Malaya

Malaya is a 1949 American war thriller film set in colonial Malaya during World War II directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Spencer Tracy, James Stewart and Valentina Cortese. The supporting cast features Sydney Greenstreet, John Hodiak, and Lionel Barrymore, with Richard Loo and Gilbert Roland. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot In January 1942, one month after the United States 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 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. However, later, government agent Kellar (John Hodiak) takes Royer to a meeting with Manchester and others. Royer is granted approval to put the smuggling plan into action. Royer needs the help of his old friend, the smuggler Carnaghan (Spencer Tracy). He succeeds in getting Carnaghan released from Alcatraz – where the Royer's exposé had landed him – to help. They slip into Malaya and contact Carnaghan's associate, the Dutchman (Sydney Greenstreet), who recruits a gang for them from customers in his saloon, including Romano (Gilbert Roland). Carnaghan also renews his acquaintance with the saloon's singer, Luana from Italy (Valentina Cortese). 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 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 Carnaghan refuses to go with him. Royer is killed by the waiting soldiers.