When nothing else on television will do – when there’s no RuPaul or Graham Norton or Cupcake Wars – I switch over to Turner Classic Movies. I will accept almost anything that Robert Osborne, in his eternal wisdom, chooses to give me.
The other night it was something unidentifiable: Ava Gardner and Charlton Heston, wearing vaguely Victorian-looking clothing, entering a Chinese temple and dancing to unheard music.
Huh?
Ah. “55 Days at Peking,” a Hollywoodization of the Boxer Rebellion.
First of all, kids, I do not recommend it, unless you are a student of Chinese history, or historiography, or bad movies. It is a horrible botch in just about every regard. Dramatically, no one seems very engaged; there’s a nice cast – David Niven’s in it too, along with Ava and Chuck – but they all appear to be thinking about dinner, or the weekend, or their failing marriages.
At heart it is a Western. The foreigners in Peking - David (of course) represents the British, Chuck the Americans, Ava the Russians (?) - are attacked by Chinese Boxer rebels. We are supposed to sympathize with the Europeans and Americans, who – hm – have been claiming “territorial concessions” in China. The Empress Dowager, a stern old lady with orchids (or possibly hydrangeas) in her hair, is not-so-secretly siding with the Boxers. Prince Tuan, who is quite evidently evil because he has long fingernails and a constipated expression, is not-so-secretly leading the Boxers from within the Forbidden City.
From the point of view of history (and logic), the Chinese were of course in the right; they were trying to protect themselves from arrogant and often violent foreign intervention.
But we cheer as Chuck shoots down the Chinese! He’s not happy about it, of course, but he does it, just as he’d (mopily) shoot down Indians in some other picture. And he looks splendidly sunburnt and muscular in his nice Teddy Roosevelt-style garb, as do all the American soldiers. (I assume this is the way American soldiers dressed in 1900. It’s possible, anyway.)
Let us also mention that the three leading Chinese roles – the Empress Dowager, Prince Tuan, and the Imperial General – are all played by Caucasians. I think most of the Chinese in the mob scenes are played by Chinese, but then again, you never know.
Ah, but wait! We also have a brave young Japanese soldier (played by actual Japanese actor Juzo Itami) fighting alongside Chuck Heston. Remember, this movie was made less than 20 years after World War II. How’s that for diversity and tolerance?
Here's a thought experiment: substitute the Native Americans for the Chinese. The same “territorial concessions” (on a grand scale), the same sense that the side opposing the Americans is noble but wrong . . .
Creepy, isn’t it?
Maybe I recommend this movie after all. It is an object lesson in the creative uses of history.
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