The Quiet American (1958)

A young naive American and a cynical older British diplomat disagree over politics in 1952 Vietnam and over a beautiful young native girl.

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Graham Greene (novel), Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Stars:

Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audie Murphy	...	The American
Michael Redgrave	...	Thomas Fowler
Claude Dauphin	...	Inspector Vigot
Giorgia Moll	...	Phuong
Bruce Cabot	...	Bill Granger
Fred Sadoff	...	Dominguez
Kerima	...	Phuong's Sister
Richard Loo	...	Mr. Heng
Peter Trent	...	Eliot Wilkins
Georges Bréhat	...	French Colonel (as Georges Brehat)
Clinton Anderson	...	Joe Morton
Yôko Tani	...	Rendezvous Hostess
Nguyen Long	...	Boy with Mask
C. Long Cuong	...	Boy in Watchtower
Tu An	...	Boy in Watchtower

Storyline

In this adaptation of Graham Greene's prophetic novel about U.S. foreign policy failure in pre-war Indochina, Audie Murphy plays an innocent Young American opposite the older, cynical Brit Sir Michael Redgrave. They play out their widely different views on the prospects struggle for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people in their competition over a young woman. Murphy wants to reform her and make her a typical middle class American housewife; Redgrave accepts her inability to formulate or retain a political ideal and while promising her no real future, he objects to Murphy's attempts to change her. It's not clear whether Murphy is just what he appears - a bungling Yankee do-gooder, or a deliberate agent of U.S. covert operations.

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Plot Keywords:

interracial romance | diplomat | year 1952 | 1950s | three word title | 

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Taglines:

This is the Orient Few Eyes Have Seen - This is Suspense Few Motion Pictures Have Captured!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Vietnamese

Release Date:

8 February 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

El americano tranquilo

Filming Locations:

Saigon, Vietnam

Company Credits

Production Co:

Figaro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 131 min (TCM Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of "The American", played by Audie Murphy, is not known by his personal name of Alden Pyle, as he is in this movie's source Graham Greene novel of "The Quiet American" (1955), and the novel's re-adaptation, The Quiet American (2002), where the character was portrayed by Brendan Fraser.

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Quotes

The American: [Somewhat sarcastically, after Fowler has advised him it would be wiser to give the two ARVN guards in the tower their two remaining cigarettes] I wouldn't have thought you suggest using economic aid to but friends...
Thomas Fowler: [Referring to the two young guards] They're scared. I wouldn't blame them if they handed us over to the Communists. They don't believe in anything either. They just want enough rice. They want one day to be much the same as another. They don't want our white skins around telling ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in All About Mankiewicz (1983)

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Soundtracks

La Cathédrale engloutie
(uncredited)
Composed by Claude Debussy

User Reviews

A Greene Masterwork

Graham Greene did not have a comfortable vision of the world--or at least of the activities of human beings in the world. While very few movies do justice to books on which they are based, the Quiet American is a chilling forewarning of what the United States would be letting itself in for in the years to come. Murphy, always an appealing figure on the screen but not noted for truly great acting depth and breadth, is ideal for this understated role. A very well done thriller which addresses racism, colonialism, various "economic"isms, all the while focusing on the individual human impacts of high level decision-making. Are we just pawns, forced into just following orders, or do we have the responsibility to take action on the side of what we know to be right, in spite of the personal cost?