The Bitter Tea of General Yen

USA 1933 © 1932 Columbia Pictures. EX: Harry Cohn. P: Walter Wanger. D: Frank Capra. SC: Edward Paramore – based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone (1930). DP: Joseph Walker. M: W. Franke Harling. ED: Edward Curtis. Starring Barbara Stanwyck (Megan Davis), Nils Asther (kenraali Yen), Toshia Mori (Mah-Li), Walter Connolly (Jones), Gavin Gordon (Dr. Robert Strike, Bob). 88'. A low contrast print. Viewed at Orion, Helsinki, 20 Sep 2005. An exceptional film in Capra's career, a Sternbergian romance produced by Wanger, with Joseph Walker showing his ability to create a strong exotic atmosphere. Set in the turmoil of war-torn China, the warlord (Asther) rescues an American missionary (Stanwyck). One of the most important interracial love stories of its time besides Broken Blossoms. As in Forbidden, the sad, quiet, lingering close-ups seem profoundly felt.