The General Died at Dawn (1936)

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:

The main character, O'Hara, is based on the real-life adventurer Morris "Two-Gun" Cohen (1887-1970). Born in Poland to a Jewish family, Cohen grew up in the tough streets of London's East End. As a teenager, he moved to western Canada, and became a ranch hand and gambler in Saskatchewan, and later a highly-successful real estate agent in Alberta. During World War I, he fought in Europe with the Canadian Railway Troops. His friendship with Chinese workers on the Canadian-Pacific Railroad prompted him to go to China in the 1920's. After negotiating a railroad deal with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Cohen became a personal bodyguard to Sun and a trainer of Sun's private army. After Sun's death in 1925, Cohen ran guns for various Chinese warlords throughout the 1930's. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, Cohen continued to supply Chinese Resistance forces with arms and served with the British SOE. In 1941, following the fall of Hong Kong, he was captured by the Japanese and put in a prison camp, but was traded to the English in 1943 in a rare prisoner exchange. After the war, Cohen continued to operate in China as an agent for various British firms, including Rolls Royce and Decca Radar. His former dealings with Chinese warlords kept him in good standing with Chinese Communist officials until his death in 1970.

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 "Hogan's Heroes: The Kommandant Dies at Dawn (#5.6)" (1969)

Let your imaginations soar!

The scene in the train where femme fatal Judy Perrie seduces O'Hara is a masterpiece of steamy sensuality. Carroll's silky-smooth alabaster skin and flaxen hair, gorgeously highlighted by her exquisitely outlined lips and eyes, were masterfully exploited by director Lewis Milestone and some extremely skilled cameramen, as her feminine delights proved too much for the otherwise unswervingly steadfast O'Hara. Throughout, the curiously uneven script takes a decided turn for the better, with both participants delivering some highly suggestive verbal exchanges, brimming with innuendo and wit, culminating with O'Hara mockingly asking Judie if he can kiss her, only to receive in return the playful reply that he must first ask her mother. He then looks into the neighboring compartment and makes the request in mock earnestness, for there is no Mrs. Perrie! All the while, the sinister war lord General Yang and his dark forces are preparing to intercept the train, "relieve" O'Hara of the funds he's set to deliver to Mr. Wu for the sole purpose of ridding the province of the scurrilous Yang. Let your imaginations soar, esteemed classic film buffs, for this is truly great film-making.