The Quiet American

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Dmitri Vail painting, 1962, on display the Audie Murphy Cotton Museum in Greenville, Texas. Photo by M.D.Marks. Click for a bigger view.

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MOVIES OF AUDIE MURPHY: Summary, credits, and photos of Audie Murphy's movies
Sponsored by the Audie Murphy Research Foundation, a non-profit, tax-deductible 501(c)(3) educational foundation recognized by the IRS.

The Quiet American
Movie #22
1958, United Artists (Release)

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Summary: Adapted from Graham Greene's prophetic novel, the backdrop of this film is Saigon, 1952 and the failure of U.S. foreign policy in pre-war Indochina. Audie plays the "American" who is trying to promote a free economy in a country fettered with a colonial government. Contrasting the American's views are those of the cynical Brit, Thomas Fowler, played by Michael Redgrave. The political viewpoints of the American and Brit symbolically play out against each other through their competing romantic interest in the beautiful Phuong, played by Giorgia Moll. The American wants to transform Phuong into a typical middle class American housewife; Fowler believes Phuong is unable to conceptualize and retain political ideals. Fowler promises no future to Phuong and resents the American's attempts to give her one. Eventually the views of the American lead to his own murder of which Fowler has a hand in. The British, in an attempt to justify his own troubling behavior, reflects, through a series of flashbacks, over his relationship with the American and Phuong, and struggles to come to an understanding of what it all means.

Credits:
Studio	...	United Artists (release)
Filming Company	...	Figaro Films
Released	...	1958
Genre	...	Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Length	...	120 minutes
Directed By	...	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Written By	...	Graham Greene (novel) Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Produced By	...	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cinematography By	...	Robert Krasker

Cast:
Audie Murphy	...	The American
Michael Redgrave	...	Thomas Fowler
Claude Dauphin	...	Inspector Vigot
Giorgia Moll	...	Phuong
Bruce Cabot	...	Bill Granger
Fred Sadoff	...	Dominguez
Kerima	...	Phuong's Sister
Richard Loo	...	Mr. Heng
Peter Trent	...	Eliot Wilkins
Georges Bréhat	...	French Colonel
Clinton Anderson	...	Joe Morton
Yoko Tani	...	Rendezvous Hostess
Nguyen Long	...	Boy with Mask
C. Long Cuong	...	Boy in Watchtower
Tu An	...	Boy in Watchtower
Vo Doan Chau	...	Cao-Dai Commandant
Le Van Le	...	Cao Dai Pope's Deputy
Sonia Moser	...	Yvette
Le Quynh	...	Masked Man

Other Crew:
Original Music	...	Mario Nascimbene
Film Editing by	...	William Hornbeck
Sound	...	Basil Fenton-Smith
Set Decorator	...	Rino Mondellini Dario Simoni
Production Manger	...	Forrest E. Johnson
Art Director	...	Italo Tomassi
Set Dresser	...	Dario Simoni
Camera Operator	...	John Harris
Makeup	...	George Frost
Assistant Director	...	Piero Mussetta
Associate Producer	...	Vin Noan Michael Waszynski
Special Effects	...	Rocky Cline

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Copyright © 1996, Audie Murphy Research Foundation (AMRF), all rights reserved. Images, likenesses, and the signature of Audie Murphy are trademarked by the AMRF. Photos are provided courtesy of the AMRF and may not be reproduced or copied for commercial purposes without permission of the copyright owner. Photos may be used for educational purposes.

Last Update: June 23, 2020