There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

For a long while, this seemed like it was going to be one of Sam Fuller's best movies. The direction is great and the story and characters interesting. Unfortunately, it gets bogged down by a silly love triangle plot and starts to fall apart a bit. It is interesting that the romance in question is an interracial one - it was actually the selling point of the movie if you look at the poster! - but it never really works. The film follows two detectives in L.A., Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta, who are investigating the case of a slain stripper. One of their leads is a painting of the girl in a crimson kimono, done by an artist named Chris. They quickly discover that Chris is actually a woman (Victoria Shaw), and she helps them with their case. Corbett immediately takes a liking to her, and she returns his affection at first. But after an afternoon spent hanging out with Shigeta, she's in love with him. This is quite daring, but then the film starts to focus on nothing but the romantic entanglement for the last third of the film. About five minutes before the end, it feels like Fuller snaps out of it and says, "Crap, we forgot about the plot!" and throws together a reasonably satisfying finale. It's definitely a good film, though, when all is said and done.

"The Crimson Kimono" feels like the kind of movie you'd catch late at night on cable. It just has that feel to it. And that's a good thing. It draws you in, not just because it's a worthy noir (features the dark themes, murders, the look, etc.), but because it deals in unusual subject matter. The Japanese-American population in Los Angeles didn't get much attention back then, and to see the culture treated with care is surprising. And the real locations in Little Tokyo really help with that authenticity.But this is a movie where the characters, not the plot twists, take center stage. A love triangle between two police detectives and the disarmingly pretty Victoria Shaw (herself a smart, modern woman). The partnership is credible, the romance isn't played for shock value, and James Shigeta is a pleasure to watch. I like this movie's punchy in-your-face style, the pacing is fast, and I was really absorbed by these peoples' lives.Great movie.8/10

The Crimson Kimono is often labelled film noir. I wouldn't agree with this; it has some elements of the genre, but it's clear that director Samuel Fuller had very different intentions for his film. The film is, at its heart, a murder mystery thriller; but more important than this is the relationship between the two central characters and there's a strong anti-racist theme also. The film is set in the Japanese quarter of Los Angeles and the film begins by depicting a murder of a stripper at a club in the area. A pair of detectives, Charlie Bancroft and Joe Kojaku (also very close friends) are called in to investigate and during their investigation, they come across a female painter that turns out to be a key witness in the case; and Charlie falls instantly in love. However, the witness has more of a rapport with Joe; and this creates trouble he believes his race to be an issue, and there's also the problem arising from the fact that his partner has designs on marrying the girl in question.The style of the film is one of the things I liked most about it. It does feature the classic film noir atmosphere, but it's jazzed up a bit and this sets it apart from the rest of the genre. The investigation plot was the most interesting part of the film for me and it flows well during the first half of the film; but the director seems more interested in the relationship between his central characters and unfortunately the film veers off topic on rather a lot of occasions, which spoilt it somewhat for me. The characters themselves are well written and portrayed, and the major ones are interesting in their own right. A big part of the film is devoted to the whole race issue, and this was the least interesting part for me. I've always found this subject to be dull anyway, and the way it is explored here is not particularly interesting (unlike the way it was done in White Dog). Overall, this is certainly an interesting film; Samuel Fuller has deviated from the 'usual' noir path and while I did not like certain elements of the film, it is at least worth a look.

This starts out as a lurid thriller - probably what the studio demanded, and Fuller had fun with - the murder of a stripper on a crowded street. Then we get the two detectives, and we think, "Ah, a buddy film." Our first tip that something fresh is afoot is Joe's visit to the cemetery of the 442nd Battalion - the most decorated group of soldiers in WWII. These were Nisei (Americans of Japanese descent) who were often fighting in Europe while their relatives were in internment camps in California. We also get a brief tour of "Little Tokyo" in Los Angeles. Ah, exotic atmosphere. Our buddies - the handsome winsome Charlie (Glenn Corbett) and nisei Joe (James Shigeta) have a wisecracking patter that covers their deep friendship. Then the case leads them to Chris, played by Victoria Shaw - not only beautiful, but possessing a dignity rare in fifties actresses. We take for granted that Charlie's going to fall for her, and expect her to fall for Charlie...Then there is The Conversation. We learn that Joe has a sensitive side, he plays a nice piano and his father was an artist. Chris is an artist, and they have something to talk about. Shigeta's so charming, we're not surprised that Chris is drawn to him, we're surprised the picture allows it. That's the flip: that this interracial love story is allowed to proceed on its own terms. From that scene on, nobody cares who killed the stripper. We want to see how Joe can resolve stealing his best friend's girl, or whether Chris will react to being treated like something that could be stolen. When Joe finally tells Charlie that he loves her, Charlie reacts "You mean you're going to MARRY her?" Joe responds, "You wouldn't have said it that way if I was white!" Huge blowup. Racism has been thrown into the mix. As it would have been, and probably would be still. Or is it the perception of racism? My only problem was that Joe says the racism is new to him...Impossible. He'd have been called a "dirty Jap" at least a dozen times before he was ten years old. He'd have heard it in the army - that's why the 442nd was sent to Europe, after all. He'd've heard it on the police force. His reaction to Charlie should have been, 'Not you, too!." But nevertheless, it all works pretty much as life does. He gets the girl, but his friendship with Charlie is damaged forever.