“The Ugly American” (1963)

The Center for Cold War Studies and International History (CCWS) will be showing the 1963 film “The Ugly American,” based on William Lederer’s and Eugene Burdick’s bestselling novel of the same name, which was first published in 1958.
Prof. Salim Yaqub will offer commentary and lead a Q & A session after the movie.

Harrison Carter MacWhite (Marlon Brando) is the new U.S. ambassador to Sarkhan, an imaginary country in Southeast Asia. Sarkhan is wracked by nationalist ferment, which MacWhite initially attributes to communist subversion. Eventually, however, MacWhite comes see that the politics of Sarkhan are far more complex than he realized, and that even well-intentioned U.S. policies can alienate the very people they are designed to help. Released in 1963, the film uncannily foreshadows the U.S. debacle in Vietnam.

hm 2/16/10