"China Gate" is one of Sam Fuller's more obscure films. While this writer/producer/director is seen as a sort of cinema god by many (particularly the French New Wave), this film proves he's no god! Now I am not saying it's a completely terrible film...but casting Angie Dickenson as a half-Chinese woman who wounds like an American debutante and Nat King Cole as a mercenary is pretty weird! And, apart from that, it shows little of the genius you see in other Fuller films. But, as he is a god of sorts to many, I'm not surprised it has several very positive reviews.
The film is set in the final year of the French-Indochinese War, 1954. This war led to France losing control of its Vietnam colony and the country being split into two...the Communist controlled North and the non-Communist South.
A group of multinational mercenaries are recruited to go on a mission to find a hidden ammo dump near the Chinese border. Why these folks in particular are sent isn't really clear...nor why they must bring along a half-Chinese woman known as 'Lucky Legs' (Dickenson). Among the men in the group is her ex-husband (Gene Barry), a man who is apparently dumber than a tomato. Why did they break up? Because their son looked Asian! Think about it...the man hates Asians so he marries a half-Chinese woman and then gets mad when SHE apparently produced an Asian looking kid!! While it is of course racist, it also makes no sense at all....and it's so dopey that it really doesn't deliver a message about racism and respect....just laughs! This is especially true when you hear the dialog between the two...it's unintentionally hilarious.
So is the story apart from this character any good? Not particularly. The characters seem like caricatures and late in the film, a lot of grainy stock footage is used...and it really looks like some of it's from a WWII film (you can see some are wearing Japanese uniforms!). Overall, a huge disappointment and possibly Fuller's worst film.
The film is set in the final year of the French-Indochinese War, 1954. This war led to France losing control of its Vietnam colony and the country being split into two...the Communist controlled North and the non-Communist South.
A group of multinational mercenaries are recruited to go on a mission to find a hidden ammo dump near the Chinese border. Why these folks in particular are sent isn't really clear...nor why they must bring along a half-Chinese woman known as 'Lucky Legs' (Dickenson). Among the men in the group is her ex-husband (Gene Barry), a man who is apparently dumber than a tomato. Why did they break up? Because their son looked Asian! Think about it...the man hates Asians so he marries a half-Chinese woman and then gets mad when SHE apparently produced an Asian looking kid!! While it is of course racist, it also makes no sense at all....and it's so dopey that it really doesn't deliver a message about racism and respect....just laughs! This is especially true when you hear the dialog between the two...it's unintentionally hilarious.
So is the story apart from this character any good? Not particularly. The characters seem like caricatures and late in the film, a lot of grainy stock footage is used...and it really looks like some of it's from a WWII film (you can see some are wearing Japanese uniforms!). Overall, a huge disappointment and possibly Fuller's worst film.