NR | 1h 38m | Adventure, Drama, War | 1950
With an incredible lineup of super-talented actors and an intriguing plot based on real-life events, it’s a bit puzzling that director Richard Thorpe’s 1949 war drama “Malaya” is such an obscure cinematic offering. You would think that, with names like James Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, and Sydney Greenstreet, a movie would practically be guaranteed to have a higher profile, if not garner an award or two.
The film begins in January 1942, one month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A massive naval convoy from Australia is transporting the last American refugees from “the Orient,” since much of Asia has been occupied by Japanese forces. The convoy reaches the relative safety of the United States as we are introduced to troubled reporter John Royer (Stewart).
On the mist-shrouded docks, Royer requests a cab to the offices of a newspaper called The Los Angeles Record. After arriving, he talks with the paper’s publisher, John Manchester (Barrymore), a friend and patriotic American who happens to be the head of a rubber drive for the entire West Coast.
We learn that a terrible explosion at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Massachusetts occurred in October 1941 (a couple of months before Pearl Harbor) and, as a result, much of America’s rubber supply had been destroyed. Since the U.S. military’s mechanized divisions rely heavily on rubber to operate, many private sector enterprises have stepped up to run scrap drives to encourage citizens to collect rubber for the war effort.
Manchester knows that, although Royer has had some rather sordid mishaps overseas, he’s also a man who knows the ins and outs of how things operate behind the scenes. The two discuss a scheme to clandestinely transport rubber out of an area rich in the resource—Malaya, which is a region that includes Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Formerly under British control, Malaya has since fallen to invading Japanese forces. Royer realizes that any secret rubber smuggling operation might be a little too dangerous for his liking and eventually shies away from the task.
Manchester sets Royer up in an apartment, and the reporter has barely settled in when a federal agent named Kellar (John Hodiak) shows up and convinces Royer to accompany him to a private meeting the next morning.
At the meeting, which includes Manchester and various men of influence, he is persuaded to carry out the rubber smuggling mission, which is, of course, top secret. Although Royer begrudgingly accepts the task, he has certain conditions. These include having full military clearances across the board, as well as help from a former friend, whom he helped put in prison, professional smuggler Carnahan (Spencer Tracy).
After Kellar enables Carnahan to be freed from his imprisonment on Alcatraz Island, the smuggling plan is quickly set into motion. Royer and Carnahan take the arduous voyage across the Pacific Ocean to their destination, which involves switching between different boats and submarines, until they finally make it to the shores of Malaya.
There, they link up with one of Carnahan’s old associates, a mysterious figure known as The Dutchman (Sydney Greenstreet), who operates a local bar. If The Dutchman will supply the manpower needed for the rubber smuggling task, Royer and Carnahan will supply him with plenty of gold.
Criminals to Heroes
I’m a big fan of slow-burn storytelling, especially when it comes to stories that deal with espionage and intrigue. Director Thorpe is great at this method of filmmaking and does a brilliant job of setting things up gradually; since the script is well-written and the dialogue snappy and engaging, things never seem to bog down in the least.Stewart plays an interesting character, who is somewhat a reluctant hero. Although his character Royer initially wants to settle down into a normal life after troubled times overseas, he eventually takes on the practically suicidal rubber smuggling mission because his brother was killed at the Battle of Wake Island (where American forces were defeated in the Pacific by the Japanese). He gradually embraces his do-or-die patriotism to honor his brother and serve his country in a truly selfless manner (he isn’t in it for the money).
The great Spencer Tracy is equally formidable as the rough and tumble Carnahan, a man who starts off as quite a sketchy character. As the film progresses, he gradually turns from a one-dimensional fast-talking criminal, into someone who fights for something more than money. Unfortunately, Carnahan’s romantic relationship with a woman who sings at The Dutchman’s bar, Luana (Valentina Cortese), rings hollow and seems as though it was tacked on as unnecessary padding.
Overall, “Malaya” is a highly entertaining adventure tale set during the early days of America’s entry into World War II. Its stellar cast members do an admirable job of portraying each of their fascinating characters, and there are also some wholesome virtues on display, such as standing up against evil, being loyal to one’s friends and cohorts, and having a selfless sense of patriotism.
