Synopsis
A Manhunt that began in KOREA and Ended In CRIME!
A private eye and his girlfriend avenge his buddy, stabbed over a jade dragon.
Mask of the Dragon
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Releases by Date
Theatrical
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USANR
Releases by Country
USA
10 Mar 1951
- TheatricalNR
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I'm enjoying Sam Newfield output post-PRC more, even very basic crime movies like Mask of the Dragon (1951) just feels more polished. He was always a simple creator, and at least he, after directing hundreds of films, has now finally learned the absolute basics of film making. He managed to make Richard Travis look half-way competent and brings enough mystery for this to feel like a capable "TV-style" movie. You could rarely say that about most of his films before.
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Los Angeles private eye Richard Travis (MISSILE TO THE MOON) hits the mean streets of Chinatown to find out who killed his partner, a G.I. (Richard Emory) returning from Korea with a jade dragon. He discovers a smuggling operation based in a curio shop owned by Kim Ho (Jack Reitzen, then also playing “Chopstick Joe” on the TERRY AND THE PIRATES television series), whose strongarm men are played by diminutive Sid Melton (as Manchu Murphy!) and wrestlers Mr. Moto and Karl “Killer” Davis! I’m generally an easy mark for a Lippert crime picture, but this one really dares you to like it. Even at 53 minutes, it’s padded with Sid Melton comic patter and two (!) singing cowboy numbers, and…
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This ultra-low-budget Lippert Pictures release concerns a Chinatown-based smuggling ring that dupes American soldiers overseas into bringing back contraband items hidden inside exotic souvenirs. There is no mystery per se, and no production values. With its cheap sets, awful soap opera organ score, and 53-minute running time, it plays more like an extended TV episode filled with dialogue and characterizations that would get this thing instantly cancelled now. And don't get me started on the comedy stylings of Sid Melton. Also: no mask of the dragon.
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A real C-grade Noir but with a great entertainment value about a GI who gets murdered while returning from Korea carrying a souvenir dragon. Back in the states his partner of the detective agency they just started is left to figure out why he was killed and by whom. Quite campy acting and the added novelty of a soundtrack consisting solely of an organ playing something that sounds like a cross between what would be appropriate in a funeral home and a sports arena makes this great fun.
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Begins in China, sorry, Korea (bad start).
Thin plot, easily seen through.
Terrible script, poor acting, ridiculous fourth wall ending.
Spoilers..................................................WTF? Uranium? Why not opium? Why were the people buying underground uranium?
1950's sub-culture?
Or just Hollywood scaring the general public, during the "duck and cover" era?
Why am I concerned with these questions, with such a terrible film?
I thinknit stems from, "I have questions... -
No artistic value like the cheap novels you read while flying or in a train. Almost instant crap.
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Weak borderline noir film that seems very rooted in 1930s poverty row films (no surprise since Sam Newfield directed). Private eye Richard Travis and police lab tech Sheila Ryan investigate after Travis' partner (a recently discharged vet) is killed after returning from Korea. He was supposed to be doing a favor and bringing in a jade dragon to a curio shop. Instead... MURDER! Very uneven and padded with several forgettable Western swing performances. Sid Melton is cast as yet another comic relief henchman. Old school wrestling fans may want to watch to see Mr. Moto (who began his long career in Hawai'i in the 30s) and Killer Karl Davis.
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I saw this as part of a set of forgotten noir. It was not noir, and it's best forgotten.