Orson Welles stars as Cecil Hart, captain of the eponymous ferry to Hong Kong. Things run smoothly for Captain Hart until drunken passenger Mark Conrad (Curt Jurgens) becomes a nuisance. An Austrian exile with no passport, Conrad cannot legally enter Macao nor Hong Kong and is stranded... [More]

Orson Welles stars as Cecil Hart, captain of the eponymous ferry to Hong Kong. Things run smoothly for Captain Hart until drunken passenger Mark Conrad (Curt Jurgens) becomes a nuisance. An Austrian exile with no passport, Conrad cannot legally enter Macao nor Hong Kong and is stranded aboard the ferry. The two characters must put aside their differences when a malicious group of pirates board the ferry and threaten the lives of its passengers. FERRY TO HONG KONG is cinematically strong for its genre, placing the film in the company of such classic sea thrillers as LIFEBOAT and THE AFRICAN QUEEN. Director Lewis Gilbert applies his previous experience directing Royal Air Force war documentaries to the film and presents viewers with an number of technically advanced overhead shots. In addition to his technical work, Gilbert captures hilarious performances from his two stars. The interaction between Welles's prim and proper captain and Jurgens's Austrian greaseball is on par with the comic interplay of Laurel and Hardy and makes FERRY TO HONG KONG an unforgettable film. [Less]