***Possible Plot Spoilers***
With a great opening scene, as stripper 'Sugar Torch' is gunned down in the street, this promises to be a great, lurid B-Movie of the sleaziest nature. The film quickly vegetates into a dull drama though, as we follow the two detectives assigned to investigate the case.
Sugar Torch was working on a new act called 'The Crimson Kimono' and the trail leads to a female artist who did a promotional painting of Sugar just before her death. There is bundles of potential in the story but the narrative takes a melodramatic nose-dive which it never pulls out of.
It turns out the two detectives - Charlie, an all-American Yank and Joe, a Japanese-American - fought together in the Korean War. They share a flat together, but their relationship is put under pressure when both fall for Chris, the female artist. This development leads to lots of weak character traits, as the two mooch drippily around. Things come to a head when they have a kendo fight and Joe goes samurai-crazy and knocks Charlie out - it turns out Joe always feels inferior because of his race and has numerous axes (or kendo sticks) to grind.
The expectations set-up by the initial murder are virtually ignored in favour of the personal issues. None of the characters are that interesting and we care little for their mental angst, most of which is based on psychological weakness.
There is undoubtedly potential in 'The Crimson Kimono', but the film should have emphasised the seedy crime elements, like Kubrick did in 'Killer's Kiss' and 'The Killing'. As it stands the film is disjointed and becomes one big drag. Fans of Samuel Fuller could probably find some wheat amongst the chaff, but really this is a work of minor interest from a director whose reputation isn't always that easy to substantiate.
With a great opening scene, as stripper 'Sugar Torch' is gunned down in the street, this promises to be a great, lurid B-Movie of the sleaziest nature. The film quickly vegetates into a dull drama though, as we follow the two detectives assigned to investigate the case.
Sugar Torch was working on a new act called 'The Crimson Kimono' and the trail leads to a female artist who did a promotional painting of Sugar just before her death. There is bundles of potential in the story but the narrative takes a melodramatic nose-dive which it never pulls out of.
It turns out the two detectives - Charlie, an all-American Yank and Joe, a Japanese-American - fought together in the Korean War. They share a flat together, but their relationship is put under pressure when both fall for Chris, the female artist. This development leads to lots of weak character traits, as the two mooch drippily around. Things come to a head when they have a kendo fight and Joe goes samurai-crazy and knocks Charlie out - it turns out Joe always feels inferior because of his race and has numerous axes (or kendo sticks) to grind.
The expectations set-up by the initial murder are virtually ignored in favour of the personal issues. None of the characters are that interesting and we care little for their mental angst, most of which is based on psychological weakness.
There is undoubtedly potential in 'The Crimson Kimono', but the film should have emphasised the seedy crime elements, like Kubrick did in 'Killer's Kiss' and 'The Killing'. As it stands the film is disjointed and becomes one big drag. Fans of Samuel Fuller could probably find some wheat amongst the chaff, but really this is a work of minor interest from a director whose reputation isn't always that easy to substantiate.