History Film / FiftyFiveDaysAtPeking

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: One of the film's biggest problems is that it tries to villainize the Boxers without actually showing any of the things they did to warrant such a characterization beyond fighting the European powers, meaning that most viewers will likely root for them to defeat the imperialists and get their country back. Had the film depicted some of the Boxers RealLife atrocities, such as openly calling for the genocide of all non-Chinese, massacring peaceful European missionaries and their families who had little to do with China's plight (including one infamous case in Taiyuan where 44 foreigners from missionary families were lured into Boxer territory with promise of safety and then lynched when they arrived), and engaging in religious persecution of Christians, including burning down churches and murdering hundreds of fellow Chinese for the "crime" of converting to Christianity, then this problem could have been avoided.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: One of the film's biggest problems is that it tries to villainize the Boxers without actually showing any of the things they did to warrant such a characterization beyond fighting the European powers, meaning that most viewers will likely root for them to defeat the imperialists and get their country back. Had the film depicted some of the Boxers RealLife atrocities, such as openly calling for the genocide of all non-Chinese, massacring peaceful European missionaries and their families who had little to do with China's plight (including one infamous case in Taiyuan where 44 foreigners from missionary families were lured into Boxer territory with promise of safety and then lynched when they arrived), and engaging in religious persecution if Christians, including burning down churches and murdering hundreds of fellow Chinese for the "crime" of converting to Christianity, then this problem could have been avoided.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: While the protagonists are from the Western Powers, who are struggling to hold out in the siege and not be brutally slaughtered first by the violent Boxers and later by the Imperial troops, the film does at least acknowledge that the Chinese people as a whole have very justified reasons to be angry at the occupation of their country by the foreign powers. Empress Cixi at one point rants to Sir Arthur that thirteen of the eighteen provinces of China are under foreign control and consequently being exploited: "China is a prostrate ''cow!'' The Powers are no longer content to ''milk'' her; now they are ''butchering'' her for her meat!"

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Modern Spanish viewers often see the presence of a Spanish ambassador and legation in the film as the movie makers [[ExecutiveMeddling pandering to]] UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco for [[BackedByThePentagon logistical support]]. While there was ''some'' of that, it is true, however, that there was a Spanish legation among the besieged, and that Spain was one of the signatories of the peace treaty with China as a result,[[note]]In fact, the treaty itself was written by Spanish ambassador Bernardo Cólogan, because he was the eldest among the foreign ambassadors[[/note]] even though Spain wasn't in a position to send troops to China right after losing Cuba and the Philippines in the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar.

** The fighting was more consistent and less spectacular than depicted in the movie. Basically it involved probings of the walls by Boxer forces, and house-to-house and street fighting. Both sides built barricades, and the small European military contingent was hard pressed repelling the attacks.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are ''lots'' of extras played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything ''close'' to the correct ethnicity (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese). It's particularly jarring when you see that Colonel Shiba was played by Juzo Itami, and all the members of the Japanese delegation were likewise played by Japanese actors.

* EndOfAnAge: The end of ImperialChina, of course. While the actual Xinhai Revolution comes eleven years later, the ending scenes heavily foreshadow the fact that the end of imperial rule is nigh. It's also near the end for UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia, but this doesn't come up in any scenes with the Russian characters.

** There is an anachronism when "Deutschland Uber Alles" is played for the German flag. The actual German anthem of the time had the same melody as "God Save the Queen," so you can see why they had to cheat. This is probably why Austria-Hungary is not represented in the opening scene, as its anthem was the same melody as "Deutschland Uber Alles." Oh, and before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted in 1931, the ''de facto'' U.S. anthem was "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," which, guess what, ''also'' has the same melody as "God Save the Queen." The movie skirts that problem by playing the bugle call "To the Colors" for the American flag.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The Chinese court. Though Empress Cixi's depicted with some measure of sympathy, her courtiers openly scheme against each other and the Empress herself orders an adviser's execution for "disturbing the tranquility of the day."

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Baron Ivanoff ''hates'' Baroness Natalie because he holds her responsible for the death of his beloved brother, her husband; the latter killed himself when he found out about her affair with a Chinese general.]]

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: While the protagonists are from the Western Powers, who are struggling to hold out in the siege and not be slaughtered by the Boxers, the film does at least show that the Chinese people have very justified reasons for being angry at the occupation of the foreign powers. Empress Cixi at one point rants to Sir Arthur that thirteen of the eighteen provinces of China are under foreign control and consequently being exploited: "China is a prostrate ''cow!'' The Powers are no longer content to ''milk'' her; now they are ''butchering'' her for her meat!"

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The necklace]]
* CreatorCameo: Nicholas Ray appears briefly as the U.S. minister

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Eight-Nation Alliance, natch. The movie tries oh so hard to pretend putting down the Boxer Rebellion wasn't ''really'' about imperialism. Instead, it was about honor or... maintaining peace or... something. Whatever, it sounds credible when you say it in a RousingSpeech with David Niven's accent. Also, the relationship between the various powers wasn't nearly as harmonious as depicted in the film. The film also omits the widespread destruction, looting and murder carried out by the Eight-Nations after the siege was lifted.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are ''lots'' of extras played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything ''close'' to the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese). It's particularly jarring when you see that Colonel Shiba was played by Juzo Itami, and all the members of the Japanese delegation were likewise played by Japanese actors.

