romanorum1
After the collapse of the Monarchy of China – the Manchu Dynasty in 1912 – various warlords with their private armies and areas of control were temporarily dominant. So in the film's beginning we are introduced to the chaos in Chinese cities that resulted from intense fighting between factions. During a powerful rainstorm, Megan Davis (Barbara Stanwyck) meets General Yen (Nils Asther) briefly after her rickshaw driver is run down by his automobile. Miss Davis is on her way to a marriage with a Protestant churchman, Dr. Robert Strike (Gavin Gordon), in Shanghai. But Bob finds out that there are children to be rescued at St. Andrew's Orphanage in Chapei. At the reception the minister demonstrates his priorities; he tells Megan that he wants to briefly delay the marriage and work quickly to save the children. They travel to General Yen's HQ to get the necessary travel pass to Chapei. Yen thinks that Bob is stupid to defer his marriage to an attractive woman, and thus gives him a worthless document that mocks Bob. Thus Bob and Megan have difficulty in removing the orphaned Asian and Caucasian children. In the chaos and fighting they become separated, but Megan gets rescued by Yen, who places her in a bedroom on his troop train. Later, while asleep in his palace, she is awakened by a firing squad; the general is eliminating his enemies. As Megan is horrified, Yen philosophizes that it is better to die quickly then slowly starve to death, as he has no rice to feed his prisoners. Out of deference to Megan he has the surviving prisoners moved, but only to be executed out of earshot. Megan calls him a "yellow swine." Yen's reaction is passive. In conversation with his financial adviser Jones (Walter Connolly), Yen says he plans on keeping Megan in custody. When Jones responds that she is white, Yen replies, "That's all right. I have no prejudice against her color." Jones retorts, "Well, it's no skin off my nose." While in custody Megan tries to bribe Yen's concubine Mah-Li (Toshia Mori) to get a message to Bob. But Mah-Li is treacherous: She takes Megan's payment (a ring) but hides the message. Before the half-way mark of the movie there is a fascinating dream sequence. In it Yen is a Chinese caricature-monster who breaks down Megan's bedroom door to get at her. But she is rescued by a masked man who knocks the monster out flat. When she unmasks her hero, she discovers that it is … Yen the rescuer! They kiss and caress as Megan is awakened by Yen dressed in traditional Chinese clothing. Skeptical of missionaries, Yen asks her if she knows anything of Chinese artistic culture: poetry, music, painting. Of course she knows nothing as she has only been in China for a few days. The general reminds her to accept his dinner invitation (Megan rejected previous ones). Meanwhile Megan has noticed that Mah-Li is courted by Chinese Captain Li (Richard Loo), Yen's aide. At dinner, Jones talks too much. A war profiteer, he has been a master at gaining money from the provincials for the general at no small profit for himself. That does not matter to Yen, as long as the goals of the two men are congruent. Meanwhile Yen removes Mah-Li's jade bracelets and rings and presents them to Megan, who refuses them. Although they are forced upon her, Megan returns them to Mah-Li, who Yen has discovered has been betraying military secrets to his enemies. Megan successfully pleads for Mah-Li's life but by doing so becomes Yen's willful hostage.But Mah-Li is habitually disloyal. There is a short but thrilling action scene when two trains are parked parallel. A signal is made, and a company of soldiers hiding in the gondola car of one open fire at the other (Yen's money train). The shots are returned, but Yen's forces are overcome as his enemies drive the train away. Mah-Li has again betrayed Yen to his enemy (General Feng) and has duped Megan. Without money, Yen's soldiers begin deserting him; his spacious palace becomes empty. More than fifteen minutes of movie time is focused on the pragmatic general's last day. With hope lost, Yen has to drink the bitter tea, but he dies in the arms of Megan. Megan and Jones sail back to Shanghai. Nils Asther, the only non-Asian to play an oriental in this film, has a tremendously strong screen presence. As General Yen, he plays his role with dignity and intelligence, and is mannerly. Barbara Stanwyck was usually good ("Stella Dallas," "Double Indemnity," "Walk on the Wild Side," "The Big Valley"). Toshia Mori, a Japanese-American, played her Chinese character well. She had some movie roles in the 1920s and 1930s. Walter Connolly as Jones is a sufficient oily profiteer who cares only for