China main backdrop
China main poster

6.8/10 • 13

1943-04-211h 19m

WarDramaAdventure

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

Shortly before Pearl Harbor, American opportunist Jones and partner Johnny are in China to sell oil to the invading Japanese army. Cynical about the sufferings of the Chinese, Jones meets compassionate teacher Carolyn Grant while travelling cross-country to Shanghai. Sparks fly between these strong-willed characters, neither budging an inch. But when Jones witnesses a Japanese atrocity, his feelings toward his customers (and Carolyn) begin to change...

Directors
John Farrow
Editors
Eda Warren

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Alan Ladd

    Alan Ladd

    David Jones

  2. Loretta Young

    Loretta Young

    Carolyn Grant

  3. William Bendix

    William Bendix

    Johnny Sparrow

  4. Philip Ahn

    Philip Ahn

    Lin Cho

  5. Iris Wong

    Iris Wong

    Kwan Su

  6. Victor Sen Yung

    Victor Sen Yung

    Lin Wei

  7. Marianne Quon

    Marianne Quon

    Tan Ying

  8. Richard Loo

    Richard Loo

    Lin Yun

  9. Ching Wah Lee

    Ching Wah Lee

    Chang Teh

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Sep 3, 2022

6/10

Alan Ladd is "Jones", a rather cynical American in China working in the oil industry. He doesn't really care who he sells to - and given the population as been under the heel of the invading Japanese forces for many years, that doesn't make him many friends amongst the locals. On his travels, though, he encounters the equally headstrong "Carolyn" (Loretta Young) who is generally appalled by the treatment of the local population. At loggerheads most of the time, it is only when he witnesses the true extent of the brutality of the occupying forces that he decides that maybe he ought to help. There is a degree of chemistry between the usually rather wooden Ladd and the normally more engaging Young, but given much of this is set in the cab of a truck, the production is pretty static and the narrative is very wordy. There is some action, but it has a distinct wartime propagandist style to it which undoubtedly fulfilled a function in 1943, but has dated rather badly now. It's watchable enough, and William Bendix adds a little to divert from the intensity of the simmering rapport between the two stars, but the whole film is pretty unremarkable fayre that you'll soon forget.

Media

  • China poster
  • China poster
  • China poster
  • China poster
  • China poster
  • China poster
  • China poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
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