User Reviews

THE MOUNTAIN ROAD is an unusual WW2 film in that the enemy combatants are never actually seen during the production, only referred to. Jimmy Stewart and his men are busy blowing up bridges and ammunition dumps in readiness for the imminent arrival of the Japanese in China, but the main thrust of the story is a more nuanced and character-focused drama in which Stewart becomes obsessed with dispensing justice against the Chinese looters who threaten the safety of his men.

For a little-known film such as this, THE MOUNTAIN ROAD is surprisingly good in places. Although it's slow and almost entirely lacking in battle action, the characters are what keep you watching. The Arizona locations successfully convince as rural China and Stewart's steady presence sees the movie through from beginning to end. My favourite character by far is the one played by the excellent Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu, who would later star in Shaw's 14 AMAZONS. Lu is far more than just a love interest and her subtle performance is really fantastic; few performers could convey her level of anguish through just a few words and expressions. In some instances THE MOUNTAIN ROAD manages to have its cake and eat it by offering the spectacle of a massive explosive set-piece and a great climatic action scene while at the same time remaining resolutely anti-war.

It is often said, wrongly, that James Stewart never made a war film, and the reason normally given is that his own wartime experiences had left him with the conviction that war was not something to be glamourised by Hollywood. In fact, Stewart was far from being a pacifist- he continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve after the war, eventually attaining the rank of general- and did in fact make two films about World War II, of which "The Mountain Road" is one, the other being "Malaya" from 1949. He also made "Shenandoah" about the American Civil War and "Strategic Air Command", a film set in peacetime but with a distinctly patriotic theme about the deterrent role of the US Air Force in the Cold War.

"The Mountain Road" is set in China, an unusual setting for a Hollywood war film. Stewart plays Major Baldwin, the commander of a small American demolition unit tasked with aiding the Chinese war effort by blowing up installations such as airfields and munitions dumps to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, as well as destroying bridges and roads to slow down the Japanese advance into China. (Strangely, not a single Japanese character appears in the film, even as a figure in the remote distance). Although the Americans are officially in China as allies of the country's government and its armed forces, relations between them and the Chinese civilian population are often difficult as the roads which Baldwin and his men destroy are being used not just by the Japanese invaders but also by Chinese refugees attempting to flee. Another plotline deals with a growing romance between Baldwin and Hung Su-Mei, the American-educated widow of a Chinese general.

Tensions between the Americans and the Chinese come to a head when three of Baldwin's men are killed, one trampled to death by starving peasants when he was foolishly idealistic enough to try and distribute surplus food among them, the other two murdered by bandits. Baldwin's patience snaps and he decides to exact revenge, not just against the bandits but also against the local population, even though they are citizens of an allied power.

The film is sometimes described as "anti-war", but it was made with the cooperation of the U. S. Army, who were presumably happy with the script. The truth is that it rather pulls its punches in this respect. It is not a traditional patriotic war film; if it had been, it would doubtless have concentrated much more on the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China and have ended with a spectacular action finale in which Baldwin and his men, with a little help from their Chinese allies, put the enemy to rout. On the other hand, it is not really convincing as an anti-war movie either.

The general theme is that, in wartime, men like Baldwin, who are not evil by nature, may do bad things if they over-react under great provocation. That, however, is not in itself a convincing argument for pacifism. Anyone with any knowledge of the Chinese theatre in World War II will know that the Allies were facing an enemy whose leaders were evil by nature and were prepared to commit the most evil crimes with no provocation at all. Baldwin's rampage against the bandits pales into insignificance when compared to something like the Nanking Massacre. The crimes committed by the Axis Powers have always been a strong counter-argument to the pacifist position that force should never be met with force, something which explains why few explicitly anti-war films have been made about the Second World War.

