• Sam Fuller’s eighth film, and often noted as the first Hollywood film set in Japan after the WWII
  • It is a pretty far cry from the brilliance of Park Row and Pickup on South Street in 1952 and 1953 but a thoroughly engaging cinemascope on-location film noir that has merit
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it isn’t exactly on the level of Imamura’s best work- but Fuller was always inventive- shooting a major scene here through the window creating a layered frame
  • Fuller knows what he’s doing with that larger canvas right away- starts with an opening on a mountain laden with snow and a locomotive plowing through – a robbery takes place and we’re off and running
  • Robert Ryan is good here- Robert Stack just doesn’t have it. Give me Widmark or Gene Evans in that role. Sessue Hayakawa (River Kwai) has a small role but has his voiced dubbed for some reason
  • Early on there is a magnificent shot of a dead man’s feet in the foreground and mountain in the background
Early on there is a magnificent shot of a dead man’s feet in the foreground and mountain in the background
  • During a tense operating table interrogation with the police—Fuller opts for an overhead shot- brilliant choice of camera location and shot
Fuller opts for a great silhouette here – great shot
  • The colorless omniscient narration (which drops off and is forgetting about) doesn’t feel like Fuller- feels like a bigger budget studio film
  • The bustling street noise of on-location shooting
  • Undercover cop/The Departed gangster film vibe with Robert Ryan in a few great wide angle shots surrounded by suited men. He’s commanding- very good performance as always from Ryan – nice shot of him in the shadow of a tunnel towards the end too
a few great wide angle shots surrounded by suited men
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Robert Ryan comes off very well- he’s always so good. Robert Stack– not so much
  • A nice blue-lit background sequence
A nice blue-lit background sequence
  • The carnival ride set-piece chase finale is straight from Hitchcock- really well done
The carnival ride set-piece chase finale is straight from Hitchcock- really well done
  • Recommend but not in the top 10 of 1955