This stars William Holden as Mark Elliott, a married American journalist in Hong Kong, in 1949. He falls in love with a widowed Doctor, Han Suyin (Jennifer Jones), who is of both British and Chinese descent (although Jones herself was all-American). They face opposition to their inter-racial relationship, and Elliot’s marital status and his job also threaten to tear them apart.
William Holden has become one of my favourite stars – I feel that he was under-rated as an actor, whereas Jennifer Jones was over-rated. She is not as convincing as Holden, although she does display some talent, because in real life, the two of them did not get on at all during the making of this film, but you wouldn’t know it from seeing them on screen together!
The storyline moves along nicely – couple meet, fall in love, face numerous obstacles to their happiness, and in the end…well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending for you. There were a few humorous moments, and a lot of moving ones. I did feel the film captured that feeling of falling in love with someone who you have recently met, and Holden was excellent in one of the two lead roles.
Not my favourite William Holden film (that would definitely be Sunset Boulevard), but well worth seeing if you are a fan.
Year of release: 1955
Director: Henry King
Producer: Buddy Adler
Writers: Han Suyin (book), John Patrick
Main cast: William Holden, Jennifer Jones
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