The Ugly American

An intelligent, articulate scholar, Harrison MacWhite, survives a hostile Senate confirmation hearing at the hands of conservatives to become ambassador to Sarkan, a southeast Asian country where civil war threatens a tense peace. Despite his knowledge, once he's there, MacWhite sees only a dichotomy between the U.S. and Communism. He can't accept that anti-American sentiment might be a longing for self-determination and nationalism. So, he breaks from his friend Deong, a local opposition leader, ignores a foreman's advice about slowing the building of a road, and tries to muscle ahead. What price must the country and his friends pay for him to get some sense?

Cast

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando

as Ambassador Harrison Carter MacWhite

Eiji Okada

Eiji Okada

as Deong

Sandra Church

Sandra Church

as Marion MacWhite

Pat Hingle

Pat Hingle

as Homer Atkins

Arthur Hill

Arthur Hill

as Grainger

Jocelyn Brando

Jocelyn Brando

as Emma Atkins

Reiko Sato

Reiko Sato

as Rachani, Deong's Wife

Kukrit Pramoj

Kukrit Pramoj

as Prime Minister Kwen Sai

Judson Pratt

Judson Pratt

as Joe Bing

George Shibata

George Shibata

as Munsang

Reviews

Wuchak

***Why the Vietnam War happened*** Based on influential 1958 American political novel, “The Ugly American” (1963) is a realistic film, a political drama/thriller featuring Marlon Brando as a new American diplomat in a Vietnam-like Southeast Asian nation that is painfully struggling between capita...

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