Director: Ray Enright
Synopsis: In World War Two, American doctors Gray Thompson (Randolph Scott) and Sara Durand (Ruth Warrick) operate a hospital in a strategically important Chinese mountain village, assisted by the local Dr. Kim and nurse Siu-Mei. Thompson is oblivious to Sara's love, and returns from a trip with new wife Louise (Ellen Drew). The village is an important base for militia leader Chen-Ta (Anthony Quinn), and subject to daily Japanese bombings. Chen-Ta's wounded Japanese prisoner Colonel Yasuda looks to exploit Dr. Kim's fragile psychology and Louise's inflamed jealousy to gain a tactical battle advantage.
What Works Well: The adaptation of writer Pearl S. Buck's 1941 novel benefits from a war-torn, stoic-village-under-threat ambiance. The passionate love triangle maintains focus on characters, but the war remains close thanks to Colonel Yasuda's evil scheming, Chen-Ta's dashing horse-mounted courage, and the constant threat of Japanese air force bombing runs.
What Does Not Work As Well: The acting and directing are all about one-shot, read-the-lines expediency. Dr. Thompson is a special kind of naïve, first missing Sara's passion, then dropping new bride Louise into a war zone and abandoning her in a bomb shelter with strangers, and finally failing to notice the tension between the two women. Other than the swashbuckling Chen-Ta, the Chinese characters are presented as meekly subservient to the Americans.
Key Quote:
Louise, taunting Sara about Thompson: You'd do anything to get him, you know you would...but yours is such an antiseptic charm.
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