Action director
John Sturges
had a few good films behind him (
Bad Day at Black Rock
,
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
) and a few more to come (
The Great Escape
The Magnificent Seven
) when he put together this colorful story of wartime romance. In addition to his talents as a director, this saga of an American Captain stationed with his Allied command in Burma during World War II is helped by a stellar cast.
Frank Sinatra
is Captain Tom Reynolds who is supposed to be battling the Japanese in Burma but gets side-tracked when his unit and his Kachin allies are attacked by Chiang Kai-shek's forces. In supporting roles are
Charles Bronson
Steve McQueen
(about to make his mark on the big screen),
Gina Lollobrigida
Peter Lawford
Brian Donlevy
, and several others. After General Chiang's attack, Captain Reynolds leads the remainder of his men into Nationalist Chinese territory for a fast retaliation -- basically a wholesale slaughter. He is called on the carpet for this action later, and his would-be love, Carla Vesari (Lollobrigida) is suddenly faced with a decision to stay with her current man (Paul Heinreid) or take off for the unknown USA with the American Captain.