China (1943)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Frank Butler (writer)
Archibald Forbes (play)

Release Date:

21 April 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Alan Ladd and twenty girls - trapped by the rapacious Japs!

Plot:

During the Japanese invasion of China, a cynical, macho profiteer meets a compassionate, beautiful schoolteacher.

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | China | Japanese Invasion | Shanghai | American

Cast

Loretta Young	...	Carolyn Grant
Alan Ladd	...	David Jones
William Bendix	...	Johnny Sparrow
Philip Ahn	...	Lin Cho, First Brother
Iris Wong	...	Kwan Su
Victor Sen Yung	...	Lin Wei, Third Brother (as Sen Yung)
Marianne Quon	...	Tan Ying
Jessie Tai Sing	...	Student
Richard Loo	...	Lin Yun
Irene Tso	...	'Donald Duck'
Ching Wah Lee	...	Chang Teh
Soo Yong	...	Tai Shen
Beal Wong	...	Captain Tao-Yuan-Kai
Bruce Wong	...	Aide To Captain Tao
Tala Birell	...	Blonde Russian

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Mesa, Arizona, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Mr. Jones: I knew a girl like you once. She had an act in a circus. Used to crack a whip and make lions jump through paper hoops.
Carolyn Grant: And you prefer the lipstick sort, huh?
Mr. Jones: Yes, mostly because I don't like jumping through paper hoops.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Movie Orgy (1968)

A good one

The cast is great, especially William Bendix. I think the movie was made to draw attention to the terrible situation which was going on in China at the time. Thought Bendix is better known as a comic actor in many movies he also can switch to play the serious side. Here there is a soft hearted Bendix and comical Bendix and a serious Bendix as the movie is drawn to a very dark side as the Americans and a load of Chinese students try to out run the Japanese Army.

Ladd always played one role, a tough guy, either the good guy or the bad guy but always the tough guy. From what I have read about his personal life that fit him to a tea. He does not stretch his personality in this movie.

Loretta Young is a little out of her nature. She always seemed more reserved and lady like and does not seem to fit in the darker side of China. But I think it is all this change in what people believed about them, especially Bendix and Young is what really pulled it all together and pulled it off. This is really a great movie. Propaganda? Probably, but it is a great movie.