The behind-the-scenes story behind the casting of Indiana Jones for Raiders of the Lost Ark has become Hollywood folklore. After screen testing and considering dozens of actors, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas opted for TV actor Tom Selleck. Alas, Selleck was contractually tied to his hit TV opus Magnum P.I., which forced him out of contention allowing Harrison Ford to make screen history. Anyone wondering how Selleck would have fared in the role had a chance to see when two years later he appeared in the Raiders knock-off High Road to China...Boy, did Spielberg and company dodge a bullet! The plot, such as it is, is set in the 1920s and features flapper heiress Bess Armstrong being informed that she will lose her inheritance unless she locates her father (Wilford Brimley) last seen in the wilds of Afghanistan. She hires the services of boozy aviator Selleck to launch a search and a shoddy by-the-numbers adventure/comedy/romance results. See Tom and Bess get off on the wrong foot. See Tom and Bess bicker incessantly. See Tom and Bess make goo-goo eyes. See them bicker some more.The film's problems are many. First, there is no decent villain. Robert Morley appears as a business partner who throws assorted problems in their path, but he is never a believably menacing adversary and his obstacles never seem more than irritants. Indeed, there is very little actual danger confronting our intrepid twosome, resulting in a dearth of suspense. At no point does it seem the leads are in any real jeopardy, unless it is from nodding off like the viewer.Some of the scenery is lovely and John Barry contributes his usual reliable score, but therein ends the kudos. The screenplay is filled with groan-worthy dialog and an almost pathological lack of interest. The action sequences are positively stillborn and then film moves at the exhilarating pace of hardening concrete. I swear I grew a full beard by the end of the first hour.Worst of all are the leads. Armstrong has never been one of my favorite performers and she demonstrates why here. Her heiress is so darn perky, she about bounces off the ceiling. Armstrong and company no doubt find this characteristic endearing, but I find it insufferable. To say she has no chemistry with her leading man is an understatement of gargantuan proportions, but then I am hard pressed to remember ANY leading lady that generated even minimal sparks with Selleck.Selleck is a disaster. I freely admit, I never got his celebrity or his longevity in the business. He comes across as a handsome lumbering block of wood on screen - completely free of charisma. His idea of comedy is a bargain basement drunk impression and belching in the face of his leading lady. There is zero chemistry with Armstrong and it often appears that he is not even trying. He undergoes everything in the film with such a low wattage effort that he literally lowers the blood pressure of the viewer with each passing frame until one is nearly on the verge of losing consciousness.With no chemistry between its leads, low-octane performances from its stars, no memorable villain, deadly dull action sequences and dialog penned by a grade-Z hack, this is one flight that viewers should definitely miss.

This film will probably always be compared to "Raiders Of The Lost Ark". Compare most films to "Raiders..." and they will come out second best and, sadly, that is also the case here. However, High Road To China has lots to commend it and, taken on its own merits, is a very enjoyable film. On the surface, it's hard to see what's wrong with it. There are some superb flying sequences using vintage aircraft, some excellent cinematography, a score by John Barry (never a bad thing) and the two lead actors, Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong, deliver excellent performances.And yet... there's something lacking. Where does it fail? It's hard to say exactly. Maybe the stakes aren't high enough - the quest is only so that the heroine, Evey, can find her father and save her inheritance, but when she's throwing about tens of thousands of pounds to hire O'Malley, it's difficult for the viewer to believe she's in dire need of financial security. Then there's the villain of the piece, Bentik. He's played well by Robert Morley, and whilst his scenes are quite amusing they're basically brief inserts and seem largely unconnected to the main events. He never meets the main protagonists at all.Overall, High Road isn't quite as inventive as Raiders, it's not quite as pacey and perhaps the humour isn't quite as strong. The heroes do most of their fighting in aircraft, so it's less of an action picture in that sense, but the budding romance, although clichéd, is handled very well. Both Selleck and Armstrong act to a point where you can see what's going on behind the eyes, which helps make their on-screen relationship much more credible. Battlestar Galactica followed in the wake of Star Wars and was too easily dismissed as a weak clone of that film. Its good points were overlooked for years, but eventually its qualities won recognition. Now, dare I say, the same re-evaluation is required for High Road To China. Write it off as a weak clone of Raiders Of The Lost Ark if you like, but you're missing a lot of good points in this decent film. It won't have you on the edge of your seat, but it will certainly hold your attention throughout.

The last of a great breed. This is truly one of the last of the great classic films, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Simply put, films like this are a thing of the past, as has been shown in the last twenty years. They appeal to too narrow an audience by today's corporate marketing genius's standards (heavy sarcasm), and because of the cross market appeal this film has, it's guaranteed to be a box-office bust (again, buy today's standards).Technically; the Kahn sequence seemed a touch slow and contrived, as well as the British army sequence and some of the other character oriented scenes, but still necessary. Regardless, the camera work, locations and art direction are top notch. Good stunts, excellent flying sequences, and, most importantly of all, there's no CGI to ruin the movie. Heck, there aren't even miniatures in this film! Everything you see in this film IS REAL. Aeroplanes, explosions, sets, locations, the whole shootin-match. :-) (so to speak).No awards will be won by any single actor, actress or crew member. But, as a whole, this is a spectacular film that I really want for my DVD collection. Regrettably the only version available to us in the United States is the one provided on Youtube.Romantic and adventurous settings, locations and story makes this one not to miss. Sellick and Armstrong definitely sync well together on screen.*RESCREENED JAN 10th, 2010* My new title; "Indiana Jones Grows Up"I got my DVD of this film a few days ago, and popped it into my region 2 player after work. All I can say is I'm truly glad I have this in my collection, and I think I appreciate the film now more than ever. What we have here is the bratty socialite connecting with the hero-has-been who's never grown up. She's a socialite aviatrix with womanly wiles, while he's the rugged man of the world, but prefers to stay in his immature mold and lost to the world. Both have lessons to teach one another, and it pays off. I find it a heart warming film that I think couples true of heart to another can share and enjoy.Regrettably my region 2 DVD is not letter boxed, and the transfer, though respectable, is not what it could have been. Still, it's the only game in town as far a DVD version of this film goes, and I'm okay with that. Though shame on the powers that be for not making this film a priority for market.Well, I don't have too much more to say other than I'm going to watch it again. :-)Enjoy.*EDIT JULY 10th, 2012* I got a brand new letterboxed and remastered DVD from Hen's Tooth Video. A fantastic transfer. Excellent quality. Many kudos to the people at Hen's Tooth. The film looks better than ever before. Pick up a copy today.

This is one of those films I never tire of. I watched it several times during the 80s, then laid off it for a while during the 90s (mostly due to a long stint without cable), and have recently rediscovered it since getting satellite. I am glad I gave it such a long time before going back to it, because I had forgotten the gorgeous scenery, the snappy one-liners, and the dead-on acting. Everyone is believable and several scenes, such as when O'Malley explains his theory on Eve's family genetics, verge on hysterical. The romance isn't overdone, and the language is fairly mild, with no references to feces or intercourse to be found. Even by 1983 standards, it's pretty tame.All in all, if not an excellent film, a competent one, and eminently suited for filling up a rainy Saturday afternoon.