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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eight actors from The Red Machine (2009) appeared in the short film Gandhi at the Bat (2006), which was also directed by Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm: Lee Perkins, Donal Thoms-Cappello, David Ross Paterson, Nicholas Tucci, Stephen Kirkpatrick, John Gordon, Doug Swim and Ryan Pamiez.

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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

F. Ellis Coburn: It's a capital offense, you know.
Eddie Doyle: What?
F. Ellis Coburn: What we're doing. It's espionage. If they catch us, the Japanese have every right to ship us back to Tokyo and have us executed.
Eddie Doyle: You never told me that.
F. Ellis Coburn: Didn't I?
Eddie Doyle: No. I would have remembered that.
F. Ellis Coburn: It's true.
Eddie Doyle: You're just saying that to try and cheer me up.
F. Ellis Coburn: It might not make the Denver Post, but it's one hell of an accomplishment.

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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

1935 Espionage Caper Buddy Movie

Highly recommended. A 1935 espionage 'caper'. Elements of humour but not enough, thank goodness, to distract from the essential drama. The Japanese suddenly start using new cryptography leaving the US Navy code-breakers with their pants down. A stoical lieutenant (why the hell he is still a lieutenant will keep you guessing) is brought out of his backwater job to recruit a local safe-cracking crook. They form a begrudging partnership based on mutual respect and it goes from there with some indistinct flashbacks to fill in the gaps without spelling it all out for you. Hard to believe it was made on a small budget. The period costumes and 'feel' are excellent. Look out for it. Brilliant.