The 7th Golden Boy Blogathon: Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

After World War II, the world was divided into two competing ideological and military blocs: the West, led by the capitalist United States, and the East, which operated within the Soviet Union's communist sphere. Under the authoritarian rule of Mao Zedong, China initially aligned with the USSR, securing much-needed economic and industrial aid, as well as military support to counter American influence in East Asia. In the late 1950s, however, border disputes and ideological disagreements led China to break the alliance with the Eastern Bloc and become an independent power, challenging both Soviet and American policies. As a result of the Sino-Soviet split and the trade restrictions imposed by the United States after the Korean War, China experienced a significant period of economic and cultural isolation that ended only in the early 1970s.

In the midst of the political tensions of the Cold War, Chinese-born Eurasian physician and author Han Suyin emerged as a key figure in bridging the gap between the East and the West. Her mixed heritage allowed her a privileged cross-cultural perspective on Chinese society that often challenged Western views, but also promoted mutual understanding and co-existence. Through her literary works, Suyin attempted to explain to Western audiences the complexities of modern China, at a time when the country was inaccessible to the West.

 

LEFT: Han Suyin photographed by Ernst Haas circa 1960. MIDDLE: Han Suyin in a photo by the London newspaper Evening Standard dated March 15, 1966. RIGHT: Han Suyin speaking in a luncheon organised by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, on November 30, 1976. Behind her is a portrait of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, who had died nearly three months prior. Photo by C. Y. Yu.

 

Born in 1917 to a Belgian mother and a Chinese father, Suyin initiated her medical studies at Yenching University in Beijing, and later attended the Free University of Brussels for further training. In 1938, with the threat of war looming over Europe, she returned to her native China and began working as a midwife in an American Christian mission hospital in Chengdu. Around the same time, she married Tang Pao-Huang, a general in the National Revolutionary Army of Chiang Kai-Shek, and later adopted a daughter. In 1944, while her husband was working as a military attaché in London, Suyin enrolled at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine to continued her studies. Three years later, she received news that Pao had been killed in action on the Manchurian front during the second phase of the Chinese Civil War.

 

In 1949, upon receiving her medical degree from the University of London, Suyin went to Hong Kong, then a Crown colony of the United Kingdom, to practice medicine at the Queen Mary Hospital, first in obstetrics and gynecology, and later in the pathology department. While there, she met Australian journalist Ian Morrison, who was stationed in Singapore as a war correspondent for the British newspaper The Times. During World War II, he had covered the Pacific Front for The Times, having been injured several times in the course of his work. Although Morrison was married, he and Suyin soon began a love affair, which ended tragically after he was killed at the onset of the Korean War in 1950, when a jeep carrying him and two other passengers struck a landmine. 

 

After reading Morrison final letter to her, Suyin was inspired to write A Many-Splendoured Thing, her second literary work following the release of Destination Chungking in 1942. Conceived as a novel, the book was nevertheless strongly autobiographical, detailing both her romance with Morrison and her time as a physician at the Queen Mary Hospital. Suyin fictionalised Morrison's name to «Mark Elliott» and changed his nationality from Australian to British. First published in London by Jonathan Cape in 1952, A Many-Splendoured Thing became a bestseller and was well-received by critics. Australian book reviewer Geoffrey Hutton noted, «Han Suyin is a writer of unusual subtlety, and persuasiveness [...] who can reveal her own personal tragedy without being sorry for herself [...] she can write vividly, expressively, without the trace of a cliché.»

 

LEFT: Ian Morrison photographed by Reuben Saidman in Mandalay, Burma, in March 1945. During World War II, he covered the Pacific Front as a correspondent for The Times. RIGHT: First hardcover American edition of A Many-Splendored Thing, published by Little, Brown and Company in 1953.

 

With the huge success of A Many-Splendoured Thing, producer Robert Vogel at MGM considered purchasing the story, but soon abandoned the idea over concerns about its subject of adultery and sympathy for communism. In late 1952, 20th Century Fox bought the screen rights to the novel and sent it to the Production Code Administration (PCA) for approval. The censors, however, rejected the material as «being a justification and glorification of adultery» and deemed it unsuitable for a film, putting the project on hold.

