| Bombs Over Burma | |
| Director: | Joseph H. Lewis |
| Producer: | Arthur Alexander Alfred Stern |
| Screenplay: | Joseph H. Lewis George Wellington Pardy |
| Story: | Milton Raison |
| Starring: | Anna May Wong |
| Music: | Lee Zahler |
| Cinematography: | Robert E. Cline |
| Editing: | Charles Henkel Jr. |
| Distributor: | Producers Releasing Corporation |
| Runtime: | 65 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English Mandarin |
Bombs Over Burma (also known as The Devil's Sister) is a 1942 American war film directed by Joseph H. Lewis, based on a story by Milton Raison.[1] To depict the Chinese character faithfully, the star, Anna May Wong, and other characters speak Mandarin in the first few minutes.[2]
In 1942, Chinese guerrillas fighting for the Allied cause in Burma during World War II are helping to build a road. During the construction of a military supply road like the Burma Road and Ledo Road, the project is sabotaged by an English nobleman who is a German agent.
Using a scientific device, the English nobleman is instrumental in the coordination of a Japanese air attack on supply trucks attempting to cross a key bridge. A Chinese school teacher (Anna May Wong) reveals the schemes of the traitor, and brings about his destruction at the hands of Chinese peasants armed with picks and shovels.
As appearing in Bombs Over Burma, (main roles and screen credits identified):[3]
Lack of an adequate budget and a two-week shooting schedule hampered the production, limiting Bombs Over Burma to "B-fare".[4] [5]
Production values doomed Bombs Over Burma both at the box office and with critics. The review in The New York Times succinctly called it a "dud", loaded with stock shots, even recognizable "California architecture."[6] Later reviews such as that of Leonard Maltin, noted that the film was an "... interesting if failed attempt to make a hard-hitting, topical film ... Director/cowriter Lewis' visual flair can't save a talky, pedestrian script. Wong comes off well, as usual."[7]
Alpha Video released the film on region-1 DVD on June 28, 2005.[8]