Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
House of Bamboo offers all Fuller's key themes and motifs in a characteristic thriller form: dual identities, divided loyalties, racial tensions, life (and cinema) as war.
– ,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
A masterpiece that pinpoints the sublime in Fuller's sensationalism and earns every inch of its widescreen real estate.
– David Fear,
Time Out New York,
24 Aug 2011
fresh:
Novelty of scene and a warm, believable performance by Japanese star Shirley Yamaguchi are two of the better values in the production.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
fresh:
A lean, hard-boiled, sharp detective thriller with just a light touch of Madame Butterfly.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
25 Mar 2006
fresh:
One of Samuel Fuller's best, a tough, sometimes nasty, but always exciting 1955 effort in 'Scope and color that unites three of his favorite topics: military comradeship, the underworld, and the Far East.