Oriental Evil (DVD)

Steven Banning, an American businessman, is found murdered in a Tokyo warehouse, surrounded by crates of opium. Refusing to believe her brother was involved in drug trafficking, his sister Cheryl travels to the Orient to clear his name. She meets his business partner, Roger Mansfield, who agrees to help find Steven's killer. Their investigation points to a disgraced British soldier, Thomas Putnam, who controls Tokyo's drug trade. He instructs his agents to kill the inquisitive Americans. Barely escaping with their lives, Cheryl and Roger give in to their growing attraction and impulsively decide to get married. On their wedding night, Cheryl learns the awful truth...that the killer is closer than she thinks...

Also known as The Invisible Mr. Unmei, Oriental Evil is one of several unusual features shot in post-war Japan by George and Irene Breakston, the husband-and-wife team who made The Manster (1959). Lovely Martha Hyer (then married to screenwriter/co-director C. Ray Stahl) was later nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Some Came Running (1958). Tetsu Nakamura is a veteran of Japanese monster movies including The Mysterians (1957), The H-Man (1958) and Mothra (1961). The spooky theremin-enhanced soundtrack was composed by B-movie favorite Albert Glasser (The Amazing Colossal Man, Earth vs. the Spider). Seven-foot-tall leading man Byron Michie bears no other credits to his name.

Starring Martha Hyer, Tetsu Nakamura, Byron Michie. Directed by George P. Breakston, C. Ray Stahl.

BONUS: Tokio Jokio (1943): This politically incorrect Warner Brothers cartoon parodies World War II-era Japanese newsreels and features caricatures of Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and Benito Mussolini. Made strictly as propaganda, Tokio Jokio is one of the few Looney Tunes never to be shown on television.

Voices by Mel Blanc. Directed by Norman McCabe.

• mystery
• thriller