Lady from Chungking (1942)

Directed by William Nigh. Starring Anna May Wong, Harold Huber, Mae Clarke, Ted Hecht, Rick Vallin, Paul Bryar, James B. Leong, Ludwig Donath.

WWII resistance drama set in China during the Japanese invasion. Wong plays a woman who lost her privileged social class after Japan attacked and now operates in secret to organize the peasants into a rebel fighting force; after she’s forced to become a mistress for an enemy general (Huber), however, she has to play both sides without letting on her true motives or failing to convince her countrymen that she’s not a traitor. A solid wartime story and a few fine performances shine in lieu of stock characterizations and perfunctory filmcraft and production values. Fans of Die Hard (or, for that matter, Re-Animator) should have a good chuckle over Donath playing a German named Hans Gruber. Wong’s final lead role; she donated her salary to the United China Relief fund.

65/100