''Secret Agent of Japan'' is a 1942 film directed by Irving Pichel. It was the first American anti-Japanese war film produced by a major studio after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. The film stars

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

as a nightclub owner in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

who becomes involved in espionage revolving around preparations for the attack.

Cast

as James Carmichael, alias Roy Bonnell *

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

as Kay Murdock *

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor M ...

as Isoda Saito *

Victor Sen Yung Sen Yung, later known professionally as Victor Sen Young (born Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1914 – c. November 9, 1980); one source lists his given name as Victor Cheung Young with the birth year 1915)) was an American character actor, best kn ...

as Fu Yen * Janis Carter as Doris Poole * Steven Geray as Mulhauser, alias Constantin Alexandri *

Kurt Katch Kurt Katch (born Isser Kac; January 28, 1893 – August 14, 1958) was a Polish film and television actor. He appeared in ''Quiet Please, Murder'', ''The Purple V'', ''The Mask of Dimitrios'', ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'', among many o ...

as Traeger * Addison Richards as Detective Remsen *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Capt. Karl Larsen *

Hermine Sterler Minna Stern (20 March 1894 – 25 May 1982), known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents. Career Sterler, who appeared in several Hol ...

as Frau Mulhauser * Selmer Jackson as American Naval Captain *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

as Victor Eminescu *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theater in 1898. In his early 20s, Ho ...

as English Secret Service *Leslie Denison as English Secret Service *

Jean Del Val Jean Del Val (born Jean Jacques Gauthier; 17 November 1891 – 13 March 1975) was a French-born actor, also credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier. Career He played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with ''The Fortunes of Fif ...

as Pierre Solaire

Critical reception

The film drew mixed reviews from critics.

Theodore Strauss Theodore Strauss (December 27, 1912–October 30, 2009) was an American writer. Biography Strauss was born in Oklahoma on December 27, 1912."In memoriam". ''Writers Guild of America West Journal''. Vol. 14, Iss. 1. p. 56. Via Proquest. He worked ...

of ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' panned the film, calling it "a very mild hate-brew" and "third-rate drama", and stating, "Nowadays, we doubt whether anybody, even Hirohito, will be much excited". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "the picture doesn't achieve more than moderately entertaining proportions for the adult ... Foster and Miss Bari show off excellently, though some of the supporting parts are pretty awful." '' Film Daily'' called it "a rousing melodrama" but found the twists and turns of the plot confusing. '' Harrison's Reports'' wrote: "An engrossing espionage melodrama that is timely. The story value is good, and competent direction and excellent performances help maintain the interest throughout." The film seems to "have legs", though, as it scores a 6.9/10 stars on IMDB (see link below).

References

External links

* * * 1942 films American spy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Irving Pichel Pearl Harbor films American World War II propaganda films 1940s spy films 20th Century Fox films Films set in Shanghai Japan in non-Japanese culture {{WWII-film-stub