Review of The Ugly American

Brando appeared a bit over the top in films like The Wild Ones, On The Waterfront, The Godfather, and Apocalypse Now. Having just seen this film for the first time, I compare this role to The Chase (1966) where Brando plays a sheriff in a Texas town humbled by his duties. In The Ugly American, based upon the 1958 novel, Brando plays an LBJ like journalist who becomes ambassador to the fictitious southeast Asia country of Sarkan (but very clearly really Vietnam). The film was made while JFK was President, but there are great similarities to Brando's Ambassador MacWhite and LBJ. Brando plays a moderate to liberal Democrat who faces an uphill confirmation hearing due to the skepticism of hawkish Senator Brenner (Judson Laire). Laire is a virulent anti communist who is both wrongly and rightly concerned that a journalist who just fought the Japanese in WWII in Sarkan has any experience to be the ambassador of the country of Sarkan in the late 1950s. The main argument MacWhite makes is that he is good friends with Deung (Eiji Okada), the powerful nationalist opposition leader in Sarkan. MacWhite is confirmed but he is nearly killed by a mob that greets him at the airport. MacWhite may be liberal leaning politically, but he is still 100% a former military man. MacWhite naively believes that it is all about America being the "good" force for progress against "Communism". MacWhite meets his old friend Deong, but then foolishly starts an argument over the value of building the "freedom road" to the north border of the country, which MacWhite sees as progress, and Deong (with wide popular support) sees as American imperialism. MacWhite denounces Deong as a "communist" and they become enemies. MacWhite insists on continuing the building of the "freedom road" to the border with the communist neighbors, despite several people telling him that it will just provoke the paranoia of the communists and be seen by the majority of Sarkans will resist it as cultural and economic imperialism. Eventually, his stubbornness and persistence results in a civil war. Prime Minister Sai (Kukrit Pramo) demonstrates that he is a very wise leader, in contract to MacWhite's foolhardy arrogance. Prime Minister Sai finally convinces MacWhite that Deong is not a communist, Deong himself will be betrayed by the communists, and that Sarkan may fall to the Communists unless the U.S. military intervenes. I really liked this movie, because Brando's character does realize, albeit probably too late, the errors of his thinking. MacWhite saw everything in "black" and "white" and failed to see what was truly going on in Sarkan. MacWhite tries too late to warn the American people to go back to the principles of our own revolution and show the World that we are for these principles, not lecturing other cultures about how to live.