14 Dec China Sky
China Sky, WWII movie starring Randolph Scott
(1945) Based on the 1941 novel by Pearl S. Buck, “China Sky” is the story of an American hospital in a Chinese village during World War II. The two main doctors are played by Randolph Scott and Ruth Warwick. The Japanese are attacking this mountain village because it is the command center for a Chinese guerrilla leader, played by Anthony Quinn.
Pearl Buck wrote about China because she grew up there with her missionary parents. In 1938, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
The movie primarily focuses on the lady doctor who secretly loves the guy doctor and is devastated when his new wife shows up. There is a captured Japanese officer whose role is an embarrassing caricature.
I fast forwarded through much of the movie. As is often the case, the “behind the scenes” stories are the best ones. I learned that Ruth Warwick’s first important role was as Orson Welles’ first wife in “Citizen Kane.” She is best known for her long-running role as Phoebe Tyler in the daytime soap opera “Days of our Lives.”
According to her autobiographical “Confessions of Phoebe Tyler” she carried on a hot love affair with Anthony Quinn during the filming of “China Sky.” According to a TCM article, Zorba the Greek taught her to tango.
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