The official web site of A.H. Lloyd

When I was working on Walls of Men: A Military History of China, I decided to take a short break and watch Chinese-themed films.  At that time I was grappling with burnout, and so a full review was out of the question.

I've since come to re-watch the film and…it's really long.

As in, I fell asleep.

I subsequently re-started it, and it was pretty good, but this thing really needed a stern, unforgiving editor.

I suppose I should clarify that 55 Days in Peking is about the Boxer Rebellion and the resulting siege of the diplomatic quarter of Beijing (the city formerly known as Peking).  It was made in 1963, when China nostalgia was a thing, and the Communist government on the mainland was busy tearing apart the fabric of traditional Chinese society.

In addition to the history, there's a lot going on here, with some weird romantic Russian subplot involving Ava Gardner to the usual "can't we all get along" racial integrationist message championed by Charleton Heston.  David Niven is the unflappable English ambassador who holds everything together and Flora Robeson is brilliant as the Empress Dowager.  (Yes, this was back when people could play roles outside their ethnic group.)

But there are also some issues.  I guess the producers decided that simply hanging on against impossible odds was boring, so they added some weird commando raid-style caper which is supposed to matter, but wouldn't because ultimately the international relief column was what saved the day.

Another odd decision was the one regarding the "International Gun."  The films correctly notes that a field piece was cobbled together using bits and pieces from multiple countries.  In the film, it does good service in its first engagement, but then (spoiler alert) explodes, killing its crew.  So sad

In reality, it served throughout the siege.  You'd think that reality – and the coolness of having an indomitable, improbable piece of artillery – would be attractive to the filmmakers, but you'd be wrong.

This is a film I really, really want to like.  It's a subject I find fascinating, has some great moments, but also long stretches of tedium.  It's worth watching if the subject matter interests you, but it can be a chore at times.