A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

In Hong Kong, the ambassador returning to America meets the Russian countess, a refugee without a passport, who decides to hide in his cabin.

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (original screenplay)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Sydney Chaplin

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Ogden
Sophia Loren	...	Natascha
Sydney Chaplin	...	Harvey
Tippi Hedren	...	Martha
Patrick Cargill	...	Hudson
Michael Medwin	...	John Felix
Oliver Johnston	...	Clark
John Paul	...	The Captain
Angela Scoular	...	The Society Girl
Margaret Rutherford	...	Miss Gaulswallow
Peter Bartlett	...	Steward
Bill Nagy	...	Crawford
Dilys Laye	...	Saleswoman
Angela Pringle	...	Baroness
Jenny Bridges	...	Countess

Storyline

In Hong Kong, the wealthy Ogden Mears is traveling in a transatlantic, close to being assigned Saudi Arabian ambassador, and divorcing his wife Martha. He and his friend Harvey are invited by their old friend Clark to go to a nightclub with three aristocratic Russians on their last night. Ogden drinks too much and spends the night with Countess Natascha. The next morning, while sailing back home, Ogden finds Natascha hidden in his cabin wearing a ball gown and with no documents. The stowaway explains that she wants to go to the United States and Ogden is worried about his career. But Harvey convinces him to help Natascha. Ogden falls in love with Natascha, and he and Harvey plot a fake marriage between Natascha and his valet Hudson. Things get complicated when Immigration requests Natascha's documents and Martha arrives on board.

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | ocean liner | countess | russian | luxury liner | 

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Taglines:

It's a She Voyage that rocks the Boat!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 March 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Una condesa de Hong Kong

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chaplin Film Productions Ltd.,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 108 min (US)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norma Foster, Penelope Horner and Juliet Harmer were all considered for the role of the Young Society girl.

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Goofs

During "everybody is getting sea-sick" scene Ogden, Natascha and Harvey push an ashtray around the table until Ogden angrily swipes it off the table. Shortly after it's back on the table in front of Natascha's chair and in the next shot it moves over to be in front of Ogden's chair, although nobody is at the table at that time.

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Quotes

Baroness: No, no, don't turn it off. Music complements champagne.

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Connections

Referenced in Brando (2007)

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Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
(uncredited)

User Reviews

A pleasant surprise

I'd always read that this was not only one of Chaplin's worst films but also one of Brando's worst. But you know it's not bad at all. There are some very funny moments early on and Brando plays the role of the uptight politician perfectly. The only reason that people feel he is miscast is because they are expecting Stanley Kowalski . Even Jack Nicholson singled out this film as one of Brando's best performances. That said the film really belongs to Sophia Loren ( a much underrated actress) who is genuinely heartbreaking . Add to that a haunting musical score. At the time it was hammered by the critics for being dated but now it seems no more dated than any other film to come out of the same period "Bonnie and Clyde" , "the Graduate" etc.