But this films reminds us that Tanaka and those fanatics were not all the Japanese. Many opposed the militarists, and tried to keep their nation in line with the U.S. and Britain (one of the moderates, by the way, was Admiral Yamamoto, who knew how powerful the U.S. was having been military attaché in Washington - ironically in this film he is painted as a vicious militarist planning to attend the surrender of the United States in the White House). Unfortunately the militarists used political assassination throughout the late 1920s and 1930s to force the politicians into silence or acquiescence to their aggressive policies. Few Americans realized this, especially after the anger that arose after December 7, 1941.

James Cagney was remarkable for his willingness to be different in choosing material for his films and for doing odd bits in them. He did mostly melodramas, but he varied them with Shakespeare (his Bottom in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM), westerns (THE OKLAHOMA KID), musicals (FOOTLIGHT PARADE, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY - his Oscar winning part), and comedies (THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D.). In the film TAXI (a melodrama about a gang trying to dominate the taxi industry in New York City) Cagney added a gag scene where he talked fluent Yiddish to a Jewish passenger. Imagine Bogart or even the Jewish Edward G. Robinson doing that - only Cagney could get away with it.

In an independent film musical he made in the 1930s, SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT, Cagney had several scenes with Philip Ahn playing Ito, his valet. When he first shows up (Ahn has been hired for Cagney, sight unseen) he speaks a pidgin English. But as soon as Cagney shows he is a realist, Ahn thanks him for allowing him to speak like a normal person (Ahn is a college graduate). It may have been the first time an Asiatic was played as an intelligent (and non-belligerent) human being.

Similarly here Cagney (and his brother William, who produced his films and helped choose his properties) are fair to the bulk of the Japanese, who were normal people like ours. He paints the militarists as foolish villains, but he reminds us that they were only more unscrupulous and better organized. With a little bit of real luck they might have been kept under control. Tragically they weren't.

Cagney fights fascist

[dexter-10 · 6/10 · 2 June 2000]

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.

Suspense and action with Cagney uncovering Japanese plans for world control

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 8 February 2006]

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 .

Interesting Drama Flick

[simon.vaughan · 7/10 · 30 January 2000]

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.

"Like the sun we will live to rise,Like the sun we will live and die,And then ignite again,Like the sun we will live to rise".

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 19 November 2013]

Despite my dad owning a number of his films on DVD,I have somehow up to now only seen James Cagney in the overlooked 1935 movie G-Men. (which in no way is related to X-Men!)Talking to a friend recently,I discovered that he was interested in seeing Cagney's non-gangster titles,which led to me deciding that it would be a good time to see Cagney cover the sun with blood.

The plot:

Being credited as the editor who saved the paper from folding,Tokyo Chronicle editor Nick Condon begins to suspect that he may have just grabbed the story of the decade,thanks to an informant giving him a document titled "The Tanaka Memorial",which contain details about Japan's planned invasions for world domination.

With having enjoyed a high amount of press freedom whilst working at the paper,Condon begins to suspect that he may have gotten hold of something very important,due to a number of police officers and politician's suddenly becoming extremely aggressive towards the paper.Fearing that he and Chronicle are at increasing risk of being permanently shut down,Condon rushes to publish the story,as he begins to find out how far the police,army and politician's are willing to go to keep the document out of the public's eye.

View on the film:

Made just as WWII was coming to an end,and also just before questions about the real Tanaka Memorial began to get raised, (with the document now being seen as a fake,designed to get the Alieies on the side of China's Communist party,which it succeeded in doing) the screenplay by Lester Cole,Frank Melford,Garrett Fort and Nathaniel Curtis initially make the movie appear that it is going to take a close look at the blurred lines separating the government and the press.

Sadly,despite director Frank Lloyd and art directors A.Roland Fields and Wiard Ihnen, (who would both win an Oscar for their work in the title) covering the movie with tense darken alleyways and low-lit lighting,the screenplay burns out after the first 30 minutes,with the exciting espionage moments in the film being drained of their energy by the writer's jumbling them up,instead of allowing each double cross/close escape to twist naturally.

