Written and directed by Samuel Fuller, The Crimson Kimono is the story of two detectives who go on a case to solve the murder of an entertainer as they get involved in a love triangle with a key witness as one of the detectives is Japanese. The film is a noir-style suspense film that play into a murder mystery as well as a taboo relationship between a white woman and an Asian detective. Starring James Shigeta, Glenn Corbett, Victoria Shaw, and Anna Lee. The Crimson Kimono is a chilling yet intense film from Samuel Fuller.
The film revolves around the murder of a stripper in Los Angeles near the Little Tokyo area where a Japanese-American detective and his white partner are tasked to solve the case while they both engage into a love triangle with a key witness. It’s a film with a simple premise that plays into two men trying to solve a case as it involves characters in Little Tokyo as well as the taboo subject of interracial relationships. Samuel Fuller’s screenplay is straightforward in its narrative yet it is more about characters dealing with this case and why this stripper was killed. It is filled with some stylish dialogue as it play into the language of film noir while it also showcases some of the banter between the detectives in Detective Sgt. Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett) and Detective Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta). The two would gain a key witness in a student-artist in Christine Downes (Victoria Shaw) as it would lead into an attraction from both men yet Detective Kojaku would hide his feelings fearing that his pursuit of Downes would lead to all sorts of trouble.
Fuller’s direction does have elements of style in the compositions he creates yet he aims for realism as he shoots the film on location in Los Angeles with the section of Little Tokyo being its centerpiece as well as a major character in the film. Fuller’s usage of wide and medium shots doesn’t just play into the vast locations of Little Tokyo but also in some of the conversations such as a scene where a witness is interrogated while Bancroft is in the background and Kojaku is shown from the mirror listening with the witness in the foreground. It’s among some of the most inventive bits of direction that Fuller has created while he also manages to create simple compositions including some close-ups that play into the conversations and interaction between the characters. Fuller’s direction also play into this world of Japanese-American relations in the aftermath of World War II with Kojaku feeling like he’s not fully accepted while the idea of him being with someone like Downes would only cause trouble.
Fuller also dwells into the world of Little Tokyo where it is this section in Los Angeles where Japanese-Americans pay tribute to the traditions of their home country as well as create a united front with the Americans as a form of peace. Yet, Kojaku feels like it could be ruined in being with someone like Downes as he would also start to feel like he’s a liability to the case as it relates to people involved in Little Tokyo. Especially as it play into a kimono that the stripper was going to wear for a show as it serves as a motive for why she was killed. It would play into its climax in the third act as it relates to the kimono but also the mystery of who killed this stripper and why as it would be followed by revelations for Kojaku about his own identity and how people see him. Overall, Fuller crafts a gripping yet compelling film about a Japanese-American detective and his white partner solving a murder while falling for their witness.
Cinematographer Sam Leavitt does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it play into the look of the film with some stylish usage of shadows for some interior scenes at night as well as lights for the exterior scenes at night. Editor Jerome Thoms does excellent work with the editing as it has some style in some of the rhythmic cuts that play into some of the dialogue exchange as well as in some of the suspenseful moments in the film. Art directors Robert F. Boyle and William Flannery, with set decorator James Crowe, do fantastic work with the look of the apartment that Kojaku and Bancroft live in as well as a few places in its interior in Little Tokyo.
Costume designer Bernice Pontrelli does nice work with the costumes from the design of the crimson kimono as well as some of the clothes the women wear as well as the clothes of the stripper. The sound work of J.S. Westmoreland is superb for its atmosphere in capturing natural sound on actual locations as well as the sounds of gunshots. The film’s music by Harry Sukman is wonderful for its soaring orchestral score that feature some somber yet elegant themes emphasized by strings as well as some traditional Japanese instrumental passages based on strings and percussions.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Kaye Elhardt as a nun living in Little Tokyo, George Yoshinaga as a local hood in Willy Hidaka, Gloria Pall as the stripper Sugar Torch, Neyle Morrow as an admirer of Sugar Torch in Hansel, Paul Dubov as a witness/admirer of Sugar Torch who saw her get shot, and Jaclynne Greene as the wigmaker Roma. Anna Lee is amazing as Mac as a local artist and friend of Bancroft and Kojaku who likes to drink and have fun but also a keen observer in the way the two men see Downes as she just steals the film whenever she appears. Victoria Shaw is excellent as Christine Downes as a student artist who is also a key witness due to her sketches as she deals with being attracted to both Bancroft and Kojaku. Glenn Corbett is brilliant as Detective Sgt. Charlie Bancroft as a white detective who takes part in the investigation as he falls for Downes yet becomes aware of Kojaku’s feelings for her as he tries not to create trouble in order to finish the case. Finally, there’s James Shigeta in an incredible performance as Detective Joe Kojaku as a Japanese-American detective who also investigates as he asks locals in Little Tokyo about what is going on as he also copes with his feelings for Downes but is troubled by the prejudice that might occur.
