China Gate (1957 film)
Encyclopedia
China Gate is a 1957 Hollywood Cinemascope
war film
written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller
and released through 20th Century Fox
.
) and Goldie (Nat King Cole
) are American Korean War
veterans now serving as French Foreign Legion
mercenaries
in the First Indochina War
. Angie Dickinson
plays a "half caste" Chinese Eurasian
named "Lucky Legs" who resorts to smuggling to feed her five-year-old son she had with Brock. Brock abandoned her and the child when it was born with Asian features, feeling a "half breed" would not be welcome in America; an attitude towards miscegenation
prevalent at the time. Lucky is recruited by the French high command to use her knowledge to guide a demolition
squad
of Legionnaires led by Brock to blow up a hidden Viet Minh
ammunition dump on the border with Red China. In return for her services, Lucky is promised by the French that they will arrange for her son's evacuation to America.
The patrol
is filled with animosity between the former lovers, booby trap
s, and Viet Minh
patrols. On arrival at the ammunition dump hidden in a mountain, Dickinson discovers the commanding officer is a former friend Major Cham (Lee Van Cleef
) who wants to take her and her son to a new life in Moscow
. Van Cleef plays his role as a high flyer corporate executive (in the manner of Fuller's gangsters in Underworld USA) marked for great things in the world of international communism
. The sabotage
mission is successful but at great cost; Lucky dies blowing up the dump. Brock reconciles with his child and is last seen walking along holding his hand in preparation for returning to America, as Cole reprises the title song.
. Though Darryl F. Zanuck
said that Cole received more money in a few weeks then the entire budget of the film, Fuller arranged to meet Cole. Cole and his wife were interested in Goldie as an opposite to the racist Brock and agreed to work at a minimum salary. China Gate was the last score that Victor Young
composed; the film was finished by his friend Max Steiner
. Harold Adamson
wrote lyrics to Young's beautiful theme for the film. Though originally not intending to sing in the film, Cole sang China Gate as he walked through a bombed out village making it a memorable tune and a fitting tribute to the late Victor Young
.
Though ludicrous by today's standards, Angie Dickinson
makes the most out of her role. An actual Eurasian actress playing a love interest opposite a white European star was a rarity in Hollywood at the time. The Eurasian
Dickinson plays proves attractive to Brock, and to mainstream audiences of the time. Her character is allowed to speak Fuller's view on race relations and her character is respected both by the French military and by a local priest
whose life Lucky Legs had saved. Dickinson's character is similar to Fuller's prostitute protagonist
s in Pickup on South Street
and The Naked Kiss
. The dangerous patrol
allows for a gradual change of heart for Barry's character.
, Romain Gary
, inviting him to lunch. Gary said the film's prologue was too harsh towards France and asked Fuller to change it. Fuller did not, but the two became firm friends with similar interests. The film was never released in France.
Many years later, Fuller filmed a story of Gary's, White Dog
(1982), that Fuller and Curtis Hanson
adapted for the screen.
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller
Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.-Personal life:...
and released through 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Plot
Sergeant Brock (Gene BarryGene Barry
Gene Barry was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films The Atomic City and The War of The Worlds and for his portrayal of the title character in the TV series Bat Masterson, among many roles.-Personal life:Barry was born...
) and Goldie (Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
) are American Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
veterans now serving as French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
. Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
plays a "half caste" Chinese Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
named "Lucky Legs" who resorts to smuggling to feed her five-year-old son she had with Brock. Brock abandoned her and the child when it was born with Asian features, feeling a "half breed" would not be welcome in America; an attitude towards miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
prevalent at the time. Lucky is recruited by the French high command to use her knowledge to guide a demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
squad
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
of Legionnaires led by Brock to blow up a hidden Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
ammunition dump on the border with Red China. In return for her services, Lucky is promised by the French that they will arrange for her son's evacuation to America.
The patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
is filled with animosity between the former lovers, booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s, and Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
patrols. On arrival at the ammunition dump hidden in a mountain, Dickinson discovers the commanding officer is a former friend Major Cham (Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
) who wants to take her and her son to a new life in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Van Cleef plays his role as a high flyer corporate executive (in the manner of Fuller's gangsters in Underworld USA) marked for great things in the world of international communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. The sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
mission is successful but at great cost; Lucky dies blowing up the dump. Brock reconciles with his child and is last seen walking along holding his hand in preparation for returning to America, as Cole reprises the title song.
Production
Fuller selected singer Cole after being impressed with his face on a record album coverAlbum cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
. Though Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
said that Cole received more money in a few weeks then the entire budget of the film, Fuller arranged to meet Cole. Cole and his wife were interested in Goldie as an opposite to the racist Brock and agreed to work at a minimum salary. China Gate was the last score that Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
composed; the film was finished by his friend Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
. Harold Adamson
Harold Adamson
For the Toronto Police Chief see Harold Adamson Harold Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.- Biography :...
wrote lyrics to Young's beautiful theme for the film. Though originally not intending to sing in the film, Cole sang China Gate as he walked through a bombed out village making it a memorable tune and a fitting tribute to the late Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
.
Though ludicrous by today's standards, Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
makes the most out of her role. An actual Eurasian actress playing a love interest opposite a white European star was a rarity in Hollywood at the time. The Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
Dickinson plays proves attractive to Brock, and to mainstream audiences of the time. Her character is allowed to speak Fuller's view on race relations and her character is respected both by the French military and by a local priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
whose life Lucky Legs had saved. Dickinson's character is similar to Fuller's prostitute protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s in Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street is writer-director Samuel Fuller's film noir released by the 20th Century Fox studio. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter....
and The Naked Kiss
The Naked Kiss
The Naked Kiss is a 1964 neo-noir film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Constance Towers as Kelly, Anthony Eisley as Captain Griff and Michael Dante as J.L. Grant.-Plot:...
. The dangerous patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
allows for a gradual change of heart for Barry's character.
Banned in France
Before China Gate was to be released, Fuller received a call from the French Consul-General in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Romain Gary
Romain Gary
Romain Gary was a French diplomat, novelist, film director, World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice .- Early life :Gary was born in Vilnius under the name Roman Kacew...
, inviting him to lunch. Gary said the film's prologue was too harsh towards France and asked Fuller to change it. Fuller did not, but the two became firm friends with similar interests. The film was never released in France.
Many years later, Fuller filmed a story of Gary's, White Dog
White Dog
White Dog is a 1982 American drama film directed by Samuel Fuller using a screenplay written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson loosely based on Romain Gary's 1970 novel of the same title...
(1982), that Fuller and Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson
Curtis Lee Hanson is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle , L.A...
adapted for the screen.