U.S. Foreign Service officer matches wits with a Chinese warlord to try to save American citizens threatened with execution.U.S. Foreign Service officer matches wits with a Chinese warlord to try to save American citizens threatened with execution.U.S. Foreign Service officer matches wits with a Chinese warlord to try to save American citizens threatened with execution.
Barbara Wooddell
- Carrie
- (as Barbara Woodell)
Robert Stevenson
- Mongolian Spy
- (as Robert Stephenson)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaInteresting that our hero is sent in as a spy, yet the first thing he does is tell two locals he speaks fluent Chinese while overhearing them in the garden reception. James Bond he's not.
- Alternate versionsTelevision prints are in black and white.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Slanted Screen (2006)
Featured review
Pretty dull and cheap but not exactly terrible.
"State Department" is a strange film because it's about politics in China but never mentions the communists--who assumed power the same year this film debuted! It's also a rather cheap and insignificant film.
The movie begins with a prologue about various workers in the foreign service who have given their lives for their country. One of these people is the subject of this film. Ken (William Lundigan) is the new vice-consul of a remote consulate in northern China. However, he just arrives at his new posting when a local warlord arrives and begins menacing everyone. This sort of stuff did happen in the 1920s and 30--and I assume that this is the time period in which the movie is based.
The film is decent but a bit dull. While it's not a bad film, it never rises to anything more than just barely average. Lundigan and the rest are pretty good--it's just that the story never seems too interesting.
The movie begins with a prologue about various workers in the foreign service who have given their lives for their country. One of these people is the subject of this film. Ken (William Lundigan) is the new vice-consul of a remote consulate in northern China. However, he just arrives at his new posting when a local warlord arrives and begins menacing everyone. This sort of stuff did happen in the 1920s and 30--and I assume that this is the time period in which the movie is based.
The film is decent but a bit dull. While it's not a bad film, it never rises to anything more than just barely average. Lundigan and the rest are pretty good--it's just that the story never seems too interesting.
helpful•34
- planktonrules
- Jan 13, 2014
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $750,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was State Department: File 649 (1949) officially released in India in English?
Answer