Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

John Patrick (screenplay)
Han Suyin (novel)

Release Date:

26 September 1955 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The price they pay when they come out of their secret garden and face the world in modern-day Hong Kong - makes this one of the screen's unforgettable experiences!

Plot:

A widowed doctor of both Chinese and European descent falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist revolution.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Doctor | Hong Kong | Separated | Chinese Civil War

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

William Holden	...	Mark Elliott
Jennifer Jones	...	Dr. Han Suyin
Torin Thatcher	...	Humphrey Palmer-Jones
Isobel Elsom	...	Adeline Palmer-Jones
Murray Matheson	...	Dr. John Keith
Virginia Gregg	...	Anne Richards
Richard Loo	...	Robert Hung
Soo Yong	...	Nora Hung
Philip Ahn	...	Third Uncle
Jorja Curtright	...	Suzanne
Donna Martell	...	Suchen, Suyin's sister

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) (optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Australia:G (DVD rating) | Netherlands:AL | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #17475) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The aircraft that returns Mark to Hong Kong is Pan American World Airways N6535C, named "Clipper Mercury". It was a Douglas DC-6B, which entered service 1952 and left service 1961.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the orderly comes to get Dr. Han in the operating room at the beginning of the movie, one of the members of the film crew (a man wearing glasses) can be seen reflected in the window of the right-hand door to the O.R.

Quotes:

Third Uncle: We shall now have tea and speak of absurdities.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Sentimental romance

This movie will likely be too sentimental for many viewers, especially contemporary audiences. Nevertheless I enjoyed this film thanks mostly to the down-to-earth charm of William Holden, one of my favorite stars, and the dazzling beauty of Jennifer Jones. There are some truly heartwarming scenes between the pair and the talent of these two actors rescues what in lesser hands could've been trite lines. The cinematography of Hong Kong from the period of filming is another highlight of this movie. All in all, a better than average romantic drama, 7/10.