293:), an American confederate of her brother, tells her to join his anti-government underground group instead of taking revenge on her own. When he learns that China's house borders a cemetery, he devises a scheme to dig a tunnel from China's house to the cemetery, assassinate a senior government official whose family plot is in that cemetery, and then detonate a bomb during the man's funeral, killing the government officials among the mourners. His disparate group of tunnelers includes a dockworker, a bicycle mechanic, and a graduate student. Much of the movie is devoted to the digging of the tunnel. The tunnelers struggle with the fact that they will kill men who are less than entirely evil and also take the lives of innocent bystanders. Ramon goes mad thinking of these issues, wanders off and dies in a traffic accident. Ariete harasses China, jealous of her relationship with Fenner, whom he has learned is actually Cuban by birth.
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China will get the necessary funds from Fenner's account at her bank. Fenner rages about his failure, about the disgrace of returning to the people who funded his trip with small donations, after fleeing as he had as a boy with his father. Only in supporting him at this point does China declare her love for him. China obtains the funds but sends a fellow employee because she is being tailed by one of Ariete's men. But Fenner, unwilling to leave without her, comes to China's house. The film climaxes with a violent shoot-out. China takes up a machine-gun and gives cover as Fenner lobs sticks of dynamite at the police. He is mortally wounded but hears the bells ringing for the outbreak of revolution and popular celebration.
289:, identifies how they come together with no prior associations, sharing only their political principles. China Valdez (Jennifer Jones) is a bank clerk who has a brother who distributes anti-government flyers. She watches as a government operative guns him down on the steps of the University of Havana. She vows to kill his assassin, Ariete. At her brother's funeral, Tony Fenner (
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When the tunnel is ready, a prominent government minister is assassinated as planned. As a munitions expert prepares to set the bomb in place, they learn that the burial will not take place in the family tomb as expected. They make plans for Fenner, who by now is well known to Ariete, to leave Cuba.
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praised the physical and psychological realism of the conspirators, but he disliked
Jennifer Jones' performance and missed a central romance: "the real emotional tinder which is scattered within this episode is never swept into a pyramid and touched off with a quick, explosive spark". Reviews in
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Much of the script was written as filming progressed. According to Peter
Viertel, "Huston was going through a lot of personal problems at the time, and he was unable to concentrate on the film" even though it presented serious challenges: "It was a very difficult story with an ending that wasn't
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Huston, recognizing the sensitive nature of the film's politics, formed an independent production company, Horizon Films, to finance the film. One critic has noted the film is "a barely disguised indictment of U.S. foreign policy" as well as a study of "the poetry of failure" typical of Huston's
434:. The film, however, achieves an almost documentary-like feel with its stark black-and-white photography. The film was evidently unavailable for viewing until it was made available for domestic video sale in 2005, long after John Huston's other films became available.
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denounced its politics: "a shameful handbook of
Marxian dialectics ... the heaviest dish of Red theory ever served to an audience outside the Soviet". The film was withdrawn from theaters shortly after its release. The Communist Party's
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American audiences were perplexed by it, its largely
Hispanic cast did not resonate with white Americans, and its shocking presidential assassination theme may have offended some sensibilities.
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and planted an explosive device there, anticipating that
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exactly considered happy by
Hollywood standards." The ending was repeatedly rewritten by a variety of writers, with the final version by
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The film is about a group of revolutionaries who plot to bring down their corrupt government. The title, chosen by the distributor
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Where the Boys are: Cuba, Cold War America and the Making of a New Left
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as a bank teller. Many of the film's outdoor scenes were shot against
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John Huston directed the film between two box office successes:
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on television in October 1963, just a few weeks before he
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was released in April 1949 and received mixed reviews. In
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in 1933. In 1932, a violent opposition group, the ABC (
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414:as members of the resistance. John Huston makes a
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422:, which are quite noticeable, including views of
398:The supporting players include Mexican film star
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685:. New York: Limelight Editions. pp. 235–6.
594:Dark Borders: Film Noir and American Citizenship
530:, Oswald was "greatly excited" while watching
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682:He Ran All the Way: The Life of John Garfield
658:. University of California Press. p. 152-3.
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437:During filming, Huston was asked to give
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402:as the corrupt police chief, and former
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514:Claimed effect on Lee Harvey Oswald
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966:The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
745:. London: Verso. pp. 42–3.
254:and draws on historical events.
