Directed by Robert Wise (The Set-Up (1949), etc.) from a script Robert Anderson derived from Richard McKenna's novel (1963). In two sittings due to length. It proved to be more engrossing than I expected.
Engineer/"Jonah" Steve McQueen caught teacher-from-Vermont Candice Bergen's eye when he disembarked in Shanghai en route to his new posting on a gunboat on the Yangtze in the 1920s. Onboard he learnt that the actual labour is performed by Chinese coolies. After initially rejecting this arrangement as a violation of the natural order he realised that the proper training of the most promising of the locals aligned perfectly well with his rebellious nature. In the meantime Richard Attenborough tried to save Marayat Andriane/Emmanuelle Arsan from the local whorehouse favoured by the U.S. Navy sailors. Their romance was not entirely convincing perhaps due to her lack of acting chops or his wavering semi-British accent in concert with her lack of self determination. Violence increased as the boat went up and down the river during the initial rumblings of the Chinese Civil War. The captain (Richard Crenna) ended up a bit loopy. There was no salvation at "China Light", the missionary terminus.
McQueen got an Oscar nom for his efforts here but really he's about the same as always, that is, not great. Overall it functions fine as an epic in the wake of Doctor Zhivago (1965) and the spirit of Heart of Darkness (1899). The cinematography is up to it. The title is derived from the name of the boat, the USS San Pablo.
Bosley Crowther: a Việt Nam allegory, and therefore clearly clearing the way for Apocalypse Now (1979). "[W]e end up [...] with a beautifully mounted film, shot by Mr. Wise in lovely colour, mostly in the area of Taiwan; a curiously turgid and uneven attempt to generate a war romance, and a finally forceful and depressing blast at getting into trouble over our heads." Wikipedia. A website that collected everything about this movie.
