J'ai acheté une Chinoise

I am a great fan of Jack Lord, and on my quest to find all his movies, I came upon this one...Its a superbly done movie, with a great plot! Its strange to see Jack Lord in any other role than in Hawaii 5-0.... I just loved it! Well done, James Clavell!

This is one of the strangest westerns I can recall--and for many reasons. First, the cast is odd. Jack Lord is the star and his friend is played by none other than Mel Tormé! It's also interesting that a Hawaiian of Japanese ancestry (James Shigeta) would play a Chinese man. And, the leading 'Chinese' lady in the film (Nobu McCarthy) was Japanese. Second, the plot is just odd...very, very odd. The film begins with a slave auction in California circa 1870 (give or take). When Linc Bartlett learns about this, he's appalled. He's even more upset to see a poor girl who is obviously very humiliated being stripped and sold. He steps in and buys the girl--intending to set her free. However, what happens next is completely unforeseen. I'd say more but it's just something you should probably see for yourself.

To me, this film was quite enjoyable but was also intended less as a history lesson and more a metaphor for the changing civil right atmosphere in the US in 1960. Still, it's pretty good--and quite interesting. One of Lord's few starring roles before vaulting to super-star status with "Hawaii Five-O".

I happened across this movie years ago on a independent t.v. station in the middle of the afternoon. I first watched because of Mel Torme, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying a western... *shock*. The one thing I recall most was how very "un-Mel" Mel was. His portrayal of a gunslinger was very low-key and VERY effective. If I ever get a chance to see this again, I'll have a tape ready to role. I strongly recommend it.

The movie is very typical of westerns with the exception of the role played by Mel Torme. Also it was different with a chinese man becoming a gunfighter. Very unusual for that time era. Jack Lord plays the usual hero. Protect the girl - fall for the girl - lose the girl.

I saw this movie in about 1966 on "Saturday Night At The Movies" and have never forgotten it. A lot of people are probably not aware that before Jack Lord struck gold with Hawaii Five 0 that he had a pretty good resume as an actor is westerns. As I said, I have not seen this movie since 1966 and have not been able to locate it on the available sources. I hope I find it soon and maybe someone can help me. Rest In Peace Mr. Lord, Mr. Torme', and Mr. Shigeta.