Blood Alley

The first of two awesome films John Wayne and Lauren Bacall would make together! this one, from 1955. J. Wayne is Captain Wilder; Bacall is Cathy Grainger, and when WIlder is taken to her camp, they must work together to escape the communist chinese. made exactly ten years after the big war. Bacall and Wayne will work together again, twenty years later, in the Shootist, a western, of course. In Blood Alley, Wilder keeps looking up, and talking to "Baby", and for most of the film, we're not sure just who she is, and why he talks to her. They load up the boat and make a run for it to try to escape. Wilder is the Uber-hero, a one-man show who can do it all with the help of the locals. SO similar to Inn of the Sixth Happiness, a couple years later. Blood Alley is from Warner Brothers, (and Wayne's own production company) while "Inn" was made by Twentieth Centry Fox. Blood was directed by the infamous William Wellman! one of his last directing jobs... he only made three more after this. Story by Albert Fleischman, one of several novels by him. It's quite entertaining, if almost too good to be true. Appears to have been filmed in the bays and riverways of southern california. It's no award winner, but it's a feel good story, shown on Turner Classics now and then.

At least one of my all time favourite for this kind of genre: anti red fashion. Not because of the message, the plot, but the cast, scenery, directing, and William Wellman is a director whose film have always more or less - here, more - enchanted me. Here, the Duke co stars Lauren Bacall, who was in real life on the total opposite political side of Wayne; and that's pretty interesting to know regarding this very movie, the plot, the scheme. There is nothing exceptional, jawdropping here, but I love this atmosphere, surroundings in China. I felt more or less the same in SAND PEBBLES, made eleven years later. And it is the first time that Duke and former Humphrey Bogart's wife starred together; twenty one years before THE SHOOTIST.

"i think they just want to evilize the Chinese communist government (they may be or not be, now their people are manufacturing for the world)"

This, posted above, reflects the attitude of several commenters whose left-wing sphincters reflexively contracted the second they read the name "John Wayne".

"Blood Alley" isn't great, and it isn't one of Wayne's best movies, but it's well-made and entertaining enough to be worthy of at least one viewing.

As for "evilizing" the Chinese government, Mao Zedong and his regime did a fine job of doing that themselves when their actions resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of their own people, not to mention brutal imprisonment of non-criminals, slavery, stupid agricultural policies that resulted in mass starvation, etc., etc. It's no wonder the people in the film's village wanted to escape. But damn John Wayne and his conservative cronies for making it the background of an escapist adventure movie. Because after all, the death and oppression of countless innocent people that is the legacy of the communists in China is okay, because "now their people are manufacturing for the world", and who is the Duke to say otherwise?

Blood Alley stars John Wayne as a resolute boat captain (replacing Robert Mitchum) who becomes involved in evacuating a Chinese village - and Lauren Bacall - across the perilous Formosa Strait (also known as Blood Alley) on a rickety paddle steamer, heading for safety in Hong Kong. Wayne and Bacall share strong chemistry, despite Hedda Hopper's critical comments in her column, where she dismissed Bacall's casting as detrimental to the film (which it isn't).

Several white actors portray Chinese characters (including Paul Fix and Berry Kroeger), and Mike Mazurki shines in one of his best roles as Big Han, though it's unclear whether his character is meant to be Chinese, Mongolian, or something else.

Henry Nakamura delivers a solid performance as the sharp-tongued engineer. An interesting bit of trivia: Swedish actress Anita Ekberg plays a Chinese peasant and won the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, despite appearing in just two or three scenes, with no lines of dialogue.

William Wellman solidly directed and William Clothier beautifully photographed this preposterous Cold War saga of Chinese villagers that steal an old stern-wheeler ferry to escape from Red China. The entire village uproots and sails the ancient dilapidated vessel through the treacherous Formosa Straits, which are known as Blood Alley, towards Hong Kong and freedom. Of course, with a stalwart John Wayne at the helm, the boat is in good hands, at least when the Duke is not distracted by Lauren Bacall. Bacall, who seems to have wandered in from another film, has confused living in a small Chinese fishing village with taking a suite at the Hong Kong Hilton. Her stylish clothes are always immaculate and fresh; her make-up is perfectly applied; and her coiffures must have taken hours to complete. The brass bed in her room always has clean, pressed sheets, and an invisible army of elves evidently sweeps and dusts her home every night.

But, aside from the incongruities and the racial stereotyping that was rampant when the film was produced, "Blood Alley" is an incredibly entertaining film that holds up to repeated viewings. Once the action leaves land, the escape at sea is exciting and often tense. Gunboats, storms, and treachery abound, although the Duke never loses his good-natured cool. Neither does Bacall, who remains confused about her surroundings and is dressed and manicured for a cruise aboard the Queen Mary. However, the film is great fun, if not as campy as it could have been. Mike Mazurki lends good support as a loyal Chinese villager, although he looks less Asian than John Wayne did in "The Conqueror."

The stunningly composed landscapes that are bathed in ravishing colors and splashed across the Cinemascope screen are worth a viewing in themselves. The beauty of the countryside should have kept Wayne's attention focused, because Bacall is too cold and hard as a love interest, even for a man who ostensibly spent years in a Chinese prison. Maureen O'Hara always played well with Wayne, and perhaps she would have injected some blood and life into the role. Nevertheless, "Blood Alley" remains a guilty pleasure and loads of fun for those who love watching John Wayne play John Wayne and do not demand an entirely credible storyline.