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{{Short description|1955 seafaring adventure movie directed by William A. Wellman}}
{{dablink|For the section of California State Route 37 called Blood Alley, see [[California State Route 37#"Blood Alley"]]}}
{{hatnote|For the section of California State Route 37 called Blood Alley, see [[California State Route 37#"Blood Alley"]]}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Blood Alley
| name = Blood Alley
Line 5: Line 6:
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| screenplay = [[Sid Fleischman|Albert Sidney Fleischman]]
| screenplay = [[Sid Fleischman|Albert Sidney Fleischman]]
| based on = {{based on|''Blood Alley''<br>1955 novel|[[Albert Sidney Fleischman]]}}
| based_on = {{based on|''Blood Alley''<br>1955 novel|[[Albert Sidney Fleischman]]}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[John Wayne]]
* [[John Wayne]]
Line 20: Line 21:
| music = [[Roy Webb]]
| music = [[Roy Webb]]
| cinematography = [[William H. Clothier]]
| cinematography = [[William H. Clothier]]
| studio = [[Batjac Productions]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| released = {{film date|1955|10|01}}
| released = {{film date|1955|10|01}}
Line 26: Line 28:
| country = United States
| country = United States
| budget = $2 million{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}<!-- IMDb is not a reliable source -->
| budget = $2 million{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}<!-- IMDb is not a reliable source -->
| gross = $2.2 million (US)<ref>'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', ''Variety Weekly'', January 2, 1957</ref>
| gross = $2.2 million (US)<ref>'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', ''Variety Weekly'', January 2, 1957</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Blood Alley''''' is a 1955 American seafaring [[Cold War]] [[adventure film]] produced by [[John Wayne]], directed by [[William A. Wellman]], and starring Wayne and [[Lauren Bacall]. The film was distributed by [[Warner Bros.]] and shot in [[CinemaScope]] and Warnercolor.<ref>''[[Variety Film Reviews|Variety]]'' film review; September 21, 1955, page 6.</ref>
'''''Blood Alley''''' is a 1955 American seafaring [[Cold War]] [[adventure film]] produced by [[John Wayne]], directed by [[William A. Wellman]], and starring Wayne and [[Lauren Bacall]]. The film was distributed by [[Warner Bros.]] and shot in [[CinemaScope]] and Warnercolor.<ref>''[[Variety Film Reviews|Variety]]'' film review; September 21, 1955, page 6.</ref> The film depicts a voyage from Chiku Shan, a village on the Communist Chinese coast, all the way to Hong Kong via the [[Formosa Strait]].<ref name="nytimes/1955/10/06"/>


==Plot==
==Plot==
The ship of Captain Tom Wilder, an American Merchant Mariner, is seized by the Chinese Communists, and he is imprisoned for two years. He is helped to escape using bribery and then given the uniform of a Soviet army officer to complete the ruse. He is transported to Chiku Shan village by a large Chinese man who will not divulge why he was broken out of prison.
Captain Tom Wilder, an American [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Mariner]], is taken prisoner after his ship is seized by the Chinese Communists. After two years in prison, he is helped to escape with both bribery and by disguising him as a Soviet army officer. A large Chinese man transports Wilder to Chiku Shan village without divulging why he was broken out of prison.


The village headman, Mr. Tso, explains all to the captain when he arrives: Wilder has been recruited to transport the people of Chiku Shan out of Red China to the British port of [[Hong Kong]]. In order to do this Captain Wilder must use a stolen, wood-burning, flat-bottomed, 19th Century stern-wheel riverboat. He will also need to utilize his detailed memory of the China coast to make a handmade chart and use an unreliable magnetic compass by which to navigate. Finally, he must rely upon the determination of the villagers and use their other assets in order to escape.
The village leader, Mr. Tso, tells Wilder he has been recruited to transport nearly 200 Chiku Shan residents out of Red China to freedom in the British port of [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]. For the task, Captain Wilder must pilot a stolen, wood-burning, flat-bottomed, 19th Century stern-wheel riverboat. He will need to utilize his detailed memory of the China coast to draw a chart and navigate using an unreliable [[magnetic compass]], and without a [[marine chronometer|chronometer]]. Finally, he must rely upon the villagers' determination and resources to escape.