Being filmed as his second feature to be from his own production company,James Cagney gives a rattling performance as Nick Condon,with Cagney showing Condon gradually becoming increasingly distrusting of all those around him as he gets closer to hitting the dead line.Along with Condon using his quick-wit to out smart the dark forces at power,Cagney also displays a surprising skill for excellent stunt work,thanks to the movie featuring a number of great,rough'n' tumble judo battles,all of which are not performed by a stunt person,but are in fact done by Cagney himself (something which Cagney would continue training with,long after the movie had been completed),which leads to this blood stained sun being one that wont fully fade out into a total eclipse.

Standard wartime melodrama

[funkyfry · 4/10 · 7 June 2009]

This is a bit of a crazy movie, not the type of thing that really holds up on its own after the propaganda value has passed the way "Casablanca" and a few of the other early 40s topical films do (Fritz Lang's "Hangmen Also Die" comes to mind as well). James Cagney is the undoubted star of the film, playing an American news editor in pre-war Tokyo with an unhealthy lack of restraint where issues of Japanese militarism come into play. There is a certain document which proposes a Japanese plan for "world domination" that was supposedly written by a certain Tanaka (John Emery), who the crawl at the beginning of the movie informs us was the "Japanese Hitler." There is also a beautiful part-Chinese woman played by Sylvia Sidney, who is a double agent working for China against Japanese interests.

It's hard to take a movie seriously where James Cagney is supposed to be a Judo expert, and he beats up a guy who is 2 feet taller than he is. It's one of those very predictable movies where just because there is this really tall guy who talks at one point about Cagney's Judo skills, you know with 99.9999% certainty that the movie will not end before they tussle. It's a bit like Edward Dmytryk's "Behind the Rising Sun" where Robert Ryan beats up a karate expert with his boxing skills. This is just sort of silly jingoism/propaganda stuck in the movie to get audiences hootin' and hollerin'. Definitely worked in 1945, but it all feels a bit silly now considering that Cagney's only Judo move is to throw a guy over his shoulder.

It's not a wretched, awful movie; it does take time like most propaganda movies to remind us that there are at least some Japanese who aren't crazed killing maniacs. Well, the one Japanese guy who helps them happens to have a beard and wear very Western-looking clothing, but at least it's something. The entire plot is telegraphed miles in advance. There is very little dramatic resonance. Basically I believe this film will be of interest mostly to hardcore Cagney fans and people who appreciate unintentional humor from seeing old propaganda and mediocre cross-racial performances.

James Cagney tries his hand as an independent filmmaker

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 20 April 2013]

After James Cagney won his Academy Award for Best Actor, he broke free of Warner Bros. and began focusing on what he considered to be art. Cagney's own production company made this wartime thriller, and it is one of his better efforts among his 1940's independent works. Cagney plays an American newspaper reporter living in Japan who crosses wires with the expansionist Japanese government. Cagney's character is fluent in both Japanese and Chinese, and even knows judo. It's refreshing to see a film from the immediate post-war era that doesn't try to simplify the problem of what happened in Japan and Germany with something like - If only these people would start playing baseball, learn to love hot dogs, and be more like Americans, this sort of thing would never have happened.

Cagney's character, Nick Condun, has to hide some expansionist Japanese plans from the Japanese government until he can safely get the data to the American embassy. Along the way he finds an ally in half-Chinese Sylvia Sydney's character Iris Hilliard, who becomes Nick's love interest. One thing about the production code you have to understand - interracial love is strictly taboo, so Nick and Iris' love scenes are less than satisfying. At the end of the film they share just the tiniest bit of a kiss.

Cagney is always fun to watch whether he's on an unrighteous or righteous tear, so I'd recommend it even if the script could have perhaps been a little more lively to match the energy of the lead actor.

error in continuity or facts

[Baronevl · 5/10 · 5 August 2005]

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.

