BY LEE PFEIFFER
For the 1962 film "Satan Never Sleeps", producer/director Leo McCarey assembled an impressive line-up of talent both in front of and behind the cameras: William Holden and Clifton Webb as stars, Oswald Morris as cinematographer and Richard Rodney Bennett as composer, to name just a few. Adding to the mix was Pearl S. Buck, who wrote the original story that McCarey and fellow screenwriter Claude Binyon adapted for this production. McCarey was known for injecting the human element into his acclaimed comedies and romantic dramas and he had a soft spot for the Catholic church, as evidenced by his hit films "Going My Way" and "The Bells of St. Marys", both of which starred Bing Crosby as a lovable priest. In real life, McCarey was a virulent anti-communist who thought McCarthyism was a peachy keen way to deal with the "Red menace". In this, his final film, McCarey managed to combine (rather awkwardly) whimsical priests and commie villains. The story takes place in China in 1949 with Mao's legions making sweeping territorial gains against the doomed nationalist troops. Father Bovard (Clifton Webb) is a crusty but beloved Catholic priest who has been running a rural Christian mission with a small but dedicated flock of Chinese peasants having been converted to Christianity. He's due to retire but by the time his replacement, Father O'Banion (William Holden) arrives, the Red army has occupied the area and causes complications. They are under the command of Ho San (Weaver Lee), a one-time student of Father Bovard's who is westernized in his language but who is now a fanatical devotee to Mao's cult. Ho San imposes some draconian rules on the mission and delights in antagonizing the two priests who are helpless to resist his demands.
A romantic plot develops in the form of Siu Lan (France Nuyen), an attractive young Chinese woman who is hopelessly smitten with Father O'Banion because he saved her life in a disastrous flood. Siu Lan consistently tries to seduce O'Banion and makes it clear she intends to marry him, much to the disgust of the dictatorial Father Bovard, who feels O'Banion isn't resisting as mightily as he should. As Ho San tightens the screws on the mission, religious icons are cruelly destroyed and Siu Lan is singled out as his potential sexual plaything. Ultimately, Ho San rapes and impregnates her. The finale finds the two priests attempting to escape with Siu Lan and her baby with the communists in hot pursuit.
"Satan Never Sleeps" is a complete misfire from the first frames when a sappy love song is warbled over the opening credits. The film looks chintzy in most respects with laughably poor use of giant matte paintings and rear screen projection failing to provide a convincing Chinese setting. (The exteriors were shot in Wales). The film is an odd mix of anti-communist doctrine (McCarey was also a McCarthy apologist and "friendly witness") mingled with cornball humor and and a bizarre view of sexual assault, as Siu Lan accepts Ho San's inexplicable turn in philosophy and seems pleased to have her rapist as an ideal husband and father figure. As director, McCarey is a dud here. He has France Nuyen play the role of the abused and terrified young woman as though she were portraying Gidget. She has a perpetual smile on her face and somehow this resident of a Chinese peasant village knows all the slang and lingo of a bobbysoxer. The movie was a bizarre choice for William Holden, who had already made two hit films based on inter-racial romances ("Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" and "The World of Suzie Wong") but if he thought that lightning would strike again, he was sadly mistaken. Holden was at the peak of his career at this point and audiences had come to associate him with characters who were strong and decisive. Seeing him sheepishly trying to explain his relationship with Siu Lan to the elderly Father Bovard as though he was a teenager caught by a parent is cringe-inducing. Not helping matters is the fact that Holden is far too old for the role, as Father O'Banion is often referred to as "the young priest". Holden was 44 years old at the time.The only bright spots in the film are some occasionally witty banter between Holden and Webb, who emerges relatively unscathed by channeling the spirit of Barry Fitzgerald as the crusty but likeable elderly priest.
Apparently everyone hated "Satan Never Sleeps". McCarey would later say he disliked the three leading actors and accused Holden of using his clout to radically change the ending of the movie. McCarey rebelled by quitting the production five days before it was to officially wrap, leaving Assistant Director David W. Orton to complete the shooting. Critics had disdain for the plodding production, which clocks in at over two hours but feels like four.
The Twilight Time region-free Blu-ray is crystal clear, but that actually works against the film by accentuating the phony backdrops and rear-screen projection. The release includes a collector's booklet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo and the original theatrical trailer.
Satan may never sleep but I'm willing to bet he'd nod off occasionally if he were watching this misfire- and he'd probably insist having his name taken off the title.
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