And the Monkey is even slower—the question is, how patient are you?After a long creative break, I'm getting back to work on my Silent Oscars series. Remember that? It's a history of silent movies, one made-up award at a time Up next, either something about Cecil B. DeMille, or Mary Pickford's Stella Maris or maybe a reposting of all the previous winners, or—well, we'll find out, won't we.
By the way, the line "The ox is slow, but the earth is patient" is an ancient Buddhist proverb, made up, I believe, for the 1983 Tom Selleck movie High Road to China. A rip-snorting action-adventure rom-com about a World War I flying ace who ferries a rich, young, beautiful socialite to China to rescue her missing father, High Road to China was supposed to be Selleck's consolation prize for missing out on the starring role in Raiders of the Lost Ark.Instead, critics mostly ripped it because it was clearly inferior to the aforementioned Raiders and it flopped at the box office.
Now we know, of course, that everything is inferior to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the best rip-snorting action-adventure rom-com ever made. High Road to China ain't Raiders, but it is entertaining: Selleck is appealing as always, Bess Armstrong as the socialite is the girl-next-door you wish lived next door, and John Barry's score is gorgeous, one of the best of an Oscar-winning career that included Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa and the James Bond movies.
If you haven't seen it, don't blame yourself—the film's been tangled up in rights-litigation/bankruptcy hell for nearly thirty years and was never even released (in this country anyway) on VHS much less DVD. Until now, that is. Circle April 17 on your calendars for the release of the Blu-Ray edition. (It's available as a DVD as well.)
And what does any of this have to do with silent movies? Um, well, Tom Selleck's character, Patrick O'Malley, owns two airplanes, "Dorothy" and "Lillian," a couple of French Stampes biplanes named for—yes, you guessed it—the Gish sisters, two of the silent era's greatest stars.Whom I have also written about (here and here and here), and will be writing about again.
So there.
I can wait but I'm glad you're going to be getting back to the Silent Oscars.
ReplyDeleteI've made a list of your recommendations and winners and am trying to watch them so actually I have some catching up to do.
Very interesting, so I went to my library of Laserdisc's and, as I remembered, there was my copy, cat. # 11309LV. I have enjoyed it for years.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed this movie when it was first shown in the fall of 1986, New Year’s Eve bbc1 bout 10pm ish,,,,,,,very entertaining in its own right
ReplyDeleteThis is sad....I saw the movies as a kid, and I LIKED it! ...Saw this article, and the reason for that, is because I just googled the "The ox is slow, but the earth is patient"-line, since i wanted to print it for my moms funiral, as it was one of her favorite lines
ReplyDeleteHigh Road isn't Raiders but as you've said there is no other film like it in the adventure romcom genre that, not even the other Indiana Jones films. Romancing the Stone comes pretty close. High Road is a decent film, lots of fun, Bess Armstrong is lovely, Selleck as always is appealing, and he has great chemistry with Armstrong. I copied the film on VHS years ago, and I just bought a DVD version. Barry's score is perfect (reminds one of Out of Africa), the aerial cinematography fantastic, and biplane stunt flying terrific. Worth the price of the DVD!
ReplyDeleteI managed to find a DVD disk of High Road to China
Deletethat had been copied from VHS. Still very watchable. Bess Armstrong and Tom are great. We enjoy it from time to time. I am no Tom but she is my kind of filly. Raiders is also a fine flick. Come to think of it there is a fine female character (Karen Allen) there also.
It was a great movie. However, those were not French Stampes biplanes. They were deHavilland Gypsy Moths.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great movie. However, those were not French Stampes biplanes. They were deHavilland Gypsy Moths.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great movie. However, those were not French Stampes biplanes. They were deHavilland Gypsy Moths.
ReplyDeleteI saw High Road in the theater. Don't listen to what critics say. I've also watched many times on streaming video ROKU.. I highly suggest becoming reacquainted with this classic rom/com with an alstar cast.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you -- High Road to China is an all-time personal favorite.
ReplyDeleteBtw, my wife and I were in Alaska eight years ago and took a float plane out to see some of the scenery and the pilot had the soundtrack from High Road playing over the intercom. I mentioned it to her afterwards and she said I was the only person who had ever known what she was playing. One of her favorite movies, one of mine.
That's Awesome. A Jonn Barry Theme Never Disappoints ;)) He's soaring thru the clouds now too 🙏
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment.
Count me as a fan of High Road to China as well!
ReplyDeleteI wrote about it here:
https://mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-movie-love-questionnaire.html
And if you don't want to follow that link, this is what I said:
21) What film do you love that most people seem to hate?
You know, critics in 1983 hated High Road to China with Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong, but I love it. Back in the day, it was billed as Tom Selleck's consolation prize for missing out on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and was panned for falling short of that impossible standard. But on further reflection, it's Bess Armstrong's movie all the way, a pure historical adventure-romance about a woman ostensibly searching for her father but really trying to establish her relevance and independence in a world run (badly) by and for men.
Do you know the plot? [LOTS OF SPOILERS] — A flapper-heiress (Armstrong as Eve Tozer) has to find her long-lost father or lose her fortune, so she hires a drunk flying ace (Selleck as Patrick O'Malley) to squire her hither and yon, from Egypt to Afghanistan to Nepal and finally to China, dodging bombs and bullets every step of the way.
As with all good romances, the ending is bittersweet — Evie gets the money but by then doesn't care. O'Malley gets the money, too, but probably never cared. In the meantime, they've each lost the only things they ever really loved — him, his airplane; her, the fantasy of a father who would give up his thrill-seeking wanderlust if only she could make him notice her.
They damn near miss out on each other, too — a few awkward words, a pat on the knee, and the promise of a long, uphill walk back to Nepal, before a deep breath, a steeled nerve and a long-overdue declaration of intent. To allow yourself to fall in love when everyone you've ever cared about has up and flown away or spiraled nose down into the sod requires an act of courage that by comparison makes fighting warlords and German flying aces a stroll in the park.
Bonus: High Road to China features a great score by Oscar-winning composer John Barry who is best known for the early James Bond movies ...
I think that's an actual Chinese idiom, not just made up for the movie
ReplyDelete