Their plan has been underway for more than a year: The villagers have been gradually raising the bottom of their harbor channel with stones, in order to trap the local Red Chinese patrol boat once it has been lured inside. Sinking [[sampans]] loaded with rocks at the channel mouth will cause it to run aground, trapping it, while the village makes its escape. The villagers have also been quietly accumulating arms, ranging from [[M1919 Browning machine gun|Browning machine guns]] to [[Mosin–Nagant]] rifles and [[Nagant M1895|Nagant revolvers]]. They are forced to deal with the complication of the Communist Feng family, who must be brought along so they cannot inform on the rest of the villagers or be shot for allowing the escape.
The villagers have been planning their escape for more than a year, gradually raising the harbor channel's bottom with stones in order to trap the local Red Chinese patrol boat once it has been lured inside. Sinking [[sampans]] loaded with rocks at the channel mouth will cause the patrol boat to run aground while the village escapes. The villagers have also been secretly accumulating arms, ranging from [[M1919 Browning machine gun|Browning machine guns]] to [[Mosin–Nagant]] rifles and [[Nagant M1895|Nagant revolvers]]. Their plan is complicated by having to bring along the large Communist Feng family so they will not be blamed for allowing the mass escape.


The villagers include the riverboat's Chief Engineer, a U.S. Navy-trained marine engineer named Tack, who helps to take over and steal the steamboat ferry. Tack and Wilder bring the stern wheeler to Chiku Shan village, where she is loaded with furnace firewood and boiler water, provisioned, and given the name of the village.
The villagers include the riverboat's Chief Engineer, a U.S. Navy-trained marine engineer named Tack, who helps steal the steamboat. Tack and Wilder bring the stern wheeler to Chiku Shan village where it is loaded with furnace firewood, boiler water, and all their provisions; it is re-christened with the village's name.


Wilder is attracted to a tough and determined American named Cathy Grainger, whose father is a medical missionary in the village. Dr. Grainger was recently murdered by the Red Chinese following his failed surgery on a political commissar. To keep her from staying behind, Wilder is forced to inform Cathy of her father's death just before the villagers leave Chiku Shan. She refuses to believe him.
Wilder meets and is attracted to a tough and determined American woman named Cathy Grainger, whose father is a medical missionary in the village. Dr. Grainger was recently executed by the Red Chinese following unsuccessful surgery on a political commissar. To prevent her staying behind, Wilder tells Cathy about her father's death just before the villagers leave Chiku Shan, though she refuses to believe him.


Following their plan, the villagers lure the patrol boat into the harbor and trap it there. They flee down the coast, bluffing their way past a [[People's Liberation Army Navy]] destroyer. They disappear into a fog bank, hiding by day and sailing by night. Along the way, the Fengs first poison the food supply and then during a storm attempt to take over the steamboat, an attempt that fails. During the storm, Cathy comes to terms with her feelings for and attraction to the gruff Captain Wilder.
Following their plan, the villagers lure the patrol boat into the harbor and trap it there. They flee down the coast in the stolen ferryboat, bluffing their way past a [[People's Liberation Army Navy]] destroyer. They disappear into a fog bank, hiding by day in shoreline reed marshes and sailing south only at night. The Fengs attempt to sabotage the escape, first by poisoning the food and water supply, then attempting and failing to take over ''Chiku Shan'' during a heavy storm. Cathy eventually comes to terms with her attraction to the gruff Captain Wilder.


