The Crimson Kimono (1959) User Reviews

has that crackling, off-key appeal of Fuller in his prime

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 14 June 2006]

If you can, and it would definitely be as rare a chance as I had recently, try and see Samuel Fuller's The Crimson Kimono on the big screen, preferably with a packed audience. True, some of the dialog and mannerisms of the characters end up forty-seven years later coming off as being too funny for its own good. But then again, Fuller's style here, as in the films that would follow in the 60's (and linked of course to his 50's work), is that of sensationalism yet not in a way that feels too dishonest. It's got a sharp cast of professionals, with Glenn Corbett and James Shigetta as the leads playing Detective partners who are investigating a case that somehow leads to a sort of love triangle with a witness Victoria Shaw. And Fuller is able to make the film quite entertaining with at least a few memorable moments almost in spite of the low-budget of things.

The opening sequence is, naturally for Fuller, part of the excitement and close-to-exploitation B-movie-ness of it all, as a stripper gets gunned down running away from her dressing room. Even before this we get the opening titles popping out at the screen, almost being too obvious. But to say that the film is at times leaning towards tongue-in-cheek is more of an observation than a criticism. It fits the style that some of the dialog bits are really sharp and, indeed, well-written, and that as such the actors take it not too seriously as to make it heavy-handed but not too over the top to have the audience lose interest. Indeed, one of the more interesting scenes is when Shaw and Shigeta get to talking while Corbett is out doing work, as they become connected in a way that is different than how earlier Shaw and Corbett flirted around in a cool though 'movie' kind of way.

All through this Fuller pumps up the melodrama with well-shot action (the big Korean guy getting tackled down by the detectives was maybe my favorite scene on a shamelessly enjoyable level) and enough of a kind of mix of psychology and sociology in this cross section of Japan and America. And it's interesting how he slightly improves in flipping the situation from House of Bamboo where the Japanese atmosphere wasn't as convincing. It's probably a tough find for most, and of course even rarer to get on the big-screen depending on where you're at, but it might be one of Fuller's better 'quickie' kind of movies where its 80 minute running time does just enough to make it very worthwhile in not overstaying its welcome. It's funny, thoughtful, and assured film-noir.

But down deep what am I?

[sol-kay · 8/10 · 18 November 2005]

Very provocative movie, for the time that it was released in 1959, about a love triangle between two L.A detectives, one white and the other Japanese/American. With a young white female art student whom their protecting from an unknown killer.

After strip-tease artist Sugar Torch, Gloria Pall, finishes her act on stage she's shot at by an unknown assailant. Running for her life outside the theater on the crowded street, with nothing on but her underclothes, she's gunned down and killed. With Detctives Charles Bancroft & Joe Kojaku,Glenn Corbett & James Shigeta, put on the case they find in Sugar Torch's dressing room a painting of a her in a crimson kimono. The painting that the killer also shot a bullet through in anger. It was as if he knew who painted it.

The detectives track down the artist who painted the portrait to an art student at the University of Southern California named Christine Downs, Victoria Shaw. Christine, or Chris, tells Charles and Joe that the painting of Sugar Torch was commissioned by her boyfriend. A man who called himself Hansel, Neyle Morrow. The two L.A cops besides providing 24 hours around the clock protection of Chris from Sugar Torch's killer, who just missed shooting and killing her, go out on the streets canvassing the neighborhood, mostly L.A's Little Tokyo. Looking to find him and see what the people there know about Sugar's murder.

Both's Charles and Joe have been the best of friends since the Korean War. Joe saved Charles life on the battlefield by not only dragging back a seriously injured Charles to the safety of a MASH unit but also by donating a paint of his badly needed blood in order to keep him alive while he was being operated on. It never bothered them that they came from different backgrounds and are of different races all these years. Now, with Chris coming into their lives, things are about the change dramatically.

"Crimson Komino" goes from a police murder drama to a love triangle half-way through the movie. The All-American rough and tumble Charles Bancroft falls in love with ,the American as apple pie, Chris Downs only to have her fall for the more sensitive and artistic Japanese/American Joe Kojaku. Whom Chris, being an artist herself, has far more in common with. This leads Joe to feel very guilty and in a way embarrassed for stealing his best friends girlfriend who's not Japanese like himself.

As all this is happening the two cops begin to track down Hansel but the pent-up emotions that Joe is keeping inside him begins to come to the surface. In a Karate contest sponsored by the Little Tokyo neighborhood, that both Charles & Joe are entered in, leads to Joe almost killing Charles. This happens when Joe forgets the rules and smashed Charles head in after he was told to stop and back off by the contest referee.

In the dressing room Joe confesses that his being in love with Chris, and she with him,has made it impossible for him to be his partner Joe tells a shocked and confused Charles that he's turning in his badge since Joe feels that he can't do his job as a L.A policemen anymore. It's then when the truth comes out about Hansel who it turned out was involved in a similar situation and what he had, or had not, to do with Sugar Torch's murder. That put things into sharp focus for both Charles and Joe to not only who the killer is but why their sudden dislike and antagonism, towards each other over Chris, was nothing more then unfounded and irrational hate and ideas. Ideas that they had deep inside their minds that the racism,of both of them, blew way out of proportion.

