Cliched B-movie war story set in the Philippines

War movie in which supporting characters carry it

Arianne Ulmer and Robert Clarke in Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)

James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)

Margaret Field and Pat Goldin in The Man from Planet X (1951)

Beverly Garland in Not of This Earth (1957)

Tom Neal, Ann Savage, and Roland Varno in The Unwritten Code (1944)

Russ Tamblyn and Mamie Van Doren in High School Confidential! (1958)

Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Cesar Romero, and Nancy Kelly in Frontier Marshal (1939)

That's wonderful! For as long as I've known you, you've never even felt good. Why the big improvement?

Aw, I suppose it's 'cause we're past the problem of Larry.

Well, it *was* a problem. Larry's become important to me. It's a strange thing; no one's ever been important to me before. Now Larry is and, in a way, so is everyone on the boat.

No, you don't understand. I could've come and gone and never cared what happened to any one of you, but...

That's right. You see, what happened back there in one day suddenly made me want to know those men. The things they did, they just shouldn't have done. I had to know why. And the only people who knew, were dead. Darby and Hito died forever the day they came to life; I won't try to explain that. You know what I mean. Larry almost died, I expected him to, and then somehow they all changed. They became new men. Men worth knowing. But they only lived that single day. Do you get what I'm driving at?

Original cast photo from "Ghost of the China Sea."

Lynette Bernay, David Brian, and Norman Wright in Ghost of the China Sea (1958)

David Brian

Lynette Bernay

Norman Wright

Charles B. Griffith

A ragtag band of civilians and military personnel evade the Japanese in the Philippines, utilising the so-called USS Frankenstein.

Fred F. Sears

Ghost of the China Sea

A lot to like, a lot to hate.

The story idea for &quot;Ghost of the China Sea&quot; is very good and it intrigued me. Sadly, however, some of the writing was disappointing--with some very cliched characters as well as their dialog.

The film begins just after the Japanese invaded the Philippines during World War II. The American and Filipino forces are in retreat and the movie is about a rag-tag group of civilians and a navy seaman as they try to avoid the Japanese and make it to safety. 

The best thing about this film is the leader of the group, played by David Brian. His character is tough, cynical and a bit blood-thirsty....as he smiles as his men machine gun a group of Japanese prisoners! But the rest of the characters are pretty terrible. There&apos;s the female who is only there to look nice and to be a love interest for the hero and the preacher--both of which say the dumbest things and COULD have been interesting characters. Overall, a mixed bag that doesn&apos;t amount to a rousing film nor one I can wholeheartedly endorse.

By the way, early in the film the group is being held prisoner by a lone Japanese private. The man who plays the private is Kam Fong--the guy who played Chin Ho Kelly on &quot;Hawaii Five-O&quot; for about a decade.

The story idea for "Ghost of the China Sea" is very good and it intrigued me. Sadly, however, some of the writing was disappointing--with some very cliched characters as well as their dialog.

The film begins just after the Japanese invaded the Philippines during World War II. The American and Filipino forces are in retreat and the movie is about a rag-tag group of civilians and a navy seaman as they try to avoid the Japanese and make it to safety. 

The best thing about this film is the leader of the group, played by David Brian. His character is tough, cynical and a bit blood-thirsty....as he smiles as his men machine gun a group of Japanese prisoners! But the rest of the characters are pretty terrible. There's the female who is only there to look nice and to be a love interest for the hero and the preacher--both of which say the dumbest things and COULD have been interesting characters. Overall, a mixed bag that doesn't amount to a rousing film nor one I can wholeheartedly endorse.

By the way, early in the film the group is being held prisoner by a lone Japanese private. The man who plays the private is Kam Fong--the guy who played Chin Ho Kelly on "Hawaii Five-O" for about a decade.

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Ghost of the China Sea

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