China Smith (1952– )

Con artist and private eye China Smith works out of a bar in Singapore, roaming Asia in search of beautiful women (who like his tough style) and quick money. His nemeses are the friendly British Inspector and the scheming "empress."

Stars:

Dan Duryea, Douglass Dumbrille, Myrna Dell

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Duryea	...	China Smith (26 episodes, 1952)
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Inspector Hobson (12 episodes, 1952)

Storyline

In Season One, there is a shrewd, charming, and disreputable Irish adventurer called William "China" Smith in Singapore. He can be hired cheap for jobs that require an insider's knowledge of the less polite neighborhoods of the Far East. Inspector Hobson of the Singapore police disapproves of him. To Hobson, Smith is a fellow named Davey Fitzgerald, wanted for treason in Ireland. Smith frequently charms information and money out of a cool and beautiful Eurasian woman known as Madame Shira,whom he calls "Empress. She owns the Trade Winds Hotel, where stolen goods and fugitives often come to rest. In Season Two, Smith is based in Hong Kong and Macao, and there are no other continuing characters.

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Plot Keywords:

private eye | character name in title

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kína Smith

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Telefilm Associates (NTA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This filmed syndicated series was actually produced with a two-year gap. Filming of the first 26 installments began in Mexico in 1952 but almost immediately returned to Los Angeles. The second 26, shot in San Francisco in 1954-55, were sold to stations as The New Adventures of China Smith.

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Connections

Referenced in The Jack Benny Program: Jack's Lunch Counter (1955)

User Reviews

China Smith TV show

I remember that my mom and dad were fans of this show when we got our first television set. I don't remember much about the show except the white suit he wore as a pretty tough guy. And that the show was set in Asia and Smith was always amidst beautiful babes. I have been a Dan Duryea fan for a long time. I always enjoyed seeing him in feature films. He usually played a bad guy, but there was always something cool about his characters. Charismatic, somehow. I loved the Twilight Zone episode where he played the drunken gunfighter. Duryea made his mark playing many a villain or miscreant, but by all accounts, he was one of Hollywood's real nice guys. I plan to try to buy the 'China Smith' episodes and look back to see what my parents found so compelling about this character.