"The Crimson Komino" is another hit, by cult director Samuel Fuller, that dared to show to the American public in 1959 what an inter-racial relationship can do to both parties who are not at all ready for it. Somewhat like the movie "Sayonara" but far more explosive and penetrating. And at the same time with a much happier ending.

You only saw what you wanted to see

[antcol8 · 8/10 · 15 June 2006]

Not like I want to lecture all of you...but this film does a bit more than it's being given credit for. In fact, it engages with the nature of image and illusion and its relation to reality. Maybe it doesn't do this in the profoundest of ways, but this is as proper a subject for film-making as can be. Hitchcock's Rear Window is the obvious masterpiece in this respect, but if you take your attention (or "gaze" if you prefer) off of the story or the genre of this film for a second, you can't avoid the fact that every scene has this at its core. The film is filled with Westerners who have a fixation or fascination with otherness as represented, in this case, by "orientalism". They are experts in Asian art and martial arts; they are infusing their work and life with exoticism.They have a curatorial approach to life; they are voyeurs, to some degree. Painters and painting - imagemaking - plays a key role in the film.The Japanese - American (Nisei) detective Joe attempts to bridge the gap that exists between himself and Christine through a tongue-tied analysis of what is missing in her canvas - what is visible by its absence. He also attempts to figure out whether his thinking is more "Asian" or "American" in its nature. This is symbolized by his playing a Japanese folk song on the most Western of instruments, the well-tempered piano. He sees himself as a hybrid. He is aware of the fact that he sees the world through a combination of several possible filters. The line "You only saw what you wanted to see" has key significance in this film,underscoring as it does several key scenes. By the use of the word "you", it also implicates the VIEWER of the film. The viewer of a film only sees what he/she wants to see: notice, for example, how this whole aspect of this film, which I consider essential, has gone unmentioned in all the other commentaries! Joe wants Christine to see him for himself, fearful of her taking the curatorial or voyeuristic approach to their interracial relationship - Deleuze's famous line "when you are lost in the dream of the other, you are screwed" comes to mind - and yet Joe forgets that he sees HIMSELF as fragmented, made up of parts.

The stripper's dying in the street is accompanied by raucous stripper music and is immediately contrasted with her lascivious life-size representation above the marquee. The life force and escapism represented there is contrasted with the funky facts of life and death. Her manager's description of the Asian - influenced act which she was planning uses the language of aesthetics to describe a piece of cutting-edge trash much as the film we are watching operates both on the level of a program-filling potboiler and an examination of personal tropes. All this having been said, I will admit that, having recently re-seen Pickup On South Street, I was a bit spoiled by the earlier film. Neither Glenn Corbett nor Victoria Shaw seem to inhabit their roles adequately enough. I understand that Fuller films are not about "acting" per se, but still...And Sam Leavitt is no Joe McDonald (cinematography). I loved the denouement's taking place within the fast-moving Nisei parade, but this is a real Wells (Lady from Shanghai) via Hitchcock (39 Steps) moment. And they both did it better, for what it's worth. Still, I love Fuller and his vision. I am glad his work now receives serious attention although paradoxically, like a true example of Heisenberg's principle, such work seems to function much better outside of the self-conscious, self-reflexive world of "art". Fuller is like Anna Lee's character Mac: he can only paint his epic masterpieces in the back room of a sleazy bar.

Solid film that delivers an engaging mystery and love triangle

[bob the moo · 16 November 2007]

When stripper Sugar Torch disturbs a murder in her dressing room she is chased into the street and gunned down by an unknown assailant. Detectives Charlie Bancroft and Joe Kojaku investigate the only leads they have – the new men in Sugar's life who were to be involved in her new act, embracing teasing, karate and doomed love. Bancroft goes after artist "Chris" who had painted Sugar in full kimono while Kojaku goes after the men who were to be involved in her act. It turns out Chris is Christine and that she is more valuable than they had hoped – problem is, main suspect Hansel knows this too and soon the detectives are guarding her from attempts on her life.

A strange film this one. It opens in the sordid world of striptease, continues with the murder of a young woman and leads straight into a police investigation. This suggested it would be a gritty and tough thriller which at times it is, but at other times it plays up the love triangle aspect and then at others seems interested in just showing us a little bit of Asian-American culture. This individual sections do bump up against one another uncomfortably at times but mostly they sit reasonably well as part of the film. The effect is to produce a really interesting film, partly because the mix is unusual and well delivered. The mystery aspect of the plot keeps the narrative flowing along well enough and engaged me even if the ending was a bit convenient and easy.

The love triangle part works better than I expected mainly because it uses it to compliment the male characters rather than being about the love part. This allows the two actors (Corbett and Shigeta) to deliver solid characters and play off one another really well. They are not brilliant in regards range but both more than meet the requirements of the material – Shigeta being a bit more able to convince in the love regards as well as the conflict side while Corbett does an all-round solid turn as a tough but friendly cop. As writer Fuller mixes the various aspects really well while also producing a bit of cultural significance in the way that the Asian-American thing is merely a trimming and not the whole show.