 

In early March 1955, Fox submitted to the PCA its first draft of the screenplay for the newly-titled Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist John Patrick. The story was once again rejected for its depiction of adultery, with PCA director Geoffrey Shurlock advising the studio to remember that the romance portrayed in the book was «a very unconventional and dangerous relationship, and must be so presented.» Despite not having full consent from the PCA, Fox decided to move forward with the adaptation, and production began before Patrick had even finished the script.

When time came for casting, Fox cast Jennifer Jones as Han Suyin, in her first assignment as part of a three-picture deal with the studio. Making her screen debut opposite John Wayne in the Western B-movie New Frontier (1939), Jones had been one of Hollywood's top stars of the mid-1940s, earning an Academy Award for her first lead role in The Song of Bernadette (1943). However, her career had stalled after her marriage to her mentor, producer David O. Selznick, who often controlled and interfered with her work. Her own high-strung temperament also made her difficult to work with. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing was Jones's return to work after the failure of her two most recent projects, Vittorio De Sica's Indiscretion of an American Wife (1954) and a stage adaptation of Henry James's novel Portrait of a Lady, which marked her Broadway debut. Selznick did not get involved with the making of Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, but he did send his usual lengthy memos with suggestions about Jones's hair, make-up and wardrobe to producer Buddy Adler and director Henry King, who had also helmed The Song of Bernadette.

 

The role of Mark Elliott, whose nationality was changed from British to American, was assigned to William Holden, who was enjoying a period of great popularity and critical acclaim. Beginning his career with a small uncredited role in Prison Farm (1939), Holden had risen to the top ranks of Hollywood stardom in the early 1950s, as he appeared in a series of well-received films that showcased not only his good looks, but also his versatility as an actor. These included Sunset Boulevard (1950), Born Yesterday (1950), The Country Girl (1954) and Sabrina (1954). His performance as a cynical prisoner-of-war in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17 (1953) had earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor and made him a major box-office attraction.

 

Jennifer Jones and William Holden as Han Suyin and Mark Elliott in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing began filming on location in Hong Kong on March 14, 1955, under the eye of second-unit director Otto Lang. Both Jones and Holden stayed at the colonial-style Peninsula Hotel during their two weeks of work in the region. Holden was received very enthusiastically upon arrival; numerous reporters welcomed him warmly at the airport, and hordes of fans would camp out day and night in front of the hotel to catch a glimpse of him and obtain his autograph. When not filming, Holden took his time to explore the territory of Hong Kong, developing new interests and investing in new businesses, including a radio station that broadcast on three channels in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. He also purchased a piece of land in Port Dickson, Malaysia, where he planned to retire one day.

Despite the film's romantic subject and their chemistry on the screen, Jones and Holden's relationship on the set was contentious and they barely spoke to each other. He was turned off by her obsession with her performance and complained that she chewed garlic cloves every time they had to shoot a love scene. When Jones complained to her husband about Holden's lack to warmth, the actor tried to improve their relationship by presenting her with a bouquet of white roses. Reportedly, she threw the flowers in his face. Jones's difficult behaviour was apparently not only directed at Holden, but at many others involved in the production. Her abrasiveness was made worse by her dissatisfaction with the dialogue and her characterization as Suyin; light make-up was applied to her eyes in order to fit her Eurasian role, but she felt it made her look older.

 

Before the production wrapped, the PCA finally approved the film. After much discussion between Fox and the censors, a series of changes were made to reduce the implication that Mark Elliott and Suyin were involved in a sexual relationship. As written by Patrick, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing adhered to the original novel fairly closely. Set in Hong Kong in 1949-50, the story follows Han Suyin, a widowed Eurasian doctor who becomes romantically involved with American correspondent Mark Elliott, despite learning that he is still legally married. Their relationship faces constant pressure from social prejudice, cultural expectations, and disapproval from those around them, who view their interracial and morally complicated romance as improper. As their love grows, they plan a future together, but Mark's wife refuses to grant him a divorce, forcing him and Suyin to continue their relationship under uncertain circumstances. When Mark receives orders to cover the just-erupted war between North and South Korea, the couple is separated, but continuously sustain their bond through heartfelt letters. After receiving news that Mark was killed in a bombing in Korea, Suyin is devastated and climbs to their favourite hilltop meeting place, where she sobs in grief for her lost love. In the end, she finds strength to carry on in the words Mark had written to her, recalling a verse from Francis Thompson's poem The Kingdom of God: «We have not missed, you and I, we have not missed that many-splendored thing.»

