China

China (1943)

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...

Date of release
1943-04-21
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (16)
Runtime
1h 19m
Genres
War, Drama, Adventure
Director
John Farrow

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $2M

China is a 1943 film directed by John Farrow and starring Loretta Young, Alan Ladd and William Bendix. Ladd's character David Llewellyn Jones, wearing a fedora, a leather jacket, khakis and a beard stubble, was an inspiration for Indiana Jones. Aside from Tala Birell as one of Jones' paramours at the beginning of the film, the entire supporting cast is Asian, including Philip Ahn and Richard Loo.

Production

The script was based on Fourth Brother, an unproduced play by Archibald Forbes about an American oil salesman in China who joins in the fight against the Japanese with three Chinese guerrillas. Paramount bought the screen rights for $25,000 in May 1942.

The film originally was considered a vehicle for Loretta Young, who was an enthusiastic supporter of China during the war and who had just signed a three-year deal with Paramount to make two movies a year. By September, Alan Ladd and William Bendix were assigned to the film, with John Farrow to direct, in color. Young pulled out, claiming she was dissatisfied with her role. However, she appears to have changed her mind.

William Bendix was cast as Ladd's sidekick, a departure from the "heavy" that he had played in earlier roles. He would go on to play Ladd's sidekick in The Blue Dahlia (1946), Calcutta (Shot in 1945, released in 1947) and The Deep Six (1958).

Except for the three leads (and the brief role of Ladd's girlfriend before the journey begins), all of the cast were of Chinese descent or elsewhere in East Asia, causing the filmmakers to look outside normal casting avenues. Sen Yung, Philip Ahn and Richard Loo played lead supporting roles.

Helena Kuo was meant to play a small role but did not end up appearing in the film.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended