Tokyo File 212

Lee Frederick gets off the plane in Tokyo. He's a newspaperman, there to conduct a survey. In truth, he's an intelligence officer. There's information leaking from someone through the Communists in Tokyo, and his old college room mate, Katsuhiko Haida, in involved. After getting his assignment, he goes to his hotel room to find stateless Florence Marly there. She announces she is going to be his secretary.

It's an ambitious movie in its own way, trying to offer a view of post-war Japan as more than updated Terry & The Pirates Character. Unfortunately, Frederick is not a particularly good actor, and tries to substitute emphatic delivery for emotion.

Where it succeeds is in offering a different view of Tokyo than is usually seen. A lot of footage was shot onsite by uncredited cinematographer Ichirô Hoshijima. He shows a city quite a bit different from the Tokyo seen in the Japanese movies of the time: not from afar, where the grace and symmetry of the great public works are on view, nor the carefully constructed backlots of the studios, but street views, where crowds jostle each other and the dirt, grime and decay sit right next to the proud civic monuments. It's a livelier city than the quiet alleyways of Ozu, or the jumbled offices of Kurosawa. It's not a place where actors perform for audiences, but a place where people live and work.

It's great camerawork. Unfortunately, the story is simplistic and straightforward, and even such distinguished Japanese actors as Tatsuo Saitô and good intentions can't overcome a mediocre story and a poor lead actor.