Good Cagney vehicle

[perfectbond · 9/10 · 28 November 2003]

Blood on the Sun is a fairly good World War II espionage thriller set in imperial Japan. There is a fair amount of intrigue and suspense and Cagney carries the picture on the strength of his patriotic conviction, charisma, and judo. His love interest is also written and performed well in the style of the film noir heroine. The villains though of the stock variety are nonetheless a welcome change from the gangsters usually seen in such pictures. Modern audience may perceive the film as being politically incorrect especially since key Japanese roles were played by American and British actors. Still the film is an entertaining and even educational experience, 7/10.

Rozsa to the rescue!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 13 June 2018]

Producer: William Cagney. Copyright 15 June 1945 by Cagney Produc¬tions, Inc. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Capitol: 28 June 1945. U.S. release: 15 June 1945. U.K. release: 27 August 1945. Australian release: 27 June 1946. 8,442 feet. 94 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Pre-war Tokyo. Newspaperman uncovers Japanese master plan for world conquest.

NOTES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Annual Award for Art Direction (black-and-white), went to Wiard Ihnen, production designer, and A. Roland Fields, set decorator (defeating Experiment Perilous, The Keys of the Kingdom, Love Letters, and The Picture of Dorian Gray).

Domestic rental gross: approx. $3.4 million.

COMMENT: If ever an award for Art Direction was well-deserved, Blood on the Sun is it. Even the film's billing and publicity people were aware of the art director's contribution. For once, Ihnen receives a single full-frame credit. In point of fact, he prepared a detailed storyboard for the entire picture, indicating all frame arrangements and camera angles. Director Frank Lloyd (who was the Cagneys' second choice when Warners refused to loan out Michael Curtiz) followed Ihnen's plans scrupulously, - from the opening one-take action shot of the riot outside the newspaper office to the dazzling crane shot through the pier pylons at the climax. The sets hit the eyes with such a marvelously dramatic impact, that the ears take little notice of the nonsensical story and the ridiculous posturing of familiar Occidental players pretending to be Japanese.

Aside from its vivid, powerful sets, however, Blood on the Sun is very much a product of its period. Collectors of naively racist philosophy will have a field day here. Particularly noteworthy is Cagney's final line: "Love your enemies? But first - get even!" Cagney's own performance sums up this credo as he wrestles and judos his way through hordes of Japanese, proving the superiority of the white to the yellow warrior - much to the delight of his fans.

Unfortunately, the rest of the players are either weighed down by their make-up or overawed by the fist-popping Cagney. Only Leonard Strong as a not over bright Secret Service agent ("We took our families to see the cherry blossoms!") makes any impression.

The other major feature of Blood on the Sun is Miklos Rozsa's tingling music score - which should have been nominated for an award but wasn't. Rozsa did win for Spellbound, but in my opinion Blood on the Sun is at least equally exciting and dramatic. All Rozsa fans should definitely invest in a sound track of this one as well.

Came Out Just In Time

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 29 July 2006]

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.

Entertaining WWII drama with Hero editor Cagney at the helm

[Maestro-15 · 29 January 2000]

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..

So So Pre-War Intrigue

[gpeevers · 6/10 · 12 June 2009]

American newspaperman Nick Condon (James Cagney) who is based in Tokyo sets out to expose the imperial plans of a faction of the Japanese government prior to outbreak of WWII. The story is based on an historical incident, but the document in question is now believed by most to have been a forgery. The document supposedly outlined a plan to conquer China and eventually the United States.

Condon who has already been critical of the militarist faction in the Japanese government comes into possession of the Tanaka document but before he can expose its contents he needs to get out of Japan though the authorities are watching him very closely. A half Chinese woman (Sylvia Sidney) ostensibly assisting the authorities in their investigation serves as both an ally and a love interest for Condon. The Japanese characters for the most part are thinly sketched and include historical figures such as Giichi Tanaka and Hideki Tojo.

