In August 1937, a mysterious woman with a fake Russian accent boards a train going from Kalgan to Shanghai in China. She spurns the company of fellow passenger Hank Topping, a drunken ex-reporter, and panics when the conductor announces that, because Mongolian bandits are terrorizing the countryside, the train must return to Kalgan. The woman gets off the train at the village of Pangchow, where she takes refuge at the U.S. Consulate run by Samuel J. Cady. Cady has been at the Consulate since his appointment by President McKinley in 1900 and has grown old in unrecognized service to his country. Cady is delighted to welcome the woman, who tells him that she is the Russian widow of an American, but she is less than pleased when Hank also appears and requests shelter. Hank, who sees through the woman’s masquerade, vouches for her when she asks Cady to supply her with a passport, and she gratefully tells him that she is an American named Emmy Jordan. Hank in turn confesses that he used to be a top newspaperman but, while on an extended drunk, faked an important story and has since been blacklisted by all the newspapers in China. After dinner, Cady receives a Chinese Nationalist soldier, Col. Wai Kang, who offers to escort Emmy and Hank to Shanghai. Emmy is eager to accept the offer, but Hank refuses and tells her that the bandits, who are waging a war against the government farther south in China, will kill Kang on sight. Emmy is outraged when Hank prevents her from leaving, but his prediction comes true as Kang is killed. Later that night, the couple discover that they grew up a few blocks from each other in Brooklyn. The next day, Emmy and Hank are amazed by Cady’s courage when he braves going to Pangchow to rescue the inhabitants of a mission. Cady returns with the mission head, Mrs. Little, and Mr. and Mrs. Upton Ward and their daughter Winifred. Cady orders his devoted servants, Ling and Yen, to allow no one to enter or leave the compound as a safety precaution. Later that evening, Hank shows Emmy a story he wrote describing Cady’s bravery and patriotism. Impressed with Hank’s writing ability, Emmy insists that they sneak out to Pangchow and telegraph the story to Shanghai newspapers. Emmy overcomes Hank’s reluctance by telling him that this is an opportunity to redeem himself, and they leave. After they successfully transmit the story, they are attacked, and the confusion drives Emmy to confess that, while working as a nightclub performer in Kalgan, she killed her employer in self-defense when he tried to force himself upon her. Hank drives off the bandits by shooting one, and the terrified couple make it back to the compound. Cady furiously reprimands them for endangering the others, and soon the bandits are pounding on the walls and demanding that Hank be turned over to them for killing their leader’s son. While the desperate group defends itself, Hank’s stirring story about “Uncle Sam” Cady is run by a Chinese newspaper. The news reaches the U.S. State Department, where the assistant secretary demands that the Chinese army be sent to the rescue. Back in Pangchow, Yen is killed by a bandit sniper, and Cady is forced to send his charges into hiding when the bandits swarm over the walls. The bandits discover their hiding place, however, and are about to overwhelm them when the Chinese army arrives. The bandits are routed and everyone is safe. Later, Sam receives a telegram from the president calling him home to be recognized for his distinguished service. Emmy and Hank, meanwhile, plan to marry in Shanghai, where Hank will work as a reporter and Emmy can clear herself of the charges against her. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Watch Barricade (1939)