The Crimson Kimono is a sensational film from Samuel Fuller that features great performances from James Shigeta, Glenn Corbett, Victoria Shaw, and Anna Lee. Along with its vibrant visuals, study of racial prejudice and interracial romance, sumptuous music score, and an inventive screenplay. The film is an offbeat noir film that plays with its conventions while exploring some taboos at that time that played into racial prejudice and the idea of interracial romance. In the end, The Crimson Kimono is a phenomenal film from Samuel Fuller.
Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - The Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - Pickup on South Street - (Hell and High Water) – House of Bamboo - (China Gate) - Run of the Arrow - Forty Guns - Verboten! - Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) – The Big Red One - White Dog - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn, How Green Was My Valley is the story of a Welsh family dealing with hardship in the 19th Century where a mining town in Wales is going through hard times. Directed by John Ford and screenplay by Philip Dunne, the film is a look into the life of a family from the perspective of a young boy as he sees a family deal with changes and a way of life becoming obsolete. Starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, Roddy McDowall, Sara Allgood, Barry Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, John Loder, and narration by Irving Pichel. How Green Was My Valley is an evocatively rich and touching film from John Ford.
Told from the perspective of an old man recalling his time as a child in mid-19th Century Wales, the film revolves around a family in a small mining town where they deal with hardships and changing times that would affect their community. It’s a film that plays into a world that had a system and ideal that has worked with them for many years but little things would make some changes for this family and those they know as it would mark the end of innocence for a young boy. Philip Dunne’s screenplay follows the life of the young boy in Huw Morgan (Roddy McDowall) who sees the work that his father Gwilym (Donald Crisp) and his older brothers do as miners with his mother Beth (Sara Allgood) and older sister Angharad (Maureen O’Hara) do every day in making sure there’s soap and hot water available. It’s a system that’s worked as one of them in Ivor (Patric Knowles) would marry a young woman in Bronwyn (Anna Lee), whom Huw is fond of, who would do the same for Ivor. Yet when changes made over wages occur, the Morgan siblings hold a strike with Gwilym stepping back as he doesn’t want to cause trouble where he, Beth, Angharad, and Huw watch to see its outcome.
It would be in the town’s new pastor Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon) who would make sense of everything as it would create an uneasy compromise that would start the beginning of a sense of decline in the town. Even as certain things occur where Mr. Gruffydd’s time with the ailing Huw, following an accident that left him temporarily paralyzed, has him being around Angharad who is falling for him. Yet, Mr. Gruffydd is aware that being seen with Angharad is forbidden as he would also see some of the trouble among some of the town elders over some of the immorality where Angharad would end up marrying the mine owner’s son Iestyn Evans (Marten Lamont). It would add to this sense of change where there’s tragedy but also this reality that Gwilym is forced to accept while he realizes that Huw should look for a future away from the mines though Huw does want to follow in the footsteps of his father and brothers.
John Ford’s direction is quite vast in terms of the setting that he creates as well as showing a world that was very simple only to be changed by modernism and this growing sense of morality. Shot on location at the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu, California, Ford would use the landscape to recreate the world of 19th Century Wales at a time when the actual location was unavailable due the events of World War II. Nevertheless, Ford’s usage of the Santa Monica Mountains would allow him to capture life in a mining town where miners would sing traditional Welsh songs after work or for a ceremony as Ford would capture the vastness of this town and valleys with some gorgeous wide shots. Even in the moments of tragedy of how a town would react toward an emergency whistle to emphasize something has gone wrong while Ford would also capture a few wide shots to play into the moments such as the tense meetings at the church and Huw’s first day attending a national public school miles away from home.
