China Smith 

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 13 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 (1954).

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Just because it was cheap doesn't mean it didn't have style.

The bad boy hero goes back to the beginnings of literature. In Hollywood it grew most directly out of the film noir school of the forties. In the early days of TV overly sweet and sappy rom-coms were the norm, along with westerns, but somebody had a taste for noir, and so "China Smith" was born. And what baddest, bad boy hero was there but Dan Duryea? He could play a strong, bold villain, he could play a weak, cowardly villain. He could be a nice, honorable guy. He could be a rat. China Smith was all of those. Rod Taylor always wanted to be an action hero with a brain, and so he tried to imitate China Smith in his series "Hong Kong", but it didn't have the grittiness. Sure, the sets were poorly made and the lighting was murky. Duryea was the most talented actor in the series, but he more than made up for the other's failings. Those of us who followed it faithfully in the early, dim days of television knew it was hokum, but we loved it nonetheless.