Forced by a shortage of wood and fresh water, the ''Chiku Shan'' pulls into the Graveyard of Ships at Honghai Bay. Captain Wilder orders the wrecks stripped of wood for fuel and water siphoned from depressions and tanks for the boiler and for drinking. A heavy timber plows through the stern wheel while mooring the steamboat, snapping one of its paddle blades. This forces Wilder to stay in the Graveyard longer than he had planned in order to repair it. At the same time, Cathy goes ashore and returns after learning that Wilder had told her the truth about her father's death. The Fengs are put off, only to be taken back aboard when the pursuing Red Chinese destroyer shells the Graveyard and sends its powered boats in search of the ferry. The ''Chiku Shan'' makes a run into a marshy estuary and disappears.
A shortage of firewood, drinking water, and boiler water compels the ''Chiku Shan'' to pull into the Graveyard of Ships at Honghai Bay. Captain Wilder orders the wrecks stripped of wood and water siphoned from various depressions and abandoned tanks for both the boiler and for drinking water. A loose heavy timber suddenly plows through the stern wheel while mooring the steamboat, snapping two of the paddle blades. Wilder is forced to stay in the Graveyard longer than planned in order to make repairs. At the same time, Cathy goes ashore and returns after learning of her father's fate. The Fengs are put ashore, only to be taken back aboard when the pursuing Red Chinese destroyer begins shelling the Graveyard from a distance. It launches power boats to search for the ferry in the shallow harbor.


Because smoke would give away their position, the villagers both pole and tow the riverboat through miles of marshlands until they reach the open sea beyond the destroyer's search area. Tack fires up the boiler, and the steamboat proceeds to Hong Kong with her 170-plus refugees. Her triumphant arrival there is greeted by the repeated sounding of steam whistles and ship's sirens from every vessel in the harbor.
''Chiku Shan'' makes a run for it into a marshy estuary, and disappears. Because smoke would reveal their position, the villagers both pole and tow the riverboat through miles of marshlands until reaching the open sea beyond the destroyer's search area. Tack fires up the boiler, and the steamboat proceeds to Hong Kong with the refugees. Their triumphant arrival is hailed by the steam whistles and ship sirens of every vessel in the harbor.


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 60: Line 62:


==Production==
==Production==
The film's screenplay was written by [[Sid Fleischman|Albert Sidney Fleischman]], based on his novel, and was produced by Wayne's [[Batjac Productions]]. Location filming took place in and near [[China Camp]], a shrimp fishing village in the [[San Francisco Bay]]. Additional filming occurred at Point Orient shrimp camp (located on Point San Pablo) where the film crew was largely based in what is now known as Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor.
The film's screenplay was written by [[Sid Fleischman|Albert Sidney Fleischman]], based on his novel, and was produced by Wayne's [[Batjac Productions]].<ref name="catalog.afi/51448">{{cite web |title=Blood Alley (1955) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/51448 |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> Location filming took place in and near [[China Camp]],<ref name="nytimes/1955/10/06"/><ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Bancroft Library]] |title=Guide to the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Newspaper Photograph Archive, ca. 1915-1965 |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=tf338n99v6&chunk.id=c043401&brand=lo |website=[[Online Archive of California]] |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> a shrimp fishing village in the [[San Francisco Bay]]. Additional filming occurred at ''Point Orient'' shrimp camp where the film crew was largely based in what is now known as [[Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor]] (located on Point San Pablo). Filming occurred at the [[Sacramento River]], [[Stockton, California]], and the northern California coast.<ref name="tcmdb-16128">{{tcmdb title|16128|Blood Alley}}</ref><ref name="catalog.afi/51448"/>


The Chinese Communist soldiers who search the village are armed with Model 1891 Mosin–Nagant rifles (probably ex-[[Mosin–Nagant|U.S. Rifle, 7.62 mm, Model of 1916 rifles]]) rather than the more appropriate Model 91/30s the Communists would have carried, having been exported to Mao's army during the Chinese Civil War. The determination as to model can be made in the scene where Captain Wilder is shown watching Mr. Feng in his car with the Mosin–Nagant laid across his knees. The single blade front sight and thick barrel bands of the Model 1891 are unmistakable.
The Chinese Communist soldiers who search the village are armed with Model 1891 Mosin–Nagant rifles (probably ex-[[Mosin–Nagant|U.S. Rifle, 7.62 mm, Model of 1916 rifles]]) rather than the more appropriate Model 91/30s the Communists would have carried, having been exported to Mao's army during the Chinese Civil War. The determination as to model can be made in the scene where Captain Wilder is shown watching Mr. Feng in his car with the Mosin–Nagant laid across his knees. The single blade front sight and thick barrel bands of the Model 1891 are unmistakable.


