The Mountain Road (1960): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1960, The Mountain Road is a drama and war film directed by Daniel Mann, running about 102 minutes. “Flaming skies... blasted earth... the touch of love!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. In 1944, in eastern part of China, U.S.Army Major Baldwin and his volunteer team of demolition engineers are left behind the retreating Chinese forces. Their task is to slow down the Japanese advance into eastern China by blowing up bridges, roads, airfields and munitions dumps. They start by blowing up an American airfield and ammo dump. They receive the order to destroy a vital bridge over a mountain pass.The team uses a few army trucks to move around. At the bridge, they encounter a Nationalist Chinese Army unit in charge of guarding the bridge. Thanks to an American soldier who speaks some Chinese, Major Baldwin requests the permission, from the Chinese commander, to blow up the bridge.The Chinese colonel agrees but asks the American Major to do him a favor by also destroying a munitions dump located at some distance away.He also requests that Madame Sue-Mei Hung, the widow of a Chinese colonel, be transported by the American demolition team to the nearest major town.

Who’s in it. The Mountain Road stars James Stewart as Major Baldwin, Lisa Lu as Sue-Mei Hung, Glenn Corbett as Collins and Harry Morgan as Mike Michaelson, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.4/10, The Mountain Road has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Mountain Road page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Mountain Road tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.