The World of Suzie Wong
Directed by Richard Quine
Written by John Patrick; Adapted by Paul Osborn from a novel by Richard Mason
1960/UK/USA
World Enterprises
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Robert Lomax: If I were a prizefighter, and I kept getting my brains knocked out, I’d be foolish if I didn’t quit.[/box]
Gorgeous color footage of Hong Kong graces a tale of interracial love.
Architect Robert Lomax (William Holden) has always dreamed of being a painter. At 40, he decides to take a year of his life and see if he can make his dream come true. His chosen location is Hong Kong. On one of his first days there, he spots a beautiful Chinese (Nancy Kwan) on the Kowloon ferry. He sketches her and wants her for his model. When he strikes up a conversation, she gives him the brush off claiming to come from a rich, proper family.
As soon as Robert checks into his low-rent hotel in Hong Kong’s red light district, he discovers that the woman is actually Suzie Wong, a “bar girl”. She gives him plenty of sass until the inevitable day when they fall in love. Drama ensues.
The two main reasons to watch this are the gorgeous footage of Hong Kong and its denizens and the very appealing performance of Nancy Kwan as the heroine. Holden, of course, is solid and the story, while on the melodramatic side, is interesting. I would have liked the film even better if it had been at least 20 minutes shorter.
Trailer (color is much more vivid on Amazon)