''Blood Alley'' is a nickname for the [[Formosa Strait]].<ref name="catalog.afi/51448"/> ''Blood Alley'' is a nickname for Rue Chu Pao-san, a short street off Avenue Edward VII, located in [[Shanghai]],<ref>
The real Blood Alley was located in [[Shanghai]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/places/t-blood.htm|title=Blood Alley|work=Tales of Old Shanghai|publisher=Earnshaw Books|accessdate=September 18, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011220656/http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/places/t-blood.htm|archivedate=October 11, 2008}}</ref> where Fleischman had visited as a sailor on the [[USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447)]]. He was paid $5000 for the rights for his novel and was allowed to write the screenplay.<ref>pp 31-32 Freedman, Jeri ''Sid Fleischman'' 2003 Rosen Publishing Group</ref>
*{{cite web|url=http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/places/t-blood.htm|title=Blood Alley|work=Tales of Old Shanghai|publisher=Earnshaw Books|access-date=September 18, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116040056/http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/places/t-blood.htm|archive-date=2007-11-16}}
*{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Ralph |author1-link=Ralph Shaw (writer) |title=Sin City |date=1 April 1992 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |isbn=978-0-7515-0862-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jN1jHQAACAAJ |access-date=9 September 2022 |language=en}}
</ref> where Fleischman had visited as a sailor on the [[USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447)]]. He was paid $5000 for the rights for his novel and was hired to write the screenplay.<ref name="book=978-0-8239-4019-6">{{cite book |last1=Freedman |first1=Jeri |title=Sid Fleischman |date=August 2003 |publisher=Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8239-4019-6 |pages=31–32 |url= |language=en}}</ref>


The Communist patrol boat that the villagers trap on their artificial reef was actually a rescue boat on loan to the film company by the U.S. Air Force.
The Communist patrol boat that the villagers trap on their artificial reef was actually a rescue boat on loan to the film company by the U.S. Air Force.


==Casting==
==Casting==
<blockquote>"Later, my dad ([[John Wayne]]) discovered that William Wellman drove Robert Mitchum to quit (though not necessarily to drink). The TV show [[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]] had once profiled Wellman. When the show’s producers asked the acclaimed director for a list of people to interview, Wellman included Mitchum, whose stalled career Wellman had boosted in 1946 by casting Mitchum as the lead in [[The Story of GI Joe]]. Mitchum told the producers, no, he didn’t have time to talk about William Wellman. When Wellman found out, he was livid. When the two men worked on ''Blood Alley'', he took his revenge by badgering Mitchum around the clock."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wayne |first1=Aissa |last2=Delsohn |first2=Steve |title=John Wayne: My Father |date=April 1998 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |url= |isbn=978-0-87833-959-4 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>
Wayne plays a [[Merchant Marine]] captain in a role originally intended for [[Robert Mitchum]] prior to an altercation with the producers. Mitchum was fired from the production by Wellman. Wayne took over the lead after [[Gregory Peck]] turned the film down and [[Humphrey Bogart]] requested a large amount of money to assume the role.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}


Wayne plays a [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Marine]] captain in a role originally intended for [[Robert Mitchum]] prior to an altercation with the producers.<ref name="catalog.afi/51448"/> Mitchum was fired from the production by Wellman.<ref name="trailersfromhell/blood-alley">{{cite web |last1=Erickson |first1=Glenn |title=Blood Alley |url=https://trailersfromhell.com/blood-alley/ |website=Trailers From Hell |access-date=9 September 2022 |date=6 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="classicmoviehub/trivia/blood-alley-1955">{{cite web |title=Facts about 'Blood Alley' |url=http://www.classicmoviehub.com/facts-and-trivia/film/blood-alley-1955/ |website=Classic Movie Hub - CMH |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> Wayne took over the lead after [[Gregory Peck]] turned the film down and [[Humphrey Bogart]] requested a large amount of money to assume the role.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Randy |last2=Olson |first2=James Stuart |title=John Wayne: American |date=1 January 1997 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-8970-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOPU1Zu7gjwC |language=en}}</ref>
⚫
Swedish actress [[Anita Ekberg]], veteran actor [[Paul Fix]], and film thug [[Mike Mazurki]] all play [[Chinese people|Chinese]] roles in Hollywood "[[yellowface]]".

