Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

Directed by Henry King. Starring William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin Thatcher, Isobel Elsom, Jorja Cartwright, Murray Matheson, Virginia Gregg, Kam Tong.

Monotonous cinematic soap opera set in post-war Hong Kong has American correspondent Holden and part-Chinese doctor Jones getting involved in a sudsy, chemistry-free romance that dares to bloom against social convention and class divide. Considered daring at the time for suggesting infidelity (Holden’s character is separated from his wife, but still legally married) and miscegenation; seen today, it’s old-fashioned in the drabbest of ways, stultifyingly formal in its writing, direction and performances. Holden goes through the motions and spares himself embarrassment; the same cannot be said for the casting of Jones as a Eurasian, a word heard so often in the dialogue that it loses all meaning (she’s a bore, to boot). Scenic backdrops and its Oscar-winning title tune are worth noting, though the melody of the latter is incorporated into the orchestral score so relentlessly that one may wish to never hear the song again by the time it’s over.

34/100