Review of House of Bamboo (1955) by Lauren O — 03 Jul 2009

This is such an odd film noir gangsta flick. A) over and over agin it has the homophobic subext of 1950's ex- Army men turned Japanese gangsters who don't speak Japanese but manage to take over Tokyo from the Yakuza during American occupation of Japan.( Stack runs around Tokyo shaking down gambling houses by yelling at them in English as we all know foreigners especially Japanese, understand you better if you just yell.) B) The popculture moral climate of the 1950's and c) Tokyo cityscape before it became a interstellar road stop neon sign for passing UFOs. (And they wonder why all the space monsters attack Tokyo.) For Trek fans: DeForest Kelly plays a minor role gangster. d) The film is a remake or a previous 30's gangster film set in L.A.

If you like gangster films this is a bizarre but interesting side road.