arthur_tafero
This is a rare film that criticizes the KMT in China's war with Japan in 1944. The KMT was fighting the CCP (Communists) at the same time they were fighting the Japanese. The CCP was fighting the Japanese as well. They are not even mentioned in the film. The Chinese Civil War started way before 1944. It was the KMT (Chiang Kai-Shek) against the CCP (Mao Zedong). It lasted until 1949, when the CCP finally won when the KMT retreated to Taiwan. The film itself, though, has some problems. There is really not too much suspense or tension in the film. Stewart is really miscast (he was more comfortable in Air Force films) as a demolition man. Harry Morgan is very good though, as is the rest of the cast, who rescue the film from Stewart. Other than Flying Tigers, I cannot remember one other well-made film about the Chinese in WW 2. Empire of the Sun was very good, but it was not really about China. The Last Emperor was very good, but it was more about Puyi than the Chinese in WW2. At least this film marks a shift away from the stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese we had seen in films prior to 1960. There were still a few stereotypes, but not as many as before. Interesting film.
Robert J. Maxwell
It's World War II in China. The Japanese are advancing and the Chinese and a handful of Americans are retreated. Among the Americans is James Stewart, an army engineer, and half a dozen of his men. Their task, should they choose to accept it, which of course they do, is to retreat to an Allied base a hundred or so miles away, blowing up the bridges after they cross them. The roads are choked with civilian refugees, and along the way, Stewart and his trucks are compelled to pick up a Chinese colonel and a young widow as passengers.The Chinese colonel is played by Frank Silvera with a mustache. This guy deserves a decoration just for the number of different ethnic types he's played. He was a genetic chameleon. In real life, he was of mixed background, born in Jamaica, but he found a niche in Hollywood's go-anywhere ethnic roles. The young widow is Lisa Lu, born in Beijing. I don't mean to cast aspersions on her in any way. She's attractive and has the precise enunciation that sounds as if it belongs to a hostess of a late-night FM station that plays nothing but chamber music. If she says something like "immediate departure" she observes the original juncture and pronounces both the "t" and the following "d," whereas when Americans make the same utterance it comes out "immediadepature." But I must say, she isn't Zhang Ziyi, let alone Gong Li, with whom I am deeply in love. I can't understand why she doesn't respond to my many proposals of marriage but I suppose it's her loss. Still, if you have to travel over rough country, pursued by a dangerous enemy, Lisa Lu will be a serviceable traveling companion.There are some welcome comic moment interpolated. Morgan and Stewart are arguing over some decision. Stewart sternly reminds Morgan that he, Stewart, is in command. "Oh, I understand. In this war your either a big wheel or a slob. I'm a slob too." "Come of it, Mike; you know I couldn't run this outfit without you." "Oh, that's because I'm a HELPFUL slob." "Well, what do you suggest." "I don't know, major, slobs don't have any brains." Something like that. It's actually kind of amusing in context.Stewart's major is a pretty abrasive and instrumental customer. He's all business, impatient with the customs of the Chinese. He makes a report to a colonel at a way station and they insist he stay for tea and lunch, while he fidgets anxiously, dying to get under way. It doesn't help that Stewart's jeep and four trucks run into some of the usual problems during this kind of journey -- a bridge must be blown, leaving hundreds of poor Chinese on the other side; a merchant's dilapidated trucks blocks the road and must be pushed off the cliff; one of the men is seriously ill and there is neither medicine nor doctor around.Stewart's men, by the way, include some of the more familiar and reliable supporting actors in the business: Mike Kellin, James Best, Rudy Bond, Glenn Corbett, and Henry "Harry" Morgan, who should make up his mind about his name. The soldier who gets sick can't act. The movie is to be applauded for not turning the Chinese into altruistic saints, a pattern that recurs in movies where soldiers have to deal with alien civilians. Corbett, the nice guy, the most sympathetic of the enlisted men, carries some extra food out to the refugees. The crowd turns savage and they beat him to death and run off with the loot. Later, one of the trucks is ambushed and several men killed, and Stewart exacts an awesome revenge.It costs Stewart because he's grown fond of Luci Lu, as who wouldn't. He doesn't get the girl. She resents his killing of Chinese and they part before the end of the road is reached. He makes some plea about using "power" that sounds like mumbo jumbo. There are some nice special effects for those who enjoy seeing things blown up big time.It's an adult movie. The relationships between the Americans and the Chinese are faithfully sketched in. The novel was written by Teddy White ("The Making of the President....") who had learned Chinese at Harvard and spent time there during the war. The political system, as we see it, and in real historical fact, was a chaotic collage of conflicting loyalties. Two major forces were trying to unify a huge country that was ruled by local warlords. The two forces were the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Sheck and the Communists under Mao Dz Dung. Both were fighting the Japanese and both were corrupt dictators manqué. Chiang was known for charging the Americans to let them build air bases in China in order to help him, Chiang, fight the Japanese. There were many deserters from both camps and bandits who owed allegiance to no party. And there we were, in the middle of all of it, just as we are today, as I write this.
MartinHafer
I have seen practically every film Jimmy Stewart made in his long and wonderful career. Somehow or other, I never saw this film and was surprised to see it was coming on--especially as I've never heard of it. Well, after seeing it, I can clearly see why this film is rarely seen or talked about, as it stinks.Up until the amazingly confusing ending, it still wasn't a good film but at least was passable entertainment. Stewart plays a major who's in charge of a small group of demolitions experts whose mission is to slow down the Japanese invasion. Despite the importance of the mission, I was surprised how many of Stewart's men seemed like unprofessional whiners. I would think that anyone who really did this job would be offended by this far less than heroic image--and these men must have been very brave and dedicated in real life.Into this motley crew comes a Chinese colonel and the wife of an executed Chinese general--who tag along for part of the mission. Having the lady there in the middle of war and with a group of desperate men seemed to make little sense. It made even less sense when inexplicably, she and Stewart completely out of the blue are in a bit of a romance. And it made yet less sense when she behaved the way she did late in the film, as she came off as sanctimonious and confusing. Stewart's character also made little sense late in the film, as he went from being a decent leader to Captain Ahab's less stable brother!! In fact, by the end of the film, the whole thing just degenerated into a mess--with everyone bickering and killing and complaining. Wow, how inspiring!! My advice is that unless you are a completist who wants to see every one of Stewart's films, this one is amazingly skip-able. Also in this same category would be POT 'O GOLD, THE MAGIC OF LASSIE and AN American TALE: FIVEL GOES WEST. Even great actors can't win 'em all!
