Blood Alley may not be anywhere near one of John Wayne’s best movies, but there are many die-hard John Wayne fans out there who must watch or must have all 200 or so movies he’s been in! This movie starts slowly and the acting is wooden throughout. If anything saves this movie it would be the second half once aboard the boat.

The hero, merchant marine Capt. Tom Wilder, is played by John Wayne. Leading lady, Lauren Bacall is Cathy Grainger. Paul Fix (“The Rifleman”) plays terribly stereotypical Chinaman, Mr Tso, and other white actors playing Chinese roles, including Anita Ekberg (Wei Ling) and Mike Mazurki (Big Han).

Captain Miller is serving time in a Chinese prison and is sprung by the local villagers led by Grainger, the daughter of an American doctor. The plan is for Wilder to help them escape from Communist China to Hong Kong aboard a steam powered, paddle-wheel boat.

Released in 1955 with a plot set against a Chinese backdrop, this flick is full of racial stereotypes. This was also made at a time when white actors played many non-white roles. Bloody Alley was no different with Paul Fix cast as “Mr Tso.”

The movie was filmed in the San Francisco area.

Blood Alley Synopsis: Chinese villagers free a merchant marine captain from the communists to take them to Hong Kong in a stern-wheeler. Format: DVD Color: Color Rating: Not Rated Genre: Adventure Runtime: 115 Year: 1955 Director: William Wellman