Porte de Chine

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.

Decent adventure and suspense movie from Samuel Fuller with full of crossfire, drama, fights and violence. Action , adventure , war movie by the great Samuel Fuller in which Gene Barry leads a group of soldiers through the jungle and battling feared communists. Set in 1954, during the French Indochina War, near the end of the French phase of the Vietnam War, a group of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion are recruited to travel through enemy territory to the Chinese border, to infiltrate enemy territory in order to fly a weapons depot. A Eurasian smuggler, Lucky Legs (Angie Dickinson), agrees to use her connections to help them, in exchange for bringing her son to the United States. The boy's racist father, Sergeant Brock (Gene Evans), is also part of the multinational group. Lucky Legs must use the love of a Eurasian guerrilla leader, Major Cham (Lee Van Cleef), to gain access to the base. In 1954, the Battle of Ðien Bien Phu was fought between the Viet Minh, under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap, against the French Expeditionary Force in the Far East commanded by General Henri Navarra. It took place around the village of Dien Bien Phu and was the last battle of the Indochina War. Love and war in French Indochina! An American bomber trapped in love in a China at war!

An exciting and spectacular war adventure in which a group of multinational troops follows an officer against a communist stronghold in China to destroy a weapons depot. It is a violent adventure film that gained notoriety for its racial themes and notorious war scenes. The mainstream film was considerably criticized by filmmaker Fuller for its action and violence. Weak male leads, Gene Barry, Paul Dubov, Lee Van Cleef , George Givot, Maurice Marsac, Gerald Milton, James Hong, but Angie Dickinson shines as a Eurasian smuggler. This release gave Anie Dickinson her best character in years and her most compelling performance as she is truly magnificent.

It contains a sensitive and rousing musical score from Victor Young and Max Steiner. Victor Young had started composing the film score when he died at age 57. His friend Max Steiner, borrowed from Warner Bros, then shaped Mr. Young's notations and completed the soundtrack. The screen credit reads: "Music by Victor Young, extended by his old friend Max Steiner" . And Nat 'King' Cole who acts as soldier Goldie, performs, of course, some charming songs, such as: ¨China Gate¨, music by Victor Young and lyrics Harold Adamson. The movie displays an evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Joseph F. Biroc, though well set in Vietnam; however, being shot in the US : Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Springs Drive, Los Ángeles, California, Estados Unidos . The motion picture was competently made by Samuel Fuller. Fuller being especially known as filmmaker of such exploitation films as ¨Shock corridor¨ and ¨The naked kiss¨ where he proved his talent of vision and intelligence . Fuller made various Westerns as ¨I shot Jesse James(49)¨, ¨The baron of Arizona (50)¨, ¨Run of the arrow¨ (56) , ¨Forty guns(58)¨, and ¨The meanest men in the West (76)¨ , but his most fluid and strongest work lies in his war films as ¨Steel helmet (51)¨ , ¨Fixed bayonets (52)¨, ¨Hell and high water (55)¨, ¨China gate (57)¨ , ¨Merrill's Marauders (62)¨ and ¨The Big Red One (80)¨. Being his best films : ¨Pick up on South Street¨(53) , ¨Underworld Usa¨(60) and ¨White Dog¨(82) . ¨China Gate¨ rating: 6.5/10. The film is itself above average .

Sam Fuller's worst war film is worth watching-or at least scanning-for several reasons. The most obvious is the bizarre casting. Then there is the unpersuasive attempt to recreate Vietnam on a studio backlot,which would be duplicated with not much more success years later by Stanley Kubrick in Full Metal Jacket(1987). Finally,both the screw loose plotting and the rabid Red-baiting have become unintentionally comic with the passage of time. This was in fact Sam Fuller's first-ever film for a major Hollywood studio(Twentieth Century-Fox)and his first to be presented in full widescreen Cinemascope.

A voice-over introduction sets a hyperbolic tone: "With the end of the Korean War,France was left alone to hold the hottest front in the world and became the barrier between Communism and the rape of Asia." Moments later,we learn that because the dirty Reds have put the Vietnamese town of Sun Toy under siege,a little boy's(Warren Hsieh)pet puppy is about to be eaten! Presumably because 1957,American audiences did not know much about the country or the war,Fuller spends most of the first act spinning out a fanciful interpretation of the situation,blaming many of the country's problems on the Chinese Communists and their massive underground ammunition bunker at China Gate. The French Legionaires decide it to blow it up,and call in explosives expert Sgt. Brock(Gene Barry). The only person who can lead them from Sun Toy to China Gate is Lucky Legs(Angie Dickinson in one of her first major roles),who is allegedly half-Chinese. She's also Brock's ex,and if that weren't enough,the kid with the puppy is their son! That's doubly hard to believe because the stars generate all the sexual chemistry of two wet paper towels. Not to mention in 1957,white actors or actresses were playing roles of minorities,whether Latino or Asian or Arabian were stereotypical then.

After that's been established,the already pokey action stops cold for Goldie(Nat "King" Cole) to not only demonstrate his acting abilities but also sings the theme song. Then off they go,with a half dozen or so more Legionaires and a couple of boxes of highly explosive detonators. At every opportunity.one or more of these guys bears his tortured soul,and as they get closer to the Chicorns,it becomes apparent that our girl Lucky has been a sort of one-woman welcoming committee whose mission is to boost morale in every way that she can. All the guys know her because she makes regular visits to the Chinese to deliver cognac and sex,even though her main squeeze is the commander of China Gate,Maj. Cham(Lee Van Cleef),yet another half-Chinese who is in line for a promotion to Moscow.

With only a few exceptions,the combat scenes are as phony as the rest. They were filmed on cheap-looking sets with little originality or energy. Nothing on screen comes as close to Fuller's better work in "The Steel Helmet",and "The Big Red One". Still,"China Gate" is instructive. It's a perfect example of Hollywood's attempt to turn every post-war conflict into another World War II. When the film does try to draw any distinctions,it still reduces the action to good guys versus bad guys. If a few Americans will just go over there and blow up stuff and shoot some guys,those benighted foreigners will see the error of their ways and everything will straighten itself out. That's a bit of oversimplification,but given the loopy politics of China Gate,it's not too far off the mark. It misses it.

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.

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......