Friday 8pm BLOOD ON THE SUN - 1945 Drama/Thriller - Reporter Nick Condon (James Cagney)works for a pre World War II Tokyo newspaper and publishes a story exposing the Japanese government's imperialist plans.
Reporter Nick Condon (James Cagney) works for a newspaper in Tokyo. When two of his best friends are horribly murdered, Condon suspects that the "peaceful" Japanese military government is up to no good. He dedicates himself to getting his hands on the "Tanka Plan," a Japanese blueprint for conquering the world, and bringing this document to the attention of the Free World. As a result, he is targeted for persecution by the corrupt Tokyo police and betrayed by a traitorous fellow journalist.
When government officers seize the newspaper, Nick finds himself at the center of a cover-up led. Harrassed by agents, Nick goes on the lam, meets a mysterious woman, Iris Hilliard (Sylvia Sidney), who agrees to help him foil the Japanese High Command.
TRIVIA
- James Cagney insisted on performing his own stunts and in preparation for his role, he trained intensively in the martial art of Judo.
- The Tokyo Imperial Hotel bar seen at the start of the movie is an exact replica of the actual bar situated in the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- The movie is based on the history behind Japan’s alleged Tanaka Plan, aka the Tanaka Memorialdocument. This allegedly was Prime Minister Baron Gi-ichi Tanaka’s militarist strategic plan for world domination prepared for Emperor Hirohito. It was first printed in China by the Chinese communists and in the US by a communist periodical, leading some to think it was a forgery. No Japanese version has ever been found.
