The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Grace Zaring Stone (story)
Edward E. Paramore Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 January 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

They found a love they dared not touch!

Plot:

The American missionary Megan Davis arrives in Shanghai during the Chinese Civil War to marry the missionary Dr...

Plot Keywords:

General | Missionary | Mistress | Chinese Civil War | Palace

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Megan
Nils Asther	...	General Yen
Toshia Mori	...	Mah-Li
Walter Connolly	...	Jones
Gavin Gordon	...	Bob
Lucien Littlefield	...	Mr. Jacobson
Richard Loo	...	Captain Li
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Miss Reed
Emmett Corrigan	...	Bishop Harkness

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

South Korea:15 (2007) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The sets for this film were reused for Columbia's One Night of Love (1934).

Quotes:

Megan Davis: I want you to think of all those things and then forgive her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant (1972)

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)

Unique Capra film

Unusual, strange, interesting, intriguing, offbeat, surreal, unique film… so atypical of Capra's acknowledged style, that one truly regrets that he never made a film of this sort afterwards in his career.

For sure, a product of the more permissive Pre-Code era (1930-1934), it couldn't have been filmed under the Production Code's strict rules; the only suggestion of miscegenation would have risen too many brows during its enforcement.

I must say, though, that I have the impression that I saw an edited or censored version of the official release, since the DVD I watched is of British origin (it's not yet available on DVD in the USA) and apparently the out-of-print VHS American edition, is 5 or 6 minutes longer. Well, it shouldn't surprise me since this film was banned in England for many years (reportedly for its miscegenation subject, a delicate matter for the British Empire in those years).

This fantastic tale of a Chinese Warlord's (Nils Asther) infatuation with an American Woman (Stanwyck), who's engaged to a missionary, is charged with sensuality, erotic imagery and sexual tension (by early 1930s standards) between the two leading players.

Asther gives an intense, credible portrayal and is simply mesmerizing as the Warlord, in spite of the fact that he was actually Swedish. Stanwyck is aptly helpless, confused and vulnerable as the heroine. It's also a pleasure to see Walter Connolly in a different role, as an amoral "entrepreneur". Toshia Mori is deliciously evil as Asther's double-crossing mistress.

This film demonstrates that the Occidentals, at least up to that time, still did not fully appreciate and understand Oriental Cultures, dismissing its people as cruel and savage.

Beautiful sets and décors.