Ray's second blockbuster shot in Spain for producer Samuel Bronston has the starriest cast of any of his films, headlined by Charlton Heston, David Niven, and Ava Gardner. (Ray himself makes a cameo as the American ambassador in a wheelchair.) Major Matt Lewis (Heston) heads a multinational army sent to Peking during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 to save a group of sequestered diplomats from rampaging anti-Christian nationalists. Inside the besieged compound, running low on food and water, is a group of dignitaries, including the skittish British ambassador (David Niven) and the haughty Russian baroness (Ava Gardner). (The attraction she has for Major Matt is an early version of détente.) “Troubled” is hardly the word for the chaotic shoot that Ray decamped from, leaving the remainder of the film to be directed by Andrew Marton. 55 Days at Peking is surprisingly cogent and stylish, given its rocky history.
—James Quandt