Overall then a solid film that blends mystery, love, grit and conflict into one story. It doesn't flow perfectly but it is engaging for what it does well and not bad for those aspects it does less well.

Asian detective and white partner fall for the same woman

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 28 June 2008]

Sam Fuller directed "The Crimson Kimono," starring Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta, Victoria Shaw and Anna Lee, and this 1959 film is not your usual detective noir. Corbett and Shigeta are Charlie Bancroft and Joe Kojaku, buddies from the Korean war and now partners in the LA Police Department, who investigate the death of a stripper. In the course of that investigation, they meet a beautiful artist (Shaw) and both men fall for her; she in turn falls for the gentle and intelligent Joe. This tests the relationship of the two men, and when Joe sees Charlie's reaction, he assumes it comes from Charlie's latent racism.

This is an odd film, not as good or as well done as Fuller's Pickup on South Street, but good nonetheless. Part of its success is due to the persona and performance of James Shigeta, for a time one of the biggest Asian-American stars ever. "The Crimson Kimono" was the first feature film for both Shigeta and Corbett, and they handle their assignments well. Fifty years later, Shigeta is still working; Corbett worked steadily until his death in 1993. Anna Lee is on hand giving a vigorous performance as an alcoholic artist; the late Victoria Shaw is beautiful but doesn't register much as Chris, the love interest of both men.

There are a couple of problems with this ambitious script, one being Joe's claim that he had never experienced racism. That's impossible if he was in California when World War II broke out; it's a naive statement he wouldn't have made. The other problem is that all of the love connections seem instantaneous, though that seems to be a very "noir" thing. Nevertheless, the story holds interest, the performances are good, the atmosphere authentic, and Sam Fuller always has something to say, if only we'd listen

Forward-looking noir rooted in white-Asian race relations

[bmacv · 7/10 · 1 October 2001]

Sam Fuller's distinctive movies rarely live up to their opening shots (the bald hooker beating the stuffing out of the pimp who shaved her head in The Naked Kiss being the most unforgettable example). In The Crimson Kimono, a stripper (Sugar Torch!) is chased from the burlesque house's dressing room out into one of Los Angeles' main drags where she is shot dead. It's up to a couple of cops who share an apartment -- Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta -- to find her killer. What makes the movie both appealing and problematic is that Fuller demotes the thriller material to second-billing, while he develops a provocative rhapsody on a white-Asian love-vs.-friendship triangle centering on the buddies' both falling in love with the same witness (Victoria Shaw). Anna Lee and Jaclynne Green fill out the cast as the kind of characters who tend to show up only in Fuller's universe. As with all his movies, The Crimson Kimono has its startling moments, but it's one of the few that presents a complex and, for its day, progressive view of racial stereotypes and tensions in late-Eisenhower-era America.

Detective movie AND cultural lesson!

[Win-5 · 7/10 · 24 June 2008]

I was truly surprised by this movie - I expected a basic potboiler, with a random collection of Japanese and/or Chinese stereotypes... but what I got was a potboiler (sorry, the plot's pretty basic) AND an interesting set of insights into Japanese-American culture. I'm trying to picture a 1959 audience attending this movie... were they expecting an Oriental thriller? Or perhaps a pseudo-noir detective movie? (I'm also trying to resist comparing this to the last half-dozen episodes of Law & Order I've seen)

Meanwhile, this movie has no sense of "outsider's look at foreigners," no sense of "those people are strange," just a lot of "here's what they do, and here's what their daily life includes." All wrapped up in... a B-grade movie. But that just means that the cultural pieces lift up the otherwise-average quality of the rest of the movie!

Daring, memorable, and thought-provoking film-noir.

[Dark Eye · 10/10 · 24 April 2001]

The Crimson Kimono is one of the coolest detective films I've seen so far. The story follows two detective buddies Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and Japanese-American Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta) as they investigate a murder case, and they came upon Christine Downs (Victoria Shaw), a beautiful painter with whom both men fall in love. Eventually Christine fell in love with Joe's poetic and sensitive nature. Tension arose between the two detectives as Charlie became furious since Joe stole his girl. Joe however doesn't hesitate to accuse his friend of racism. In the bold finale, it all ends with one of the most daring scenes ever filmed, even by today's standards.

First of all, this is a remarkably refreshing film, and that is because the story revolves around the psyche of the Japanese detective, as well as to sympathise with him. Samuel Fuller did not pull any punches here; the film is filled with those Fuller trademarks, such as the sudden occasional facial close-ups, to the starkly honest and down-to-earth dialogues. The ending scene was especially rewarding, when detective Joe Kojaku learns about the true nature of his heart ... it was delivered with such boldness and subtlety at the same time. James Shigeta, the actor who played detective Kojaku, is a great leading actor. He has a really soothing baritone voice that draws you into his character, one which at first doesn't seem to be prominent but later turns out to be the film's most complex character.

