“I do not know what is to happen, darling. But this I do know: Life’s greatest tragedy is not to be loved.”
This line, one of the last heard in 1955’s Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, so perfectly encapsulates the emotional core of this film as to almost make everything else that happens unnecessary. Yet all that does happen serves this theme and adds layers of reality to a doomed romance and helps tie it to a time and a place that is unique in the movies. This, coupled with some wonderful second unit filming on location in Hong Kong, and a beautiful award winning score that samples the title theme song, makes this movie one of the more beautiful, and troubling, love stories to come out of Hollywood.
Han Suyin, a Chinese-born Eurasian physician, wrote her autobiography A Many-Spendoured Thing in 1952, where it became an immediate bestseller in London. This novel detailed her romance with, and tragic loss of, an American war correspondent over the course of many months. Writing this story was a way for her to close this painful chapter in her life and find some catharsis in the tragedy, and she only agreed to sell the rights to film the book when she needed money for a surgery for her adopted daughter who had pulmonary tuberculosis. She refused to see the film that came out of that deal and kept to that all the way up to her own death in 2012.
The story takes place in Hong Kong during the Chinese Civil War. Han (Jennifer Jones) is an Eurasian widowed medical doctor working in one of the Hong Kong hospitals treating refugees from mainland China. She is approached at a gathering one evening by American war correspondent Mark Elliott (William Holden), who invites her to dinner. Though she accepts the invitation, she has no interest in pursuing a romantic relationship.
He wins her over, though, and the two gradually fall in love. But the realities of the world put up roadblocks for the couple. A relationship between the two is frowned upon by the Chinese and Eurasian people as being inappropriate. Also, the nature of Mark’s work keeps him traveling, covering everything from the Chinese Civil War to the developing Korean War. Han eventually loses her job at the hospital over their relationship and is being pressured to return to China, even though the Communist Party has taken over the country and she refuses to support the party. On top of that, Mark is married, though separated, and his estranged wife refuses to grant him a divorce.
At first, it feels like this is going to be a run-of-the-mill romantic drama, the kind we see all of the time. But if that was all there was to this film, it would not have made it on the list of Best Picture nominees for 1955. There is quite a bit more going on here than merely the love developing between Han and Mark. We get hints of that early on when the Chinese Civil War is mentioned and Han is asked outright if she is a communist. Also, one of the first patients Han treats is a toddler girl who is apparently orphaned and a refugee from that civil war. There are a lot of children coming into Hong Kong this way, fleeing the oppression of communism, and needing guardians. Han makes the statement that if that little girl’s parents are not located, she will take the girl in and, true to her word, she does just that.
There is also the element of racial prejudice going on. Han is of mixed heritage, which is a bit of a taboo itself, but when she starts getting romantically involved with an American, all of a sudden, she is being heavily discriminated against. Her contract with the hospital is not extended, and she is told no hospital in Hong Kong will hire her despite her being a highly competent doctor during a time when those are highly sought after. She is told that if she moves back to mainland China, she could have her own hospital, but that would require her to live under communist rule, and she wouldn’t be able to see Mark anymore.
It’s an interesting choice to cast January Jones in the part of Han, being that she isn’t Asian or even Eurasian. A large part of that is simply the times in which this film was made. While this film is being extremely reverent to Asian culture and not trying to stereotype, the casting is still yellowface and may offend some people. Liberal amounts of makeup are used to make Jones look the part, but there is no getting around the fact that she is not of that race, mixed or otherwise. This stands out all the more when she is cast opposite several actual Asian actors.
The racism on display is a bit more subtle than the average film on the subject. There are no scenes where someone outright attacks someone else or slurs them with racial profanities. Mark is never treated poorly for being American. Han takes the brunt of the punishment, not for being Eurasian, but for getting involved with Mark. Nothing is said in public about it, but behind closed doors, she is outright told there are consequences for seeing him. Her colleague Dr. Sen (Kam Tong) pulls her into a private room to tell her she can no longer work as a doctor in Hong Kong and tries to get her to move back to the mainland. He makes it perfectly clear that the only reason for this is her relationship with Mark and that she will need to make a decision between her career and her love. This film does a good job of portraying these prejudices without hitting us over the head with them.
As a love story, this one is on par with some of the better ones. It tackles all the right notes and does a good job of making their romance believable. Where it really shines, though, is in establishing the setting and the cultural barriers this romance brings to light. On top of that, the two leads are entirely disarming. Jennifer Jones, not counting the Asian makeup, is doing a wonderful job selling the character. But she is even better when she is playing off of William Holden. Their scenes together are fun to watch, and we believe she is falling for him, despite her determination not to. It’s the backbone of this movie, and because we are fully invested in them, it sets us up for that emotional gut punch of an ending.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Motion Picture: Buddy Adler
Best Actress: Jennifer Jones
Best Art Direction - Color: Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter Scott, and Jack Stubbs
Best Cinematography - Color: Leon Shamroy
Best Costume Design - Color: Charles LeMaire (won)
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Alfred Newman (won)
Best Song: “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster (won)
Best Sound Recording: Carlton W. Faulkner
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Release Date: August 18, 1955
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Jennifer Jones and William Holden
Directed By: Henry King
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