The Ugly American
Harrison MacWhite, a smart and articulate scholar, is chosen to be the U.S. ambassador to Sarkan, a southeast Asian country where civil war is a threat to a tense peace. MacWhite had to fight off a hostile Senate confirmation hearing from conservatives. Even though MacWhite knows what he's talking about, once he's there, he only sees a split between the U.S. and Communism. He is unable to comprehend the possibility that anti-American sentiment stems from a desire for self-determination and nationalism. So, he breaks away from his friend, a local opposition leader, and ignores a foreman's advice about slowing down the building of a road. Instead, he tries to push ahead. What will the country and his friends have to pay for him to make sense?
Released: 1963-04-02