Good-looking in that bland sort of way that DeLuxe Color productions of the 50's tended to, 'Soldier of Fortune's depiction of the dastardly red Chinese marked a further step in former blacklistee Edward Dmytryk's continuing atonement for his politically incorrect past.
Despite its attractive Hong Kong locations and Hugo Friedhofer's emphatically 'Chinese' music on the soundtrack, the interiors are obviously shot back in Hollywood, as well as being very talky. (Sam Fuller made much better use of Tokyo in the same year's 'House of Bamboo'.)
Seventh-billed amidst a good cast is the ill-starred Anna Sten, who despite playing a barfly and wearing unflattering makeup can still just be recognised as the lovely girl from the Ukraine who showed such promise in silent films before crashing and burning in Hollywood during the thirties. In her only colour film she has a vivid scene early on dancing on a table in a green dress and matching shoes, which even gets her a proposal of marriage; whereupon she promptly disappears from the film.
Despite its attractive Hong Kong locations and Hugo Friedhofer's emphatically 'Chinese' music on the soundtrack, the interiors are obviously shot back in Hollywood, as well as being very talky. (Sam Fuller made much better use of Tokyo in the same year's 'House of Bamboo'.)
Seventh-billed amidst a good cast is the ill-starred Anna Sten, who despite playing a barfly and wearing unflattering makeup can still just be recognised as the lovely girl from the Ukraine who showed such promise in silent films before crashing and burning in Hollywood during the thirties. In her only colour film she has a vivid scene early on dancing on a table in a green dress and matching shoes, which even gets her a proposal of marriage; whereupon she promptly disappears from the film.