Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

One of Hollywood’s great epic romances, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)—based on the bestselling autobiographical novel by Han Suyin—stars Jennifer Jones as a reserved Eurasian doctor working in the exotic, conflict-ridden Hong Kong of the post-World War II era. There, she meets a dashing (if married) war correspondent, resplendently played by William Holden; the two embark on a whirlwind romance buffeted by problems of race, politics, and war. Directed by the sturdy Henry King, the film features superb cinematography by Leon Shamroy—with extraordinary location footage shot by Charles Clarke—and an unforgettable score by the great Alfred Newman, built on one of the most popular title songs of the 1950s, written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster.