The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

"Hong Kong Confidential" is a product of the Cold War era. The plot is all about Soviet attempts to destabilize a country by kidnapping a young prince and forcing his father to sign a peace treaty with them...or the kid will die! While this seems like a dopey plot, the Soviets DID involve themselves in many assassinations and arrests in order to force free countries into the communist bloc. Sadly, however, the film itself is very pedestrian and ordinary.Gene Barry plays a special secret American agent. He's carefully created the persona of a devil-may-care guy who will do practically anything for money...and he's a successful lounge singer. This part is pretty funny, as Barry's singing is god-awful to the point where it must have elicited a few laughs in the theaters! He follows clues which take him to the prince...but this may not matter very much, as the kidnappers welcome him...and plan on killing him and making him appear to have been one of the kidnappers!Ordinary in every way (at best). Okay acting, okay direction and an okay plot...this film is clearly mediocre and mostly what I could consider a time passer.

It's Gene Barry vs. the Commies in this workmanlike programmer that merits one watch, but no more. Barry even gets to sing, twice; you may feel free to fast forward through those parts. Allison Hayes has a small role as a gold-smuggling villainess and she is a real knockout - I would place her in Jane Russell's league, and that is a compliment indeed. There is a voice-over narration running throughout "Hong Kong Confidential", and it often states things that we already know; nonetheless, it gives the film a nice matter-of-factness, plus the narrator has a great voice. The ending is a little rushed, but on the whole this is an adequate second-feature. **1/2 out of 4.

This low-budget, back-lot Cold War thriller casts Gene Barry as American secret agent Casey Reed who masquerades as a lounge singer when he isn't conducting undercover operations for Uncle Sam. The evil Communists have kidnapped the son of an Arab monarch in the fictitious county of Thamen and the NATO agents have only two weeks to find him before the Arabs hand over their tiny state to the Soviets. NATO wants to build a missile base in Thamen, but the Soviets try to thwart this move with the abduction of Prince Abdul. "Jet Attack" director Edward L. Cahn and Oscar-nominated scenarist Orville H. Hampton keep things moving quickly in this inconsequential but atmospheric, nail-biter as Reed heads off to Macao after he misses getting vital information from an Englishman, Dennis Brooks (Brian Roper), who has information about Prince Abdul.British Secret Service agent John Blanchard (Michael Pate of "Hondo"), contacts Reed's superior, CIA Field Chief Dan Young (King Calder), about Brooks' former girlfriend. Elena Martine (Allison Hayes of "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman") knows a thing or two about smuggling gold. Reed concocts a crazy scheme to smuggle gold into Hong Kong after his accompanist Fay Wells (Beverly Tyler) complains that Casey is running off and leaving her again. Reed assures her that she will one day be able to afford expensive baubles when he figures out his scheme for sure-fire gold smuggling. Reed leaves Fay and heads off to Macao where he manages to track down Elena. Elena and his boss Owen Howard (Noel Drayton) like Casey's idea and decide to test it by having him take $50-thousand dollars worth of genuine gold in fake jewelry to Hong Kong. The night before he takes off for Hong Kong, Casey sneaks into the warehouse where Howard's office is located and discovers a medallion with palm trees on it. Immediately, he suspects that Howard and Elena may have something to do with the disappearance of Prince Abdul. The villains observe Casey meeting Blanchard at Customs and witness the passage of the medallion. They nab Blanchard before he can turn the information over to the local authorities. Inevitably, to test Casey and determine if he is an American CIA agent, Howard offers him the opportunity to kill Blanchard. The valiant British agent surprises everybody and makes a break before Casey can kill him. As it turns out, the clock is ticking down to the final minutes when the Arab monarch will sign an agreement with the Soviets to do as they wish in his country. Howard decides to kill the young Prince as well as Casey and frame the Americans for kidnapping the monarch's son. Predictably, Casey overpowers Elena when he offers to light her cigarette and the tiny country of Thamen is saved from enslaved by the Soviets. This qualifies as a rainy day thriller that will like the potboiler that it is keep you distracted throughout its 68 minute running time. Barry is fine as the secret agent, but the nightclub act is dubious. The rest of the cast perform well in small roles.

Those who like hard-boiled cold-war spy films, especially those made on a super-low budget, should love this 1958 classic, which features Gene Barry as a US intelligence agent whose "cover" is that of a mediocre lounge singer! Barry's character is intentionally smarmy and funny, and he contrasts well with the hard-boiled spy action, set is backlot versions of Hong Kong and Macao, with a lot of tight shots of characters standing in front of Asian-looking signs and sections of buildings, often only six or eight feet wide. And of course, an alley is an alley and a warehouse is a warehouse, whether it be in Macao or Atlanta. Put a few Asian details in a dark alley, have a few Asian characters, and voila, you've got a film set in the Orient! Like many 1950s spy/crime films, this features a hard-boiled dragnet-esque narration telling you things you just observed on the screen. Still, they don't make films like this anymore, and clearly the filmmakers (and Mr. Barry, who is brilliant in the part!)were "in on the joke" so HONG KONG CONFIDENTIAL should appeal to fans of films such as RED ZONE CUBA, ROCKET ATTACK USA, INVASION USA, and OPERATION CIA. As always, director Edward Cahn is a master of pacing. I don't think this has ever been released on video, but check it out the next time it plays on TCM.