Thu 28 Nov 2024
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: CHINA (1943).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[5] Comments
CHINA. Paramount Pictures, 1943. Loretta Young, Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Philip Ahn, Iris Wong, Sen Yung, Marianne Quon. Director: John Farrow.
Although it was surely marketed as a patriotic flag waver during World War II, China really does stand the test of time. It remains a solid adventure/war film that has a lot going for it. Directed by John Farrow with some outstanding tracking shots, the film stars Alan Ladd as Mr. (David) Jones, an oil salesman and war profiteer living in Shanghai.
China may be at war with the Japanese, but America is not. So he sells oil to the Japanese, irrespective of their geopolitical ambitions. Along for the ride is his sidekick Johnny Sparrow (William Bendix), a sentimentalist who longs for his small hometown in Oregon.
Things change when Mr. Jones encounters an American schoolteacher (Loretta Young) and her Chinese students and agrees to drive them away from the front lines. Things really heat up when Mr. Jones witnesses Japanese cruelty firsthand. That really sets him off. Soon enough, he teams up with the Chinese guerrilla fighters to wage war on the invading Japanese military.
While there are some maudlin moments in the film, overall China remains primarily an action-oriented motion picture. There’s plenty of grit and explosions aplenty. It’s definitely worth a look, particularly if you appreciate Ladd as a leading man. Here, with his fedora, leather jacket, and name, he’s a proto-Indiana Jones!
November 28th, 2024 at 4:01 pm
I thought China was a terrific picture and clearly designed to support the Allies by cleverly casting Ladd as a character that requires convincing. Just as the United States did — after all we should have been in this thing in 1939, not 1941 (really ’42). We were late as we were to the First World War, by roughly three years.
I love the message.
November 28th, 2024 at 10:05 pm
This and CALCUTTA (Lad, Bendix, and Gail Russell) have similar vibes and still play well as adventure stories as well as flag wavers. Old Hollywood film making at its most professional.
November 29th, 2024 at 2:18 pm
I didn’t realize how many movies Ladd and William Bendix made together. They made for quite a team.
I’m not sure if this is all of them, but it’s most:
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
19461h 36mApproved
7.1 (9.9K)
An ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife.
Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, and Brian Donlevy
The Glass Key
19421h 25mApproved
7.0 (7.6K)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Calcutta
19461h 23mApproved
6.4 (769)
Neale and Pedro fly cargo between Chungking and Calcutta. After their buddy Bill is murdered, they investigate. Neale meets Bill’s fiancée Virginia and becomes suspicious of a deeper plot while also falling for her charms.
Variety Girl
19471h 33mApproved
6.3 (520)
Almost everyone under contract to Paramount Pictures at the time make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
Star Spangled Rhythm
19421h 39mApproved
6.6 (692)
A Paramount Studios security guard who was a major actor during the silent film era must carry out the illusion that he is still a big deal when his sailor son comes to visit.
Two Years Before the Mast
19461h 38mApproved
6.9 (574)
The playboy son of a wealthy shipping magnate discovers at first hand the desperate privations suffered by the crew of one of his father’s ships after he is unwillingly press-ganged aboard.
China
19431h 19mApproved
6.6 (662)
During the Japanese invasion of China, a cynical, macho profiteer meets a compassionate, beautiful schoolteacher.
The Deep Six
19581h 45mApproved
6.0 (567)
Called to active duty during World War II, U.S. Navy Reserve lieutenant Alec Austin struggles to do his military duties while observing his Quaker beliefs, to the dismay of his comrades.
November 29th, 2024 at 11:35 pm
Ladd also teamed with Veronica Lake, Gail Russell, and Loretta Young for more than one film.
November 30th, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Quite the opening tracking shot of Bendix caught in an air raid as he finds an abandoned baby. A few years earlier there was a famous photo in Life Magazine of an abandoned chinese baby, crying as it is sitting on the ground next to his mother’s body. Victums of a Jaoanese air raid. it’s almost as if this film sets up a rescue of that child. Which, of course, becomes the film’s symbol of our helping China.