Höllenjagd bis ans Ende der Welt

With tongue firmly in cheek Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong and the rest of the cast give us a spoof of all those old action/adventure flicks from the 30s and 40s. The film is set in Kuomintang China which has always been a good source for these films, a fluid political situation, a weak central government and a lot of warlords in business for themselves.

Industrialist Wilford Brimley has gone to Asia and vanished, but that hasn't stopped his daughter from spending his money like it had no end. But the end might be coming as his partner Robert Morley wants him declared legally dead and by terms of their partnership he gets control of the company and daughter Bess Armstrong is out in the cold. She might have to do like others do and actually go to work.

Heaven forfend so she hires former air ace Tom Selleck who comes with two World War I era biplanes and a mechanic played by Jack Weston. This partnership takes her to Afghanistan, Nepal, and finally the westernmost province of China Sinkiang in search of Brimley.

Along the way all the old clichés concerning these films is employed and of course chemistry cannot be denied. Selleck and Armstrong become an item and Selleck finds some use for his former aviation combat skills.

By the way I loved and I'm sure you'll love Brimley's explanation as to why Armstrong will be well taken care of despite efforts to the contrary.

Those efforts are being directed by Robert Morley who I can never resist seeing in any film. There's also a nice performance by Brian Blessed as an Afghan warlord.

Tom Selleck's fans should love High Road To China.