The World of Suzie Wong (1960)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Paul Osborn (adaptation)
Richard Mason (novel)

Release Date:

1961 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

You are the first man I ever loved... and the world has only just begun...

Plot:

Robert Lomax tired of working in an office, wants to be an artist. So he moves to Hong Kong to try his hand at painting...

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | Artist | Tragedy | Negative Asian Stereotype | Prostitution

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

William Holden	...	Robert Lomax
Nancy Kwan	...	Suzie Wong a.k.a. Mee Ling Wong
Sylvia Syms	...	Kay O'Neill
Michael Wilding	...	Ben Marlowe
Jacqui Chan	...	Gwennie Lee
Laurence Naismith	...	O'Neill
Yvonne Shima	...	Minnie Ho
Andy Ho	...	Ah Tong
Lier Hwang	...	Wednesday Lu
Bernard Cribbins	...	Otis, Gwennie's boy friend
Edwina Carroll	...	Mrs. Marlowe
Dervis Ward	...	British Sailor
Marian Spencer	...	Dinner Guest
Lionel Blair	...	Dancing Sailor

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #19621) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

World Enterprises

Trivia:

Jean Negulesco was originally hired as director. He was fired during production and replaced by Richard Quine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bluff Master (1963)

Soundtrack:

The World of Suzie Wong

An unfamiliar slice of life

When Nancy Kwan turned her beguiling eyes on William Holden in this 1960 [risque for the time] movie I felt weak in the knees. I was 13 and in my little home town of Miles City, Montana I was far removed from the type of life depicted here. The plot though very understandable featured tough realities to depict. Kwan's beauty seemed vibrant, fresh and full of innocense, how could she play a prostitute? [Her spectacular performance kept me spellbound throughout the movie and I knew THEN that girls must be much more complex than my heretofore 13 year old male pysche could imagine.] The obvious age difference between William Holden and Kwan was a hurdle few professional actors and actresses at the time could have so skillfully surmounted, they were superb, they sizzled then they were tender, then they were angry. I count this film in my top-ten ALLtime for these and a number of other reasons.