Tokyo File 212
1951 film
Tokyo File 212 (Japanese: 東京ファイル212) is a 1951 Japanese-American coproduction spy film directed by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan. George Breakston wrote the film's script and coproduced it with Dorrell McGowan jointly under the banner of their newly formed Breakston–McGowan Productions and the Tonichi Enterprises Company of Japan. Lawyer Melvin Belli serves as executive producer for the film and composer Albert Glasser provided the musical score.
The film stars Florence Marly, Robert Peyton, Tetsu Nakamura, Katsuhiko Haida, Reiko Otani, Tatsuo Saitō and Heihachirô Ôkawa. Real-life geisha Ichimaru appear in a song sequence. The plot concerns an American intelligence agent (Peyton) sent to Japan to pursue a suspected communist (Haida).
Principal photography began on July 21, 1950 in Japan and was completed in 36 days, making it Hollywood's first feature film to be shot entirely in Japan. RKO Pictures distributed the film in the U.S.
Plot
American intelligence agent Jim Carter is sent to Japan under the cover of a journalist to find Taro Matsudo, Carter's old college friend, who is helping the communists there. At his hotel, Carter meets Steffi Novak, a mysterious woman who speaks six languages and wishes to accompany him. Together they are taken to a bar by Joe, an undercover agent posing as a taxi driver.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tokyo File 212” as 1951 film. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1951 film. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7813876. The first chronological checks are 1951 and 1950.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tokyo File 212”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tokyo File 212 primary sources, Tokyo File 212 archive and Tokyo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tokyo File 212”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tokyo File 212” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.