Malaya (film)
| Malaya | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
| Produced by | Edwin H. Knopf |
| Written by |
Manchester Boddy (story) Frank Fenton |
| Starring |
Spencer Tracy James Stewart |
| Music by | $1,379,000 |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3,087,000 |
Malaya is a 1949 war film starring Spencer Tracy and James Stewart and set in colonial Malaya during World War II. It was directed by Richard Thorpe. The supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Sydney Greenstreet, John Hodiak and DeForest Kelley.
In January 1942 (a month after the United States has entered World War II), reporter John Royer (James Stewart) returns to the United States. He goes to see his friend, newspaper publisher John Manchester (Lionel Barrymore), about a scheme to smuggle out desperately needed rubber out of Japanese-occupied Malaya. Manchester, though he has been selected by the government to deal with the rubber shortage, does not seem interested, but later, government agent Kellar (John Hodiak) takes him to a meeting with Manchester and others. They give their approval.
Royer needs the help of his old friend, Carnaghan (Spencer Tracy); he gets Carnaghan released from Alcatraz (where Royer's newspaper exposé had landed him) to help. They slip into Malaya and contact Carnaghan's associate, the Dutchman (Sydney Greenstreet), who conveniently recruits a gang of cutthroats for them from customers in his saloon, including Romano (Gilbert Roland). Carnaghan also renews his acquaintance with the saloon's singer, Luana (Valentina Cortese) from Italy.
Using money and intimidation, they succeed in purchasing all the available rubber, but eventually the Japanese commander, Colonel Tomura (Richard Loo), gets wind of the scheme. On the last trip to transport the remaining rubber belonging to part-German plantation owner Bruno Gerber (Roland Winters) to a waiting freighter, Carnaghan smells an ambush. He forces Gerber to confess that he tipped off Tomura. Royer decides to try going around the ambush, but is killed by the waiting soldiers.
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