(7.00)Some movies grow in stature over time. This film, nominated for many awards in its day, pioneering new makeup effects, with outstanding cinematography and music score, was once hailed as one of the top 50 Hollywood films. Today the movie has mostly been forgotten, despite being frequently on television at one time. This is partly due to casting non-Chinese in the two major Chinese roles, which seems odd to us today.
The story is said to be inspired by the real-life adventures of Morris "Two-Gun" Cohen, who smuggled arms in China.
The movie begins ominously. Ambitious Warlord Yang (Akim Tamiroff) is determined to rule all of China, but his soldiers are deserting him, and he is merciless to the peasants who revolt from paying his taxes.
Along comes O'Hara (played by Gary Cooper), an American mercenary working on behalf of General Wong, who is a 'good' warlord. His mission is to transport money to Shanghai to buy arms, using money donated by freedom-yearning Chinese people. He is accompanied on the train to Shanghai by a pet money, Sam.
Meanwhile, a suspicious couple – an older man, Peter (Porter Hall), and a younger woman, Judy (Madeleine Carroll), their relationship initially unclear – board the same train. Peter is ill, and hopes to score enough money to retire to America; he demands that Judy distract a man on the train.
But as it turns out, O'Hara and Judy already know each other well!
Will Judy obey Peter and betray O'Hara? Will O'Hara fall into the hands of Warlord Yang? Will General Wong's man in Shanghai, Mister Wu (Dudley Digges), save O'Hara? Will the drunken gunrunner Brighton (William Frawley) honor his deal to sell arms to General Wong? Will slimy opportunist Leach (J.M. Kerrigan) find a way to profit from all of this?
This is an unconventional film that includes suspense, comedy and action, taking place largely on a train, in a hotel, and on a Chinese junk. O'Hara is an idealist and loves to speak about it; his persuasive skills will be key to the plot.
The cast is remarkable. Gary Cooper was born to play the heroic American. Madeleine Carroll rose to fame as Hitchcock's original 'ice-cold blonde', and is mesmerizing as a woman torn between love and obedience. Porter Hall made a career out of playing unpleasant and untrustworthy characters. Akim Tamiroff was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of a villainous yet charming warlord, and apparently even learned some Chinese for the role (he was Armenian) – but modern critics wonder why his character speaks pidgin English. Dudley Digges is quite good, but seems oddly English for a Chinese character. J.M. Kerrigan was quite good in shady character roles. William Frawley, best known today from I Love Lucy, is a bit too comic in his small but important role. This movie also has a number of Asian-American actors in background roles.
Critics fault the movie today for racist language, which I believe refers to Brighton drunkenly using an ethnic slur against a Chinese soldier.
I don't want to give the ending away, so let's just say it is dramatic, and I didn't think it was 'ludicrous' as some critics have said.
Can you game it? The fight scenes in the film are either one-sided or minor brawls (such as an escape sequence). However, the movie could well inspire some campaigning during the Warlord Era in China.
Recommended. Not a great film, but it's fun and the performances are good.