Tonight's Movie: China Sky (1945) - A Warner Archive DVD Review
CHINA SKY (1945), a WWII film based on a novel by Pearl S. Buck, was just released on DVD by the Warner Archive.
CHINA SKY, released in the waning days of WWII, combines romantic melodrama with building support for our Chinese allies. In the latter regard it would make an interesting double bill paired with the Alan Ladd-Loretta Young film CHINA (1943).
Dr. Gray Thompson (Randolph Scott) returns from the U.S. to the village hospital he founded in war-torn China. He's been on a mission to gather fresh supplies for the hospital, and while in the States he also acquired a wife, Louise (Ellen Drew).
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Louise, while seeming nice enough at the outset, quickly cracks under the strain of daily Japanese bombings, as well as her jealousy of her husband's close working relationship with Dr. Durand.
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I have enjoyed all three leads in many films, and they are good to watch here as well. Scott can pretty much do no wrong in my book, though his character here is just a bit dense. I suppose his cluelessness with the women in his life could be chalked up to his preoccupation with serving patients in a war zone.
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Drew could be a charming leading lady (CHRISTMAS IN JULY) but she also did a good job playing troubled women (JOHNNY O'CLOCK). She gets a bit wild-eyed here at times but I suppose anyone suddenly transplanted from a pleasant life in the U.S. to waiting out Japanese bombing attacks in a cave is entitled to a little hysteria.
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Some viewers may find it a tad uncomfortable watching Quinn and Thurston play Chinese characters, but that was often the convention of the day. Particularly when it comes to classic-era films, unless the performance is disrespectful -- Mickey Rooney in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961) comes to mind -- I tend to shrug and say, "That's why they call it acting!" And indeed, Quinn provides the film with some of its more entertaining moments.
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The Warner Archive DVD is a good-looking print. The disc includes the trailer.
Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive releases are MOD (manufactured on demand) and may be ordered from Amazon and other online retailers.
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