Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Soldier of Fortune, 1955. A wife's journalist husband who was just imprisoned behind the red Chinese curtain goes to Hong Kong to get an adventurer to help her in her task to find the husband and to get him back.*Special Stars- Clark Cable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry.*Theme- Persistance is the key to success.*Trivia/location/goofs- Shoot at 20th century Fox studios and Hong Kong. Ms. Hayward was under court order to not leave the US due to a pending divorce matter.*Emotion- This film was enjoyable to watch, but the story seems very stilted due to the lack of character development of the supporting cast's roles.*Based On- A best seller and the Cold War era.

mark.waltz Fifteen years after loosing the opportunity to be Scarlet to Clark Gable's Rhett, Susan Hayward gets him in the far east of Shanghai as opposed to the South East of Atlanta. She's a no-nonsense American woman who comes to China to find her missing adventurer husband with tough guy Gable's help. Of course, they clash at first as he makes a pass, she calls him on it and he ends up rescuing her anyway. Adventure at sea leads them to the missing husband, played by Michael Rennie, and a shoot-out leads to the inevitable conclusion of whom Hayward chooses.This is a familiar tale of "King Solomon's Mines" similarity taking it to another exotic place and adding on flashy Cinemascope Technicolor photography to make it even more splashy. Gable and Hayward are an exciting team, and I am surprised that they only did one film together. Their chemistry is undeniable. The film delves into the darkness of life in a world far beyond our comprehension, showing some rather sordid treatment of women in this mysterious world. An Anna May Wong look-alike is abused by her obvious lover, watches him get beaten up by Gable, then rushes to his side to wash the blood and sweat off his brow while telling Gable what he needs to know. Hayward is particularly sweet in a scene where she encounters one of Gable's foster children, an adorable young boy who is fascinated by American cowboys.Veteran actress Anna Sten, who had a brief career as a leading lady in the 1930's before Box Office Poison did her in, has a nice supporting role here as a shady lady whom even the trashiest of men ignore. Gene Barry plays a rather shady character whom Hayward encounters on her arrival, reminding me of a slightly younger Gilbert Roland. Fortunately, the Asian stereotypes are minimal, so there is only a little that may offend. But with its familiar plot only moved to a different location, the predictability is obvious, and that lessens its impact.

Owen Eather Saw this as a boy on Saturday afternoon. The DVD has all the lush, superb photography and stunning music that Cinemascope knocked you out with. It placed Hong Kong in my mind as the "exotic" place in China, with a sober overtone of British discipline at the time. The plot is necessarily contrived, but believable enough. Characters veer to stereotypes but the acting rescues them from going over the cliff and its satisfying to see the very professional, sometimes charismatic cast bring vitality to even the smallest part - the "defrocked" Magistrate still reading the Wedding vows being one. Gable, admittedly looking very worn, but fir for all of that, and Haywood dominate the film, but Rennie is dignified and shows the right touch of understatement, typifying the type of decent and selfless Englishmen who were the British Empire's backbone and now long departed the scene. Action, locale and dialogue are mixed deftly by the director. It is a blessed relief to be carried along by a film without the current use of manic editing of current film makers. Sit back and let this classic piece of adventure and visual entertainment wash over you. If the final scene on the Peak Tram Staion, Friedhoffer's atmospheric score overwhelming your reason and old Hong Kong spread seductively below,when Gable gets the girl, does not tingle your every movie nerve, nothing ever will

MartinHafer Susan Hayward arrives in Hong Kong because her rather irresponsible reporter husband has disappeared--most likely across the border in Communist China. A wide variety of low-lifes offer to help but most seem intent with either bedding her or getting her money. One of these disreputable characters is played by Clark Gable--a man who seems to be heavily involved in the black market and smuggling. Of course Gable falls for Hayward, but the fact that she's loyal to her husband keeps getting in his way.This is an awfully familiar plot considering Clark Gable played in many movies with similar plot threads from the 1930s until the end of his career. In so many of his films, he played a rogue who was often on the wrong side of the law and who claimed to have no loyalty to anything but himself. However, again and again, by the end of the film, his character turned out to be decent after all--and usually get the girl. Despite all this being present in SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, I enjoyed the movie for two reasons. First, Gable always played those parts so well that it's hard to dislike these films. Second, setting the movie in Hong Kong was a welcome relief and breathed life into the old theme. In particular, the spectacular scenery really enhanced the film and made it sparkle.