his master: money!Frank Capra, one of America's greatest directors, is noted for well- crafted movies and impeccable set designs (note Yen's palace), even with lower budgets. He was masterful in visual geometry and at using light and shadow for setting mood. Capra's gifts extended to action sets and character development. Although a Sicilian immigrant, he lived the American dream, and thus his successful movies often focused on idealistic Americana. Three times Columbia's great director won an Academy Award for Best Movie in the 1930s; in 1939 he was chosen the top Hollywood director by Time Magazine. It was only after World War II when a deflated public became skeptical, and so his "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) was not initially appreciated. In time Capra's genius was again recognized, and that movie is now a perennial Christmas classic for new generations. Capra directed the best actors and actresses of his time, including Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Spencer Tracy, Claude Rains, Walter Brennan, Walter Huston, Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young, Jean Arthur, Katherine Hepburn, Donna Reed, and Eleanor Parker.
Steffi_P
Frank Capra, good director as he was, was ruthless in his ambition and self-promotion. He began, rather clumsily, as a showy visual director. He quickly realised however that he would get more kudos by refining and restraining his technique. By 1933, he had gained a substantial reputation and enough weight at Columbia studios to push for his own projects. He decided what he would like next was an Academy Award, and thus plumped for this sweeping love story set in foreign climes, conspicuously lavish and action-filled in the cash-strapped early 30s, especially by the standards of "poverty row" studio Columbia. Surely, he no doubt thought, this would strike Oscar gold.Carpa chose for his star the rising and now very bankable Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck's greatest asset it seems was her ability to show great emotion, even fiery rage, without once slipping into hammy hysterics. She is all cool passion, and it is very effective here. Nils Asther, in the title role, is very good too. He is a little theatrical and stylised in his gesture and mannerisms, but like Stanwyck he is calm and restrained, and certainly resists any temptation to turn the Mandarin general into a crude stereotype. And yet he is full of character. There's one great moment, where he stuffs an unwanted cigarette into the mouth of a guard without even looking round, as casually as if the man was an ashtray. Importantly, Stanwyck and Asther have great chemistry, and the performances all round are very fine.Carpa himself is obviously trying hard to load the picture with style and atmosphere, with moody lighting and a roving camera. One of his best techniques seems to have been perfected here, and that is his one of having the camera amidst a group of people like an imaginary extra person on the set. A really excellent example of this is in the first scene where the pastor makes his speech. The camera stays fixed, while a number of other silhouetted figures stop to listen. This has the dual function of making us feel like we are part of this community, and of drawing attention to the man and his words. The shot is punctuated by a neat whip pan into a close-up of a Chinese man's face. There is a feeling however that Capra is trying to turn every moment into a climax, and pretty soon the exquisite shot compositions and endless whip pans start to dull in effect. The dream sequence in particular could have been a little less heavy-handed.All in all, Capra has made a decent little film here. Minimal lighting and a tight editing pattern has cunningly disguised what is actually rather a low budgeted affair. Eerie sound design contributes a lot to the mysterious, oriental feel. But in spite of all the director's best intentions, The Bitter Tea of General Yen was a flop which received exactly zero Oscar nominations. Ironically, while today some may object to Asther performing in yellowface, at the time it was frowned upon for its positive portrayal of interracial love. It is also ironic that, despite all his hopes being pinned on this one, a different Capra movie (Lady for a Day) was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Lady for a Day is far less ostentatious, but it is a lot more like the homely heart-warming fare for which Capra would later be known. Was Lady for a Day really better received because it was up Capra's street, so to speak? Or did Capra deliberately re-brand himself in the mould of his first Oscar success?
