International Settlement (1938)

Set during the Sino Japanese war, a gunrunner (George Sanders) becomes enmeshed in a scheme involving fraudulent customs certificates. Meanwhile, he finds the time to fall in love with a mysterious chanteuse (Dolores Del Rio). Directed by Eugene Forde (CHARLIE CHAN AT MONTE CARLO), this exotic combination of romance and intrigue is very entertaining. Reunited from the previous year's LANCER SPY, Sanders and Del Rio make for an attractive couple and the Shanghai backdrop (actually the 20th Century Fox backlot) adds a bit of mystery and glamour. It's a minor film (CASABLANCA it's not) but one needn't try too hard to like it. A slight annoyance is the secondary romantic couple (June Lang and Dick Baldwin) who the movie could easily have done without as they add nothing to the story. With Leon Ames, Keye Luke, John Carradine and Harold Huber.