The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)

The story of a self-made missionary (Ingrid Bergman) who, when rejected by established missions, takes it upon herself to buy her own ticket to China.

She impresses those around her and eventually she does get a lot of support, but for the most part she is on her own. Even being taken under the wing by a veteran missionary does not last long. She gets put in charge by default almost immediately after a deadly accident.

Despite some light friction, Chinese authorities are incredibly supportive and good-natured towards her.

Officials, military and administrative, want to bring China into the modern (though not necessarily Christian) age, the resistance to her being in the backward, isolated communities.

She is made Foot Inspector, authorities wanting to eliminate foot binding practices, but also thinking she won’t be able to pull it off.

She is constantly set up to fail so she will leave China and go back home, but she never gives up.

Despite the dangerous assignments she is given, contradictorily, the authorities seem mostly to fear for her safety.

Against all odds, she wins the people over and gets a new name: “She who loves.”

She is also sent to deal with a prison riot. And, in a dramatic scene I immediately recognized from a Readers’ Digest children’s collection illustration, she is attacked with an axe by a gigantic inmate. It was only at this point that I realized I had read this story already when I was a little kid.

Though supposedly dealing with themes of racism, the film makes the mistake of not actually having Chinese actors in the main cast (i.e. ‘yellowface’ for Curt Jürgens, Robert Donat and Michael David.)

Would audiences of the time accept a Western woman embracing and kissing a ‘halfbreed’ as portrayed by an authentic Asian actor?

Maybe it is simply a sign of the, then, times.

This is also the much beloved Hollywood tale of a White person saving non-Whites.

Having seen quite a few Chinese and Hong Kong films I suspect a realistic adaptation of the story would focus more on the protagonists' difficulties dealing with much less-welcoming officials and lots of red tape, but this is not that kind of story: This is a life-affirming, heart-warming story; it could almost be a Christmas movie based on how often the story of Baby Jesus is told onscreen, (once with a hilarious intrusion by Noah.)

BTW, the full ‘Hollywood’ treatment also includes turning this tale into a love story. Beauty standards may vary from person to person, but here Bergman is supposedly a plain woman no one had ever called beautiful.

When the Japanese invasion begins one might wonder how the film makers could possibly conclude the tale, but this is done with a long trek thru treacherous, bandit-infested, Japanese-invaded territory while taking a hundred children to safety and to a satisfying big finish.

Also with Burt Kwouk, Peter Chong and Tsai Chin.