James Cagney is moderately successful in his role and Sylvia Sidney is adequate but neither they nor the capable supporting cast deliver any memorable performances. In addition the film had an Oscar winning director in Frank Lloyd and a score by Oscar winning composer Miklós Rózsa but they also fail to deliver anything noteworthy. Despite some solid components there is just not anything very compelling here.

The film license unfortunately lapsed and it seems most versions of this film available including the one I watched have been colorized from the original Black and White.

Obviously as with all films it is a product of its time; having been made in 1945 and in that context the film is not excessively racist though it is present and certainly does reflect a patriotic American point of view from that era. The common Japanese people are treated fairly well as are aspects of the culture, Condon uses Judo several times in the film.

Most of the primary Japanese characters in the film are played by Caucasian actors while some of the supporting cast is actually oriental.

Cagney exposes Japan's militaristic plans

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 24 September 2014]

Set in 1920s Japan James Cagney plays newspaperman Nick Condon. He has offended the Japanese authorities by publishing an article suggesting that Japan has plans to attack China and ultimately the United States and when he is given a document, which implicates Premier Tanaka and his underling Colonel Tojo, that seems to prove this his life is in danger; two people have already died while trying to get it out of the country. They send Iris Hilliard, a half Chinese woman to try to trick him into handing over the document… but he no longer has it and has no idea who does have it!

Made in 1945 it isn't surprising that the Japanese are depicted in a negative way but they could have been a lot worse; not all of them are portrayed as being bent on world domination. James Cagney does a solid enough job as Condon and Sylvia Sidney was okay as Iris… although she didn't look half Chinese and romance between her and Cagney isn't the most believable on screen. There isn't much action but there fight scene at the end is pretty good; its scrappiness making it more believable than an obviously choreographed fight would be. As the finale approaches the tension rises as at times it looks as if our hero could die for his course. Overall this isn't a classic Cagney film but it is enjoyable enough.

ODD WAR-TIME PRODUCTION...ESPIONAGE...MARTIAL ARTS...MARITAL MIXING

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 26 August 2021]

This is a Strange One.

Diverse Elements Like a Love-Affair Between Cagney and an Oriental of Mixed Race.

Made at the End of WWII but Takes Place Before the War.

The Main Plot is About an Alleged Document "The Tanaka Memorial" that might get Leaked.

It is a Supposed "Blue-Print" for Japan's World Domination.

The Fact that such a Letter would Cause the World to "Wake Up" and Smell a Rat Years Before Pearl Harbor is a Misplaced Fear.

After All, Hitler Wrote "Mein Kamph" for the Whole World to Read.

A Similar "Blue-Print" and the World Hardly Noticed its Grandiose Proclamation.

So, here We have Much-Ado about a Secret Document Played Out on the Scene in Japan with James Cagney as a Newspaper Editor Exhibiting that Most American of Things..."The Free Press".

The Movie has an Anti-Hollywood Feel.

Artful Flourishes of an Against the Grain Production.

It is Worth Seeing for Seeing Cagney' Break from Hollywood.

This is His Vision and Not That of a Studio.

Plenty of Intrigue and Action.

With some Stereotypes to make the Japanese seem Bumbling and Easily Deceived.

Like the "Played for Laughs" Fellow that Follows Cagney Around and is Foiled at Every Turn by Cagney's Wit.

Contains a lot of "Judo Action" with a Finale that is a Well-Stage Mano-Mano that is Long, Violent, and Impressive.

The Romance between Cagney and Sylvia Sydney is another Curve-Ball Thrown at the Studio System as She is of an Oriental Mix.

Take that Hollywood.

Above Average Independently Produced by the Newly Formed Cagney Productions and is Definitely...

Worth a Watch.

Last night we take family to view cherry blossoms in moonlight. It was a most pleasurable experience.