⚫
Swedish actress [[Anita Ekberg]], veteran actor [[Paul Fix]], actor [[Berry Kroeger]], and film character actor [[Mike Mazurki]] all play [[Chinese people|Chinese]] roles in Hollywood "[[yellowface]]". Most of the extras, however, are ethnic Chinese.


==Awards==
==Awards==
Anita Ekberg was awarded the [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe]] for Best Female Newcomer for her performance in ''Blood Alley.''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Subject
! Result
|-
|rowspan=1|[[14th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
|[[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Most Promising Newcomer – Female]]
|[[Anita Ekberg]]
|{{won}}
|-
|}


In addition, the United States Air Force awarded the cast and crew of ''Blood Alley'' a Certificate of Merit for encouraging recruitment for the United States Air Force by their work in the movie. John Wayne took the oath on behalf of the film's company as Honorary USAF Recruiters.<ref>Pathe Newsreel, 1955. Cited in Special Features of the ''Blood Alley'' DVD.</ref>
==Promotion and critical reception==
⚫
The film was promoted by the appearance of Wayne on the number-one rated television show, ''[[List of I Love Lucy episodes|I Love Lucy]]''. In an unusual two-episode arc airing as the show's season opener on October 10, 1955, Lucy and Ethel steal Wayne's footprints from the forecourt of [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] the night before the premiere of ''Blood Alley'', and complications ensue. At one point early in the episode, a studio employee interrupts Wayne in his dressing room to show him a poster for ''Blood Alley''.


==Promotion==
⚫
The film was promoted by the appearance of Wayne on the number-one rated television show, ''[[List of I Love Lucy episodes|I Love Lucy]]''. In an unusual two-episode arc airing as the show's season opener on October 10, 1955, Lucy and Ethel steal Wayne's footprints from the forecourt of [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] the night before the premiere of ''Blood Alley'', and complications ensue. During the second episode, a studio employee interrupts Wayne in his dressing room to show him a poster for ''Blood Alley''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stolen Footprints: Lucy and John Wayne |url=https://michaelstvtray.com/2014/03/21/stolen-footprints-lucy-and-john-wayne/ |website=Michael's TV Tray |access-date=10 April 2020 |date=21 March 2014}}</ref> The film was also promoted during the closing credits.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Lucy and John Wayne |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609288/ |series=I Love Lucy |date=10 October 1955 |season=5 |number=2 |minutes=25:53 |quote=Mr. Wayne's latest picture is Blood Alley, released through Warner Brothers, soon to be seen at your local theater. |edition=Paramount DVD 2005}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
Despite the star power of its lead actors and director, ''Blood Alley'' received a lukewarm reception from critics.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_alley/
Despite the star power of its lead actors and director, ''Blood Alley'' received a lukewarm reception from critics.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_alley/
|title=Blood Alley |work= Rotten Tomatoes |publisher= Flixster, Inc. |accessdate=September 19, 2010}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' said, "''Blood Alley'', despite its exotic, oriental setting, is a standard chase melodrama patterned on a familiar blueprint."<ref>{{cite news|title=In Formosa Strait|newspaper=The New York Times|location=New York City|page=25|publisher=The New York Times Corp.|date=October 6, 1955}}</ref> Today's critics have focused on ''Blood Alley''{{'}}s anti-communist aspect. [[DVD Talk]] called it "preposterous but entertaining" and said, "Wayne and Bacall have no chemistry at all".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15726/blood-alley/|first= Stuart|last= Galbraith |title=Blood Alley |work= DVD Talk Review |publisher=dvdtalk.com |accessdate=September 19, 2010}}</ref>
|title=Blood Alley |work= Rotten Tomatoes |publisher= Flixster, Inc. |access-date=September 19, 2010}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' said, "''Blood Alley'', despite its exotic, oriental setting, is a standard chase melodrama patterned on a familiar blueprint."<ref name="nytimes/1955/10/06">{{cite news |last1=W |first1=A. |title=In Formosa Strait |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/10/06/archives/in-formosa-strait.html |access-date=9 September 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 October 1955}}</ref> Today's critics have focused on ''Blood Alley''{{'}}s anti-communist aspect. [[DVD Talk]] called it "preposterous but entertaining" and said, "Wayne and Bacall have no chemistry at all".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15726/blood-alley/|first= Stuart|last= Galbraith |title=Blood Alley |work= DVD Talk Review |publisher=dvdtalk.com |access-date=September 19, 2010}}</ref>

