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William Holden and Nancy Kwan in The World of Suzie Wong (1960)

Gregory Peck in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)

Marilyn Monroe, Constance Bennett, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, David Wayne, and Monty Woolley in As Young as You Feel (1951)

William Holden, Robert Mitchum, and Loretta Young in Rachel and the Stranger (1948)

Van Heflin, Helen Hayes, Dean Jagger, and Robert Walker in My Son John (1952)

William Holden, Capucine, and Trevor Howard in The Lion (1962)

Thomas Gomez, Louis Jourdan, and Jean Peters in Anne of the Indies (1951)

William Holden, France Nuyen, and Clifton Webb in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

William Holden and France Nuyen in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

Weaver Levy and France Nuyen in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

France Nuyen in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

William Holden in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

William Holden, Leo McCarey, France Nuyen, and Clifton Webb in Satan Never Sleeps (1962)

William Holden

Clifton Webb

France Nuyen

Claude Binyon

Leo McCarey

Pearl S. Buck

During the Chinese Civil War of 1949, the Communists constantly harass the two priests of a remote Catholic mission outpost.

David W. Orton

Satan Never Sleeps

Depressing and Ultimately Unsatisfying

This film, set in Mao&apos;s China during the Communist Revolution proved to be an almost infuriating film to view. It was the final film of Leo McCary&apos;s fantastic (and eclectic) directing career (&quot;Duck Soup,&quot; &quot;The Bells of St. Mary&apos;s). The story centers around a young priest, Father O&apos;Bannion (William Holden) sent to relieve an aging priest in a Chinese mission. He meets a wide-eyed, idealistic young Chinese girl (France Nuyen) along the way. When he arrives at the mission, all hell seems to break loose. Without divulging too much plot...our young priest encounters many battles:  fending off the affection of the young girl; remaining true to his faith, and abstaining from self-defense and violence (even under extreme duress); and pleasing his aging sage, the older preist (Clifton Webb). Why did this movie bother me? Well, in a nutshell: the young girl professes her love for Father O&apos;Bannion...and he realizes he must send her off, despite his *true* feelings. Later, a character rapes the young girl while Father O&apos;Bannion can only look on in desperation (after being tied up). After the inital horror, the good Father suscribes to the ideal that the resulting son needs a father. No matter who it is. When the rapist returns to see is his son, O&apos;Bannion more or less encourages the young woman to form a family. This after our new &quot;dad&quot; has watched communists kill his parents in cold blood for the simple act of worshipping Christ. I suppose this movie is &quot;pure to the period.&quot; But it&apos;s a tough movie to view in this day and age. A rapist is never properly punished. A man supresses his true feelings of love for a woman, who then must live with her attacker &quot;just so the child can have a father.&quot; The finale is as wacky as forgiving rape for &quot;family&apos;s sake.&quot; The charming Nuyen and Holden give solid performances, but the message sent, and the film itself, left me frustrated and somber.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2EzMTgyZGEtNzEyNC00OWU2LWI5ZWYtM2MwMmVjYTc2ZTAwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1NzE3NTg@._V1_.jpg

This film, set in Mao's China during the Communist Revolution proved to be an almost infuriating film to view. It was the final film of Leo McCary's fantastic (and eclectic) directing career ("Duck Soup," "The Bells of St. Mary's). The story centers around a young priest, Father O'Bannion (William Holden) sent to relieve an aging priest in a Chinese mission. He meets a wide-eyed, idealistic young Chinese girl (France Nuyen) along the way. When he arrives at the mission, all hell seems to break loose. Without divulging too much plot...our young priest encounters many battles:  fending off the affection of the young girl; remaining true to his faith, and abstaining from self-defense and violence (even under extreme duress); and pleasing his aging sage, the older preist (Clifton Webb). Why did this movie bother me? Well, in a nutshell: the young girl professes her love for Father O'Bannion...and he realizes he must send her off, despite his *true* feelings. Later, a character rapes the young girl while Father O'Bannion can only look on in desperation (after being tied up). After the inital horror, the good Father suscribes to the ideal that the resulting son needs a father. No matter who it is. When the rapist returns to see is his son, O'Bannion more or less encourages the young woman to form a family. This after our new "dad" has watched communists kill his parents in cold blood for the simple act of worshipping Christ. I suppose this movie is "pure to the period." But it's a tough movie to view in this day and age. A rapist is never properly punished. A man supresses his true feelings of love for a woman, who then must live with her attacker "just so the child can have a father." The finale is as wacky as forgiving rape for "family's sake." The charming Nuyen and Holden give solid performances, but the message sent, and the film itself, left me frustrated and somber.

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