Someone had the wits to make a 1940's patriotic war movie in the style of film noir. Is it hokey? Of course it is!! But when it's done like this, you have a sense of watching a war film at its best. Part of it is a literate script that goes far beyond the usual patriotic hoo-ha and gives a sense of real urgency to the war in Asia. Part of it is some totally professional acting by Stewart, Tracy, Greenstreet and, not least, John Hodiak in the role of an FBI agent. If you're bored, as I am, by the John Wayne, flag-waving nonsense that proliferated during the war, try this on. It manages to be improbable and believable at the same time.
Review of Malaya