==Home media==
''Blood Alley'' was released on DVD May 4, 2005 by Warner Bros. Home Video. The film was re-released on Blu-ray July 18, 2017 by the Warner Archive Collection.


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1955]]
* [[List of American films of 1955]]
* [[John Wayne filmography]]
* [[John Wayne filmography]]
* ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]'', a movie with a similar plot
* ''[[Soldier of Fortune (1955 film)]]'', a movie with a similar plot


==References==
==References==
Line 111: Line 112:


[[Category:1955 films]]
[[Category:1955 films]]
[[Category:1950s adventure films]]
[[Category:1955 adventure films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American adventure films]]
[[Category:American adventure films]]
[[Category:Films set in China]]
[[Category:Films set in China]]
Line 121: Line 121:
[[Category:Films directed by William A. Wellman]]
[[Category:Films directed by William A. Wellman]]
[[Category:Films produced by John Wayne]]
[[Category:Films produced by John Wayne]]
[[Category:CinemaScope films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
⚫
[[Category:1950s American films]]

Revision as of 12:48, 14 January 2024

For the section of California State Route 37 called Blood Alley, see California State Route 37#"Blood Alley"
Blood Alley
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam A. Wellman
Screenplay byAlbert Sidney Fleischman
Based onBlood Alley
1955 novel
by Albert Sidney Fleischman
Produced byJohn Wayne
Starring
CinematographyWilliam H. Clothier
Edited byFred McDowell
Music byRoy Webb
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • October 1, 1955 (1955-10-01)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million[citation needed]
Box office$2.2 million (US)[1]

Blood Alley is a 1955 American seafaring Cold War adventure film produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Wayne and Lauren Bacall. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and shot in CinemaScope and Warnercolor.[2] The film depicts a voyage from Chiku Shan, a village on the Communist Chinese coast, all the way to Hong Kong via the Formosa Strait.[3]

Plot

Captain Tom Wilder, an American Merchant Mariner, is taken prisoner after his ship is seized by the Chinese Communists. After two years in prison, he is helped to escape with both bribery and by disguising him as a Soviet army officer. A large Chinese man transports Wilder to Chiku Shan village without divulging why he was broken out of prison.

The village leader, Mr. Tso, tells Wilder he has been recruited to transport nearly 200 Chiku Shan residents out of Red China to freedom in the British port of Hong Kong. For the task, Captain Wilder must pilot a stolen, wood-burning, flat-bottomed, 19th Century stern-wheel riverboat. He will need to utilize his detailed memory of the China coast to draw a chart and navigate using an unreliable magnetic compass, and without a chronometer. Finally, he must rely upon the villagers' determination and resources to escape.

The villagers have been planning their escape for more than a year, gradually raising the harbor channel's bottom with stones in order to trap the local Red Chinese patrol boat once it has been lured inside. Sinking sampans loaded with rocks at the channel mouth will cause the patrol boat to run aground while the village escapes. The villagers have also been secretly accumulating arms, ranging from Browning machine guns to Mosin–Nagant rifles and Nagant revolvers. Their plan is complicated by having to bring along the large Communist Feng family so they will not be blamed for allowing the mass escape.

The villagers include the riverboat's Chief Engineer, a U.S. Navy-trained marine engineer named Tack, who helps steal the steamboat. Tack and Wilder bring the stern wheeler to Chiku Shan village where it is loaded with furnace firewood, boiler water, and all their provisions; it is re-christened with the village's name.

