Blood Alley (1955)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Albert Sidney Fleischman (novel)
Albert Sidney Fleischman (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Adventure on the danger waters of the Orient!

Plot:

A merchant marine captain, rescued from the Chinese Communists by local visitors, is "shanghaied" into...

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Bayonet | Drunken Doctor | Father Daughter Relationship | Steam Whistle

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Tom Wilder
Lauren Bacall	...	Cathy Grainger
Paul Fix	...	Mr. Tso
Joy Kim	...	Susu, Cathy's maid
Berry Kroeger	...	Old Feng (as Berry Kroger)
Mike Mazurki	...	Big Han
Anita Ekberg	...	Wei Ling

Also Known As:

William A. Wellman's Blood Alley (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

110 min | Argentina:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) (optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (WarnerPhonic/RCA) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:16 | Netherlands:6 | USA:Approved (certificate #17459) | West Germany:12 (f) | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Belvedere Island, California, USA

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

Robert Mitchum was originally cast as Capt. Wilder. He was fired from the film after an altercation in which he shoved the film's transportation manager into San Francisco Bay. Gregory Peck subsequently turned down the role of Capt. Wilder, and Humphrey Bogart wanted a $500,000 salary, which would have put the film over budget. Without a major male star involved, Warner Bros. contacted producer John Wayne, threatening to pull out of their distribution deal for the film unless he took the role himself. To keep his new production company, Batjac, afloat, Wayne agreed to play Capt. Wilder.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Captain Wilder leans against the window, the wall moves.

Quotes:

Capt. Tom Wilder: [spoken through voice tube to engine room] If you want a last look at home, you'd better take it now.
Tack: [heavy with sorrow] I looked.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "I Love Lucy: Lucy and John Wayne (#5.2)" (1955)

one of John Wayne's worst, eh Baby?

Years ago I saw this movie and didn't remember it being so bad. I was surprised, in fact, that upon seeing it again I really disliked the film and thought it failed on so many levels. While not as bad as JET PILOT or THE CONQUERER, this is a truly stupid film and is best skipped by all but the most devoted fans of John Wayne.

The biggest and most annoying aspects of the film is Wayne's continually talking to his invisible girl "Baby". Repeatedly throughout the film, he talks to her almost like he's a narrator describing his character's inner machinations. And he does it in such a clumsy way with lines like "did ya hear that, Baby?" or "Eh, Baby" every few minutes. PLEASE JUST SHUT UP!

Secondly, there just isn't much chemistry between him and Lauren Bacall. Her character is completely undeveloped and rather wooden (except when she inexplicably wants to drop everything and get herself killed for absolutely no reason late in the film). His character is a moron--and an obnoxious one at that.

Third, I hated seeing Americans playing lead Chinese characters. While this may have been more common in the 1930s, it's here as well. The funniest example is Mike Mizurki as a Chinese guy!!! Hmm,....very reminiscent of John Wayne as Genghis Kahn in THE CONQUERER.

So all-in-all, this is a bad movie--whether or not it stars John Wayne. The writing, acting and direction are all poor and I can think of no reason to see the film. I know some of his devoted fans will think it's heresy for me to pan this film, but for every great film he made at least one dud. And this one, while not his worst film, is a dud.