The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1940s-era movie about a missionary priest in China in the early 1900s, with Cary Grant in the leading role. Boy, he was a tall drink of water, wasn't he?
It was interesting, if dated. The Chinese were portrayed pretty stereotypically, but I guess that's to be expected, given the era. I liked the book better, mainly because they cut so much out in the movie, including the part where the priest and two of his companions get waterboarded in the river - that was the most vivid and compelling part of the book for me.
Oh, and I was surprised to see Vincent Price show up in the role of a bishop - How many movies was that guy in, anyway?
So! An okay movie. I probably wouldn't pay to rent it again, but if it turned up on TCM on a rainy Saturday afternoon, I'd watch it.
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Were there actual Chinese people playing the roles of the Chinese people? I'm thinking of one of the Sean Connery-James Bond movies where the main bad guy is supposed to be Japanese or something when he's really quite caucasian. There are other older movies as well that feature white folks playing Asians. I suppose they just couldn't find any :)
A quick look at the cast list at IMDB revealed that the Chinese were actually played by Chinese, or at least actors with Asian-looking surnames. I can just picture the "calling all Chinese" casting call that must have gone out.
Am I gonna get in trouble for this?
Oh, and IMDB also revealed that the priest was played by Gregory Peck, NOT Cary Grant. Whoops.
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