Wilder meets and is attracted to a tough and determined American woman named Cathy Grainger, whose father is a medical missionary in the village. Dr. Grainger was recently executed by the Red Chinese following unsuccessful surgery on a political commissar. To prevent her staying behind, Wilder tells Cathy about her father's death just before the villagers leave Chiku Shan, though she refuses to believe him.

Following their plan, the villagers lure the patrol boat into the harbor and trap it there. They flee down the coast in the stolen ferryboat, bluffing their way past a People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer. They disappear into a fog bank, hiding by day in shoreline reed marshes and sailing south only at night. The Fengs attempt to sabotage the escape, first by poisoning the food and water supply, then attempting and failing to take over Chiku Shan during a heavy storm. Cathy eventually comes to terms with her attraction to the gruff Captain Wilder.

A shortage of firewood, drinking water, and boiler water compels the Chiku Shan to pull into the Graveyard of Ships at Honghai Bay. Captain Wilder orders the wrecks stripped of wood and water siphoned from various depressions and abandoned tanks for both the boiler and for drinking water. A loose heavy timber suddenly plows through the stern wheel while mooring the steamboat, snapping two of the paddle blades. Wilder is forced to stay in the Graveyard longer than planned in order to make repairs. At the same time, Cathy goes ashore and returns after learning of her father's fate. The Fengs are put ashore, only to be taken back aboard when the pursuing Red Chinese destroyer begins shelling the Graveyard from a distance. It launches power boats to search for the ferry in the shallow harbor.

Chiku Shan makes a run for it into a marshy estuary, and disappears. Because smoke would reveal their position, the villagers both pole and tow the riverboat through miles of marshlands until reaching the open sea beyond the destroyer's search area. Tack fires up the boiler, and the steamboat proceeds to Hong Kong with the refugees. Their triumphant arrival is hailed by the steam whistles and ship sirens of every vessel in the harbor.

Cast

  • John Wayne as Captain Tom Wilder
  • Lauren Bacall as Cathy Grainger, a medical missionary's daughter
  • Paul Fix as Mr. Tso, the senior village elder and headman
  • Joy Kim as Susu, Cathy Grainger's housekeeper
  • Berry Kroeger (Berry Kroger), as Old Feng, the Communist Feng family patriarch
  • Mike Mazurki as Big Han, Wilder's First Mate
  • Anita Ekberg as Wei Ling, Big Han's wife
  • Henry Nakamura as Tack, the Chief Engineer
  • James Hong as Communist Soldier (uncredited)
  • Lowell Gilmore as British Officer (uncredited)

Production

The film's screenplay was written by Albert Sidney Fleischman, based on his novel, and was produced by Wayne's Batjac Productions.[4] Location filming took place in and near China Camp,[3][5] a shrimp fishing village in the San Francisco Bay. Additional filming occurred at Point Orient shrimp camp where the film crew was largely based in what is now known as Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor (located on Point San Pablo). Filming occurred at the Sacramento River, Stockton, California, and the northern California coast.[6][4]

The Chinese Communist soldiers who search the village are armed with Model 1891 Mosin–Nagant rifles (probably ex-U.S. Rifle, 7.62 mm, Model of 1916 rifles) rather than the more appropriate Model 91/30s the Communists would have carried, having been exported to Mao's army during the Chinese Civil War. The determination as to model can be made in the scene where Captain Wilder is shown watching Mr. Feng in his car with the Mosin–Nagant laid across his knees. The single blade front sight and thick barrel bands of the Model 1891 are unmistakable.

Blood Alley is a nickname for the Formosa Strait.[4] Blood Alley is a nickname for Rue Chu Pao-san, a short street off Avenue Edward VII, located in Shanghai,[7] where Fleischman had visited as a sailor on the USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447). He was paid $5000 for the rights for his novel and was hired to write the screenplay.[8]

The Communist patrol boat that the villagers trap on their artificial reef was actually a rescue boat on loan to the film company by the U.S. Air Force.

