Bombs Over Burma

Bombs Over Burma (also known as The Devil's Sister), based on a story by Milton Raison, is a 1942 American war film directed by Joseph H. Lewis.[2] To depict the Chinese character faithfully, the star, Anna May Wong, and other characters speak Mandarin in the first few minutes of the film.[3]

Bombs Over Burma
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoseph H. Lewis[1]
Produced byArthur Alexander
Alfred Stern
Written byJoseph H. Lewis
George Wellington Pardy
Milton Raison (story)
StarringAnna May Wong
Music byLee Zahler
CinematographyRobert E. Cline
Edited byCharles Henkel Jr.
Distributed byProducers Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • June 5, 1942 (1942-06-05)
Running time
65 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

In 1942, Chinese guerrillas fighting for the Allied cause in Burma during World War II are helping to build a road. During the construction of a military supply road like the Burma Road and Ledo Road, the project is sabotaged by an English nobleman who is a German agent.

Using a scientific device, the English nobleman is instrumental in the coordination of a Japanese air attack on supply trucks attempting to cross a key bridge. A Chinese school teacher (Anna May Wong) reveals the schemes of the traitor, and brings about his destruction at the hands of Chinese peasants armed with picks and shovels.

Cast

As appearing in Bombs Over Burma, (main roles and screen credits identified):[4]

Production

Lack of an adequate budget and a two-week shooting schedule hampered the production, limiting Bombs Over Burma to "B-fare".[5][6]

Reception

Production values doomed Bombs Over Burma both at the box office and with critics. The review in The New York Times succinctly called it a "dud", loaded with stock shots, even recognizable "California architecture."[7] Later reviews such as that of Leonard Maltin, noted that the film was an "... interesting if failed attempt to make a hard-hitting, topical film ... Director/cowriter Lewis' visual flair can't save a talky, pedestrian script. Wong comes off well, as usual."[8]

Availability

Alpha Video released the film on region-1 DVD on June 28, 2005.[9]

gollark: Besides, China isn't even very competent.
gollark: You can't really say "bad things happen therefore democracy/capitalism are breaking" without comparing rates of those bad things over time.
gollark: Citing a few examples of bad things is not actually evidence of larger scale trends.
gollark: Apparently they just sit there for ages looking at things with incredibly underpowered eyes (which they're able to get useful images out of via combining images over lots of time or something) and planning, then do things.
gollark: They can do stuff like plan ambushes in advance. Very cool.

References
Notes
  1. Bombs Over Burma (1942) on IMDb
  2. Evans 2000, p. 30.
  3. Leong 2005, p. 191.
  4. "Credits: Bombs Over Burma (1942)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 7, 2012.
  5. Leong 2005, p. 101.
  6. Erickson, Hal. "Bombs Over Burma." Archived April 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Allmovie. Retrieved: March 22, 2012.
  7. T.S. "Movie Review: Bombs Over Burma (1942)." The New York Times, August 10, 1942.
  8. "Leonard Maltin Film Review: Bombs Over Burma (1942)." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 7, 2012.
  9. "Bombs Over Burma." oldies.com. Retrieved: March 22, 2012.
Bibliography
  • Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57488-263-5.
  • Leong, Karen J. The China Mystique: Pearl S. Buck, Anna May Wong, Mayling Soong, and the Transformation of American Orientalism. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2005. ISBN 0-5202-4422-2.
  • Taves, Brian. Joseph H. Lewis, Anna May Wong, and Bombs Over Burma. In Gary Rhodes, ed. The Films of Joseph H. Lewis. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0814334621.
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