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.
Photos
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
"State Department: File 649" is a film that is supposedly set in China. The film bebuted in February, 1949...and by October of the same year, the country had fallen to Mao and the Chinese Communists. This means that only a few months after the film was released, it was already obsolete.
As far as the film goes, it was produced by Sam Neufeld. This means that even with Cinecolor, the movie is a cheap affair--with none of the polish you'd find in a film from a major studio. Neufeld was known for cheap B-movies...and this one is as cheap as they come!
Something is up in China. The local American Consul knows something isn't right...but isn't exactly sure what. So, agent 649, Ken Seely (William Lundigan), is sent to Peking (before it was renamed Beijing) to investigate. Like Batman, Ken's parents were murdered long ago--though this was in Mongolia, not Gotham City.
So is this any good? No especially. Lundigan has little charisma and the quality of the production isn't great--with some sloppy edits and little to make it stand out in a positive way. Now I am not saying it's bad....just that it isn't very good. At best, an odd time-passer.
By the way, the copy I saw of this film was posted on one of the Roku channels. The copy they have is very poor--often extremely dark and grainy. This combined with the general shabbiness of the story make it a tough film for most viewers to watch and enjoy.
As far as the film goes, it was produced by Sam Neufeld. This means that even with Cinecolor, the movie is a cheap affair--with none of the polish you'd find in a film from a major studio. Neufeld was known for cheap B-movies...and this one is as cheap as they come!
Something is up in China. The local American Consul knows something isn't right...but isn't exactly sure what. So, agent 649, Ken Seely (William Lundigan), is sent to Peking (before it was renamed Beijing) to investigate. Like Batman, Ken's parents were murdered long ago--though this was in Mongolia, not Gotham City.
So is this any good? No especially. Lundigan has little charisma and the quality of the production isn't great--with some sloppy edits and little to make it stand out in a positive way. Now I am not saying it's bad....just that it isn't very good. At best, an odd time-passer.
By the way, the copy I saw of this film was posted on one of the Roku channels. The copy they have is very poor--often extremely dark and grainy. This combined with the general shabbiness of the story make it a tough film for most viewers to watch and enjoy.
- planktonrules
- Dec 14, 2019
- Permalink
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