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The Mountain Road

1960 1h 42m War Drama List
Reviews 56% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings
Maj. Baldwin (James Stewart) is an American officer stationed in China during World War II charged with stopping the advance of the Japanese army and protecting civilians. One of his tasks is destroying infrastructure to stop the progress of enemy troops. Baldwin is put in command of a unit and is taken aback by how primitive China is. He meets widow Sue-Mei Hung (Lisa Lu) who attempts to explain local customs, but she is ultimately put off by his brutal methods. Read More Read Less

Critics Reviews

View All (1) Critics Reviews
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Glum WW II drama that takes special care in showing the sensitive relations between the Chinese and American allies fighting the Japanese. Rated: B- Jul 2, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Steve D Not my kind of film but well made. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 Full Review Audience Member Another great Jimmy Stewart performance damn near wasted. This WWII drama about a demolition team in western China should have been better, and easily could have been better, yet it retains some worthwhile features. Stewart plays an engineer anxious to get into the war and hold a command. He knows how to blow things up; he doesn't understand people. He can't handle the divisions of rank and class among his soldiers, and the Chinese civilians he is attempting to help just infuriate him. The widow of a recently executed Chinese general (played wonderfully by Lisa Lu) translates for Stewart and tries to expand his understanding, but it just doesn't happen. This movie, which is structured around a series of impressive explosions, and should be awesome just for that, was inexplicably shot in black and white. And that might be the single dumbest decision in the history of cinema. The movie was made in 1960 and should have been a terse warning about getting into the war in Vietnam. No one listened. Not even Jimmy Stewart, who lost a son in that senseless conflict. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member The overall feel was futility, but it still had its poetic moments and interesting developments. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/25/17 Full Review Audience Member This is a decent WWII movie. It stars James Stewart as a Major in the US military during the war against Japan in China. His crew are demolition experts and are assigned to blow up some bridges and a supply depo before the Japanese can access them. But the real danger is never the Japanese army. In fact the real danger comes from the locals in China who are bandits or starving villages that are desperate for food. Stewart's character falls for a Chinese woman but conflicts with her and the Chinese culture. Plus they butt heads when it comes dealing with the locals. Overall this was a much more darker war film then I expected going into it. Stewart gives a solid performance as ususal. The explosions and action sequences are decent in this as well. A film worth checking out if you enjoy war movies or are a James Stewart fan. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member good stewart ahh shucks drama well now that goes down nicely Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Mountain Road

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Maj. Baldwin (James Stewart) is an American officer stationed in China during World War II charged with stopping the advance of the Japanese army and protecting civilians. One of his tasks is destroying infrastructure to stop the progress of enemy troops. Baldwin is put in command of a unit and is taken aback by how primitive China is. He meets widow Sue-Mei Hung (Lisa Lu) who attempts to explain local customs, but she is ultimately put off by his brutal methods.
Director
Daniel Mann
Producer
William Goetz
Screenwriter
Alfred Hayes
Production Co
William Goetz Productions
Genre
War, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 42m