Still refreshing even by today's standards, this is an intelligent movie. It's a shame that the late Samuel Fuller never got a chance to re-release this film, as I learned that this movie isn't available on the shelves anymore. Highly recommended by anyone who ever gets a chance to get their lucky hands on this piece of brilliant film-noir.

The love triangle plot line bogs down the film, but it's still quite good

[zetes · 7/10 · 6 September 2015]

For a long while, this seemed like it was going to be one of Sam Fuller's best movies. The direction is great and the story and characters interesting. Unfortunately, it gets bogged down by a silly love triangle plot and starts to fall apart a bit. It is interesting that the romance in question is an interracial one - it was actually the selling point of the movie if you look at the poster! - but it never really works. The film follows two detectives in L.A., Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta, who are investigating the case of a slain stripper. One of their leads is a painting of the girl in a crimson kimono, done by an artist named Chris. They quickly discover that Chris is actually a woman (Victoria Shaw), and she helps them with their case. Corbett immediately takes a liking to her, and she returns his affection at first. But after an afternoon spent hanging out with Shigeta, she's in love with him. This is quite daring, but then the film starts to focus on nothing but the romantic entanglement for the last third of the film. About five minutes before the end, it feels like Fuller snaps out of it and says, "Crap, we forgot about the plot!" and throws together a reasonably satisfying finale. It's definitely a good film, though, when all is said and done.

Pleasant Surprise

[luerim · 8/10 · 13 July 2006]

Caught this late one night on a cable station, and went out of my way to watch it a second time sober. Then watched part of it again just to be sure I liked as much as I thought I did. What surprised me more than anything was how the movie portrayed Asian-Americans during a time period when they were usually marginalized or ignored in other movies. This film also subtly mocks the prevalent stereo-type of the standard studly handsome action-hero. OK. Not really so subtle, but still enjoyable without being too horribly trite. All that combined with a rather scrumcious detective plot makes this a mystery movie definitely worth tracking down and watching. Had this movie been done in the late 90s as a small, indie film, it probably would have done extremely well. At least 30 years ahead of its time.

Good casting by Samuel Fuller

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 29 May 2019]

Two endearing actresses who did not make it big: Victoria Shaw and Anna Lee. Good that Samuel Fuller saw them to be worthy for his film! The closing line from Fuller's pen is interesting: I like the pearls created by humans rather than those by an oyster.

You don't have to, it's all over your face.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 13 February 2011]

The Crimson Kimono is written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller. It stars Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta, Victoria Shaw & Anna Lee. Cinematographer is Sam Leavitt and the music is by Harry Sukman. Plot is about two L.A. cops, Joe Kojaku (Shigeta) & Charlie Bancroft (Corbett), deep friends of a different race, bonded by blood who met during the Korean War. When stripper Sugar Torch (Gloria Pall) is shot and killed, the two men's investigation sees them follow a painting to the artist who painted it, Christine Downes (Shaw). It's the start of a love triangle that could have far reaching consequences for not only the investigation, but also Joe, Charlie & Christine.

1959 saw the release of Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life, a much talked about movie, that whilst splitting the critics down the middle, was none the less the fourth biggest earner at the box office that year. Sirk's film, amongst other things, had a racially charged thread in it that gave it some added potency. The Crimson Kimono also had a racially charged thread running thru it, but Samuel Fuller's film, it seems, slipped under the radar. Now of course in the modern era of film, Sam Fuller is often name checked by the likes Scorsese & Tarantino as being an influence, while the French New Wavers were quick to laud him as a stylistic influence too. The Crimson Kimono is far from being Fuller's best work, but it is unmistakably a Fuller movie, and one that is a must see for those of a noir/hard-boiled persuasion.

Fuller has managed to put a murder mystery at the core of his film and wrap around it a tale of inter-racial tolerance, jealousy and sexual confusion: set deliciously to the backdrops of an urban part of L.A. and the more cosmopolitan Little Tokyo. As he weaves his vision together, never once hitting the viewer over the head with its messages, Fuller neatly plays around with his camera. Up close and personal to his actors, sweeping alongside for walk sequences and scatter-gun shooting for his action scenes (a Kendo fight is an action high point). It's thoughtful film making, the camera puts us in with the story and no scene is wasted, it's all relative, particularly as tensions start to rise between the two best friends and the case starts to unfold.

The principal actors are not big names, but all are very credible, and the lack of star power actually benefits the piece by keeping the narrative grounded. While the supporting Anna Lee (How Green Was My Valley) as an alcoholic mother figure type is a joy to watch. Sam Leavitt's (Anatomy of a Murder/The Defiant Ones) photography has it just right, the black & white has a stark look for the street exteriors and the interior focus has that hue of character importance about it. Harry Sukman's music is also worthy of mentioning, blending jazzy beats with oriental flavors, it's well in keeping with the nature of the story.

