Une histoire de Chine

William Holden and Clifton Webb make an engaging pair of priests in China at the time of the 1949 Communist take-over.

Since Holden arrives late to replace Webb at the mission, the latter isn't able to get out in time as the Communist forces invade.

This is a story of how 2 different priests in the way of Crosby and Fitzgerald in "Going My Way" come to know one another under such adverse conditions.

The film succeeds due to its depiction of the eventual disillusionment towards Communism of a Chinese person who almost became a priest before being totally brainwashed by the Red system.

France Nuyen is absolutely wonderful as the young girl, who is saved by the Holden character and refuses to leave him. There is definitely a comic take to this fine film as Priest Webb will eventually think that her unborn child is that of Father O'Banion (Holden)

The film shows how the Communists would go to any length, including murder to get their point across. It shows how individual thought is done away with under the Communist system.

This movie is a typical example of American 1950-1960's anti-communist propaganda. Regardless of one's political persuasion, the portrayal of the Communist soldiers (and in particular the Communist colonel Ho San) is ridiculously exaggerated, just like the priests, who seem to be pure saints. A very black-and-white story, shot in colour. It can be interesting to watch as a historical document from a time of ideological hostility at the height of the Cold War, but as a movie it has few appealing qualities.

One thing which truly disturbed me was how the Chinese people were portrayed. The only Chinese characters who act like adults are the Communist leaders. The rest of them mostly act like enthusiastic but stupid children (despite them being adults), which reeks of racism. Just look at the thieving cook, he acts like a total imbecil. Not to mention Siu Lan, who seems to have the mental qualities of a 10-year old. If you're interested in Cold War propaganda history, or have similar academic reasons for watching this movie, then by all means do. Few movies are so outspoken as this one in terms of purpose. But if you're looking for some nice cineastic entertainment, don't waste your time.

Satan Never Sleeps is the final film by great director Leo McCarey, whose finest hour was probably the fondly-remembered Going My Way. This is almost a remake of Going My Way in many ways, but back in 1962 when the film was released it was savaged by critics who found it vulgar, cliche-ridden and boring. When I first saw the film in 1993, I was pleasantly surprised by it. The performances are good, the story maintains a reasonable level of interest, and it is shot colourfully. The film is certainly overlong and some of the characters are painted in too broad strokes, but apart from that the critics were unfairly unkind to the film.

Father O'Banion (William Holden) and Father Bovard (Clifton Webb) are a couple of Catholic priests running a remote mission post in China in 1949. O'Banion has recently befriended a young Chinese woman Siu Lan (France Nuyen), but she makes him feel uncomfortable by frequently flirting with him and hinting that she would like to share his bed. Communist forces move into the area and damage the priests' chapel. To add to their woes, Siu Lan is raped and impregnated, and the Communist forces order the public execution of all Christians in the region. Ultimately, they have to flee for safety, pursued by Communist soldiers.

The film was actually filmed in England and Wales, but only occasionally does the lack of authentic location lensing show. Holden gives a decent performance and Webb, though miscast, is entertaining to watch as his older companion. Nuyen strikes the right balance as the flirtatious native girl. The worst performance comes from Weaver Lee, as a Chinese communist colonel - his character is written as a caricature rather than a realistic person, and he just can't get across a convincing reading of the role. On the whole, Satan Never Sleeps is an engrossing, diverting way to pass a couple of hours - certainly not the mega bomb that the critics would have you believe.

William Holden (looking disinterested) and fey Clifton Webb are priests in the 1940s serving at a Chinese mission and being terrorized by the Red Chinese Army. Holden is actually being terrorized in another way as well--by twinkling servant Frances Nuyen, who's anxious to snuggle up to the heavy-sighing Man of the Cloth. Director Leo McCarey helmed this adaptation of Pearl Buck's novel as either a comedy-drama or as a drama with a comedic undermining (I'm not sure which, as the tone of the film strays all over the place). There are Communist takeover sequences such as the crucifix thrown on the fire which should be harrowing, but McCarey directs it thoughtlessly, cartoonishly. We never really fear for Holden or Webb's safety because the direction is so dispassionate (and Holden is so laconic) that fear seems nearly unwarranted. I actually found the Nuyen-seducing-Holden scenes more tasteless than the violence, and the pat conclusion is tacked on for silly relief--but by then the viewer has no idea where to stand emotionally with "Satan Never Sleeps". It's a curiosity, but not a particularly good example of one. ** from ****

Passably entertaining, but often unconvincing, silly, and down-right hokey, Leo McCarey's film of Pearl S. Buck's original screenplay "China Story," "Satan Never Sleeps" takes place during the Communist takeover of China in the late 1940's. Possibly seeking to replicate his success with the Oscar-winning "Going My Way," McCarey tackles the story of a younger priest sent to relieve an aging priest at a remote Chinese mission. However, the charming conflict between Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald is beyond the reach of William Holden and Clifton Webb. Although Webb, in his final screen role, is quite good as crusty Father Bovard, Holden as Father O'Banion is uneven, and neither actor benefits from France Nuyen's annoying presence. The French-Vietnamese Nuyen's Siu Lan, a young Chinese girl with an obsession for Holden, mugs and grins like a schoolgirl in a childish performance that undercuts the film's moral core. Not only does Siu Lan moon over a man obviously twice her age, but she ignores his priestly vows and even suggests he switch religions to attain her goal. The lack of candor between O'Banion and Bovard with regard to Siu Lan's intentions is puzzling, given that the elder priest would have been O'Banion's confessor, and the entire situation could have been cleared at the outset.

The script by Claude Binyon and McCarey himself simplifies Communism and the Chinese Civil War; rather than explore issues and motivations in historical context, the film uses blatant propaganda to paint a good-versus-evil, black-and-white portrait of the period. The propagandist approach was likely Buck's, because she had been refused entry to China during this period. Helming his last film, McCarey directs with a heavy hand and cannot decide between light comedy, tragedy, and political drama; the film abruptly weaves between various moods and succeeds at none. Although poor rear projection and obvious painted backdrops mark the image, Oswald Morris's impressive cinematography captures the Welsh locations that convincingly stand in for rural China.

Marred by a simplistic political backdrop, an unconvincing dynamic between the two priests, and a performance by France Nuyen that grates like fingernails on a blackboard, "Satan Never Sleeps" is not worthy to be the swan song of two cinematic talents: Leo McCarey and Clifton Webb. Both are better remembered for their classics from the 1930's and 1940's. While Holden survived the film to give some remarkable performances in the following decades, Nuyen was relegated to minor roles, principally in television series. Unfortunately, this film is not a high point on any participant's resume.