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Blood Alley (1955)

PG | | Action, Adventure | 1 October 1955 (USA)
Blood Alley Poster
Trailer
2:35 | Trailer
His ship seized by the Chinese Communists, American Merchant Captain Tom Wilder languishes in prison but Chinese villagers help him escape to sail them to Hong-Kong.

Directors:

William A. Wellman, John Wayne (uncredited)

Writers:

Albert Sidney Fleischman (screenplay) (as A.S. Fleischman), Albert Sidney Fleischman (novel) (as A.S. Fleischman)

Stars:

John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Paul Fix | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
Won 1 Golden Globe. See more awards »

Videos

See all 1 video  »

Photos

See all 34 photos »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne ... Capt. Tom Wilder
Lauren Bacall ... Cathy Grainger
Paul Fix ... Mr. Tso
Joy Kim ... Susu
Berry Kroeger ... Old Feng (as Berry Kroger)
Mike Mazurki ... Big Han
Anita Ekberg ... Wei Ling
See full cast »
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Storyline

A merchant marine captain, rescued from the Chinese Communists by local villagers, is "shanghaied" into transporting the whole village to Hong Kong on an ancient paddle steamer. Written by Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

communist china | captain | bare chested male | hairy chest | manipulative female | See All (18) »

Taglines:

A strange bargain sealed with a desperate kiss. See more »

Genres:

Action | Adventure

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length = ~6.2 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~5.6 seconds. Both of these figures are fast for an early CinemaScope film, and much faster than William A. Wellman's first CinemaScope film, The High and the Mighty (1954). See more »

Goofs

When the Captain orders "No smoke!", the crew men throw buckets of water into the burning boiler to put out the fire. This would initially cause large volumes of white smoke. In addition, when superheated metal is suddenly cooled, it causes the metal to crack. Once the boiler was reheated, as when they enter Hong Kong, the boiler would have very likely exploded. See more »

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.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The title is shown in Chinese characters, which dissolve into English. See more »

Connections

Referenced in I Love Lucy: Lucy and John Wayne (1955) See more »

User Reviews

 
Worth a look if you are a fan of Wayne or Bacall
26 April 2006 | by jem132 – See all my reviews

This is one of Wayne's non-westerns, and Lauren Bacall in a different role to what we are accustomed to. 'Blood Alley' never reaches anything approaching greatness, but if you're a fan of Wayne or Bacall you may as well check it out.

Right-wing Wayne plays Captain Wilder in this decidedly right-wing film. It seems to be an excuse for the film-makers to express their anti-communist sentiments, with the Chinese being portrayed as a backwards race in quite a few scenes. Add to that the countless American actors playing Chinese characters, and you have a very pretentious product overall. Anita Ekberg even plays a Chinese, evoking more than a few giggles from this viewer.

The Wayne-Bacall teaming never entirely pays off, despite their best efforts.

5/10.
16 of 32 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1955 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Blood Alley See more »

Filming Locations:

Belvedere Island, California, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Batjac Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1
See full technical specs »
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