Ford would also use close-ups and medium shots to get a look inside the Morgan family home as well as the way some of the characters interact. Notably the moments between Mr. Gruffydd and Angharad as they know their feelings for each other is forbidden with the former making a choice that he knows would protect him from some of the troubles he would endure from the elders. The film’s third act isn’t about Gwilyn facing reality as he becomes concerned for Huw’s future but also Huw making a decision to help the family where he learns about hypocrisy from some of the community as it relates to Angharad and Mr. Gruffydd. It would culminate with another moment of tragedy that would force the older Huw, via narration, to see what had been lost with Ford gazing into a moment in time where it was peaceful only to become corrupted by greed, deceit, and ideals that never did anything good. Overall, Ford crafts a somber yet rapturous film a boy coming of age in a small Welsh mining town in the 19th Century.
Cinematographer Arthur C. Miller does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography to capture the gorgeous beauty of the exteriors in the day along with some naturalistic lighting for some of the interior scenes set at night. Editor James B. Clark does excellent work as it is straightforward with a few dissolves and rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Art directors Richard Day and Nathan Juran, along with set decorator Thomas Little, do amazing work with the look of the town including the mining tower and the chapel where many in the community meet on Sundays. Costume designer Gwen Wakeling does fantastic work with the costumes that is true to the period including the dresses that the women wear. The sound work of Eugene Grossman and Roger Heman Sr. do superb work in capturing the atmosphere of the mines as well as how they’re heard from the outside. The film’s music by Alfred Newman is wonderful for its sweeping orchestral score that is a mixture of soaring string arrangements as well as vocal choirs with some traditional Welsh music.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Clifford Severn as a school bully who goads Huw into fighting him, Lionel Pape as the mine owner Mr. Evans, Marten Lamont as Mr. Evans’ son Iestyn who would marry Angharad, Ethel Griffies as Angharad’s housekeeper at the Evans estate, Frederick Worlock as the town doctor, Arthur Shields as the local deacon Mr. Parry who is an ultra-conservative figure in the town, the trio of, Richard Fraser, Evan S. Evans, and James Monk in their respective roles as three of Huw’s older brothers in Davy, Gwilym Jr., and Owen, and Morton Lowry as Huw’s cruel schoolteacher Mr. Jonas who looks down at Huw for being Welsh and working class. Rhys Williams is terrific as the boxer Dai Bando who teaches Huw the art of boxing while confronting Mr. Jonas over his cruelty. Barry Fitzgerald is superb as Bando’s friend Cyfartha as a man who is often drunk but is always friendly to everyone.
John Loder and Patric Knowles are fantastic in their respective roles as the eldest Morgan brothers in Ianto and Ivor as two men who become aware of the changes in the mine as they try to fight for what is right. Anne Lee is wonderful as Ianto’s wife Bronwyn whom Huw has a crush on as she deals with life as a miner’s wife as well as dealing with some of the chaos as she is able to get help from Ianto’s family. Sara Allgood is excellent as Beth Morgan as the family matriarch who is a very old-school woman with old-school values as she is baffled by the idea of mathematics and geography though she eventually realizes about the bleak future that is to come. Donald Crisp is brilliant as Gwilym Morgan as the family patriarch who is a miner that is dealing with changing times as well as sensing the decline in the world of mining as he urges Huw to focus on a life outside of mining.
Roddy McDowall is marvelous as Huw as the youngest child of the Morgan family who looks up to his brother as well as he cope with the changes around him as well as new environments in his life. Maureen O’Hara is amazing as Angharad as the sole Morgan daughter who helps her mother run the house as she is in love with Mr. Gruffydd as she is torn in being with him but also not cause any sense of immorality. Finally, there’s Walter Pidgeon in a remarkable performance as Mr. Gruffydd as the town’s new pastor who arrives to the town with a sense of morality yet is torn in his devotion to God and his feelings for Angharad where he helps out the Morgan family and sees the growing hypocrisy in the town toward things they don’t understand.
How Green Was My Valley is a spectacular film from John Ford. Featuring a great cast, a compelling premise, gorgeous visuals, and a sumptuous music score. It’s a film that explores a boy seeing a way of life go into decline as well as coping with changes that would destroy everything that made a community he grew up on become obsolete. In the end, How Green Was My Valley is a sensational film from John Ford.
© thevoid99 2017