 

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing was completed in three months as scheduled. The remaining footage was shot at the Fox Ranch in Malibu and at the studio back lot in Hollywood. The practice of using a process screen for background scenes, which was common in the 1950s, was put in effect throughout the film. The scenes where Jones meets Holden on the top of the hill were shot at the Fox Ranch and later combined with location footage of the actors climbing the steps overlooking the Hong Kong harbour. The film was shot in Deluxe colour, using Fox's newly-developed widescreen format, CinemaScope.

 

LEFT and MIDDLE: William Holden and Jennifer Jones as Mark Elliott and Han Suyin in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. RIGHT: Jennifer Jones filming a hilltop scene on a set at the Fox Ranch, using a process screen.

The film premiered at the Roxy Theatre in New York City on August 18, 1955, and opened in Los Angeles the following day. It was a huge financial success, making $4 million domestically, but critical reviews were mixed. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times described it as «elaborately sentimental» and slammed Patrick's screenplay as «impotent,» writing, «His story is commonplace and stilted, his dialogue is foolishly verbose and his characters are stiff and bloodless people with no seeming urge for anything but love.» He did, however, give some praise to the two leads, noting, «Mr. Holden is serious and unyielding; Miss Jones is lovely and intense. Her dark beauty reflects sunshine and sadness» Variety was far more positive, characterizing the film as «fine and sensitive [...] offbeat in its treatment yet as simple and moving a love story as has come along in many a moon.» The same reviewer also commended the leading performers: «Holden is restrained and completely believable. Jones is pure delight in a very difficult part. In her, the spirit of the book is caught completely.»

 

At the 28th Academy Awards ceremony held on March 21, 1956, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing was one of three films to receive the most nominations, with a total of eight, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Jennifer Jones. It won Best Costume Design (Color), Best Scoring for a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Song for Sammy Fain's title track. With lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing was a spectacular success for The Four Aces, who released it as a single that hit number one on the Billboard chart on October 15, 1955. It remained at the top spot for six weeks, and spent almost five months in the Billboard top 40.

 

Although viewed today as dated and problematic, mostly due to the casting of an white American actress in the role of an Eurasian woman, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing was groundbreaking for its time, primarily as an early, high-profile attempt to explore interracial love. Regardless of its issues, it has endured the test of time as one of the most romantic movies ever produced. In 2002, it was placed at number 85 on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 greatest love stories in Hollywood cinema history. 

 

 

This post is my contribution to The 7th Golden Boy Blogathon, hosted by The Wonderful World of Cinema and The Flapper Dame. To view all entries, click the links below.

 

DAY 1 | DAY 2

 

 

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SOURCES: 

Capua, Michelangelo. William Holden: A Biography. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2016. 

Crowther, Bosley. «Love' Is a Few Splendors Shy; Patrick's Adaptation of Suyin Novel Opens.» The New York Times, 19 Aug. 1955, https://www.nytimes.com/1955/08/19/archives/love-is-a-few-splendors-shy-patricks-adaptation-of-suyin-novel.html. 

Fox, Margalit. «Han Suyin Dies; Wrote Sweeping Fiction.» The New York Times, 5 Nov. 2012, Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20230314115416/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/han-suyin-dies-wrote-sweeping-fiction.html.

Green, Paul. Jennifer Jones: The Life and Films. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011.

Lake, Alison. «Han Suyin, Chinese-born author of 'A Many-Splendored Thing,' dies at 95.» The Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2012, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/han-suyin-chinese-born-author-of-a-many-splendoured-thing-dies-at-95/2012/11/04/55d11efe-e887-11e0-9660-be84fb24c979_story.html.

Landazuri, Margarita. «Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.» Turner Classic Movies, 8 Dec. 2008, https://www.tcm.com/articles/218269/love-is-a-many-splendored-thing-love-is-a-many-splendored-thing. 

«Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.» AFI Catalog of Feature Films, https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/51570.

Variety staff. «Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.» Variety, https://variety.com/1954/film/reviews/love-is-a-many-splendored-thing-1200417879/.