Although there's no cop out in the finale, in fact it's an important and affecting finish as regards the characters, the murder mystery angle close down is a little unfulfilling in context to the mood that has overall been built up. But it's no deal breaker and doesn't detract from what a very good movie The Crimson Kimono is. 8/10

Doesn't Have Enough of That Sam Fuller Touch

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 31 May 2015]

"The Crimson Kimono" is not one of Sam Fuller's better films, but leave it to Fuller to make a murder mystery thriller where the murder mystery becomes almost beside the point and the film instead becomes an examination of racial tension.

That tension doesn't even play a role in the crime at the film's center. It's between the two detectives assigned to solving the murder. And this isn't a whites-being-racist-against-minorities film either. It's the Japanese American detective (played by James Shigeta) who has the problem, seeing racism against himself where it doesn't exist and not able to get past his own insecurities about his heritage. This quality more than anything else makes the film unique and very Fuller-esque, but in all other ways it's a bit of a disappointment. It only has moments of that ragged, off-kilter quality that make Fuller's best movies -- movies like "The Naked Kiss," "Shock Corridor" and "The Big Red One" -- so damn good.

Grade: B-

Failure To Communicate

[slokes · 5/10 · 15 April 2015]

Ostensibly a murder mystery but more a romantic drama with strong social overtones, "The Crimson Kimono" comes armed with noble intentions and the stylistic panache you associate with director- writer Samuel Fuller, but not much in the way of a story.

A stripper named Sugar Torch is gunned down one night on a busy Los Angeles street. Detective Sgt. Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and his partner Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta) develop a lead with the help of a young artist named Chris (Victoria Shaw). Both men also develop strong feelings for Chris, which leads to sparks and considerable misunderstandings after she makes her decision.

In a DVD doc that comes with this movie, director Curtis Hanson notes that this "fits in no genre except the Sam Fuller genre," which is a great description. "The Crimson Kimono" starts with a typical Fuller bang, a big brassy stripper doing her act and then walking into a dressing-room ambush. The killing doesn't really make sense, either as it goes down or when you think about it after the movie is over, but it makes an impression, which is why Fuller was Fuller.

The problem of the murder isn't only its incoherence, but the way it is swept under the rug so soon in favor of a social-issues drama which ostensibly deals with racism but is really about a guy his partner correctly describes at one point as a "meathead." At one point, we hear Bancroft even say "Nobody cares who killed that tramp," which is a heckuva line from a homicide detective except it fits with the mood of the film.

Corbett and Shigeta make for a sturdy pair in their film debuts, so much so we care more about their issues as the story develops than we do about any progress they make on the case. Too much time is spent on a secondary character, Mac (Anna Lee), who drinks, smokes, and dispenses enough folky wisdom about art and love we come to understand that she's basically Sam in a dress.

Lovers of the quintessential Fuller argot will have a field day here: "I'll have to tap her for a raincheck." "You tackle Rembrandt at the school and I'll shortstop Shuto." "You believe that eyewash?" All the above lines are from Kojaku, who seems like the last person to suffer a big emotional crisis by suddenly discovering he's a Japanese- American. But he does, because it's that kind of movie.

Fuller fans will appreciate the film's dynamics at play, the way he challenges the audience by setting up a potential romance between Bancroft and Chris and then pushing the race buttons once he's got you thinking you're all assimilated. It's a strange sort of racial- issues story in that none of the white characters seem to have serious hang-ups. Fuller did like to complicate racial issues in his movies, but the curves that worked so well in "Shock Corridor" kind of flop here.

Sam Leavitt's cinematography captures a somewhat hallucinatory Los Angeles at night, with smoky nimbi hanging over characters as they prowl lonely alleyways and pool halls. As a police procedural, "Crimson Kimono" has the right atmosphere.

Liking the atmosphere, the characters, and the tangy Fuller spirit is not enough when the story doesn't connect. In the end, you are left with a film about failure to communicate that itself doesn't really communicate much of anything other than the wrongness of jumping to conclusions and the need for a good mystery to care more than a little at the end as to whodunit.

Before there was Chinatown...there was Japantown!!!

[Rytzalot · 11 May 2000]

What a film! A tender-hearted love story from Sam Fuller. It may look like a detective movie but it's just a cover to disguise a really well told and well acted tale about two cops who love the same woman. You'll see very real characters who feel real emotions - "Honest, dirty, jealousy," to paraphrase.

Wonderful use of JAPANtown, in downtown Los Angeles, and a good L.A. movie in general. Make note of this real interracial relationship movie from 1959. You gotta see it.

James Shigeta's nice acting

[Zuco · 7/10 · 24 November 1998]

I thought it showed Japan properly.(Story is in America) At least no major mistakes. First time I saw a young James Shigeta. He has a nice voice and appeared in Elvis' movies.The Japanese accent was a bit funny. The story gradually changed to race more than the case. A good movie to check about how much the director likes or is influenced by Japan.

