China

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

1943 1h 19m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 16

WarDramaAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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...

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

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Alan Ladd
David Jones
Loretta Young
Carolyn Grant
William Bendix
Johnny Sparrow
Philip Ahn
Lin Cho
Iris Wong
Kwan Su
Victor Sen Yung
Lin Wei
Marianne Quon
Tan Ying
Richard Loo
Lin Yun

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Farrow
Writers: Frank Butler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Farrow, shot by Leo Tover. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eda Warren shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Alan Ladd and Loretta Young and William Bendix carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Alan Ladd and twenty girls - trapped by the rapacious Japs!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035735 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Farrow directs. Leo Tover behind the camera. Victor Young scores. Eda Warren cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
283 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by John Farrow, shot by Leo Tover. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Victor Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Eda Warren shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Alan Ladd and Loretta Young and William Bendix carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Alan Ladd and twenty girls - trapped by the rapacious Japs!".
8IMDB entry: tt0035735 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Leo Tover
Original score: Victor Young
Editing: Eda Warren
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: China (1943)

Also by

John Farrow

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-03
★ 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.

Production companies