Kidskycom
It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Aryana
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
HotToastyRag
Normally, with Hugo Friedhofer as orchestrator and Lionel Newman as conductor, I'd expect the music to be the most wonderful part of the movie. I could pay that compliment to Soldier of Fortune, except there was no wonderful aspect of this movie at all. The music could have had a pleasant theme if it were scored for The Best of Everything or Imitation of Life, but for a pseudo-mystery, pseudo-foreign intrigue drama, it didn't really fit. With two powerhouse actors taking the lead, I'd expect wonderful romantic tension and great performances of a dramatic story. Ernest K. Gann's adaptation of his novel didn't translate very well on the screen, and while Clark Gable isn't given anything to do, Susan Hayward is given the wrong things to do. She plays a woman whose husband has gone missing, and she travels to his last known location, Hong Kong, to find him. From the second she makes her entrance, she doesn't act like a woman afraid for her husband's safety, or even wanting him to come back! She saunters into the room with her famous strut, capturing the eyes of every man, and calmly asks for information from bartenders, hotel clerks, and shopkeepers. When they're not helpful, she smiles and calmly thanks them. Also, she flirts with several men, not just Clark Gable. This is not the behavior of a woman concerned about her missing husband!If ever you're in the mood for an incredibly boring, poorly acted, poorly written, boring drama that doesn't really cut it in the mystery genre, you can rent Soldier of Fortune. Otherwise, stick with Clark and Suzy's finest hours. This one's just painful to sit through.
JohnHowardReid
CinemaScope lenses by Bausch & Lomb. Color by DeLuxe. Produced by Buddy Adler. Copyright 1955 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 27 May 1955. U.S. release: June 1955. U.K. release: 24 October 1955. Australian release: 29 March 1956, Sydney opening at the Regent. 8,603 feet. 95½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: In search of her missing photographer husband, Jane Hoyt (Susan Hayward) arrives in Hong Kong and learns at the U.S. Consulate that her mission is futile, that neither the United States nor the British government can help her. She feels that she must try nevertheless, and registers at a hotel that services a conglomeration of businessmen, servicemen, entertainers, and ne'er- do-wells from all over the world. Jane gets in touch with Inspector Merryweather (Michael Rennie), of the local marine police, who, although unable to help her officially, promises to do all he can for her on his own. He asks her to identify two cameras that the police had picked up from a junk captain at the harbor. She confirms that they belonged to her husband. Merryweather then suggests that she inquire at a place called "Tweedie's". Jane is about to be thrown out of Tweedie's when Rene Chevalier (Alex D'Arcy) joins her at the table as if she were waiting for him. He tells her that he knew her husband and had seen him one night with Fernand Rocha (Mel Welles) and a girl named Maxine Chan (Frances Fong). With nothing more than this information she contacts Maxine, who leads her to Hank Lee (Clark Gable), of whom Merryweather had warned her.COMMENT: Although it took good money on the strength of its Hong Kong in CinemaScope background and its starring twosome, "Soldier of Fortune" is a rather ordinary tale with inconsistently motivated Mills and Boon principals forced into a combination pulp novel romance and comic strip adventure. In this latter connection, keen movie buffs will notice some remarkable similarities between "Soldier of Fortune" and Milton Caniff's "Terry and the Pirates" — especially as regards some of the bizarre background characters which give the movie some welcome jolts of interest, thanks to the efforts of players like Anna Sten (the former Goldwyn leading lady of the 1930s), Tom Tully, Russell Collins and other assorted misogynist bar habitues.OTHER VIEWS: Another early CinemaScope film in which the accent is firmly on the CinemaScope scenery (this time the travelogue cameras focus on Hong Kong) rather than the juvenile dialogue, stock characters and "Boys Own Paper" plot. Critics are usually tempted to say at this point that the players do their best — but they don't really. If they'd had a grain of sense they would have played it all tongue-in-cheek; but no, they're perfectly serious about the whole puerile business. Dmytryk's flat-footed direction matches the pedestrian plot. The appearance of Anna Sten in a minor role is some compensation for movie buffs, but otherwise the whole film, aside from the scenery and the lushly romantic music score is a very ordinary, very tepid and very dated anti-Chinese Communist tract. - JHR writing as George Addison.
mrsmagloo
Jane Hoyt (Susan Hayward, graceful and stunning, but tough as nails, as always), arrives in Hong Kong, intent on finding her husband, photojournalist Louis Hoyt (Gene Barry), who went missing in Communist China (where is Bill Clinton when you need him? ;) several months before. Back then, the British Empire owned Hong Kong, so she must go through them (in the form of a dashing Michael Rennie), but gets few leads, except for the name of a Mr. Lee, whom Rennie has few good words for.Thanks to deft editing, solid acting throughout, and beautiful photography, the flick moves quickly, taking us to seedy Tweedy's bar, the streets of Hong Kong, and ultimately to the luxurious home of the mysterious Mr. Lee (Cable) himself. Clark seems a tad old for the part, but is in great shape physically, and moves quickly and gracefully through all the action scenes. There is plenty of comic relief in the scenes at Tweedy's bar. Look for a stand-out performance by Anna Sten as Madame Dupree as Tweedy's "starving spy" who finds true love.If you like "Love is a Many-Slendored Thing," you will like this movie, although people with strict morals about marriage may raise any eyebrow or two throughout the course of the movie, even for one made in 1955!
edwagreen
This film packs absolutely no excitement other than Michael Rennie excited over American cigarettes.Susan Hayward is Jane again. Too bad it's not Froman-but rather Jane Hoyt, whose husband stepped into Communist China and can't get out. Jane comes to Hong Kong to find out what's going on and meets up with Gable, who is suspected of being a gangster, but British officer, Michael Rennie, can't get anything on him.Hayward goes to Macao on a tip and her guide is soon escorted off the boat and hustled to Red China as well. We never know what happened to this poor guy.When Gable and his crew go into China to rescue, Hoyt, a colorless Gene Barry, they encounter no opposition on the roads leading out. Not even a shot is fired. They get on the boats and encounter some machine guns with Hoyt taking a bullet to the arm. Suddenly loads of boats show up and all blend in on the seas.Of course, Hayward and Gable have fallen in love so the question remains who she will choose. Remember how she took her vows for better or worse in "With A Song in My Heart?" If you can think of what happened to the marriage with David Wayne, you will get the answer.Of course, it's 1955 so Hayward can be forgiven for this lackluster film as she shined so eloquently in "I'll Cry Tomorrow." that very year.
