China Gate

I remember watching on TV as a teenager, little did I know that a few years later some of the scenes and some of the dangers pictured, one especially, when Goldie (Nate King Cole) stepped on a punji stick, that one day it would it be a real worry.

To this day, I will not watch any Nam war movies, even though China Gate was about the Indochina War with the French I would never watch again, as I said a few scenes would be too much and bring back memories. The reason I posted this was I just watched a short about Nat King Cole and it reminded me of that movie he was in. I had to read what others had posted about China Gate to see if others felt the same way. USMC, Nam, 68-69.

As any historian will tell you, France ruled over Indochina - comprising three territories known today as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - until its military defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, causing the Ho Chi Mihn-led communists to expand from the northern part of Vietnam, Hanoi as capital, to take the southern part, with Saigon the capital.

Samuel Fuller built up a reputation as writer of such staple screenplays as THE STEEL HELMET, SHOCKPROOF, HELL AND HIGH WATER, and director of his acknowledged masterpiece, PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953).

CHINA GATE (1957) does not rate as highly as any of those efforts, but it provides a most interesting insight into the last days of French rule over Indochina and the circumstances that led to the United States deploying forces in southern Vietnam to prevent it falling under the communist sphere.

The screenplay suffers from unevenness but generally holds your attention by depicting the perils of a war against a determined enemy, and, especially, by curvaceous Angie Dickinson, one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screen and soon to become closely connected with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and President John F Kennedy. In this film, she plays the half-breed who has had a child by Gene Barry and wants that child to become a US citizen, and to that end she is willing to make all sacrifices.

Gene Barry leaves something to be desired. He is not a bad actor, he looks the part of a soldier, but somehow he looks short-changed throughout. Unexpectedly to me, because the only other part I saw him in was in CAT BALLOU singing the film's theme ballad, the famous crooner Nat King Cole delivers a far more convincing performance as a fellow soldier.

Highly competent B&W cinematography by Joseph Biroc.

Warrants watching, especially if you are interested in what led to the USA's decision to deploy military forces in Nam. In my humble view, THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALIPSE NOW are the masterpieces that reflect best the consequences of that ill-fated move. 7/10.

Very unusual for me to watch a war movie, but anything directed by Sam Fuller deserves consideration and I was intrigued with the casting that included, Angie Dickinson, Nat King Cole and Lee Van Clef. As it tuned out this was not as bad as it might have been, helped very much by the performances, Fuller achieves from his cast. Set in Vietnam, then Indochina, it features the last days of the French rule, when the Americans were seemingly the good guys dropping food parcels to the indigenous population. Nat King Cole, sings the title track twice and puts in a really convincing performance as one of the French rag bag group who trek through the jungle to carry out their wondrous mission. Mostly filmed on back lots, Fuller has interspersed stock footage to give a reasonable approximation of the location. Angie Dickinson is a real trouper and plays this very wide with much non PC banter with the Chinese, who she seems to keep happy with promise of brandy and sex. Lee Van Clef is a real surprise here (I thought he had always had that weathered look!) and helps to make the last quarter a bit more fun.

Does anybody know the name of the child who plays Angie Dickinson´s son? He is not credited ...... I think the film is not bad at all.... It is the kind of films that Hollywood used to release in those days. Angie Dickinson plays very well her role. The scene she confronts Lee van Cleef without moving a muscle is a very good one.

Nevertheless there arte indeed some scenes very unreal. For example when Nat King Cole steps in that trap (more details shoud be spoiler) there is no way a person could do what he did. But I only wanted to know who the little cute boy is, or was. If anybody knows I´d appretiate......

Overtly the master Samuel Fuller spotlight and approaching the mix-up of the ethnicities on some pictures for instance as "The Crimson Kimono", "House of Bamboo" and now "China Gate" all them prospecting this neuralgic issue, here exposing the American Sgt. Brock (Gene Barry) that was involved and married a half-breed China girl Lucy (Angie Dickinson) when she gets pregnant, the Sgt. Brock supposed that his son should be more Caucasian than Chinese, well the boy actually was born with a true Chinese kind, daunted he refuses the boy and soon disappears, Lucy comes into depression, on erratic life on prostitution and diving deeply on alcoholism, after seven years in absence the bleak Sgt. Brock was designed to a hard assignment at Indochina when he meets again the doll Lucy legs which she got the nickname for your beauty legs always allures the key persons thought her exotic beauty, also he meets his son, the French Army calls Lucy for a fair deal, if she guide the bomb squad at China Gate where the commies are storing a huge secret arsenal of bombs and guns underneath of the mountain, his son should be expatriate to America as American citizen, due his father really is, using several stock footage and almost shot at sound studio this movie has their enchants, touching in the racism, also enforces the virtue of democracy against the reds system, which the men weren't master of their own destiny, as far I remember Angie Dickinson was pretty than never, young and gorgeous, the famous and charismatic black singer Nat King Cole is another precious and colorful character, without forget the famous squad "The Big Red One" was quote for first time in this picture, that will be the smashing success and seminal masterpiece of Fuller on the future!!

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25