Decent adventure and suspense movie from Samuel Fuller with full of crossfire, drama, fights and violence. Action , adventure , war movie by the great Samuel Fuller in which Gene Barry leads a group of soldiers through the jungle and battling feared communists. Set in 1954, during the French Indochina War, near the end of the French phase of the Vietnam War, a group of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion are recruited to travel through enemy territory to the Chinese border, to infiltrate enemy territory in order to fly a weapons depot. A Eurasian smuggler, Lucky Legs (Angie Dickinson), agrees to use her connections to help them, in exchange for bringing her son to the United States. The boy's racist father, Sergeant Brock (Gene Evans), is also part of the multinational group. Lucky Legs must use the love of a Eurasian guerrilla leader, Major Cham (Lee Van Cleef), to gain access to the base. In 1954, the Battle of Ðien Bien Phu was fought between the Viet Minh, under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap, against the French Expeditionary Force in the Far East commanded by General Henri Navarra. It took place around the village of Dien Bien Phu and was the last battle of the Indochina War. Love and war in French Indochina! An American bomber trapped in love in a China at war!
An exciting and spectacular war adventure in which a group of multinational troops follows an officer against a communist stronghold in China to destroy a weapons depot. It is a violent adventure film that gained notoriety for its racial themes and notorious war scenes. The mainstream film was considerably criticized by filmmaker Fuller for its action and violence. Weak male leads, Gene Barry, Paul Dubov, Lee Van Cleef , George Givot, Maurice Marsac, Gerald Milton, James Hong, but Angie Dickinson shines as a Eurasian smuggler. This release gave Anie Dickinson her best character in years and her most compelling performance as she is truly magnificent.
It contains a sensitive and rousing musical score from Victor Young and Max Steiner. Victor Young had started composing the film score when he died at age 57. His friend Max Steiner, borrowed from Warner Bros, then shaped Mr. Young's notations and completed the soundtrack. The screen credit reads: "Music by Victor Young, extended by his old friend Max Steiner" . And Nat 'King' Cole who acts as soldier Goldie, performs, of course, some charming songs, such as: ¨China Gate¨, music by Victor Young and lyrics Harold Adamson. The movie displays an evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Joseph F. Biroc, though well set in Vietnam; however, being shot in the US : Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Springs Drive, Los Ángeles, California, Estados Unidos . The motion picture was competently made by Samuel Fuller. Fuller being especially known as filmmaker of such exploitation films as ¨Shock corridor¨ and ¨The naked kiss¨ where he proved his talent of vision and intelligence . Fuller made various Westerns as ¨I shot Jesse James(49)¨, ¨The baron of Arizona (50)¨, ¨Run of the arrow¨ (56) , ¨Forty guns(58)¨, and ¨The meanest men in the West (76)¨ , but his most fluid and strongest work lies in his war films as ¨Steel helmet (51)¨ , ¨Fixed bayonets (52)¨, ¨Hell and high water (55)¨, ¨China gate (57)¨ , ¨Merrill's Marauders (62)¨ and ¨The Big Red One (80)¨. Being his best films : ¨Pick up on South Street¨(53) , ¨Underworld Usa¨(60) and ¨White Dog¨(82) . ¨China Gate¨ rating: 6.5/10. The film is itself above average .