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 1 October 2008]

(Some Spoilers) Far out movie about an American reporter Nick Condon, James Cagney, getting the scoop on a secret Japanese plan to take over the world single-handedly. This, the story takes place in 1929, without the help of it's later war-time ally the almost invincible Nazi Germany which didn't come into existence until some four years later.

With the Imperial Japanese Government getting wind of Condon's intentions of exposing their mad plan of world conquest they start to work on him in order totally descried Nick in the eyes of of the non-aligned, with Japan, world. These rumors mongers go so far as planting a story in the local newspapers that Nick was found dead drunk, from too much saki, in a sleazy Tokyo hotel after partying all night with two hookers!

Quickly going into action the Japanese secret, or thought control, police first murder Nick's fellow American newsman Ollie Miller (Wallace Ford), who actually had the secret plans of Japan's intentions of conquering the world on him, and his wife Edith, Rosemary DeCamp. Nick himself escapes by the skin of his teeth, after discovering the murdered Edith, from a Japanese freighter. Later Nick also finds a badly wounded Oille in his house dying from a bullet to the chest. Nick also finds, on Ollie, the secret plans that the Japanses Government doesn't want to see the light of day. Hiding the explosive document under a portrait of Japanese Emperor Hirohito, knowing that the Japanese police wouldn't dare look behind it, the document later disappears from sight with Nick having no idea who has it.

It's then that the real conspiracy in all this game of musical chairs comes to the surface. In that someone very close to the Japanese secret and thought police is working against them to expose their mad and insane plan of conquering the entire civilized, as well as uncivilized, world. And that person is as close to the naive and a bit gullible Nick as well as he, or she, is to the head of a group of rouge Japanese military officers who's planning to take, without the knowledge of the Emperor, over the country in a military coupe: The scheming and murderous Col. Hideki Tojo, Robert Armstrong.

Extremely complicated film with Nick Condon getting out of one jam after another with him finally getting the goods, the secret document, out of Japan with a little help from his friends. And thus exposing the sinister plan that Japan, or Tojo and his gang, has in store for the world at large.

Nick is also aided by the Eurasian, half Chinese and half British, beauty Irs Hilliard, Sylvia Sidney, who despite being slapped around by him just can't help falling in love with the brash and self-confident American newsman. The film later starts to pick up when Nick has it out with the arrogant Japanese Capt. Oshima, John Halloran, in a free for all brawl on the Tokyo piers. The over six foot tall Oshima who's, after Tojo, the big villain in the film get's his a** kicked by the barley over five foot tall Nick at his own game: jujitsu.

Nick is not only an ace reporter but a black belt in Judo as well! which Oshima if he didn't know that then he was going to find out and find out the hard way; Chop! Chop! Still Nick needed a couple of old fashion American one two's to finally put the big lug away! When his Judo tactics weren't enough to finish the job.

****SPOILERS**** In the end Nick, battered bruised and bloodied, made it back to the US Embassy before the Japanese secret police could finally finish him off. To the relief of the Japanese Nick didn't have the secret document of the intentions of their planned world conquest on him. What they didn't know, and were soon to find out, is that Irs had already Left the country with them!

Terrible In Any Age

[AlexanderAnubis · 4/10 · 25 October 2016]

Blood on the Sun (1945)

I like James Cagney. I like him a lot. From The Public Enemy (1931) with Jean Harlow and a grapefruit, and Smart Money (1931) with Edward G. Robinson, through Ceiling Zero (1936) with Pat O'Brien. In Each Dawn I Die (1939), and as a surprisingly talented song-and-dance-man in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), through Ragtime (1981), the man demonstrated time and again that he was a high-energy, extremely likable actor with a somewhat varied range. He was even willing to play not particularly likable characters -- his supporting role as Captain Morton in Mister Roberts (1955) is an excellent example, and one of the few really good qualities in an otherwise mediocre film.