The film tends to pull its punches in other ways as well. The relationship between Baldwin and Su-Mei fizzles out and, it is implied, is never consummated, possibly because the anti-miscegenation provisions of the Production Code were still in force in 1960. Exceptions could occasionally be made for romances between Caucasian men and Asian women, but the female partner generally had to be played by a white actress, like Jennifer Jones in "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". There are attempts to say something about leadership and the psychological burdens of command, but these never say much of interest. Stewart's performance is a reasonably good one, but this is not one of his best films. 5/10.

This film can really be subtitled, "Why did We Bother to Get Involved?". It is the kind of World War II film that Hollywood would never have shot in the 1940s. For the purpose of wartime propaganda is to attack one enemy at a time. In 1941 - 1945 the Japanese were the enemy, and our allies were the brave Chinese people. Only a handful of specialists on China knew the complexity of relationships in Chinese politics. One was Lieutenant General Joseph ("Vinigar Joe") Stillwell, who had been in China since the 1930s. He knew the main enemy was Japan, but he had little trust for the Kuomintang government of General Chang Kai Shek, which he knew was corrupt. China since the teens had been suffering from a large number of civil wars between generals with armies called "War-Lords". When Sun Yat Sen founded the Kuomingtang he hoped to get the assistance of the west to build up it's arms and defeat the war-lords. Unfortunately the Japanese prevented this kind of period of consolidation to occur, so Chang found he was supporting the representatives of a constitutional government, and was opposed by the Japanese and the War-Lords. Then a third foe arose: the Communists under Mao Tse Tung. In such a complex quilt pattern like country, we could not know who were our friends or foes. Washington, D.C. decided our ally was Chang, and Stillwell was frustrated on the support we wasted on him and his cohorts.

THE MOUNTAIN ROAD is a simple film about a set of Americans, led by Jimmy Stewart, who are ordered to slow down a Japanese advance into Western China by the Japanese. The interesting thing of the movie is that we never seen any Japanese soldiers. No we see only Americans and Chinese. We see how they mingle and interrelate, but also how they may end up fighting. Americans being hurt by one of the brave allied people we try to help - how familiar that sounds nowadays.

Stewart initially tries to get permission from the local Kuomintgang Colonel to blow up a bridge. He does get it, although he finds the customs of the Colonel too showy (he has to eat some lunch with the Colonel). He is given the use of a Colonel Kwan (Henry Silva) as a translator, and he has to escort a well educated woman, a General's widow (Lisa Lu) to the town that is their destination. Stewart has always wanted to have a command, so he had agreed to this one. He has Harry Morgan as his chief sergeant, James Best and Mike Kellin as two of his troops, and Glenn Corbett as Collins, his right hand man and translator.

The film really follows how the Americans deal with their erstwhile allies, and the results are somewhat discouraging. As time passes Steward's patience with the Chinese begins to crack. In particular two tragedies destroy it: the death of Collins while trying to do an act of kindness to the starving villagers they are among; and the roadside murder and robbery of two of the men (one a sick man) by Chinese soldiers turned into bandits. Stewart and Lu had slowly developed a love affair but the two tragedies, and Stewart's reaction to the second destroy what chances the bi-racial love affair might have had. In the end they part, and Stewart realizes he was to blame for it.

Or was he? Lu makes several realistic assessments of what her China requires to survive, and it is right that unity is needed. But she is unwilling to admit that her people do not have the right to kill people for personal gain. She keeps hiding behind the fact that they don't know better. Yet the scene when Stewart catches the thief and murderers drinking in a bar in a town, they realize what he is there about and start arming themselves for the upcoming fight. Stewart tries to explain his seeking punishment of the guilty was do to the headiness of having the power of life and death in the form of his getting an active command on the field. That may be true, but the two incidents involving his men and the locals hardly paint them as innocents types protecting themselves against wicked Americans. In the end the two points of view just cannot meet at a particular point. So the romance cannot last. But the audience wonders if friendship between the two countries is worth it in the end.

