An American action adventure; A story about an American merchant navy captain freed from a communist prison by Chinese villagers, who comes to the aid of the daughter of a missionary doctor. He agrees to her plan to attempt to smuggle to safety in Hong Kong all 180 of the villagers on a ferry boat.
Based on Albert Sidney Fleischman's novel, this is an anti-Communist propaganda edge with a blatant message and slogans about a vile Red China. It plays out sluggishly and predictably and without much chemistry between its two leads, Bacall and Wayne. It has striking cinematography and is watchable but it is a standard fare chase melodrama. Wayne's character as a veteran seaman can be construed as condescending and paternalistic in his attitudes to the Chinese. For all the plot incidents intended to create thrills and suspense, only one stands out as dramatic: villagers reflecting on their abandonment.
Review of Blood Alley
