Of the three hit pics John Wayne did with helmer William Wellman in the mid-‘50s, this has the worst rep, but may be the pick of the litter. It’s a spirited anti-Commie fable about a tough skipper (Wayne, natch) who’s sprung from jail by a small town in China so he can guide them to Hong Kong on a stolen ferry. Capitalists already! An unusually impressive physical production and atmospheric lensing from Wm Clotheir help jazz up the formula aspects, and there’s just enough oddities in story construction, Caucasian casting and in Wellman’s habitual determination to cute things up with kids & moldy gags to personalize the film. Wayne even gets an imaginary friend to talk things over with until he starts sorting things out with the delicious corporal Lauren Bacall. She's a lot more fun than an imaginary friend, and she's got time to spare since her big search for her wayward father seems to have gotten left on the cutting room floor.
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