Any Stewart movie is worth viewing and this one is no exception as Stewart works very hard with a challenging script to make this work. He nearly pulls it off though the lines in the script just are not real memorable. This is a rare picture of China being invaded by the Japanese in World War 2 and the issues of those fighting them.

There is a bit of romance here between Stewart and Lisa Lu (who was in Crazy Rich Asians this summer), though the romance is a low simmer based more on the situation than on sparks between the players. The issues of American relations with Chinese is addressed in many interesting ways.

The movie does play a bit long, but was so glad to check it out on Prime. It is a rarely played film and with a cast including Harry Morgan is a bit long though the action sequences are pretty well done in this black and white military drama. It poses complicated questions about the war relations with China which are rarely brought up. No Japanese appear in the film as they always seem to be one step out of range.

It's World War II in China. The Japanese are advancing and the Chinese and a handful of Americans are retreated. Among the Americans is James Stewart, an army engineer, and half a dozen of his men. Their task, should they choose to accept it, which of course they do, is to retreat to an Allied base a hundred or so miles away, blowing up the bridges after they cross them. The roads are choked with civilian refugees, and along the way, Stewart and his trucks are compelled to pick up a Chinese colonel and a young widow as passengers.

The Chinese colonel is played by Frank Silvera with a mustache. This guy deserves a decoration just for the number of different ethnic types he's played. He was a genetic chameleon. In real life, he was of mixed background, born in Jamaica, but he found a niche in Hollywood's go-anywhere ethnic roles. The young widow is Lisa Lu, born in Beijing. I don't mean to cast aspersions on her in any way. She's attractive and has the precise enunciation that sounds as if it belongs to a hostess of a late-night FM station that plays nothing but chamber music. If she says something like "immediate departure" she observes the original juncture and pronounces both the "t" and the following "d," whereas when Americans make the same utterance it comes out "immediadepature." But I must say, she isn't Zhang Ziyi, let alone Gong Li, with whom I am deeply in love. I can't understand why she doesn't respond to my many proposals of marriage but I suppose it's her loss. Still, if you have to travel over rough country, pursued by a dangerous enemy, Lisa Lu will be a serviceable traveling companion.

There are some welcome comic moment interpolated. Morgan and Stewart are arguing over some decision. Stewart sternly reminds Morgan that he, Stewart, is in command. "Oh, I understand. In this war your either a big wheel or a slob. I'm a slob too." "Come of it, Mike; you know I couldn't run this outfit without you." "Oh, that's because I'm a HELPFUL slob." "Well, what do you suggest." "I don't know, major, slobs don't have any brains." Something like that. It's actually kind of amusing in context.

Stewart's major is a pretty abrasive and instrumental customer. He's all business, impatient with the customs of the Chinese. He makes a report to a colonel at a way station and they insist he stay for tea and lunch, while he fidgets anxiously, dying to get under way. It doesn't help that Stewart's jeep and four trucks run into some of the usual problems during this kind of journey -- a bridge must be blown, leaving hundreds of poor Chinese on the other side; a merchant's dilapidated trucks blocks the road and must be pushed off the cliff; one of the men is seriously ill and there is neither medicine nor doctor around.

Stewart's men, by the way, include some of the more familiar and reliable supporting actors in the business: Mike Kellin, James Best, Rudy Bond, Glenn Corbett, and Henry "Harry" Morgan, who should make up his mind about his name. The soldier who gets sick can't act. The movie is to be applauded for not turning the Chinese into altruistic saints, a pattern that recurs in movies where soldiers have to deal with alien civilians. Corbett, the nice guy, the most sympathetic of the enlisted men, carries some extra food out to the refugees. The crowd turns savage and they beat him to death and run off with the loot. Later, one of the trucks is ambushed and several men killed, and Stewart exacts an awesome revenge.

It costs Stewart because he's grown fond of Luci Lu, as who wouldn't. He doesn't get the girl. She resents his killing of Chinese and they part before the end of the road is reached. He makes some plea about using "power" that sounds like mumbo jumbo. There are some nice special effects for those who enjoy seeing things blown up big time.

