I agree with just about everything Greg said about the film. Perhaps I am wistful about the old Hollywood and the way movies were made back then. The teaming of Gable and Hayward is perfect. She could hold her own against any male lead. Gable was still in his prime and chews up the scenery. Susan Hayward, so strong and yet so vulnerable, was elegant in her circa 1954 wardrobe. The photography is splendid with so many great Hong Kong locations. It reminds me of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," also from 1955. But, as Greg pointed out, it is the majestic, sweeping score by Hugo Friedhofer that lingers in my mind. I want that soundtrack! Overall, I loved the movie. It was exciting and had a Hollywood happy ending. They just don't make them like they used to!

This film packs absolutely no excitement other than Michael Rennie excited over American cigarettes.Susan Hayward is Jane again. Too bad it's not Froman-but rather Jane Hoyt, whose husband stepped into Communist China and can't get out. Jane comes to Hong Kong to find out what's going on and meets up with Gable, who is suspected of being a gangster, but British officer, Michael Rennie, can't get anything on him.Hayward goes to Macao on a tip and her guide is soon escorted off the boat and hustled to Red China as well. We never know what happened to this poor guy.When Gable and his crew go into China to rescue, Hoyt, a colorless Gene Barry, they encounter no opposition on the roads leading out. Not even a shot is fired. They get on the boats and encounter some machine guns with Hoyt taking a bullet to the arm. Suddenly loads of boats show up and all blend in on the seas.Of course, Hayward and Gable have fallen in love so the question remains who she will choose. Remember how she took her vows for better or worse in "With A Song in My Heart?" If you can think of what happened to the marriage with David Wayne, you will get the answer.Of course, it's 1955 so Hayward can be forgiven for this lackluster film as she shined so eloquently in "I'll Cry Tomorrow." that very year.

Even toward the end of his marvelous career, Clark Gable's screen persona of the charming, irresistible bounder was untarnished. Unhappy with the roles MGM was giving him, he did not renew his contract. "Soldier of Fortune," which Gable subsequently did for 20th Century Fox, is a big budget, good-looking movie with big stars, none of which can hide the fact that it's a routine story that John Hodiak could have done in black and white in 1950 and probably did.Susan Hayward plays a woman who arrives in Hong Kong to look for her photographer husband (Gene Barry) who has slipped into China illegally. She runs into of a bunch of sleazy characters and finally meets Henry Lee (Gable), a soldier of fortune with money and contacts. He's an older version of Rhett Butler - out for himself but capable of goodness as well. He falls hard for Hayward and becomes more determined than ever to find her husband so he doesn't have to compete with a ghost. With two such attractive stars, it's obvious what's going to happen.The stars and the supporting cast - Michael Rennie, Tom Tully, Anna Sten et al - are all very good. It's a beautifully photographed film that undoubtedly looked great on the big screen with its Technicolor panoramas of Hong Kong, but alas, it's not very exciting. Gable looks fantastic and immaculate in his white suit, his smile as dimpled and his voice as gruff as ever, and Hayward, not the warmest actress who ever lived, is excellent as a concerned and confused woman. They work very well together.It's hard to say the movie is not worth seeing because as excellent as some of our actors are today, there are no Gables. There was only one - and checking him out is always worthwhile.

Soldier of Fortune marked Clark Gable's first film away from MGM after his contract was not renewed. 20th Century Fox did right by him, gave him a film to shoot on location in Hong Kong and an actress who was at the height of her career as a new leading lady in Susan Hayward.This was the second big epic film they shot in Hong Kong that year, the other being Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. Unlike the William Holden- Jennifer Jones epic, Soldier of Fortune leans more to adventure and intrigue than romance.Hayward's husband Gene Barry is a prisoner of the Chinese government, apparently having taken some pictures he shouldn't have as a freelance photo journalist. Hayward's in Hong Kong to try and affect a rescue and she comes up against some unscrupulous types including Gable. Gable's more interested in her, but helping the husband's rescue is a package deal.I would have hoped that with the one and only teaming of Gable and Hayward a better story could have been found. Soldier of Fortune isn't a bad film, hardly the worst thing either of them did, but in essence it's really a souped up Grade B adventure saga. The class of the players make it seem more than it is. Plus the fact it was done on location as opposed to the backlot of 20th Century Fox.Soldier of Fortune has a good cast of character actors. Look for some good performances by Michael Rennie as the British inspector, Alexander D'Arcy as a conniving French rogue and Tom Tully as a slimy influence peddler.