A Chinese warlord and an engaged Christian missionary fall in love.A Chinese warlord and an engaged Christian missionary fall in love.A Chinese warlord and an engaged Christian missionary fall in love.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Mrs. Blake
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Jackson
- (uncredited)
- Missionary
- (uncredited)
- Missionary
- (uncredited)
- Chinese Officer
- (uncredited)
- Dr. Hansen
- (uncredited)
- Officer
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Bowman
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Amelia Hansen
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Bitter Tea of General Yen was the first film to play at Manhatten's fabled Radio City Music Hall upon its opening on January 6, 1933. It was also one of the first films to deal openly with interracial sexual attraction. It was a box office failure upon its release and has since been overshadowed by Capra's later efforts. In recent years, the film has grown in critical opinion. In 2000, the film was chosen by film critic Derek Malcolm as one of the 100 best films in The Century of Films.
- GoofsThe beginning sequence takes place as the text reading the "Burning of Chapei" is flashed on the screen. The burning of Chapei occurred on September 18, 1931, while the film was still in production. The film follows the original novel, which was set in the late 1920s during the Chinese Civil War. The Chinese Civil War was clearly integrated into the plot of the film. Little, if any, of the plot makes reference to the Japanese/Chinese conflict of 1931-1932. None of the characters in film are identified as Japanese. Capra wanted it to be an Academy Award contender and hoped to create interest by adding this connection to the timely events.
- Quotes
Megan Davis: Can't you forgive her? She's only a child. You can always do so much more with mercy than you can with murder. Why don't you give her another chance? Oh, I know you feel that she has deceived you and sold information to your enemies; perhaps, even been unfaithful to you. All that's dreadful and if its true you have a certain justification in wanting to crush her. But, I want you to think of all those things and then forgive her. I don't know how you feel about Mah-Li; I mean, whether you love her or, well, as a lover. But, that's of no importance. I want you to see the beauty of giving love where it isn't merited. Any man can give love where he's sure of its return. That isn't love at all. But, to give love with no merit, no thought of return, no thought of gratitude even; that's ordinarily the privilege of God. And now its your privilege. Oh, General, with all you have within you, your superior brain, your culture, how can you be so blind to spiritual braveness? Do this thing I ask you. Do it for me. Do it even blindly, if you must, and I promise you, I'm so sure of it, I promise you that for the first time in your life you'll know what real happiness is.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Frank Capra's American Dream (1997)
- SoundtracksOnward Christian Soldiers
(1871) (uncredited)
Music from "St. Gertrude" by Arthur Sullivan (1871)
Lyrics by Sabine Baring-Gould (1865)
Sung by an unidentified quartet at the wedding
What did I like about the film? Well, first off, despite being made in Hollywood, Columbia did an exceptional job in getting the look correct. Very impressive sets, costumes and convincing battle scenes all indicate that this was a top project for a studio which, at the time, was definitely a second-tier company. Heck, MGM and Warner would have been proud to make a movie that looked this good--and they were the "big money" studios. It certainly was a pretty film to look at and lovely cinematography sure helped as well.
Second, while the movie has some silly stereotypes, in a way it is also very modern compared to other pictures of the day. It dares to consider the possibility of interracial love (something banned when the new Production Code was put in place the following year) and despite initially come off as a demon, General Yen was quite decent and civilized in his own manner. He definitely was NOT some one-dimensional Asian caricature--having greater depth than you'd usually find in non-White characters of the day.
Finally, while odd and fully of bizarre twists, the plot really was pretty exciting and romantic. I especially loved the silly but majorly cool dream that Barbara Stanwyck had soon after Yen took her into protective custody! So, if you are looking for an unusual, pretty and very interesting film from Hollywood's golden era, then look no further. This is quite an unusual film and you won't soon forget it.
By the way, after watching this film, try SHANGHAI EXPRESS. While many of the plot elements are similar, notice how different Warner Oland's Chinese warlord character differs from Nils Asther's---there is quite the contrast.
- planktonrules
- Jun 8, 2008
Details
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1