Trần Bạch Đằng

Birth : 1926-07-15, Giồng Riềng, Kiên Giang province, Vietnam

Death : 2007-04-16

History

Trần Bạch Đằng (July 15, 1926 – April 16, 2007) was a Vietnamese researcher, writer, and journalist. He was also a veteran politician, serving as former Deputy Head of the Central Committee for Mass Mobilization and former Secretary of the Saigon Municipal Committee. Under the pen name Nguyễn Trương Thiên Lý, Trần Bạch Đằng is the author of the novel "Ván bài lật ngửa" about an agent working in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, based on the real life figure of Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo. The novel is adapted into a famous film series, considered a classic in Vietnamese cinema, by director Lê Hoàng Hoa (also known as Khôi Nguyên).

Profile

Movies

Cards on the Table: Wreath on the Grave

Writer

The year 1963 drags on heavily. Rumors about the US-backed coup are spreading. Ngo Dinh Diem's government continues to suffer from a severe loss of popularity that is still worsening. Two lots of trafficked drugs from the Golden Triangle to South Vietnam have vanished into thin air. Luan sets out on what may be his final collaboration with Ngo Dinh Nhu.

Cards on the Table: High Pressure and the Freshet

Writer

In 1963, amidst tense relations with Buddhism that may face international backlash, the Ngo family try to find a way around the situation, calling on Luan for missions worth his life. Saigon is heated. A coup may be under preparations. Tran Le Xuan goes on a diplomatic tour of Western nations, determined to clear names.

Cards on the Table: The Last Warning

Writer

After the 1960 coup, Luan continues to serve as the governor of Kien Hoa province and receive classified information sent by Y5, an agent installed by Kien Hoa Security in the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Cards on the Table: Blue Sky in the Split of Leaf

Writer

The Government of the Republic of Vietnam is subjected to military attacks and protests everywhere. Law 10-59 is enacted. Luan is sent to the United States for further military course training. Upon his return in early 1961, Ngo Dinh Diem decides to make him the governor of Kien Hoa province (Ben Tre today) to conduct the Pacification Program, with special privileges at his disposal.

Cards on the Table: The Great Flood and the Tango no. 3

Writer

Luan is entrusted by Diem-Nhu to become Commander of the Great Flood Operations and also Commander of Binh Duong's Security Corps, with full authority to take action to rectify the situation in this province. The Liaison Department of the Republic of Vietnam, under the support of the United States, carries out plans to send commandos to North Vietnam for reconnaissance. If the commandos successfully infiltrate, they will respond to South Vietnam with a tango. Plans Tango No. 1 and Tango No. 2 failed. What will become of plan Tango No. 3?

Cards on the Table: The Gunshot on the Highland

Writer

Luan returns to Saigon and becomes a Major in the Presidential Special Forces. He and Thuy Dung continue their relationship. News that Ngo Dinh Diem is opening the Highland Economic Fair held in Ban Me Thuot has attracted the attention of many intelligence and security organizations, whose political purposes vary.

Cards on the Table: The Roving Chessman

Writer

In 1955 Tay Ninh, the National United Front is established and gives Ngo Dinh Diem's government an ultimatum: reform or attack. Luan goes to Da Lat for a vacation, where a meeting between him and a young woman has been arranged. The South continues to be ravaged by riots.

Cards on the Table: The Foster Son of the Archbishop

Writer

After the Geneva Convention, Viet Minh cadres are gathered to the North. There are also many who secretly stayed. Among them is Robert Nguyen Thanh Luan. He returns to Vinh Long, part of the diocese of Bishop Peter Ngo Dinh Thuc, who has known his Catholic family for long. The bishop adopts him into the Ngo family, where he begins associating with Ngo Dinh Nhu, the Vice President and Presidential Consultant of the Republic of Vietnam.

First Love

Writer

Student Ba Duy sinks deep into heartbreak and a nihilistic street life when his sweetheart, Diem Huong, suddenly leaves him to marry an American diplomat.