A Japanese general comes to stay in a Chinese village to await his main force. Also becoming involved in the story are two American airmen, a German night club owner, a partly Russian singer and a Chinese woman who leads the local partisan group. It is low budget but quite effective in its way at portraying the oppression of an occupied people. The firing squad scene is quite chilling and the ending is sad and uplifting at the same time. William Nigh directed over a hundred films and is probably thought of as a hack director but there are some little gems in his long career and this is one of them.
The shining centre of the film is Anna May Wong as Kwan Mei. She is believable as the elegant woman charming the general, a worker in the paddy fields and the leader of the village rebels. She can be sweet and she can be ruthless. Of the supporting cast Mae Clarke is very good as the cynical singer Lavara but not in it enough unfortunately. Harold Huber as the Japanese general doesn't look the part but is solid enough.
It's a wartime piece of propaganda but the message doesn't impede the drama.
The shining centre of the film is Anna May Wong as Kwan Mei. She is believable as the elegant woman charming the general, a worker in the paddy fields and the leader of the village rebels. She can be sweet and she can be ruthless. Of the supporting cast Mae Clarke is very good as the cynical singer Lavara but not in it enough unfortunately. Harold Huber as the Japanese general doesn't look the part but is solid enough.
It's a wartime piece of propaganda but the message doesn't impede the drama.