Review: China (1943)
China is an outstanding 1943 adventure film from Paramount set against the backdrop of America's impending involvement in the second world war. Loretta Young (1946's The Stranger ) takes the top billing as a compassionate schoolteacher working in China, determined to save as many lives as possible when Japan invades. Alan Ladd (come back, Shane ) plays a tough guy profiteer who cares doesn't have time to get attached or involved. Frequent Ladd co-star William Bendix ( The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia ) provides comic relief, but he's also part of the moral foundation of this film, pining for the safety of home, but recognizing the sacrifices necessary to do the right thing. Both Young and Bendix bring a spirit of dogged determination in the face of the powerful darkness that pervades this film. None of this is a coincidence. Director John Farrow is one of many Hollywood professionals who laid down their cameras and took up military service when the fate of the...