I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Very disappointing...

the audience applauded

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a rare film that criticizes the KMT in China's war with Japan in 1944. The KMT was fighting the CCP (Communists) at the same time they were fighting the Japanese. The CCP was fighting the Japanese as well. They are not even mentioned in the film. The Chinese Civil War started way before 1944. It was the KMT (Chiang Kai-Shek) against the CCP (Mao Zedong). It lasted until 1949, when the CCP finally won when the KMT retreated to Taiwan. The film itself, though, has some problems. There is really not too much suspense or tension in the film. Stewart is really miscast (he was more comfortable in Air Force films) as a demolition man. Harry Morgan is very good though, as is the rest of the cast, who rescue the film from Stewart. Other than Flying Tigers, I cannot remember one other well-made film about the Chinese in WW 2. Empire of the Sun was very good, but it was not really about China. The Last Emperor was very good, but it was more about Puyi than the Chinese in WW2. At least this film marks a shift away from the stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese we had seen in films prior to 1960. There were still a few stereotypes, but not as many as before. Interesting film.

I watched this movie on commercial late-night TV when I was 17 (in 1969). I am sure I then missed most of what was there to be gleaned, however, the soundtrack was compelling.The movie is something of a preview of coming events (not unlike "The Sand Pebbles") with respect to our involvement in Vietnam. I cannot understand how intelligent people could overlook the problems occasioned by fighting a war in a culture so different from our own.The grist of the movie is how power impacts people and that it is not likely that the first time it is granted, the recipient will be ready. I thought Stewart did an excellent job of articulating his conflict, and regrets, over his use of power, and the female lead's character seemed a little unsympathetic to a man who was genuinely conflicted.The movie leaves me with a trace of melancholy. In 1960, when it was released, there was still time to avoid the all but unfathomable foreign policy blunders of the late '60s. Vietnam impacted the thinking of much of the baby boom generation, and not for the better. It leaves me thinking that the war was fought mostly to satisfy the Joint Chiefs (after Cuba was off limits) and to generate huge amounts of cash for the defense industry.

The Mountain Road is the story of an American Enginers destroying military stockpile ahead of a Japanese advance in late World War II. The corrupted Chinese Warlords refused to equip their men for the fight against the Japaneses and wanted to hoard so they could profit from the sale of gasoline and military supplies. One of the themes of the movie is the cultural clash between Americans and Chineses. One of the major difference between the two was the value of human life. I wish that this movie was available on DVD or VHS tape as I would like to have it for my collection. It is well worth while seeing to see one aspect of World War II in China.

This film portrays the lives of a US Army engineer squad in China during WW II. Their mission is to delay the advance of the Japanese Army. They must blow up bridges and ammo dumps along a long mountain road while dealing with a never ending line of Chinese refugees. James Stewart finds love with a beautiful Chinese widow. He must deal with his personal feelings toward a woman, a foreign people and the challenges of command. Not one of your best Jimmy Stewart movies but well worth a look.