The Ugly American (1963)

Dated but interesting
I just watched it dubbed into Thai. There is a disclaimer on this version stating that although Thailand had just undergone a coup, this fictional country was not meant to be Thailand. Does that mean it was shot there and the Thai government requested the disclaimer? I do not remember it being on the US version but I saw that one over 40 years ago. I could not place the location as Thailand since the vehicles were left, rather than right hand drive. No indication as to the shooting location that I could find. Any ideas?
Dated story and a simplistic Cold War Hollywood view. I read the book in the 50s and was impressed by it as I was by "The Manchurian Candidate".
The film had more impact on me in '59 when I saw it than it did yesterday. Still, not a bad performance by Brando and probably an accurate view of the simplistic view most Americans had about French Indo-China. Ironic that he went on to play Col Kurtz.
It was worth the 19 baht (47 cents approximatly) that I paid for it. It would not have been worth more.

Decent, but could have been a lot better
In 'The Ugly American' we find Marlon Brando playing Harrison Mac White, the American ambassador to the ficticious Asian country of Sarkan. What we are presented with is a decent political plot, but one with significant flaws.

Brando stars opposite Eiji Okada who plays his old Sarkanese friend Deong, and herein lies one of the film's major problems. Okada's performance is limited. He does not appear convincing as the leader of his people, his fiendship with Brando appears lukewarm at best and he regularly stumbles over his lines. Brando puts in a quality performance, but this is not enough to stop the relationships between the characters from appearing somewhat forced.

The story itself is an interesting look at American foreign policy during the cold war, the ambiguous reasoning behind it and the reactions of those in the nations whom it effected.

Overall 'The Ugly American' is worth a watch, but those expecting a top notch, taught political thriller will be left disappointed.

Thoughtful Classic
This is probably one of Brandos best films. Considering the time frame when this was first released its amazing to see how on the mark it was for the early 1960s. The comparisons with Vietnam for the time are obvious. The film also provides a study in classic US foriegn relations to 3rd World countries during the Cold War period. US policy can be seen to be well meaning, but often mis-placed and heavy-handed. The lessons to learn here are valuable, and all the more so today. I consider this film a classic because not many pictures like this have ever been made. If one considers how recent the whole Cold War McCarthy syndrome was as well its all the more remarkable. Sure it has all the cliche touches of Hollywood films for that time, but there is still educational value for today from watching it. History teachers should consider showing it to their students. Good to see on DVD with a nice picture quality.
Recommended.