A detective matches wits with the female leader of an Oriental crime ring.A detective matches wits with the female leader of an Oriental crime ring.A detective matches wits with the female leader of an Oriental crime ring.
Photos
James Coleman
- Hardy
- (uncredited)
Richard Cramer
- FBI Man
- (uncredited)
Joe Garcio
- Henchman
- (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian
- Henchman
- (uncredited)
Jack Hendricks
- Henchman Playing Pinball Machine
- (uncredited)
James B. Leong
- Importer
- (uncredited)
Walter Long
- Henchman
- (uncredited)
Lew Meehan
- Warehouseman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
Lady Crime Boss vs the FBI
Props to Evelyn Brent for playing this role as George Raft -- in fact many choices seem to deliberately ignore the out-dated 'yellow peril' tropes implied by the title.
Despite a wig and some eye makeup Brent is no dragon lady. She delivers every line in a gangster monotone with a gun in her hand -- decidedly un-feminine and tough. She never seduces or simps, and there's no 'caught between worlds' diatribe. She's too busy plotting how she'll murder her next business partner.... Even her kimono has shoulder pads!
Her ONE Asian henchman, played by Richard Loo (often cast to subvert stereotype by being very American) is commanded to perform an 'oriental manicure', and instead of an elaborate Fu Manchu torture scene we get what looks like an actual manicure, complete with nail-clipping sounds.... I'm now obsessed with the idea that all lady gangster movies should replace the ubiquitous 'rough up the detective' scene with a 'force the detective to trim his nails' scene.
While it starts as a 'yellow peril' -- most of the action takes place in the Oriental Hotel (HQ for human trafficking, obviously) with an un-convincing import/export business in the front parlor -- no one seems interested in resolving that story.... By '39 tastes had shifted to organized crime and political corruption so the production feels patched together and the script almost incoherent, climaxing as noisily as they could afford: car chases, gun shootouts, and 2-fisted brawls.
It's a B-movie from a B-studio. If you watch with low (no) expectations you might be amused by a film struggling to figure out its genre, and an unapologetic lady crime boss performance by Brent which somehow isn't sabotaged by the goofy script.
Despite a wig and some eye makeup Brent is no dragon lady. She delivers every line in a gangster monotone with a gun in her hand -- decidedly un-feminine and tough. She never seduces or simps, and there's no 'caught between worlds' diatribe. She's too busy plotting how she'll murder her next business partner.... Even her kimono has shoulder pads!
Her ONE Asian henchman, played by Richard Loo (often cast to subvert stereotype by being very American) is commanded to perform an 'oriental manicure', and instead of an elaborate Fu Manchu torture scene we get what looks like an actual manicure, complete with nail-clipping sounds.... I'm now obsessed with the idea that all lady gangster movies should replace the ubiquitous 'rough up the detective' scene with a 'force the detective to trim his nails' scene.
While it starts as a 'yellow peril' -- most of the action takes place in the Oriental Hotel (HQ for human trafficking, obviously) with an un-convincing import/export business in the front parlor -- no one seems interested in resolving that story.... By '39 tastes had shifted to organized crime and political corruption so the production feels patched together and the script almost incoherent, climaxing as noisily as they could afford: car chases, gun shootouts, and 2-fisted brawls.
It's a B-movie from a B-studio. If you watch with low (no) expectations you might be amused by a film struggling to figure out its genre, and an unapologetic lady crime boss performance by Brent which somehow isn't sabotaged by the goofy script.
helpful•00
- wetcircuit
- Jun 16, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- La leona del barrio chino
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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