Blood On The Sun (1945)

Set in 1929 Japan, an American reporter (James Cagney) has discovered a Japanese plan called the Tanaka Memorial that outlines Japan's intent to conquer the U.S. When a fellow reporter (Wallace Ford) and his wife (Rosemary DeCamp) are murdered by the Japanese secret police in an effort to obtain the document, the American plots to get the document out of the country. Directed by Frank Lloyd (MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY). Although set in 1929, the film is still part of the Hollywood's WWII wartime propaganda movies. By the time it was released, the war in Europe had ended but the war in the Pacific still waged on until two months after the film's release when the atom bombing of Hiroshima ended the war in the Pacific. As to the film itself, it's quite entertaining and well done but again, there's the distracting use of "yellowface" with Caucasians predominantly playing the Japanese characters. The film has a lengthy Judo fight between Cagney (who had a black belt in the art) and John Halloran that is a change of pace from the usual fist fights in films of that era. The film's impressive art direction won an Oscar and the striking chiaroscuro cinematography by Theodor Sarkuhl (THE GLASS KEY) gives the film a noir-ish atmosphere. With Sylvia Sidney as Cagney's Eurasian romantic interest, Robert Armstrong, John Emery and Porter Hall.