* AnyoneCanDie: When the siege begins, civilians start dropping alongside the soldiers.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are ''lots'' of extras played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything close to the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese). By contrast, Colonel Shiba was played by Juzo Itami.

* NationalAnthem: At the beginning, the camera pans around the foreign compound to establish all the countries present by showing them raising their flags, each with a band playing the accompanying anthem. Notably, the raising of the American flag is set to "To the Colors", accurately reflecting the fact that "The Star-Spangled Banner" had not yet been adopted as the national anthem. We also hear the old "God Save the Tsar!" anthem as the Russian tricolor is raised. The movie inaccurately plays "Deutschland Uber Alles" for the German flag, but this might be an AcceptableBreakFromReality considering the actual German anthem of the time had the same melody as "God Save the Queen". [[BookEnds A similar scene occurs at the end]], showing how the atmosphere of international unity has disappeared without the Boxers providing a common enemy.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Technically averted, as the Boxers really did carry out the sort of attacks on civilians shown in the film. However, the whitewashing given to the other side makes the Boxers look worse in comparison, as it implies a greater difference in the morality of the two sides than really existed. The film does at least show that the Chinese people have very justified reasons for being angry at the occupation of the foreign powers.

To top it all off, the film was a BoxOfficeBomb, which was very bad because, as you'll know if you've seen the totally epic action sequences, this movie was ''freakin' expensive''. Besides ruining Ray's career, it also sunk Samuel Bronston's production company, which had previously made the successful ''Film/ElCid'' and ''Film/KingOfKings''. Perhaps this was karma for the film's deplorable use of {{Yellowface}} for basically every Chinese character with lines. Nevertheless, the film has [[VindicatedByCable found a life on cable]].

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are ''lots'' of characters played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything close to the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese). By contrast, Colonel Shiba was played by Juzo Itami.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are lots of characters played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything close to the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese). At least Colonel Shiba was played by Juzo Itami.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Eight-Nation Alliance, natch. The movie tries oh so hard to pretend putting down the Boxer Rebellion wasn't ''really'' about imperialism. Instead, it was about honor or... maintaining peace or... something. Whatever, it sounds credible when you say it in a RousingSpeech with David Niven's accent. Also, the relationship between the various powers wasn't nearly as harmonious as depicted in the film.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Eight-Nation Alliance, natch. The movie tries oh so hard to pretend putting down the Boxer Rebellion wasn't ''really'' about imperialism. Instead, it was about honor or... maintaining peace or... something. Whatever, it sounds credible when you say it in a RousingSpeech with David Niven's accent. The film does at least show that the Chinese have justified reasons for being angry at being colonized. Also, the relationship between the various powers wasn't nearly as harmonious as depicted in the film.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Technically averted, as the Boxers really did carry out the sort of attacks on civilians shown in the film. However, the whitewashing given to the other side makes the Boxers look worse in comparison, as it implies a greater difference in the morality of the two sides than really existed.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are lots of characters played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with anything close to the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Eight-Nation Alliance, natch. The movie tries oh so hard to pretend putting down the Boxer Rebellion wasn't ''really'' about imperialism. Instead, it was about honor or... maintaining peace or... something. Whatever, it sounds credible when you say it in a RousingSpeech with David Niven's accent. Also, the relationship between the various powers wasn't nearly as harmonious as depicted in the film.

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this. While there are lots of characters played by Chinese people firmly in the background of scenes, out of the four major Chinese characters only Teresa is played by an actor with more or less the correct nationality (Lynne Sue Moon was Anglo-Chinese).

* {{Yellowface}}: So, yeah... there's this.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Modern Spanish viewers often see the presence of a Spanish ambassador and legation in the film as the movie makers [[ExecutiveMeddling pandering to]] UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco for [[BackedByThePentagon logistical support]]. While there was ''some'' of that, it is true, however, that there was a Spanish legation among the besieged, and that Spain was one of the signatories of the peace treaty with China as a result,[[note]]In fact, the treaty itself was written by Spanish ambassador Bernardo Cólogan, because he was the eldest among the foreign ambassadors[[/note]] even though Spain wasn't in a position to send troops to China right after losing the Philippines in the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie could not be filmed in China due to UsefulNotes/ColdWar politics. Instead, an epic 60-acre replication of Peking (Beijing) was built in Spain. [[TrashTheSet Much of it gets destroyed on-screen]].

* EndOfAnAge: The end of ImperialChina, of course. While the actual Xinhai Revolution comes eleven years later, the ending scenes heavily foreshadow the fact that the end of imperial rule is nigh. It's also near the end for TsaristRussia, but this doesn't come up in any scenes with the Russian characters.