Main Cast: William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin Thatcher, Isobel Elsom, Virginia Gregg, Murray Matheson
Release Year: 1955
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
Based on the autobiographical novel by Han Suyin, Love is a Many Splendored Thing was evocatively location-filmed in Hong Kong. Jennifer Jones plays Ms. Suyin, a Eurasian doctor and the widow of a Chinese general. She falls in love with American news correspondent Mark Elliot (William Holden), who unfortunately cannot obtain a divorce from his present wife. This, together with the disapproval of Dr. Suyin's tradition-bound relatives and Hong Kong's strict racial laws, forces the couple to carry on their romance in a clandestine fashion. The romance ends in tragedy, but with renewed hope for a happier future. The one lasting legacy of Love is a Many Splendored Thing is its Oscar-winning title song, written by Paul Fain and Sammy Webster; Oscars also went to Alfred Newman's musical score and Charles LeMaire's costume design. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
An immensely popular tearjerker, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing has dated very badly through the years, but it still holds great appeal for aficionados of good soap operas. As an over-the-top romantic melodrama, it's hard to beat, but those who are not prone to tearing up at the sight of a forlorn Jennifer Jones standing bravely and lonely atop a high, windy hill would be well advised to look elsewhere -- and quickly. Love makes no attempt to disguise its soapiness, and it wears its manipulative nature right out on its sleeve -- and that gets quite wearying after a while. Fortunately, Love has a couple of classic weeper performances from Jones and William Holden, both of whom knew just how to play this kind of material for maximum effectiveness. Even more fortunately, Love has all the gorgeous surface trappings -- beautiful sets and scenery, gorgeous costumes, sumptuous photography, a sweepingly romantic score -- that provide the real joy in films of this type. The title song is also still memorable, although nowadays it may evoke laughter more than passion and tears. Love is anything but a great film, but it's the kind of guilty pleasure that many find irresistible. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Candace Lee - Oh-No; Richard Loo - Robert Hung; Soo Yong - Nora Hung; Philip Ahn - Third Uncle; Jorja Curtright - Suzanne; Donna Martell - Suchen; Kam Tong - Dr.Sen; James Hong - 5th Brother; Marie Tsien - Rosie Wu; Barbara Jean Wong - Nurse; Kei Chung - Interne; Ashley Cowan - British Sailor; Lee Tung Foo - Old Loo; Herbert Heyes - Father Low; Joseph Kim - Gen. Song; Weaver Levy - Soldier; Keye Luke - Elder Brother; Beulah Quo - Aunt; Leonard Strong - Fortune Teller; Marc Krah - Wine Steward; Edward Colmans - Dining Room Captain; Aen Ling Chow; Walter Soo Hoo - 3rd Brother; Stella Lynn; Henry S. Quan - Officer
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing is a 1955 film. Set in 1949-50 Hong Kong, it tells the story of a married, but separated, American reporter (played by William Holden), who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor originally from Mainland China (played by Jennifer Jones), only to encounter prejudice from her family and from Hong Kong society.
The former colonial-style Repulse Bay Hotel, demolished in 1982, and now the site of The Repulse Bay apartment building.[3]
Song
The sentimental and upbeat theme song, "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" was one of the first songs written for a movie to become #1 in the charts during the same year. The song was recorded by The Four Aces and also by Jerry Vale, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, among others. In Italy, the most important and beautiful version (traslated in italian) was performed by the singer Nancy Cuomo.
Here's a sample of the song's lyrics:
Love is nature's way of giving
a reason to be living,
The golden crown that makes a man a king.
During the film, some romantic meetings occur on a dramatically high grassy, windswept hill in Hong Kong. That setting makes the song lyrics, which are easily heard during parts of the film, intensely romantic, as they are sung to the main theme of the song:
