Rent The Crimson Kimono (1959)

Post-Noir. - The Crimson Kimono review by Steve

This Sam Fuller noir kicks off with a bang. A gun is fired in a burlesque theatre. A stripper runs down main street in her heels and is shot dead in a line of traffic. Sugar Torch's murder is tangled up in the LA Japanese community. A contrasting pair of detectives are on the case: the easy going WASP/jock (Glenn Corbett) and a sensitive, cultured Japanese American (James Shigeta).

The core of the film is its inter-racial triangle between these two veterans of Korea and the arts student (Victoria Shaw) who is helping them with their enquiries. Censorship made this still problematic in 1959. So Fuller challenges the traditional Hollywood taboo on race. This was around the start of the civil rights movement.

With its big band soundtrack (solo clarinet for romantic scenes), chases and punch ups, and seedy, lowlife locations, this is a model for the emerging tv crime series. An oddball stool pigeon is especially familiar. There are no big stars. But Fuller's camera setups are far more interesting than on telly, and there is more background detail, mostly of the LA Japanese district.

The three leads had careers almost exclusively on the small screen. They lack star charisma, but the two cops' friendship is engaging with its odd couple chemistry; Corbett is laid back and self possessed, Shigeta is intense and volatile. We'd see that dynamic again! The race angle is no longer challenging. But Fuller, as usual, directs with ingenuity and cuts with energy.