But he was not particularly subtle or thoughtful or philosophical and his two-fisted, rock-'em, sock-'em approach to dicey international politics in Blood on the Sun (1945) turns what might have been a tale of intrigue about Japanese military ambitions well before Pearl Harbor into ridiculous farce. Indeed, after four solid years of war, and the expectation of as much as two or three years to go, it very probably appeared so to some US audiences in 1945. (While it seemed apparent in early 1945 that the war in Europe would likely be over in months, (and it was), if an invasion of the Japanese home islands proved to be necessary, it was expected -- based on previous experience in the Pacific campaign -- to be a protracted, very difficult fight.)

Although it is never precisely explained, the apparent premise of the film is absurd. It seems to be that obtaining and publicizing a "secret" document outlining Japanese war plans in the mid-1930s or so, will somehow make a big difference in US posture and the progress of WWII after the latter conflict begins four-to-six years later.

Observing the friction between the US and Japan over Pacific trade routes in the 1920s, George S. Patton, (long before he reached the rank of army general), commented that in all likelihood the US and the Japan would probably end up having to settle their issues with war. Being a professional warrior, Patton naturally framed the matter in such terms, but it shows that serious problems were apparent a decade and a half before the war began, and about a decade before the time when this movie supposedly takes place. The notion that the contents of a piece of paper would have made some kind of essential difference must have seemed silly, at best, and patronizing, at worst, not only to the men and women doing the fighting, but also to the men and women whose sons and daughters were being churned up in it.

I don't object to period propaganda, but the scenes where Cagney bellows at the Japanese authorities demanding the civil rights he is "entitled" to as an American (regardless of the fact that he is an unwelcome guest in Imperial Japan) are flat out stupid, making his character appear to be a junior-grade moron and not a fearless newspaper editor taking risks to broadcast the truth. He's not even politically street-smart. What played well when Cagney was costumed in an inmate's prison garb and he was defiantly facing down the abusive warden of Leavenworth, say, comes across as ludicrous here. I sympathized with the Bad Guys: it was like they had a loud-mouthed, idiot child on their hands but refrained from putting him out of their misery merely through politeness.

The Rape of Nanking. The Bataan Death March. But the movie expects us -- and US audiences in 1945 -- to believe that the Japanese high command would cower -- in their own country, no less -- before a newspaper editor who yowls about being held without due process of *US* law! Is the US supposed to declare war on Japan because Cagney is kept in jail before they kick him out of the country? (Which highlights another nonsensical plot device: Japan wants Cagney out and fast, so they give him TEN DAYS to mess around before he has to leave!)

This ridiculous approach is maintained in just about every engagement, culminating in Cagney toppling an opponent about twice his size with his bare hands, eluding multiple enemy agents, getting slightly (but heroically) wounded, and surviving to be enfolded in the embrace of the light shining from the front windows of the US embassy which, along with the formidable presence of embassy official Hugh Beaumont, is more than enough to keep a few dozen vicious, sneaky evildoers at bay.

As silly as the notion that without British assistance the Japanese didn't know how to build a bridge, but unlike David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), it is not a good movie in pretty much any respect.

Produced by James' brother William, if you look at it right, I suppose this well-intentioned family project might contain a laugh or two but really is -- and always was -- just unworthy of both Cagney and its subject.

XYZ

Classic Cagney

[chilla-black · 7/10 · 27 March 2010]

Better known for his portrayal of American Gangsters (Roaring Twenties, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye), Cagney gives a decent performance in this film and at times brings elements of his gangster charm to the character he plays. The film therefore is entertaining for that purpose because it is that element of his style that makes James Cagney so watchable and what made him a legend. The story is not bad, interesting to get into but it is Cagney that makes it all worth watching. Also, the music in this film is really good. It sounds authentic Japanese, with the main theme accompanying most melodramatic scenes, transposed into one key or another. The fight scenes are good for the time bearing in mind the cast. Cagney actually performs a couple of Judo throws in some of them, although during some of the rougher stuff at the end there does appear to be a stunt double in place. Not too many classic quips to remember in this film apart from the very last line in the movie...

