The Quiet American (1958)

Set in 1952 Saigon (still under French rule), a seemingly naive American (Audie Murphy) working for an international organization attempts to aid a third force that is neither Communist nor Nationalist for the "betterment" of the Vietnamese people. He finds himself at odds with a cynical British journalist (Michael Redgrave in a marvelous performance) over the Vietnamese situation and more importantly, the journalist's Vietnamese mistress (Giorgia Moll) who he has fallen in love with. Based on the novel by Graham Greene and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. In spite of severely compromising the Greene novel by making the book's undercover CIA agent working for his government into a well meaning if naive American with no government ties, the film remains an effective look at involvement in Vietnam by outside forces attempting to control its fate. Greene disowned the film because it took his anti-American viewpoint and not only made the American more heroic but the movie focused on the romantic triangle more than the novel. The 2002 remake stayed closer to the source material. While I agree it's a pity that Mankiewicz excised the CIA involvement, I disagree that it makes the film "pro-American". With Claude Dauphin, Kerima, Yoko Tani, Bruce Cabot, Richard Loo and Fred Sadoff.