State Department: File 649

1949
Approved
1h 27m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Virginia Bruce and William Lundigan in State Department: File 649 (1949)

Action Adventure Drama Romance Thriller War

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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.8/10

208

YOUR RATING

13User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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The Lineup

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Interesting 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 versions
Television prints are in black and white.

Connections
Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

User reviews13

Review

Featured review

3/10

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.