The Quiet American (1958)

Réalisateur:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Graham Greene (novel)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (writer)

Release Date:

8 février 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Romance | Thriller | War

Plot:

In this adaptation of Graham Greene's prophetic novel about U.S. foreign policy failure in pre-war Indochina...

Plot Keywords:

Sabotage | Based On Novel

Avis des utilisateurs:

Mankiewicz's Quiet American is interesting for reasons other than it is from a Graham Greene novel.

Ensemble

Audie Murphy	...	The American
Michael Redgrave	...	Thomas Fowler
Claude Dauphin	...	Inspector Vigot
Giorgia Moll	...	Phuong
Bruce Cabot	...	Bill Granger
Fred Sadoff	...	Dominguez
Kerima	...	Phuong's Sister
Richard Loo	...	Mr. Heng
Peter Trent	...	Eliot Wilkins
Georges Bréhat	...	French Colonel (as Georges Brehat)
Clinton Anderson	...	Joe Morton
Yoko Tani	...	Rendezvous Hostess
Nguyen Long	...	Boy with Mask
C. Long Cuong	...	Boy in Watchtower
Tu An	...	Boy in Watchtower

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Un Américain bien tranquille (France) [fr]

Durée:

120 min | USA:131 min (TCM Print)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Son:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Classification:

USA:TV-PG | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Figaro

Guillemet:

The American: I'm from a country that's been in existence for less than two hundred years, in a very old world. That same fifty years ago, we were barely taken seriously as a nation, much less a great force for wisdom and decision. But suddenly now, a watch tick of history later, the world waits angrily for us to provide the answers it hasn't been able to find in fifty centuries.

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in "Anatomy of a Scene: The Quiet American" (????)

Mankiewicz's Quiet American is interesting for reasons other than it is from a Graham Greene novel.

Audie Murphy is wooden in his portrayal of the American and, in a twist to the novel, is the hero of the piece. Not quite what Greene had in mind but relevant to events in the USA during the McCarthy era when this film was made (1958).

Phuong has not been given the importance she demands in the novel. The way in which she is 'colonised' by first Fowler and then the American (Pyle in the novel, but not named in this film) is a comment on the way in which the foreign landscape is depicted and also on how the country has been colonised. Despite this she is also manipulative.

However, having said some negative things about this production of The Quiet American, it is a MUST view for the portrayal of tensions in the cold war era and the USA's twist to events as they unfold. Remember that Audie Murphy and Joseph L. Mankiewicz testified for HUAC against their fellow actors and colleagues at the height of McCarthyism.

This film is totally relevant to events unfolding today and for all those interested in the effects of colonialism and the rise of the Vietnam War. What is interesting about this film is the different take on events portrayed in Greene's superb novel, unfortunately, some of which were omitted or subverted in the 1958 film.

This film should be followed by the Philip Noyce version of The Quiet American (2001) with Michael Caine as Thomas Fowler and Brendan Fraser as Pyle (the American in the Mankiewicz version). There is a good opportunity to contrast and compare the two versions which are very different, given that the Noyce Quiet American is closer to the novel.

I would also recommend for light relief that viewers watch the Mash Season 2 TV series in which we see Colonel Flag of the CIA raising a few loud laughs.