A lot of dramatic license has been taken with the true story of Claire Phillips, an American spy in Manila whose efforts to get information on the Japanese nearly killed her but lead her to become a recipient of the American medal of freedom. Actress Ann Dvorak, one of the best actresses during the pre code era of Hollywood, could have had a career in the realm of Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck but her career path let her to be a featured actress in the 1940's and 50's. this rare lead for her, made it allied artists, was a step up, even though Allied Artists was a higher branch of the poverty row studio Monogram. Like Davis and Stanwyck, Dvorak wasn't afraid of getting her face dirty or looking unglamorous, and here, she's in plain clothes, made to look rather frumpy, and showing her middle age. Still, she's very commanding as a real life woman whose efforts to help beat the Japanese contributed to the war being won by the allies.
Given the nickname of "high pockets" (simply because her blouse pocket is so high), Dvorak pretends to be of Italian heritage and on the side of the Japanese, opening a nightclub in Manila to get information from Japanese officers. She has no qualms about telling off a Japanese businessman and slapping him across the face (resulting in her getting one back) and after seeing her husband murdered by the Japaneas a post war film made about the war, it is interesting because a good deal of what happens here apparently did happen, but apparently also much was altered for various reasons.
As a post war film made about the war, it is interesting because a good deal of what happens here apparently did happen, but also much of the truth was altered for various reasons. Still, Dvorak (in her second to last film) is excellent, the glue that holds this film together, and giving the type of performance that is legendary even for a film that is not well known. Some of the details are either unbelievable or even absurd, and one scene of two of her cohorts driving through the jungle in a sped up motion from the camera looks comical. It does maintain consistent attention, and the points that it sets out to make are well met.
Given the nickname of "high pockets" (simply because her blouse pocket is so high), Dvorak pretends to be of Italian heritage and on the side of the Japanese, opening a nightclub in Manila to get information from Japanese officers. She has no qualms about telling off a Japanese businessman and slapping him across the face (resulting in her getting one back) and after seeing her husband murdered by the Japaneas a post war film made about the war, it is interesting because a good deal of what happens here apparently did happen, but apparently also much was altered for various reasons.
As a post war film made about the war, it is interesting because a good deal of what happens here apparently did happen, but also much of the truth was altered for various reasons. Still, Dvorak (in her second to last film) is excellent, the glue that holds this film together, and giving the type of performance that is legendary even for a film that is not well known. Some of the details are either unbelievable or even absurd, and one scene of two of her cohorts driving through the jungle in a sped up motion from the camera looks comical. It does maintain consistent attention, and the points that it sets out to make are well met.