Blood on the Sun (1945)

Blood on the Sun (1945)

Produced by his brother William and directed by Frank Lloyd (The Divine Lady (1929)) this slightly above average James Cagney thriller will hold your attention all the way through its hokey ending. Set before the outbreak of World War II an American newspaper editor (Cagney) working in Japan who refuses to publish their government’s propaganda becomes involved in the attempted exposure of a secret document detailing Premier Tanaka’s (John Emery) plans for imperial expansion. Sylvia Sidney plays a Chinese woman that Cagney’s character isn’t sure he can trust; Porter Hall is his publisher. Robert Armstrong plays Tojo; Wallace Ford (also playing a reporter) & Rosemary DeCamp play a couple that gets involved tragically in the intrigue. Rhys Williams plays a reporter who’s willing to tow the line for the Japanese whereas James Bell’s character assists Cagney’s. Hugh Beaumont appears uncredited as a U.S. Embassy employee who attempts to keep Cagney alive in the end. John Halloran Leonard Strong and Marvin Miller play the other hapless one dimensionally evil Japanese who try to stop Cagney from succeeded; Frank Puglia plays another in a key role. The film won an Oscar for B&W Art Direction-Interior Decoration.

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