Tokyo File 212 (DVD)

A powerful and brutal contingent of communists based in Tokyo are working hard to sabotage American efforts in the Korean War. A U.S. secret agent, Jim Carter, is sent to Japan posing as a reporter. His job: renew old ties with a Japanese buddy named Taro, whom investigators believe is involved with the communist syndicate and discover the identity of the ringleader. Carter meets Steffi Novak, a sultry, exotic beauty who can help him get to the core of the underworld. As Carter probes Tokyo's dangerous night world, suicide bombers plot their next attack on U.S. warships. Gradually, he uncovers the Red syndicate's murderous scheme that could cost untold thousands of lives.

Filmed entirely in Japan, Tokyo File 212 has a sense of realism that adds to its atmosphere of intrigue and menace. Genre fans will no doubt recognize the alluring, Czechoslovakian-born Florence Marly, best known as the blood-sucking vampire in Queen Of Blood (1966). Marly spent a great deal of time entertaining U.S. troops in Korea when not working on Tokyo File 212. Also on hand is Satoshi Nakamura (aka Tetsu Nakamura), a familiar face from drive-in classics like The Manster (1962), Yog (1970) and Mothra (1961). Director Dorrell McGowan's credits include Valley Of The Zombies (1946) and Smashing The Spy Ring (1939).

• mystery
• thriller