The Quiet American

The Quiet American is a 1958 American film and the first film adaptation of Graham Greene's bestselling novel of the same name, and the first major American attempt to deal with the geo-politics of Indochina. It was written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and stars Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, and Giorgia Moll. It was critically well-received, but was not considered a box office success. In writing the script, Mankiewicz received uncredited input from CIA officer Edward Lansdale, who was often said to be the actual inspiration for the American character—called "Pyle" in the... novel but unnamed in this film—played by Murphy. In a Hollywood still recovering from the effects of the blacklisting of suspected Communists, the film stirred up controversy. Greene was furious that his anti-war message was excised from the film, and he disavowed it as a "propaganda film for America." The Quiet American was remade in 2002, directed by Philip Noyce, with Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine, in a version more faithful to Greene's novel.
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