It airs too rarely

TCM is showing The Crimson Kimono tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM ET. I think the last time that it showed up on TCM was back in the Race and Hollywood series on Hollywood's look at Asians back in the spring of 2008. That's much too long between airings.

James Shigeta and Glenn Corbett play a pair of police detectives in Los Angeles who also served together in the Korean War, with Shigeta saving Corbett's life with a blood transfusion. They're called to investigate the murder of a stripper, which leads them to a portrait of her that remained in her apartment. They find that the artist who painted the portrait is a student at USC, and that she's apparently in danger from the killer, too. As the two detectives protect her, they both begin to fall in love with her, which poses big problems. Not only is there a conflict between them; there's also the pesky matter of an interracial relationship, which was still a big thing back in the late 1950s....

To be honest, despite having watched this movie when it aired in the Race and Hollywood series, it's one of those movies like Brighton Rock that I don't remember as well as I probably should. In fact, I remember Shigeta's performance in Bridge to the Sun much better. That having been said, I didn't have anything against the movie, and am looking forward to seeing it again.

The Crimson Kimono has gotten a DVD release as part of a Sam Fuller box set, although as far as I am aware it hasn't been released individually.