The Crimson Kimono

Directed by Samuel Fuller, The Crimson Kimono follows two detectives (James Shigeta’s Joe Kojaku and Glenn Corbett’s Charlie Bancroft) as they investigate the murder of a well-known stripper and eventually find themselves both falling for the same woman (Victoria Shaw’s Christine Downs). Filmmaker Fuller, armed with his own screenplay, does an effective job of initially drawing the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings, as the movie’s opening stretch contains a number of striking sequences that are heightened by Fuller’s solid visuals and use of real-life locations – with the promising atmosphere heightened by the compelling, commanding work of its two stars (and it doesn’t hurt, either, that the chemistry between Shigeta and Corbett is often palpable). It’s disappointing to note, then, that The Crimson Kimono segues into a routine police-procedural midsection that becomes less and less interesting (and more and more tedious) as time progresses, with the arms-length vibe eventually compounded by a growing emphasis on the hopelessly uninvolving and underwhelming love triangle between Shigeta, Corbett, and Shaw’s respective characters – which, when coupled with a fairly anticlimactic third act (eg Joe and Charlie’s kendo battle is just silly), cements the picture’s place as a distinct misfire from an otherwise reliable director.

** out of ****