The Red Machine (2009)

Washington, DC, 1935: At the height of the Great Depression, a charming and irrepressible young thief is forced to help an icy and mysterious United States Navy spy steal a brand new device... See full summary »

Directors:

Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm

Stars:

Lee Perkins, Donal Thoms-Cappello, Meg Brogan

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Perkins	...	F. Ellis Coburn
Donal Thoms-Cappello	...	Eddie Doyle
Meg Brogan	...	Agnes 'Aggie' Driscoll
Maureen Byrnes	...	Stella Snyder
Mo Byrnes	...	Stella Snyder (as Maureen Byrnes)
Eddie Lee	...	Ichiro Shimada
Madoka	...	Naomi Shimada (as Madoka Kasahara)
David Ross Paterson	...	Admiral Byron McAdams
Roger Ainslie	...	Harrison Llewelyn Petrie
Bryan Larkin	...	Robert Eldridge Dean
Josiah D. Lee	...	Tanaka
Walter Komorowski	...	Wallis
Landall Goolsby	...	Lowell
Robert Scheid	...	Murray
Chad Nadolski	...	Talmadge

Storyline

Washington, DC, 1935: At the height of the Great Depression, a charming and irrepressible young thief is forced to help an icy and mysterious United States Navy spy steal a brand new device that the Japanese military is using to encode its top-secret messages. During the mission, which is complicated by the spy's dark past in Tokyo, the two discover that they are pawns in a larger game. Together, they devise an intricate but risky scheme to outwit the people trying to use them.

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Plot Keywords:

burglary | spy | military | washington d.c. | thief | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | History | Mystery | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Agnes Driscoll, played by Meg Brogan, is a fictionalization of an actual historical person. The real Agnes Driscoll, who is sometimes described as "the first lady of naval cryptology," was one of the U.S. Navy's leading cryptanalysts during the twentieth century. She died in 1971 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Goofs

The Sailor performing as receptionist in the cryptography building was wearing the insignia of a Hospitalman (E-3). The caduceus shown on his uniform was not adopted until 1948 - in 1935 it would have been a red cross.

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Quotes

Stella Snyder: What's the job?
Eddie Doyle: B&E.
Stella Snyder: Where?
Eddie Doyle: Place called St. Alban's on Q Street.
Stella Snyder: Oh, Eddie.
Eddie Doyle: What?
Stella Snyder: You couldn't have picked a worse joint if you tried.
Eddie Doyle: I didn't exactly choose it, you know.
Stella Snyder: Well, if you had chosen it, you couldn't have picked a worse joint.

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Crazy Credits

Is there any significance to the letters marked during the ending credits?

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Soundtracks

space hole
Written by robin jackson
Performed by marchfourth marching band

User Reviews

Great 'caper' film, surprisingly well done

And I agree with Cameron McAllister in Atlanta - kudos to your review, sir. Thankfully-bereft of large-scale, multi-peopled-large-casts, loud noises, over-the-top music and up-scale 'city scenes', this quiet but interesting film depicts, on a mini-scale, some of the most cogent and intimate efforts by the US Guv what it took to capture the essence of the 'newer' Japanese code machine triggering WWII. It won't take a 5th of expensive Scotch (nod to the director for its inclusion, and how many of us knew, then, the Japanese also have a succor for this beverage?) to appreciate this little-known but seriously-considered effort. I was engrossed from the start. But you kind-of have to 'hang in there' for the Cracker Jack surprises.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Whittier, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mental Slapstick

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1