Customer Reviews

Small Town Conspiracy

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This is a great story -- beautifully written and well acted, but so poorly engineered that it is almost impossible to enjoy. I recently had the opportunity to speak with the screenwriters, and even THEY agree that it's just about the worst engineering job in the history of the world! The guy who released it should be taken out and shot. Unfortunately, he'll probably never read this, because if he cared at all about his film, he would never have allowed it to be released this way. Too bad, as it is some of the best work that Zen Gesner and Jeanetta Arnette (who you might remember from "Boys Don't Cry") have ever done, and it definitely deserves to be seen.

"Small Town Conspiracy" is supposedly loosely based on a true story that the body of a murdered Japanese woman found in Florida City led to the discovery that the US military knew about the Pearl Harbor invasion in advance and were suppressing this information. That President Roosevelt knew of the attacks on Hickam Air Force Base and allowed them to happen to break the US out of their isolationism has been a popular--and persistent--rumor throughout history. I won't speculate on whether those rumors are true or not. I will sum up the movie's premise and mention its quality and allow you to make up your own mind as to whether you want to watch it.

The story opens in Florida City, December 1941. Police Chief John Halloran is called out to investigate the murder of a young Japanese woman. The town doctor mocks him--the Chief doesn't have a clue about what forensics and what the girl's body can tell him.

Worse, John Halloran is seriously encumbered by an alcohol problem. He struggles through the investigation and when he gets a lead, Halloran manages to involve the old chief. Together, they start chasing down a conspiracy that could change the face of the nation.

Halloran ultimately discovers the US military possesses foreknowledge of the Japanese invasion on Pearl Harbor. Halloran attempts to stop the invasion by sending a message to the War Department which was never received.

The film sounded like it'd be an interesting mystery when my husband and I rented it. "Small Town Conspiracy" might have been good had the quality of the DVD been sufficient. We noted several problems:

The soundtrack was out of synch with the speaking and action--particularly noticeable was when a gun was fired out of synch

The soundtrack volume was very poorly engineered. It was impossible to find a good volume level. Music was too loud, speaking was too low, and any gunfire or mechanical noises almost shook the floor.

All in all, I'm grateful I only paid $4 to rent the film. I doubt a purchased copy would be better and I personally would not choose to buy this DVD.