They Met in Bombay | |
---|---|
![]() Original poster | |
Directed by | Clarence Brown |
Written by | Edwin Justus Mayer Anita Loos Leon Gordon |
Story by | John H. Kafka |
Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
Starring | Clark Gable Rosalind Russell Peter Lorre |
Cinematography | William H. Daniels |
Edited by | Blanche Sewell |
Music by | Herbert Stothart |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.38 million [1] |
Box office | $2.51 million [1] |
They Met in Bombay is a 1941 American adventure drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Peter Lorre. [2] [3] [4] The film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and takes place at the outbreak of fighting in the Second World War in Asia.
Gerald Meldrick (Clark Gable) and "Baroness" Anya von Duren (Rosalind Russell) are jewel thieves working separately in Bombay (now Mumbai) in British-ruled India. He's posing as a Lloyd's of London detective, while she's pretending to be an aristocrat. Both are after a priceless diamond, the Star of Asia, owned by the aging Duchess of Beltravers (Jessie Ralph) and set for public display at a social function.
When Gerald and Anya meet, neither sees through the other's fake identity, but his amorous curiosity about her soon leads him to do a little digging and figure things out. He tricks her into stealing the jewel, then surrendering it to him to avoid prosecution. She quickly catches on that he is a con artist like herself, and she angrily goes after him, but by then both are being sought by the law. They are forced to team up and flee Bombay. Police Inspector Cressney (Matthew Boulton), who had been in charge of the jewel's security, doggedly pursues them, vowing revenge for the way he was outwitted.
The two thieves stow away on a freighter bound for British-ruled Hong Kong, with the connivance of the dishonest captain, Chang (Peter Lorre). On the voyage, Gerald and Anya learn about each other's backgrounds, become friends and eventually begin to fall in love. They begin to distrust Chang, even though they are unaware that he has guessed their identities, contacted Inspector Cressney by radio and agreed to hand them over for a large reward. When the ship arrives in Hong Kong waters on a foggy night, the pair slip away in a rowboat before Cressney and his men arrive to make the arrest, infuriating the inspector once again.
The fugitive couple plan to sneak out of Hong Kong and the British Empire as soon as possible, eventually finding a way to sell the diamond. Gerald, a Canadian who was once in the British military before he turned to a life of crime, obtains an army uniform and assumes the identity of a captain, as part of a scheme to loot money being held in a court dispute. But their plans are upset when the Japanese invade Guangdong Province, and British troops are mobilized to possibly confront them. Gerald is given the job of evacuating Chaing Ling province. On the way there, he plans to duck out and head off in a car with Anya, so he informs his second-in-command that he will be leaving on a private mission and will put the idealistic young soldier in charge. Gerald believes the evacuation will go smoothly with few problems. At Chaing Ling, Gerald meets the evacuees, Europeans and Chinese. When the evacuation is set, Gerald meets up with Anya at the car she has acquired. But as they prepare to leave, the Japanese arrive in aggressive fashion.
Rather than flee, Gerald stays and confronts the Japanese commander, who forbids him to evacuate the Chinese refugees. Gerald vows to protect them and calls up the Winnipeg Grenadiers to form a barrier between the Japanese and the Chinese evacuees. The Japanese back down and the convoy leaves, with Anya in one of the trucks. But on the road, the Japanese attack, killing many Grenadiers and refugees. With his troops pinned down by Japanese machine guns overlooking the road, Gerald shows resourcefulness and bravery by taking a handful of grenades and racing to outflank the Japanese. He manages to knock out the Japanese position, being wounded in the process. Some days later, having recovered, he waits for release from a British hospital in Hong Kong so he and Anya can finally disappear with their stolen diamond. As he leaves to get his things, Anya is seen admiring his uniform.
Gerald is summoned before the battalion, where he is awarded the Victoria Cross for courage by General Allen in a filmed ceremony. Gerald is told that his exploits have become part of British legend, an inspiration for soldiers of the Empire for all time. Gerald is truly moved by this, but is also conflicted about his lies and life of crime. As Gerald is walking out, he is nabbed by Inspector Cressney, who has never given up on catching him. Gerald smiles and appears to give up. The inspector takes Gerald into General Allen's office, where Anya is waiting. General Allen says now knows about Gerald's criminal past, but still sees him as a hero. It turns out that Anya, who has changed her viewpoint on life, is the one who told General Allen and summoned Cressney so Gerald could come clean, accept punishment and start life fresh.
The inspector, who has no sympathy, marches Gerald out, planning to handcuff him once they leave the base. But Gerald, still known to local troops as an army officer, orders a column of passing soldiers to arrest Cressney and take him to jail, despite the inspector's furious protests that they are assisting a criminal. Gerald and Anya get into a military vehicle and leave the army base.
Inspector Cressey, after being freed, is phoning police from the general's office while the general looks on in amusement. Cressney vows to arrest Gerald whatever it takes. However, as he is leaving the office, Gerald and Anya walk in. Gerald tells the flabbergasted inspector that he could have run out on him, but he couldn't run out on Anya. They inform the inspector that they are married, and they hand him the stolen jewel. The delighted general shakes Gerald's hand. Gerald hands the general his Victoria Cross, and asks the general to keep it for him until he comes back to enlist. The general is very happy to do so, knowing the courts will go easy on the war hero.
