This is an interesting film because Ronald Reagan plays an absolute heel! It begins in China during the fall of the Chinese republic to the communists. On the way to escape to Hong Kong, Reagan happens upon a cute little orphan kid and takes him with him. Now this ISN'T because he's a great humanitarian--it's because the kid has a jewel-encrusted idol with him--and this shabby adventurer wants to steal it and sell it! Into the mix comes a nice lady (Rhonda Fleming)--who thinks Reagan is a swell guy and doesn't realize he's a rat.
Midway through the film, Reagan undergoes a miraculous change of heart (that is, after trying to ditch the kid on the streets of Hong Kong). However, it's too late--gangsters who Reagan had approached to buy the idol have decided they'd just take it! In the process, an innocent man is stabbed and the little boy is stolen. So, it's up to Reagan and Fleming to find the boy.
Despite this being a silly little film, up until the end, my wife and I enjoyed it. It was fluff but enjoyable fluff. HOWEVER, the ending of the film was horrible. All throughout the film Reagan and Fleming loved the little Chinese boy and cared for him. And, at the end, they just dropped him off at an orphanage!!! This was horrible but might have been an effort to appeal to narrow-minded idiots who, at the time, might have been offended by the idea of white folks adopting an Asian kid. Sad and it really undid the film.
Midway through the film, Reagan undergoes a miraculous change of heart (that is, after trying to ditch the kid on the streets of Hong Kong). However, it's too late--gangsters who Reagan had approached to buy the idol have decided they'd just take it! In the process, an innocent man is stabbed and the little boy is stolen. So, it's up to Reagan and Fleming to find the boy.
Despite this being a silly little film, up until the end, my wife and I enjoyed it. It was fluff but enjoyable fluff. HOWEVER, the ending of the film was horrible. All throughout the film Reagan and Fleming loved the little Chinese boy and cared for him. And, at the end, they just dropped him off at an orphanage!!! This was horrible but might have been an effort to appeal to narrow-minded idiots who, at the time, might have been offended by the idea of white folks adopting an Asian kid. Sad and it really undid the film.