The Hawaii Five-O Kimono

[elliott-43 · 7/10 · 11 April 2020]

Off-beat, character driven procedural involving implausible connections between improbable yet sympathetic characters with unlikely chemistry and a darndest plot twist. More like a 60s TV series than a hard boiled noir--the closing lines, between the sore loser and his boobie prize, is one of the genre's most brilliant endings.

flawed but worthwhile and brave effort

[a666333 · 6/10 · 26 May 2009]

This movie, though flawed is definitely worth seeing. Definitely the love triangle overtakes the murder in significance. That is OK in itself but it means that the details of the murder are dealt with and wrapped up rather sloppily. At least another 10 minutes or so could have rounded things out much better. They seemed in a hurry to make their points. Also, I will never buy into the movie habit which sees so many people fall seriously in love in a few hours of real time.

The cinematography works well in black and white and delivers a good feel.

The race relations theme was bravely and openly addressed. Placing the East Asian man as a real romantic force, as opposed to a menace or threat, was still adventurous at the time for Hollywood. (East Asian women, on the other hand, had been well established as legitimate love interests)

Hollywood seemed to have been very interested in making James Shigeta into a star male lead. He was given a number of lead roles in the late 50s/early 60s but then they pushed him off into supporting roles. I can see why. It was a chore to come up with plausible roles for him that the public of the day would buy into. More fundamentally, he struggled at time with his delivery. Here, both he and Corbett are forced to deliver a good bit of overdone jargon. Corbett, who was never a big star nonetheless handles it better than Shigeta. He didn't deliver with the kind of strength that a lead role generally requires.

Surprisingly good

[eifert · 8/10 · 13 March 2005]

This is a crackerjack little noir that actually got better as it went along. It begins with a chesty stripper with blonde hair down to her butt running down the street being chased by a gunman. I thought, "OK. I know what kind of movie this is going to be. Pure B movie with cheesy dialog." Well, it actually develops into an excellent character study about two cops - best friends - one white and one Asian. They both fall in love with the same women while investigating the crime. Along the way they meet up with a boozy middle-aged female artist that's always around to give handy advice and the required colorful commentary. The black-and-white photography is not as artistic as the films noir from the 40's but the night shots of Chinatown in San Fran looked exotic. Recommended.

It starts off with a stumble, but then recovers nicely.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 21 November 2009]

Maybe it's just me, but only a short time into this film I was already wondering just WHO acts like these characters?! For instance, there is a stripper (sugar Torch) who was planning a classy(?) striptease act where she would dress as a Japanese woman in a crimson kimono and two men would fight over her--one with a kitana (Japanese sword) and the other using his bare hands and karate. Another woman is a bohemian painter who talks in a very broad style and throws beer on canvases and seems a bit like Maynard G. Krebs. So, at the onset I was taken out of the moment because the film was trying too hard to be different. While director Sam Fuller's films usually excel at realism, this one just didn't quite make it. It's a shame, as I've loved many of his films and from this point on, it would be hard to sell me on THE CRIMSON KIMONO.

The film begins with some maniac chasing Sugar Torch out of the theater after she finishes her act. She is gunned down in the middle of the street AND the killer takes the time to shoot a painting of her in the kimono in the throat that is in the dressing room. Two police detectives, Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta are sent in to investigate this murder in the Japanese section of Los Angeles. Naturally, with the bullet in the painting they think that there is something more to it. It's even MORE so when someone tries to shoot the artist ("Chris") next--though HOW the killer could have missed when he shot at her is beyond me.

Now I noticed that some call this movie an example of Film Noir. However, I really didn't see that. Part of this was because the music was heavy on violins and sounded more akin to the soundtrack from PEYTON PLACE, the camera angles and darkness of typical Noir is missing and the characters are just too pretty--particularly the men, Shigeta and Corbett. When I think Noir, I think snappier and grittier dialog and ugly guys like John Ireland, Edmond O'Brien or Broderick Crawford. Plus, there is an interracial love interest that I liked...but it just didn't seem like Noir. Noir is NOT just a cop film but a style and attitude this one lacked--not that it was badly directed or produced. At heart, it's much more of a romance film.

As for the interracial love interest, BOTH cops fall for Chris (the woman painter; had it been some other Chris, this might have been REAAAALLLY interesting and daring). And, Chris is feeling very strong feelings towards Shigeta. Eventually, the two men come to blows over this woman during a kendo match. Shigeta is convinced that his partner is a racist, though he seems to be reading something into his partner's (and long-time friend) thoughts and actions. However, Corbett is feeling normal jealousy...and still cares about his friend deeply. And, it turns out that the motivation for the killing early in the film is related, in a way, with Shigeta's struggle.

Overall, despite a very rough beginning and it being incorrectly labeled 'Noir', the movie turned out to be pretty good and daring for its interracial love story. Yes, it had been done before in movies such as SAYONARA, but it was still a tough sell in 1959. Well worth seeing.

Who Killed Sugar Torch...and does it really matter?

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 24 June 2008]

Sam Fuller is one of the few directors who improves when one sees his movies several times. Yeah, I know that his reputation is that of a director who enjoyed sensationalism too much, but he also knew how to use sensationalism like a spice in a recipe - not too much of it in all situations (the madhouse in SHOCK CORRIDOR is an exception), but enough to maintain our interest.