I give this a 7/10

Tokyo, Mon Amour

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 19 April 2008]

James Cagney (as Nick Condon) is a reporter in Tokyo; a dutiful, precognizant American, he confronts the increasing grip of Fascism on the Japanese people, during the reign of Tanaka Giichi. Sylvia Sidney (as Iris Hilliard), is a mysterious part-Chinese woman, who provides Mr. Cagney with intrigue and romance. While Ms. Sydney is somewhat successful in her portrayal, the other Japanese impersonations are embarrassing. The movie bases much of its storyline on the existence of the "Tanaka Document", a Hitler-type blueprint for evil, which was more likely a propagandist's creation. Under these circumstances, Cagney and company's attempt to produce convincing entertainment collapses.

Endearing Escapist Fare.

[Space_Mafune · 9/10 · 9 January 2007]

American newspaperman in Toyko Nick Condon (James Cagney) valiantly struggles against the dictatorial rule within 1940s Japan hoping to get back to the American public proof of a secret plan made by the Japanese government to attack the United States on a mission of world conquest. Action and intrigue follows as the Japanese secret police try to stop Condon from getting the truth out.

To put it simply, this is thoroughly enjoyable escapist fare. Sure it's hardly convincing in a number of areas (Sylvia Sidney as an Half-Chinese double agent, Cagney's ability to outwit and toy with the secret police, etc.) but that sure doesn't stop it from being endearing. Sidney and Cagney do have remarkable romantic chemistry whenever they appear on screen together. If you enjoyed romantic war-time escapist thrillers like ACROSS THE PACIFIC and CASABLANCA, you should enjoy this one too. Me, I loved it!

It's no Casablanca!

[recremekim · 4/10 · 10 January 2007]

The Plot is confusing. The Asian/American??? girl's role is deliberately misleading. The romance, I'm sure was tailored after Casablanca including the ending, but doesn't work. Cagney is no Bogart. If there was a precondition for the romance as there was in Casablanca "Remember we'll always have Paris", I missed it. For the two of them to meet, fall in love and make love Yes they followed the convention of the time showing them in a deep kiss, breaking to a long dark transition, then showing them engaged in a serious post coital discussion; not a tie disturbed. Quaint, but unbelievable. There are several continuity errors, as others have discussed, but I find the most troubling discontinuity is the actual plot. Given the amount of time since its release in 1945, the action is acceptable and the tone respectful. It's not propaganda, it's supposed to be an Asian Casablanca. I guess they needed a piano player and a catchy song.

Anti-Japanese propaganda that is an average Cagney thriller

[bob the moo · 17 November 2002]

In Japan journalist Nick Condon runs an American paper. He is forever at odds with the state police for reporting news they don't want to be told. When one of his colleagues stumbles into a story before being killed while trying to leave the country Nick tries to track down the killers and the documents that his friend died to protect. He begins to uncover a plot to attack the US.

This bit of propaganda is a standard Cagney thriller at heart. The setting is basically to show Japanese in a bad light and to show how America needs to make the right (but difficult) decisions in order to overcome the `yellow threat'. The `true story' does this but it is also a reasonable thriller. The story moves with a reasonable pace but it does drag at times when it stoops to make the bad guys look morally wrong and make their culture look brutal and un-American.

The story makes space for a love story between Nick and the supposedly mixed-race Iris. This doesn't work at all and it feels like it was crammed into the original script. Add to this the fact that the film tries to stick in as many scenes as it can where the Japanese are made to look in a bad light. Cagney is good as always and adds martial arts to his tough guy act (so what if it clearly isn't him at times). Sidney is wasted in a role that goes from spy to blithering woman in less than 30 minutes. The rest of the cast are either good Americans or bad Japanese.

Overall this is a average Cagney thriller. The romance sub-plot doesn't work and the anti-Japanese theme is a little unpleasant. Has it's moments but the weaknesses take quite a bit away from it.