Visa pour Hong Kong

After boy-genius Orson Welles gave us his debut masterpiece `Citizen Kane', followed it up with the wonderful `Magnificent Ambersons'(and who could forget his charismatic Harry Lime in Carol Reed's `Third Man'?) he really had nowhere to go except down.

But I never expected to see him as he is in `Ferry to Hong Kong' mugging and pulling faces to try to produce cheap laughs in an awful English accent. He even waddles around at one stage with a board strapped to his back, all dignity gone. To paraphrase a well-known script-writer from Stratford `When great Orson fell, what a fall was there!'

Otherwise this is a pretty poor attempt at a comedy with perhaps some interest for those who want to see ever-changing Hong Kong as it was in the late Fifties.

I wish I hadn't seen `Ferry to Hong Kong'

I was in my teens when I saw Ferry to Hong Kong in 1959, after it went on general release in the UK. My memory is that it was an enjoyable, colourful adventure film. I loved seeing any film in the cinema, especially if it was in colour and widescreen (CinemaScope in this case) Curt (sometimes credited as Curd) Jurgens was a familiar face, having seen him in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness the previous year. I recall thinking that he again gave a very favourable impression with a likeable performance.

I've often thought I'd like to see it again to see how it stands up to my memory of the film but it's been neglected on home video and is only available in the UK on a poor-quality DVD but at least is in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen. On watching the DVD, it turns out to be a major disappointment compared with my fond memory of the film. I won't repeat the problems which have been well documented about the making of the film but one has to wonder what persuaded the Rank Organisation to approve what was a high budget film based on such an extremely slight story line. For three quarters of the film, the main plot involves Curt Jurgens as a down-and-out being stuck on a ferry, running backward and forward between Hong Kong and Macau; unable to disembark due to documentation irregularities. This becomes tedious because there is no drama or conflict involving his predicament Much screen time consists of arguments with the captain, played by Orson Welles giving his worst ever hammy performance in a ludicrous English accent, obviously dubbed (badly) in post-production.

It's one of those films where the main actors seem to be working at odds against each other with no sense of common purpose. Sylvia Syms does her best in a thankless role, as does Jeremy Spencer. The final 20 minutes features a half-hearted action sequence when the ship is boarded by thieves and there is some much need action and conflict but it comes too late. The film needed a tighter script and a clearer idea as to whether it was meant to be a comedy, a drama or an adventure. One thing that almost makes the film worth seeing are the wide-screen colour location scenes of Hong Kong in the 1950s.

Apparently this film did very badly at the box office, yet in time it may be regarded with the same nostalgia as the all time classics. It has a top class cast and is much underrated. Well worth watching again and again.

Ferry to Hong Kong is a mildly amusing film due to an obese Orson Welles treating the film as a farcical comedy. He plays Captain Hart, who despite the prissy exterior is a bit of a blackguard. He runs an old ferry between Hong Kong to Macau.

Hart is stuck with Mark Conrad (Curd Jürgens) a drunken, troublemaker, expelled from Hong Kong and denied entry to Macau. He is destined to remain a passenger on the ferry much to Hart's anger, he even sets up a rigged bet to get rid off this unwanted passenger. Despite looking dishevelled Conrad earns the sympathy of Liz (Sylvia Syms) who is a teacher to some children regularly on board.

Conrad and Captain Hart have to set aside their mutual loathing when the ship encounters a typhoon and later seized by pirates with Conrad having to take responsibility and control of the situation the ship's passengers find themselves in.

The film benefits from the Hong Kong location shooting which provides a colourful backdrop, the script is pedestrian and at times hammy as Welles performance.

Absolutely fantastic film with three greats at the top of their game The legend Noel Purcell, Jurgens & Wells as two opposites or are they are excellently cast.

Wells English accent & comedy timing is very good, shame he didn't do more comedy, Jurgens is just pure class as the black sheep rouge

Amazing action sets the wonderful cast crew locations are a gem of its time well worth a watch and beautiful Sylvia Syms always a treat