The General Died at Dawn (1936)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Charles G. Booth (story)
Clifford Odets (writer)

Release Date:

30 October 1936 (Denmark)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Amid the anarchy of China, an American mercenary tangles with a ruthless warlord.

Plot Keywords:

Warlord | China | Mercenary | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	O'Hara
Madeleine Carroll	...	Judy Perrie
Akim Tamiroff	...	Gen. Yang
Dudley Digges	...	Mr. Wu
Porter Hall	...	Peter Perrie / Peter Martin
William Frawley	...	Brighton
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Leach
Philip Ahn	...	Oxford
Lee Tung Foo	...	Mr. Chen (as Lee Tung-Foo)
Leonid Kinskey	...	Stewart (shipping line clerk)
Val Durand	...	Wong (as Val Duran)
Willie Fung	...	Bartender at Mansion House Hotel
Hans Fuerberg	...	Yang's military advisor (as Hans Furberg)
John O'Hara	...	Reporter

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by MCA ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: While arguing with Peter, Judy slams a book down on the desk. A couple of other books on the corner of the desk disappear in a later scene.

Quotes:

O'Hara: I like people too much to shoot. But it's a dark year and a hard night.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: The General Flipped at Dawn (#3.1)" (1974)

Good, Dark Period Thriller

Set in the violent, chaotic, Hobbesian world of warlord-era China. Worthy to be compared with, and in some ways superior to, the possibly better known _Shanghai Express_. Surprisingly brutal film for its time.