China Doll (1958)

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

Kitty Buhler (writer)
Thomas F. Kelly (story)

Release Date:

3 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War | Romance

Plot:

In China gruff Air Force captain Cliff Brandon wakes up after a night of drinking to discover he has purchased the housekeeping services of comely...

Plot Keywords:

China | Captain | Air Force | Pilot | Interracial Romance

Cast

Victor Mature	...	Capt. Cliff Brandon
Li Hua Li	...	Shu-Jen
Ward Bond	...	Father Cairns
Bob Mathias	...	Capt. Phil Gates
Johnny Desmond	...	Sgt. Steve Hill
Stuart Whitman	...	Lt. Dan O'Neill, Navigator (as Stu Whitman)
Elaine Devry	...	Alice Nichols (as Elaine Curtis)
Ann McCrea	...	Mona Perkins
Danny Chang	...	Ellington
Denver Pyle	...	Col. Wiley
Don 'Red' Barry	...	MSgt. Hal Foster
Tige Andrews	...	Cpl. Carlo Menotti
Steve Mitchell	...	Dave Reisner
Ken Perry	...	Sgt. Ernie Fleming, Crew Chief
Ann Paige	...	Sally, Red Cross

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18803) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Batjac Productions

Soundtrack:

Suppose

Very Flawed

"China Doll" is highly flawed Borzage romantic melodrama set in China in the 50s. It stars Victor Mature as an American pilot Cliff Brandon taking part in a war against the Japanese. He falls in love and marries a Chinese housekeeper Shu-Jen, played by Li Li Hua. The continuing exploration of love transcending everything - race, religion, war, death - is competently stated. The film is also very poignant in some passages, as is most of Borzage. However, if you look at it closely, it doesn't really jell.

The expert Borzage scholar John Belton, whom I owe a lot in my understanding of Borzage, ranks "China Doll" with the director's other melodramas - "7th Seventh", "A Farewell to Arms", "Man's Castle", "The Mortal Storm", "Three Comrades", "Till We Meet Again". Belton notes that all these works "contain hostile backgrounds which Borzage's fragile characters ultimately surpass."

But I find "China Doll" significantly problematic and less memorable than those films. I get the feeling that something is missing; much of it is characterized by an air of aimlessness or uncertainty. I didn't get that haunting spark that underlies the luminous lovers in much of Borzage's best work.

There is an apparent misalliance between Mature and Li Li Hua. I find Mature's character to be stiff, callow and frail. His careless demeanor does not contrast well with Hua's innocence or devotion. And ultimately (and regrettably) "China Doll" falls very short of greatness.