Fuller once said that the story had to be a good one to make a good picture. Perhaps this truism sounds as simple as Coolidge's, "The business of America is business!" But like most people who dismiss Coolidge's comment as second-rate, they don't realize he meant that the American people see all means of employment as business and pursue it for advantage. He just said it in that laconic style of his. Fuller's truism is also correct at the simplest: good films have good stories. Yeah...but how many film directors and actors and producers get to work with good stories? Not that many - just look at the number of film flops each year.

THE CRIMSON KIMONO starts off with stripper Sugar Torch (Gloria Pall) doing her normal act in some shabby theater on Main Street in Los Angeles. She is all smiles as she does the act, and then she leaves at the end, and her face shows the weariness of two or three shows a night on it. She heads for her dressing room, sees the theater owner and borrows a puff from his cigarette, and then heads for her door. She hears a shot - opens the door and sees a masked figure with a gun who fires at her. She runs out of the theater into the street and down into the street, where she is shot and killed in the gutter. While watching this three minute sequence (long because of the initial song and strip tease) I compared it to another sequence in a film noir of one year earlier: the opening three minutes of Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL, wherein Rudy Linnekar and his girlfriend drive off in a car that we know is going to blow up. Welles rarely got big budgets but did so on the 1958 film, and did the most he could. Fuller was given a larger budget than usual for THE CRIMSON KIMONO, and managed to get considerable mileage from it too. Both set the mood of the film quite well.

The death of the strip tease star brings two L.A. Detectives on the case: Sgt. Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta). The two have been pals since serving in the Korean War together (Bancroft was badly wounded and Kojaku gave him a pint of his own blood). Now living together in a residential hotel they are assigned to this case...one with two few clues. The theater manager can only tell them that Sugar was going to move to Las Vegas with a new act called "The Crimson Kimono" wherein she is the prize in a battle to the death between a karate master and a Samurai. But they have some pictures of Sugar in a Crimson kimono, and start looking for the artist, as well as the fellow who would have played the karate master.

Fuller loads his canvass with colorful types. Bancroft knows an alcoholic artist named Mac (Anna Lee) who knows all the artist talent in the L.A. area. After getting her a bottle of her favorite bourbon Mac goes to town, and the next day recalls the artist of the drawings, "Chris" is connected to some art school. It turns out "Chris" is not a man but a woman named "Christine Downs" (Victoria Shaw). Bancroft goes to interview her, and she recalls a man who was with Sugar - and draws a sketch of him. But Bancroft finds he is falling for her, and takes her to dinner as well as to headquarters to hand in the sketch. Kojaku in the meantime has found the person who was to be the karate specialist in the sketch, one Yuki. He tries to catch him, but finds it impossible.

Chris's sketch gives her unwanted notoriety. While at her sorority house that night she is lured to the phone by the man who she drew, Hansel (Neyle Morrow). Someone shoots at her while she is on the phone. She is taken into protective custody by the two detectives, and Mac is used as a chaperon. They proceed to find Yuki and this time subdue him together. He finally tells them what he knows of the man known as "Hansel". We see them trace him, but he always seems one step ahead of them. Bancroft goes out one night to investigate, leaving Chris alone with Kojaku. The two get into a discussion of art and find they have much in common. In fact, Chris admits she is in love with Kojaku. This is troubling, for he feels the same way, but he knows Bankcroft loves her too.

At this point the film seems to leave the film noir element and concentrates on Fuller's look at bi-racial love affairs, and racial bigotry. A lot of criticism is flung at Fuller for this because the eventual resolution of the noir plot is relatively mild compared to the bigotry theme or love affair theme. Actually Fuller keeps our interest in the new twist by the karate class mock duel that a jealous Kojaku turns into a violent attack on Bankroft. Also, the resolution of the noir plot deals with a second jealousy fueled murder, which makes Kojaku realize what has happened to him. And the final confrontation with the perpetrator ends in the gutter (during a parade) and somewhat compares with the earlier shooting of Sugar. Fuller pulled his story together well - he knew how to tell a good story.

Who was she and where did she come from

[BILLYBOY-10 · 6/10 · 14 March 2011]

Somebody kills the stripper, two old army buddies who are now cop partners set out to discover whodunit. Sgt pretty boy is a white guy. His buddy is Japanese. Now we have the real plot. The stripper getting killed is just the sub-plot used to tell the story of east meets west.

At the beginning of the investigation along comes Chris the female artist, pretty boy falls hard for her and tells everyone he's got it bad and wants wedding bells. Ooopsie. Buddy Japanese pal also falls for her and she falls for him. How to tell pretty boy? Drama ensues and he tells white boy that he and Chris are hot and then more drama as buddy thinks pretty boy is prejudiced but he's not and then Chris tells him he's not but he tosses everything in the suitcase and splits but then they catch the bad guy who killed the stripper but he didn't; some woman who appears out of nowhere did and then the Japanese buddy realizes he was wrong and apologizes to pretty boy but its too late so he and Chris kiss and it's THE END. Whew! Not that bad, guess in 1959 this race/culture thing was very incredibly sensitive and so this was most likely a ground-breaker back then By today's standard though, it's pretty much a soaper.

