''Flight to Hong Kong'' is a 1956 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

film noir directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

, Barbara Rush,

Dolores Donlon Dolores Donlon (born Patricia Vaniver; September 19, 1920 – November 30, 2012) was an American model and actress. Career Born in 1920 in Philadelphia and raised in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Donlon attended a convent school in Tarrytown, New Yo ...

. The film was co-produced by Newman's Sabre Productions and was the first of Rory Calhoun's

Rorvic Productions Rorvic Productions was a movie production company formed in 1956 by Rory Calhoun and Victor Orsatti. The name derives from the combination of the founders names, Rory and Victor. Rorvic Productions produced the television series ''The Texan'', th ...

. It was the feature film debut of

Werner Klemperer Werner Klemperer (March 22, 1920 – December 6, 2000) was an American actor. He was known for playing Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'', for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

Plot

Tony Dumont is aboard a plane to the

Crown Colony of Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...

carrying a shipment of industrial diamonds. It is hijacked by men who flee with the gems, leaving Tony and other passengers, including famed

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

Pamela Vincent, at a remote airstrip. After they are rescued and taken to Hong Kong, Tony doesn't get to say goodbye because Pamela is mobbed by the press. Tony returns home to

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

, where he is actually the head of local operations for an international crime syndicate and had plotted the heist. Quisto, Tony's childhood friend and head of the syndicate's

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

operations, calls to tell Tony about a freighter hijacked for the syndicate that will need to be unloaded offshore. Tony takes his girlfriend Jean to a nightclub run by Mama Lin, who raised Tony as an orphan. There that night is Tony's old friend Lobero, who refuses to sell his own smuggling operation in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

to the syndicate. Pamela is among the club's customers that night, so they renew their acquaintance. Syndicate boss Bendesh calls to warn Tony that a rival operation is planning to steal the cargo from the hijacked freighter. Tony and his

lieutenants A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often s ...

, ambitious Nicco and longtime friend Boris, go to the freighter in a speedboat and supervise the transfer of the stolen cargo onto junks. When other junks with armed thieves arrive to try to intercept, they use their greater speed. maneuverability and hand grenades to prevail. Jean is angered by Tony abandoning her at the club. Bendesh tells Tony that Quisto was behind the attempt to steal the cargo and orders Tony to kill him. Quisto appears at Tony's door and begs for help. Tony tries to help him escape to Hong Kong, but when confronted by Nicco, has no choice but to send his friend to his death, dropped into a net behind a junk and dragged through the harbor. Upset by Tony being forced to kill Quisto, their mutual friend, Boris decides he no longer wants to be in the business and leaves to find honest work on a ship. Tony becomes romantically involved with Pamela, so Jean leaves him. Lobero contacts Tony with an idea to steal a million dollars worth of diamonds from a syndicate courier before delivering them to Lobero. Tony fakes his own death, leaving all his property to Jean and Mama Lin in his will. Bribing his way onto a freighter's crew, he arrives in San Francisco after a year-long trip to evade the syndicate, who suspects he is not dead. He tries to call Lobero, but Lobero is out of town, so he goes to find Pamela, only to find she has written a new novel with a character based on him and is now romantically involved with a professional tennis player. Afterward, he tries to visit Lobero, only to find him murdered by a syndicate gunman. When syndicate men spot him and give chase, he flees to the piers, where Boris finally finds him. Boris gets him on a ship to eventually return to Hong Kong. Tony contacts Mama Lin and Jean, who are happy he is still alive. He arranges to meet them, but they are followed by syndicate men, so they split up at Tony's urging. Mama Lin asks for assistance from a police officer, who arrests one of the men, alerting the police to the possible presence of Nicco, who had taken Tony's place as the syndicate's Macau chief. Mama Lin meets Tony at the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and take a taxi to

Victoria Gap Victoria Gap () is an area and a mountain pass located between the summits of Victoria Peak (aka. Mount Austin) and Mount Gough, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is the most touristic place within the area referred to as '' The Peak'', ...

, where they pick up Jean, but they are immediately pursued by Nicco and his henchmen. Tony and the women continue to the Star Ferry, with Nicco not far behind. As the women board the ferry, Tony tries to give the diamonds back, but Nicco says it's too late to save his life. As they escort Tony to a syndicate car, the police arrive and swarm the car, arresting them all, leaving the women by themselves, wondering what's to become of Tony.

Cast

as Tony Dumont * Barbara Rush as Pamela Vincent *

as Jean Blake *

Soo Yong Soo Yong, (, originally Young Hee (楊喜); October 31, 1903 – October 29, 1984) was a Chinese-American actress. She acted in twenty-three Hollywood films and numerous television shows, mostly in supporting roles. Among them were '' The Good ...

as Mama Lin *

Pat Conway Patrick Douglas Conway (January 9, 1931 – April 24, 1981) was an American actor best known for starring as Sheriff Clay Hollister on the Western television series ''Tombstone Territory'' (1957–1960). Early years The son of Metro-Goldwy ...

as Nicco *

as Bendesh *

Mel Welles Mel Welles (February 17, 1924 – August 19, 2005) was an American film actor and director. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnick in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman dark comedy, ''The Little Shop of ...

as Boris *

Paul Picerni Horacio Paul Picerni (December 1, 1922 – January 12, 2011) was an American actor in film and television, perhaps best known today in the role of Federal Agent Lee Hobson, second-in-command to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness, in the ABC hit televisi ...

as Michael Quisto * Aram Katcher as Lobero * Bob Hopkins as Cappy *

Booth Colman Booth Colman (March 8, 1923 – December 15, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor. In his later years he played older authority figures, such as doctors and lawyers. Colman appeared in films since 1952, when he debuted (uncredi ...

as Maxler *

Timothy Carey Timothy Agoglia Carey (March 11, 1929 – May 11, 1994) was an American film and television character actor. Carey was best known for portraying manic or violent characters who are driven to extremes. Career He made his screen debut with a ...

as Lagarto (as Tim Carey) * Noel Cravat as Bob Gantz

References

External links

* {{Joseph M. Newman 1956 films United Artists films Film noir American crime films 1956 crime films Films directed by Joseph M. Newman Films scored by Albert Glasser Films shot in Hong Kong Films set in San Francisco Films shot in San Francisco Films set in Hong Kong 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links