Looking at the famed medal for valor, General Allen says: "I would give up the Star of Asia for this any day." Gerald hugs Anya and says, "Yeah, that's what we think, too."
Gable was planning to star with Lana Turner as Anya Von Duren in The Uniform in December 1940. [5] Turner was replaced by Russell, and the film was released as They Met in Bombay.
According to MGM records, the film earned $1,554,000 in the United States and Canada and $961,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $350,000. [1]
William Clark Gable was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood", he had roles in more than 60 films in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.
Police Story is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang. It is the first film in the Police Story franchise. It features Chan as Hong Kong police detective "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui, alongside Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung. In the film, Ka-Kui helps arrest a drug lord, but must clear his own name after being accused of murder.
Fist of Fury is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lo Wei and produced by Raymond Chow. The film stars Bruce Lee in his major role after The Big Boss (1971). Bruce Lee also worked as the film's action choreographer. In the film, Chen Zhen, a student of Huo Yuanjia, fights to defend the honor of the Chinese in the face of foreign aggression and also exact vengeance responsible for Huo's death.
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 American epic adventure-comedy film starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists.
Tan Sri Loke Wan Tho was a Malaysian-Singaporean business magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. He was the founder of Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia, and Motion Picture and General Investments Limited (MP&GI) in Hong Kong.
A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 American English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Joan Fontaine. Loosely based upon P.G. Wodehouse's 1919 novel of the same name and the 1928 stage play written by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, it has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. The film was directed by George Stevens, who had also directed Astaire in Swing Time (1936).
Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 DeLuxe Color adventure film in CinemaScope about the rescue of an American prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward, and was written by Ernest K. Gann based on his 1954 novel.
Police Story 2, also known marketed as Police Story Part 2 is a 1988 Hong Kong action comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang. It is a sequel to the hit 1985 film Police Story, continuing the storyline of Chan's character "Kevin" Chan Ka-kui, and is the second installment of Police Story series. It also marks the last appearance in the series for Lam Kwok-Hung as Chief Inspector Raymond Li, Chor Yuen as Chu Tao and Charlie Cho as John Ko.
Supercop 2 is a 1993 Hong Kong action film directed by Stanley Tong and starring Michelle Yeoh. It is a spin-off of Jackie Chan's Police Story film series involving the character Yeoh portrayed in Supercop.
Naked Weapon (赤裸特工) is a 2002 Hong Kong action-thriller film directed by action choreographer Tony Ching, starring Maggie Q, Anya Wu and Daniel Wu.
The Verdict is a 1946 American film noir mystery drama film directed by Don Siegel and written by Peter Milne, loosely based on Israel Zangwill's 1892 novel The Big Bow Mystery. It stars Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in one of their nine film pairings, as well as Joan Lorring and George Coulouris. The Verdict was Siegel's first full-length feature film.
China Seas is a 1935 American adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as a suspect character. The oceangoing epic also features Rosalind Russell, Lewis Stone, Akim Tamiroff, and Hattie McDaniel, while humorist Robert Benchley portrays a character reeling drunk from one end of the film to the other.
The Brothers is a 1979 Hong Kong action crime-drama film directed by Hua Shan, written by Lam Chin Wai and Yuen Cheung, and produced by Runme Shaw under the Shaw Brothers Studio. The film stars Tony Liu, Danny Lee Sau-Yin, Chau Li Chuan, Ku Feng, and Nam Hung. It is a remake of Indian action crime-drama film Deewaar (1975), written by Salim–Javed. In turn, The Brothers inspired John Woo's A Better Tomorrow and played a key role in the creation of the heroic bloodshed crime genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema.
Double Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, William Hartnell and Peter Lorre. The screenplay by William Templeton is based on the novel All On A Summer's Day by H.L.V. Fletcher, written under the pen name John Garden.
The Man from Hong Kong, originally released in the US as The Dragon Flies, is a 1975 action film written and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in his directorial debut and starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, with Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Rosalind Speirs, Rebecca Gilling, Sammo Hung, Grant Page and Frank Thring in supporting roles. The first film to be made as an international coproduction between Australia and Hong Kong, it serves as a satire of the James Bond and Dirty Harry franchises, combined with tropes of the concurrent chopsocky craze. Its plot follows Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Wang) of the RHKPF's Special Branch, who travels to Sydney to perform an extradition, only to find himself locked in battle with Jack Wilton (Lazenby), the city's most powerful crime lord.
Secrets of Monte Carlo is a 1951 American crime film directed by George Blair and starring Warren Douglas, Lois Hall and June Vincent.
The 1930 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1929.
The 1889 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and were published in the London Gazette on 24 May 1889 and in The Times on 25 May 1889.
Strangers is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Mark Denton and Jonny Stockwood, that was first broadcast on ITV on 10 September 2018. Originally titled White Dragon, the series was principally filmed in Hong Kong and is notable for featuring the first English-speaking role for award-winning actor Anthony Wong.