Nobody Cared Who Killed Sugar

[sharlyfarley · 8/10 · 26 June 2008]

This starts out as a lurid thriller - probably what the studio demanded, and Fuller had fun with - the murder of a stripper on a crowded street. Then we get the two detectives, and we think, "Ah, a buddy film." Our first tip that something fresh is afoot is Joe's visit to the cemetery of the 442nd Battalion - the most decorated group of soldiers in WWII. These were Nisei (Americans of Japanese descent) who were often fighting in Europe while their relatives were in internment camps in California. We also get a brief tour of "Little Tokyo" in Los Angeles. Ah, exotic atmosphere. Our buddies - the handsome winsome Charlie (Glenn Corbett) and nisei Joe (James Shigeta) have a wisecracking patter that covers their deep friendship. Then the case leads them to Chris, played by Victoria Shaw - not only beautiful, but possessing a dignity rare in fifties actresses. We take for granted that Charlie's going to fall for her, and expect her to fall for Charlie...Then there is The Conversation. We learn that Joe has a sensitive side, he plays a nice piano and his father was an artist. Chris is an artist, and they have something to talk about. Shigeta's so charming, we're not surprised that Chris is drawn to him, we're surprised the picture allows it. That's the flip: that this interracial love story is allowed to proceed on its own terms. From that scene on, nobody cares who killed the stripper. We want to see how Joe can resolve stealing his best friend's girl, or whether Chris will react to being treated like something that could be stolen. When Joe finally tells Charlie that he loves her, Charlie reacts "You mean you're going to MARRY her?" Joe responds, "You wouldn't have said it that way if I was white!" Huge blowup. Racism has been thrown into the mix. As it would have been, and probably would be still. Or is it the perception of racism? My only problem was that Joe says the racism is new to him...Impossible. He'd have been called a "dirty Jap" at least a dozen times before he was ten years old. He'd have heard it in the army - that's why the 442nd was sent to Europe, after all. He'd've heard it on the police force. His reaction to Charlie should have been, 'Not you, too!." But nevertheless, it all works pretty much as life does. He gets the girl, but his friendship with Charlie is damaged forever.

A Racially Progressive Film Noir.

[JohnWelles · 7/10 · 16 March 2011]

"The Crimson Kimono" (1959), directed by "cult" filmmaker Samuel Fuller, comes from the tail end of the film noir period; a year later it would have been classed as a neo-noir. As it is, it's an excellent little thriller, well acted and bolstered by a particularly good script, courtesy of Fuller himself.

This screenplay is also among the oddest in the dark world of noir: after an exhilarating opening scene detailing the killing of burlesque queen Sugar Torch, the story of the hunting down of the murder takes a backseat to a (for then) ground breaking inter-racial love triangle, with American LAPD cop Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and Japanese LAPD Detective (James Shigeta) falling for Christine Downes (Victoria Shaw). There is no negative stereotypes here and of the three Shigeta gives the best performance, however all the acting is to an admirably high standard, as is Fuller's characteristically brilliant use of long takes, aided by Oscar winning cameraman Sam Leavitt.

Fuller's movies always had an extra vibrancy to them, and this no different with surprisingly modern feeling editing by Jerome Thoms and sharp direction. A classic noir that deserves to be as well as known as Fuller's other crime greats, this one not to miss.

If you open sleazy you should stay sleazy - the first rule of filmmaking.

[Wilbur-10 · 5/10 · 10 December 2001]

***Possible Plot Spoilers***

With a great opening scene, as stripper 'Sugar Torch' is gunned down in the street, this promises to be a great, lurid B-Movie of the sleaziest nature. The film quickly vegetates into a dull drama though, as we follow the two detectives assigned to investigate the case.

Sugar Torch was working on a new act called 'The Crimson Kimono' and the trail leads to a female artist who did a promotional painting of Sugar just before her death. There is bundles of potential in the story but the narrative takes a melodramatic nose-dive which it never pulls out of.

It turns out the two detectives - Charlie, an all-American Yank and Joe, a Japanese-American - fought together in the Korean War. They share a flat together, but their relationship is put under pressure when both fall for Chris, the female artist. This development leads to lots of weak character traits, as the two mooch drippily around. Things come to a head when they have a kendo fight and Joe goes samurai-crazy and knocks Charlie out - it turns out Joe always feels inferior because of his race and has numerous axes (or kendo sticks) to grind.

The expectations set-up by the initial murder are virtually ignored in favour of the personal issues. None of the characters are that interesting and we care little for their mental angst, most of which is based on psychological weakness.

There is undoubtedly potential in 'The Crimson Kimono', but the film should have emphasised the seedy crime elements, like Kubrick did in 'Killer's Kiss' and 'The Killing'. As it stands the film is disjointed and becomes one big drag. Fans of Samuel Fuller could probably find some wheat amongst the chaff, but really this is a work of minor interest from a director whose reputation isn't always that easy to substantiate.