Casting

"Later, my dad (John Wayne) discovered that William Wellman drove Robert Mitchum to quit (though not necessarily to drink). The TV show This Is Your Life had once profiled Wellman. When the show’s producers asked the acclaimed director for a list of people to interview, Wellman included Mitchum, whose stalled career Wellman had boosted in 1946 by casting Mitchum as the lead in The Story of GI Joe. Mitchum told the producers, no, he didn’t have time to talk about William Wellman. When Wellman found out, he was livid. When the two men worked on Blood Alley, he took his revenge by badgering Mitchum around the clock."[9]

Wayne plays a Merchant Marine captain in a role originally intended for Robert Mitchum prior to an altercation with the producers.[4] Mitchum was fired from the production by Wellman.[10][11] Wayne took over the lead after Gregory Peck turned the film down and Humphrey Bogart requested a large amount of money to assume the role.[12]

Swedish actress Anita Ekberg, veteran actor Paul Fix, actor Berry Kroeger, and film character actor Mike Mazurki all play Chinese roles in Hollywood "yellowface". Most of the extras, however, are ethnic Chinese.

Awards

Anita Ekberg was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Female Newcomer for her performance in Blood Alley.

In addition, the United States Air Force awarded the cast and crew of Blood Alley a Certificate of Merit for encouraging recruitment for the United States Air Force by their work in the movie. John Wayne took the oath on behalf of the film's company as Honorary USAF Recruiters.[13]

Promotion

The film was promoted by the appearance of Wayne on the number-one rated television show, I Love Lucy. In an unusual two-episode arc airing as the show's season opener on October 10, 1955, Lucy and Ethel steal Wayne's footprints from the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre the night before the premiere of Blood Alley, and complications ensue. During the second episode, a studio employee interrupts Wayne in his dressing room to show him a poster for Blood Alley.[14] The film was also promoted during the closing credits.[15]

Critical reception

Despite the star power of its lead actors and director, Blood Alley received a lukewarm reception from critics.[16] The New York Times said, "Blood Alley, despite its exotic, oriental setting, is a standard chase melodrama patterned on a familiar blueprint."[3] Today's critics have focused on Blood Alley's anti-communist aspect. DVD Talk called it "preposterous but entertaining" and said, "Wayne and Bacall have no chemistry at all".[17]

Home media

Blood Alley was released on DVD May 4, 2005 by Warner Bros. Home Video. The film was re-released on Blu-ray July 18, 2017 by the Warner Archive Collection.

See also

References

  1. ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957
  2. ^ Variety film review; September 21, 1955, page 6.
  3. ^ a b c W, A. (6 October 1955). "In Formosa Strait". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "Blood Alley (1955)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  5. ^ Bancroft Library. "Guide to the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Newspaper Photograph Archive, ca. 1915-1965". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ^ Blood Alley at the TCM Movie Database
  7. ^
  8. ^ Freedman, Jeri (August 2003). Sid Fleischman. Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-8239-4019-6.
  9. ^ Wayne, Aissa; Delsohn, Steve (April 1998). John Wayne: My Father. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 978-0-87833-959-4.
  10. ^ Erickson, Glenn (6 July 2017). "Blood Alley". Trailers From Hell. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Facts about 'Blood Alley'". Classic Movie Hub - CMH. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  12. ^ Roberts, Randy; Olson, James Stuart (1 January 1997). John Wayne: American. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-8970-3.
  13. ^ Pathe Newsreel, 1955. Cited in Special Features of the Blood Alley DVD.
  14. ^ "Stolen Footprints: Lucy and John Wayne". Michael's TV Tray. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Lucy and John Wayne". I Love Lucy. Season 5. Episode 2 (Paramount DVD 2005 ed.). 10 October 1955. 25:53 minutes in. Mr. Wayne's latest picture is Blood Alley, released through Warner Brothers, soon to be seen at your local theater.
  16. ^ "Blood Alley". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster, Inc. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  17. ^ Galbraith, Stuart. "Blood Alley". DVD Talk Review. dvdtalk.com. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
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