It's an adult movie. The relationships between the Americans and the Chinese are faithfully sketched in. The novel was written by Teddy White ("The Making of the President....") who had learned Chinese at Harvard and spent time there during the war. The political system, as we see it, and in real historical fact, was a chaotic collage of conflicting loyalties. Two major forces were trying to unify a huge country that was ruled by local warlords. The two forces were the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Sheck and the Communists under Mao Dz Dung. Both were fighting the Japanese and both were corrupt dictators manqué. Chiang was known for charging the Americans to let them build air bases in China in order to help him, Chiang, fight the Japanese. There were many deserters from both camps and bandits who owed allegiance to no party. And there we were, in the middle of all of it, just as we are today, as I write this.

This somber view of war has some moments that are beyond shocking, dealing with the track of an American troop through the Chinese mountains to blow up a road that's a Japanese are using to get through. They have to deal with so much more than just the dangers of the mountains but bandits, starving villagers, and the different viewpoints of the situation, not only between the American soldiers but between Sir James Stewart and the Chinese officers they encounter who have a different way of looking at things.

A beautiful Chinese woman, Lisa Lu (the widow of an executed Chinese officer), accompanies them, and offers store not only advice on how to deal with the rugged terrain but the different viewpoints between cultures, and everything is fine with her until a subtle attraction begins to grow between her and Stewart. With everything going on, the war story was all they needed and the inclusion of romance is a pointless intrusion. Stewart also has to deal with growing tensions among his men, including one who is ill from the extreme heat, a few intense rivalries which threatened to turn violent, and the sudden shocking death of one of them from a simple act of kindness.

Co-starring in the above average ensemble or Glenn Corbett, Harry Morgan, Frank Maxwell and Rudy Bond, and they are all very good. The sardonic humor of Morgan and cynicism of Maxwell are contrasted by the good nature of Corbett, the most level headed of them all, even Stewart. He's giving quite an aggressive performance here, and not speaking in that slow drawl that has had mimics imitating him for years. This is very well filmed, dealing with several important issues, including racism, not only to the Japanese, the enemy, but to the Chinese, supposed allies. Racism from people living in the mountains towards the American soldiers results in some horrifying violence. An anti-war view of war, very surprising considering its very all American star, showing a slowly created madness that destroys even the strongest when the real horrors of war get to be too much even for the strongest of soldiers.

In The Mountain Road, a US Army Major stationed in East China in 1944 is ordered to blow up military installations in order to slow down the advancing Japanese Arm

This is the most dull film in existence... and with James Stewart as lead, that's saying something. I really couldn't make it through and literally fell asleep. Uninteresting from the outset, like why would the Chinese commander let them blow up their own bridge or at least sign off on it. Then the widow of a Chinese colonel joins them and that seems be the focal point of the film for some reason. At no point could I get into this one.

I watched this movie on commercial late-night TV when I was 17 (in 1969). I am sure I then missed most of what was there to be gleaned, however, the soundtrack was compelling.

The movie is something of a preview of coming events (not unlike "The Sand Pebbles") with respect to our involvement in Vietnam. I cannot understand how intelligent people could overlook the problems occasioned by fighting a war in a culture so different from our own.

The grist of the movie is how power impacts people and that it is not likely that the first time it is granted, the recipient will be ready. I thought Stewart did an excellent job of articulating his conflict, and regrets, over his use of power, and the female lead's character seemed a little unsympathetic to a man who was genuinely conflicted.

The movie leaves me with a trace of melancholy. In 1960, when it was released, there was still time to avoid the all but unfathomable foreign policy blunders of the late '60s. Vietnam impacted the thinking of much of the baby boom generation, and not for the better. It leaves me thinking that the war was fought mostly to satisfy the Joint Chiefs (after Cuba was off limits) and to generate huge amounts of cash for the defense industry.