A Yank on the Burma Road - Misplaced Pages

1942 film by George B. Seitz

A Yank on the Burma Road

Directed by	George B. Seitz
Written by	Hugo Butler David Lang Gordon Kahn
Produced by	Samuel Marx
Starring	Laraine Day Barry Nelson Keye Luke
Cinematography	Lester White
Edited by	Gene Ruggiero
Music by	Lennie Hayton
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	January 29, 1942 (1942-01-29)
Running time	67 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$300,000
Box office	$552,000

A Yank on the Burma Road is a 1942 drama film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Laraine Day, Barry Nelson and Keye Luke. It is also known as China Caravan and Yanks on the Burma Road.

It was produced as part of a cluster of Hollywood films set during the Burma campaign of World War II. Although released shortly after America's entry into the conflict, it was largely produced before the Attack on Pearl Harbor. The film's sets were designed by the art director Edwin B. Willis.

Plot

A New York City taxi driver Joe Tracey attracts public attention by capturing the Spinaldi brothers, two notorious killers, and handing them over to the police. He is then hired by Chinese representatives who want him to take a valuable convoy of medical supplies on the Burma Road from Rangoon to the Republic of China's capital at Chungking. There he meets fellow American Gail Farwood who has been denied permission to travel to Chungking because the British authorities suspect her on account of her German-born pilot husband of being pro-Japanese agent. Tracey agrees to take Gail with him, but is surprised at her attempts to evade the Chinese authorities. Having originally taken the job purely for the money, Tracey is moved by the suffering and resolve he encounters on the way. They come across Gail's husband Tom, in the custody of the Chinese, and agree to take him to Chungking for trial. On the way a fierce battle breaks out between the Japanese attackers and Chinese forces, during which Tom is killed trying to aid the former. The attack is repulsed and the convoy proceeds on its way, news having arrived that America has now entered the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Reception

The film made $355,000 in the United States and Canada and $197,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $64,000.

Cast

Laraine Day as Mrs. Gail Farwood
Barry Nelson as Joe Tracey
Stuart Crawford as Tom Farwood
Keye Luke as Kim How
Victor Sen Yung as Wing
Philip Ahn as Dr. Franklin Ling
Knox Manning as Radio Announcer
Matthew Boulton as Rangoon Aide de camp
James B. Leong as Guerilla Leader
Marcelle Corday as Madame Vercheron
George Magrill as A Spinaldi Brother
Cy Schindell as A Spinaldi Brother
Eddy Chandler as Police Desk Sergeant Mulvaney
Cliff Clark as Police Lieutenant
James Flavin as Police Radio Dispatcher
Luke Chan as Officer
Richard Loo as Commandant
Allen Jung as Taxi Driver
Chester Gan as Doctor
Harry Semels as Partner
Bob Okazaki as Japanese Officer
Eddie Lee as Chinese Lieutenant

References

^ The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
Selth p.205
Loukides & Fuller p.69

Bibliography

Selth, Andrew. Burma, Kipling and Western Music: The Riff from Mandalay. Taylor & Francis, 2016.
Loukides, Paul & Fuller, Linda K. Beyond the Stars: Stock Characters in American Popular Film. Popular Press, 1990.

External links

v t e Films directed by George B. Seitz
1910s	The Exploits of Elaine (1914) The Romance of Elaine (1915) The Iron Claw (1916) The Fatal Ring (1917) The House of Hate (1918) The Lightning Raider (1919) Bound and Gagged (1919) The Black Secret (1919)
1920s	Pirate Gold (1920) Velvet Fingers (1920) Rogues and Romance (1920) The Sky Ranger (1921) Hurricane Hutch (1921) Go Get 'Em Hutch (1922) Speed (1922) Plunder (1923) The Way of a Man (1924) Leatherstocking (1924) The Fortieth Door (1924) Into the Net (1924) Galloping Hoofs (1924) Sunken Silver (1925) Wild Horse Mesa (1925) The Vanishing American (1925) Desert Gold (1926) The Last Frontier (1926) The Ice Flood (1926) Pals in Paradise (1926) Jim, the Conqueror (1926) The Blood Ship (1927) Great Mail Robbery (1927) The Isle of Forgotten Women (1927) The Tigress (1927) The Warning (1927) After the Storm (1928) Ransom (1928) Beware of Blondes (1928) Court-Martial (1928) The Circus Kid (1928) Blockade (1928) Hey Rube! (1928) Black Magic (1929)
1930s	Murder on the Roof (1930) Guilty? (1930) Midnight Mystery (1930) Danger Lights (1930) The Lion and the Lamb (1931) The Drums of Jeopardy (1931) Arizona (1931) Shanghaied Love (1931) Night Beat (1931) Sally of the Subway (1932) Temptation's Workshop (1932) Docks of San Francisco (1932) Sin's Pay Day (1932) Passport to Paradise (1932) The Widow in Scarlet (1933) Treason (1933) The Thrill Hunter (1933) The Women in His Life (1933) Lazy River (1934) The Fighting Ranger (1934) Buried Loot (1935) Society Doctor (1935) Shadow of Doubt (1935) Times Square Lady (1935) Calm Yourself (1935) Woman Wanted (1935) Kind Lady (1935) Exclusive Story (1936) Absolute Quiet (1936) The Three Wise Guys (1936) The Last of the Mohicans (1936) Tarzan Escapes (1936) Mad Holiday (1936) Under Cover of Night (1937) Mama Steps Out (1937) A Family Affair (1937) The Thirteenth Chair (1937) Between Two Women (1937) My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) You're Only Young Once (1937) Judge Hardy's Children (1938) Yellow Jack (1938) Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) Out West with the Hardys (1938) The Hardys Ride High (1939) 6,000 Enemies (1939) Thunder Afloat (1939) Judge Hardy and Son (1939)
1940s	Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) Kit Carson (1940) Sky Murder (1940) Gallant Sons (1940) Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941) Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941) A Yank on the Burma Road (1942) The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942) Pierre of the Plains (1942) Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)

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