1353:Films scored by George Antheil
1343:American black-and-white films
1333:American adventure drama films
1102:The Bible: In the Beginning...
813:. Harpercollins. p. 474.
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1046:The Barbarian and the Geisha
878:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
779:. Doubleday. pp. 96ff.
458:The Treasure of Sierra Madre
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360:as Mr. Seymour, bank manager
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715:"We Were Strangers (1949)"
634:"We Were Strangers (1949)"
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387:and other cast members.
176:April 27, 1949
1094:The Night of the Iguana
636:. Turner Classic Movies
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493:The Hollywood Reporter
272:Clemente Vazquez Bello
773:Madsen, Axel (1978).
679:Nott, Robert (2003).
505:capitalist propaganda
426:, Havana University,
327:as Guillermo Montilla
1388:1940s American films
1054:The Roots of Heaven
739:Gosse, Van (1993).
223:is a 1949 American
73:by Robert Sylvester
1358:Films shot in Cuba
1303:(2017 documentary)
1273:Let There Be Light
1249:Winning Your Wings
1166:The Mackintosh Man
1142:The Kremlin Letter
990:The Asphalt Jungle
958:Across the Pacific
942:The Maltese Falcon
925:Films directed by
866:TCM Movie Database
719:The New York Times
474:The New York Times
464:The Asphalt Jungle
444:The Asphalt Jungle
354:José Pérez as Toto
1368:Films set in 1933
1363:Films set in Cuba
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1214:Under the Volcano
1006:The African Queen
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885:We Were Strangers
872:We Were Strangers
861:We Were Strangers
850:We Were Strangers
839:We Were Strangers
664:978-0-52-029864-4
574:978-1-4039-7509-6
532:We Were Strangers
524:Lee Harvey Oswald
469:We Were Strangers
321:as Armando Ariete
283:Columbia Pictures
220:We Were Strangers
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400:Pedro Armendáriz
366:as Lolita Valdés
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1241:Short films
1070:The Misfits
927:John Huston
792:January 21,
758:January 21,
724:January 21,
698:January 21,
640:January 21,
610:January 21,
461:(1948) and
268:abecedarios
232:John Huston
196:106 minutes
82:Sam Spiegel
78:Produced by
68:1948 novel
52:John Huston
43:John Huston
39:Directed by
1323:1949 films
1317:Categories
1182:Wise Blood
542:References
371:Production
349:David Bond
228:drama film
180:1949-04-27
143:Production
49:Written by
1030:Moby Dick
974:Key Largo
488:Collier's
451:Reception
393:Ben Hecht
339:as Miguel
225:adventure
112:Edited by
16:1949 film
1230:The Dead
1150:Fat City
855:AllMovie
467:(1950).
333:as Chief
209:Language
122:Music by
116:Al Clark
88:Starring
61:Based on
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1284:(1976)
1276:(1946)
1268:(1945)
1260:(1943)
1252:(1942)
1233:(1987)
1225:(1985)
1217:(1984)
1209:(1982)
1201:(1981)
1193:(1980)
1190:Phobia
1185:(1979)
1177:(1975)
1169:(1973)
1161:(1972)
1153:(1972)
1145:(1970)
1137:(1969)
1129:(1969)
1121:(1967)
1113:(1967)
1105:(1966)
1097:(1964)
1089:(1963)
1081:(1962)
1073:(1961)
1065:(1960)
1057:(1958)
1049:(1958)
1041:(1957)
1033:(1956)
1025:(1953)
1017:(1952)
1009:(1951)
1001:(1951)
993:(1950)
985:(1949)
977:(1948)
969:(1948)
961:(1942)
953:(1942)
945:(1941)
817:
783:
749:
689:
662:
601:
571:
528:Marina
430:, and
406:stars
404:silent
381:Havana
1206:Annie
934:Films
244:Cuban
844:IMDb
815:ISBN
794:2016
781:ISBN
760:2016
747:ISBN
726:2016
700:2016
687:ISBN
660:ISBN
642:2016
612:2016
599:ISBN
569:ISBN
486:and
484:Time
410:and
301:Cast
258:Plot
238:and
888:at
853:at
842:at
565:174
507:."
1319::
717:.
671:^
620:^
583:^
567:.
538:.
477:,
447:.
395:.
918:e
911:t
904:v
823:.
796:.
762:.
728:.
702:.
666:.
644:.
614:.
577:.
182:)
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